what computer package to use (digi001???)

R

rohlson730

New member
Hey all,
Please keep the terma as basic as possible. I am going to buy a Dell PIII PC to use at home for word processing etc... I want to get into computer recording. I currently have a DAW that is too limited and the Digi001 is something that has been suggested. I understand some people are having trouble running the digi with a pc and/or with windows 2000. So...my questions are the following:

1. Do I go with the Digi 001 and will my PC freak it out?

2. If I do go witht the digi001, what specific requirements are needed?

3. If I dont go with the digi001, what do you all recommend? I there some other soundcard/software setup that will do me well

4. I want to spend <$1000

5. I currently have a mackie 1202vlz-pro that I love and plan to continue to use for the preamps.

6. With the digi001 does there exist aux send and returns for my effects given that the plugins for this system are supposedly expensive.

Guys,
I'm depending on y'all here to help me out before I make a dumb decision I'll regret later.

Thanks,
Blake
 
rohlson730 said:


1. Do I go with the Digi 001 and will my PC freak it out?

Most likely YES!

Buy a MAC.

2. If I do go witht the digi001, what specific requirements are needed?

None with the MAC. Any stock MAC will run it.

3. If I dont go with the digi001, what do you all recommend? I there some other soundcard/software setup that will do me well

Yes. MOTU. I ended up buying a MAC G4 500mHz MP, and a MOTU 2408 I/O Box and am using Digital Performer 2.72 (Watch out for DP 3.0 coming out soon), and that set up rocks. You might want to consider the Motu 828 it's a firewire box, or any other MOTU card. Much more bang for the buck than ProTools will give you with the 001.

4. I want to spend <$1000

All of the above soundcards cost less than 1K. If you're talking about a computer for less than 1K, you can look at the imac, or a used G4 or G3.


5. I currently have a mackie 1202vlz-pro that I love and plan to continue to use for the preamps.

Keep it. It will be useful to you.

Albert
Click to expand...
 
thanks

thanks al,
I'm going to look into the mac (S/T I would not have considered previously)
Any sites to look online for for one for a relatively cheap price????

Anyone out there use the digi with a pc??
Blake
 
MAC Sites

Blake

Here are some sites where you can buy new and used MACs:

http://www.powermax.com/ That's where I bought mine: They sell new and used.



New MACs only:

http://www.outpost.com/

http://www2.warehouse.com/default.asp?home=mac

http://www.macconnection.com/

http://maccentral.macworld.com/


I am sure there are others.

As far as looking into PC users of the 001, you might want to check out the Digidesign User Conference (their BBS). It's at

http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?body=http://duc.digidesign.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro

You can scroll down to the Window Users discussion and get some info to answer your questions.

Hope this helps

Albert

PS Here's an internet magazine that could shed some light for you on a MAC purchase.

http://maccentral.macworld.com/
 
Last edited:
I sincerely appreciate the links and I did check them all out this evening. Undoubtedly the macs are much more expensive. So...I'm curious...is there anyone out there who has a pc based system???...and if not the dig001, then what? Are PC users doomed to a bleak future devoid of any future of computer audio happiness???
Suggestions???
Blake
 
i got a delta 66 with the omni i/o.

i got out the credit cards and bought this online for $670 including shipping.

p3 1ghz processor
asus cusl2-C mainboard
256 mb crucial 7.5ms ram
maxtor diamondplus 60 20.4gb
sparkle 350w power supply
tnt2 16mb video
mitsumi 1.44 floppy
thermaltake golden orb cpu fan

i got wasted and ordered this crap online tonite...hope it works...

oh yes, still need a case.............the case people don't have good internet service , so i gotta call em

had to go with intel for sentimental reasons :)
 
Aardvark Q10 looks interesting it will be out pretty soon and sells for less than $700.
 
The Digi 001 works fine with either the Mac or the PC. But there are some differences in the platforms. The Mac will cost more than equivalent performance on the PC, but you currently get a better variety of plugins and some additional feature not yet available on the PC. However, the amount of plugins for the PC is increasing, especially with Waves plugins now available for the PC/RTAS format.

For about $800 you can get the Digi 001 and the PTLE software. PTLE already includes a whole set of real time plugins (RTAS) that are of good quality. Third party vendors (like Waves) provide higher quality plugins at prices equavent to VST, MAS and Direct X. The Digi is great for recording audio, but weaker if you plan on doing alot of Midi and sequencing. ProTools also sounds great and is easy to use and learn.

The PC is about 1/2 the cost of the Mac for equivalent performance. The AMD Athalon will give you the best power and performance on the PC, but only Intel chipsets are curently supported by ProTools. So if you are not really good with computers, you may want to stay with a PIII. I believe people have had success with Dell, but you should go to the Digi Users Conference (DUC) and do a search under "Windows Configurations" to get a better idea. Thorough research in advance will save you alot of problems later. Whatever you do, if you decided to go with Digi, be sure to lookly VERY closely at the compatibility documents and the recommended setups. If your main purpose is to record audio, you will not be disappointed with the Digi.
 
hmmm...

