manning1 - need help (software choices...)

  • Thread starter Thread starter cedric
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cedric

New member
everyone's "allowed" to jump in - but during searches i KNOW that 'manning1' is a well-educated IT guy :)

here's the thing:
i have these option to choose from:

Cubase SX v.2.0
n-Track
Nuendo 2
Sonar 4 Producer edition
Emagic Logic Audio Platinum v.5.5.1
Tracktion

and all kinds of add-on's, bundles etc..

which interface would you choose?
i'm recording 60's rock, ala the Faces, the Who + plus singer songwriter and ambient music.

i have an AMITECH 48xx w/
1600 MHz front side buss
60GB 7200rpm
2x512mb RAM
Processor 3000+ Athlon 64 Mobile
XP 2 pro 2.0
TFT screen 15" TFT SXGA+ (1400x1050)
grfx card ATI M Radeon 9600 w/128MB VRAM
1 x 1394 firewire
4 x USB

i'm running (soon to recieve) a MOTU 896 and a M-Audio MobilePre (for REAL field-recording).

i mostly recording "in the field" - meaning travel around to record people. but i have my studio set up here at home.

- ced
 
you have an excellent system. you didnt mention much about your drives.
if you have just one - its best to get two.
well - i'm not sure i'm the right person to ask about recording multitrack software because some on here believe i'm too biased on what i use.
but i use powertracks from pgmusic.com. i would at least try it due to the low price and features. if you dont believe me , at the site click on reviews,
(and the powertracks sub link)then on the next page click on customer comments at the top and choose powertracks, and youll see what others think of it. having said that , if you feel the need for comparison to a high end expensive package - the ones that i respect highly are
samplitude, and saw studio in particular. but you do your own comparison.
if you have further q's just ask.
i would have looked closely at RME if were me. for the a/d/a.
 
i've only got one 60GB 7200rpm drive.
divided into a 20GB "system" drive and one 40GB "music" drive.

i'm gonna get an extern USB harddrive (no firewire ports are available since the MOTU 896 is hooked to that one).

but tell me please:
if i get an external harddrive is it as simple to use as a normal internal harddrive?
ie. saving files, retrieving files, etc. etc. ?
'cause then i understand why everyone keeps on "rambling" about them.
there's no extra delay/latency in having to use eg. plug-ins from one? or using other CPU consuming programs?
as opposed to an internal?

- ced
 
oh, and btw - RME didn't do it for me.
i needed/need
8 XLR inputs, switchable from instr. to mic
8 XLR outputs, switchable from +4 to -10
phantom power on each channel
easy to read VU's

couldn't find that anywhere else but in the 896.
 
cedric. i see what your saying about motu versus rme.
i'm just doing things differently with my own seperate mic pre's which will go into the RME. i like the flexibilty of seperating the mic pre's from the sound interface. but to each his own.
on usb drives i would urge caution, and a try before you buy approach.
you might not have any probs with usb, but many people are.
maybe i'll be accused of being biased, but for me as i'm a computer engr , we tend not to like usb for high throughput applications like disk drives.
frankly i think the usb protocol has to go through further shakedowns. just my own opinion. now - having said that there are lots of people using usb hard drives ok. but - if were me i would choose a second internal hard drive on its own channel over the usb approach. and as i said - if you feel you must use the usb drive approach, make sure you can return it and get your bucks back if you encounter issues. i KNOW people have been sold on the whole usb plug and play idea , but imho usb is ok for low volume demands like mice etc rather than high speed .just my opinion.peace.
 
If you want se something cheap and good- get Tracktion, this things rocks! And it's solid as hell. Plus the license is free at the moment.

If you have some money to spend get Nuendo. Although my computer died under it in few hours, I got a glimpse of it and it's worth the money.
 
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