New Computer based system idea - help needed

[thewanderer24]

Hi all. I'm a forum and recording newb, so please be gentle. I have been reading a whole lot of threads here and elsewhere, and am slowly getting ideas of a system.

Background:
I want to build a PC based recording setup that is modular enough that it can grow with me as money, space, and time will permit.

My main initial use will be for recording 3 (or 4 at the most) sources at a time. These will be instruments (guitar/bass/flute/horns/etc, and vocals). Drums are not in the picture for the short term, but will be a year or two down the road.


My current idea:
I will be getting a new PC which will be dedicated only to these audio applications. I probably won't even install internet access. I will be getting as good as a PC as I can afford with a high end processor, at least 1GB of RAM, and some kind of decent soundcard (probably at least a Delta 1010, maybe better if I can afford it).

The deal for the Mackie Onyx 1210 with free firewire card has me extremely interested. Recording with it directly with inputs through the firewire interface or from the mixer to the soundcard inputs should be doable, and give me some options, I think. Any reason I should fear this setup??

i know that long term, I will need more inputs, but at that point, I hopefully should be able to add more mic's/pres (either individually, or with another mixer) directly through the soundcard? Is that realistic? Dumb?

Or, I could add another soundcard (I believe at least the 1010, and I'm sure many others, are made to be expandable and work with more cards) if needed?

The nice thing about going this route in my mind, is it also should leave me a few hundred extra bucks right now to get a couple decent mics, and still leave me a load of flexibility to add pieces as I go.

Does this plan make sense?

Looking forward to any and all thoughts you guys have. Thanks much.

 

[Halion]

Sounds good to me. One thing I love about computer recording is the upgradebility (how does one spell that?). When I started, I had an AMD Athlon XP 2000+ with 512 mb ram, tiny cheap surroundsound speakers, a terratec (comparable to m-audio) 2 channel soundcard (decent), a cheap 1 channel behringer pre, and 1 SM57 rip-off. Now I'm still using the the same computer but the quality of my recordings have improved immensely. Just make you sure you buy new technology. Personally, I feel that Dual Core 64bit systems and DDR2 ram are the future, so I'd buy those, if even the cheapest versions.

 

[Tim Brown]

The deal for the Mackie Onyx 1210 with free firewire card has me extremely interested. Recording with it directly with inputs through the firewire interface or from the mixer to the soundcard inputs should be doable, and give me some options, I think. Any reason I should fear this setup??

Other than the fact that it says Mackie on it?

Personally, I'd look for another piece of gear. I just don't like Mackie stuff. I've had 2 of their mixers, and they are fine for live audio/sound reinforcement - but I just don't like their stuff for recording....just my personal opinion.

I think your best bet is the Presonus Firepod 10 - it's got 8 REAL Mic Preamps, rather than those Mackie toys.


PreSonus FIREPOD 10-Channel FireWire Interface $599.99
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=rec/search/detail/base_pid/184131/

Also, I wouldn't skimp on Monitors. Get a decent pair of shielded monitors, because you don't want to start out on bad ones. Once your ears get used to a set of monitors, you tend to like them.

PreSonus FIREPOD 10-Channel FireWire Interface with speakers and mics $899.99
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=rec/search/detail/base_pid/241481/


Also, take a look at other audio dealers/stores - I just went to MF for price quiotes because it was quick for me to do.



Tim

 

[sonnylarsen]

I wouldn't dismiss Mackie's products so quickly. I had good experiences with pre's on various Mackie mixers, and I heard only good things about the 1210 so far. I wish I could have started with something like that. My first recording PC was an AMD K62 450 Mhz with 128 megs of RAM and a Soundblaster card with a whopping 2 channels of input at 16bit, 48khz, and N-Track. Those were the good old days.

 

[Tim Brown]

I wouldn't dismiss Mackie's products so quickly. I had good experiences with pre's on various Mackie mixers, and I heard only good things about the 1210 so far. I wish I could have started with something like that. My first recording PC was an AMD K62 450 Mhz with 128 megs of RAM and a Soundblaster card with a whopping 2 channels of input at 16bit, 48khz, and N-Track. Those were the good old days.

Mackie is at best, low level equipment - I would skip it completely if other options are available.


Tim

 

[thewanderer24]

Actually, after reading your replies, and doing a lot more research, I am very intrigued by the firepod, and strongly leaning in that direction.

Do you guys think it is worth getting a computer designed to be used for a DAW type application (there are many sellers online that I've found)? I have built my own pc's in the past, but don't have the time or energy to deal with that kinda project right now.

Any recommendations on an affordable PC (or where to buy one) that will work for now and grow with me?

 

[fenderlady]

You don't really have to buy a PC that is specially built for recording. You can go with something or the most you can afford on a computer. Most will not come with a good enough sound card. But for about $100 you could get a Emu 0404. That is what I run for a sound card on my DAW. You should get a processor with the speed at 1.6 ghz min and 1 gb of memory. That would do really well. I have not heard or read of any advantage of running XP media. I just run XP Pro, not that it is really Pro Most people just stop processes that consume processor power and are not really needed, especially if the computer is not connected to the internet.

Just my two cents and I hope that helps some.

 

[Kore]

A few things I would suggest:

Get at least two hard drives, one for sustem data (Windows, other crap) and one ofr strictly audio. This is really nice for a few reasons, one being faster data streaming for direct-from-drive applications (for example, if you get EastWest Quantum Leap's Symphonic Orchestra), and other problems related to data rate.

And invest in GOOD case fans. Powerful but silent ones, because fan noise is a pain in the ass, but multiple hard drives around the 7200-10k rpm's make a lot of heat.

Also, Ram can be expanded without loss; processor speed cannot. If you have slow but steady income, I wuld suggest going hardcore on processor and saving on ram for now, and adding more ram in the future. Don't get me wrong--RAM is important, but it's easy to upgrade, unlike a processor.