For 1000 beans and I was just starting...
Aardvark 24/96 $500
ProTools Free (try it out 1st) $free
Shure Beta57 mic $150
Rode NT1000 for vocal/whatever $300
$50 left over for a toy to your liking. The vibrating ones are nice.
Paul

Oh, computers... Personally, I;d avoid a mac for a million reasons. They are nice, but the PC platform is
1)cheaper
2)easier to buy for
3) has more stuff available
4) is not proprietary
5) cheaper
6) cheaper
Go amd with DDR... build your own.
 
i assume you are talking about the aardvark direct pro 24/96. i have one. they are nice....however, the omni delta package goes for $400 now (www.musician'sfriend.com). that saves a C....so you can buy a girl for the night, and not a toy.

re: digidollar

this pro tools software free stuff, that works on a pc. is just a marketing ploy....real pro tools is expensive , it involves hardware...there is an article on pro tools in the april 'computer music'..

i wonder how well logic or cubase run on the digi001?

everything depends on what you want to acheive with your setup....if you like the pro tools concept buy it. ...i know i would if i had the crackers....

if you are into desktop recording check out the delta omni package...

of course all this is premised on the assumption that your interest is in digital audio, not midi...pro tools excels at digital audio, while lacking with respect to certain european sequencers in midi capabilities....methinks...or heard, or read

but what the freak do i know? ;)
 
hey J:
You didn't pay $670 for the delta 66/Omni bundle alone, did you? I hope that price was referring to the other equipment you bought.

Anyway rohlson, do yourself a favor. If you're gonna go with a PC (which I suggest) download this: http://magixus.magix.net/magixII/e/home.nsf/index1.html?OPEN&country=US

It is a link to the magix website who make Samplitude 2496 version 5.9. The demo is free, and it is awesome, but relatively unknown. Download Cubase (shit) download PT free (shit) download Cool Edit Pro. The demos are all free, and I'm confident that samplitude will beat them all. BTW, get the delta 66/Omni bundle. It is flexible, inexpensive (I paid $375 for it here:
www.sixtecycle.com )
Later
 
nasal398, i paid $400 for the delta 66/omni package. i thought that was pretty cheap...you paid $375? wow! that sounds almost 'too' cheap, given all the features on the delta 66 and the omni box.
 
j, you may be correct about ProTools Free. I don't think anybody should consider this a serious option for recording. At least on the PC, there is a serious distortion problem. Pops and crackels show up intermitantly, and can even degenerate into terrible distortion. It is all pretty well documented on the DUC. But it does give you a free look at ProTools software.

The Digi 001, on the other hand, is pretty nice, and doesn't have the sound problems in the "Free" version. Certainly, it has less features than the TDM systems, which is the full-blown ProTools with DSP cards. But as CPUs get faster (like the Athalon), the advantages of the DSP cards become less. Plus these cards are not cheap! With the Digi 001 you get PT LE, which is the light version of PT (ProTools). I believe PTLE offers the same quality as PT, on the features they contain.

I have also been interested in the Delta66/Omni combo. Been thinking of something for gigasampler. That really sounds like a nice price. I may just look into it. Thanks and Happy Trackin!!
 
i totally lost interest in the Digi001 when i found out you can't use amp farm with it....since this was the first question i asked when it appeared on the market, i didn't learn much more about it....i'm sure the Digi is a nice system and all that....but i wonder what other software it will support beside Pro Tools LE and the plug ins designed for it....i don't even know if it will support anything else...
 
tre45yb4

Honestly, unless you plan to use ProTools in a Pro envoronment on a Mac, then I'd go with a pc platform. If you buy the Aardvark 24/96, it comes with Cakewalk Pro 9, which isn't bad to start out on. You can download Sonar from the Cakewalk website too. Although its brand new and a tad buggy, its got every feature you'll probably ever want, including looping, soft synths, slip editing, automation, etc.
ProTools is a bomb platform, I've used it in a real studio, and it was spectacular, fast and solid. Not a problem one out of it, not even a slight glitch.
My intentions are to wait a year or 2 and see what direction the Digi001 goes in. I may end up using it.
Paul
 
j, the Digi 001 can also be used with Logic Audio (Silver, Gold or Platinum Series). There are quite a few users doing Logic, I imagine, especially those that want more than 24 tracks (the PTLE limit). In Logic you have support for Direct X and for VST plugins, as well as VST instruments.

Most Digi users are on the Mac platform. Digi on the PC doesn't have "Direct Connect"(yet, but coming), which is the equivalent of VST instruments. Mac also has more third party vendors offering RTAS plugins for the Mac platform. But this is starting to change also. The PC is becoming a better platform and the power of the Athalon CPU totaly blows away the Mac platform. When the 1.7 Athalon arrives, you may not need a Farm Card or full PT, unless you need more that 24 tracks and do video or surround sound.

I've heard a lot of good things about Sonar. I plan on downloading the demo when available and trying it with the Digi 001. BTW, the Digi comes with WDM drivers that allows the 1-2 output/imputs to be used by any audio program that supports WDM. Channel 1-2 have the mic pres, so I could record in Sonar and see if there is really a sound difference. Also, I am very interested in DXi, and I'd love to try them out in Sonar.
 
hey jps,

sonar is way cool....once they get all the bugs worked out, it will rock.......though, i should say some of the bugs infesting my machine are due to sloppy harddrive management....i have put off a full evaluation of sonar till i reformat my hdd and reinstall everything....i got a lot of crap on my hard drive right now...and it's a teeny weeny 4gigger

i think we all agree that as long as we don't think we have a 'pro tools' system, the digi is a pretty neat system for pc or mac.

AMD processors are cool and you can fry an egg on them...but for this system i'm building i'm going with intel. i'll probably build an AMD system when they get to 2ghz.

i wonder how the digi wdm drivers deal with the kmixer (kernel mixer) in windows...
 
Well...

I know that to use the Digi with Sonar you have to disable wave pipe acceleration (accoring to the Sonar manual). Where did you read that it supports WDM? Digi support told me it does not awhile back. We need to check on that.
Peace,
Paul
 
the true acid test is if it can run floops? can it do it without direct sound? the digi must have some kind of asio if it can run logic....what kind of drivers does the digi use for pro tools...i'm assuming they are some sort of proprietary drivers....
 
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