Description
Well, a year in and, as you can see, the studio has evolved again.
I got sick if having to re-patch everything constantly and being limited to 8 tracks on my Tascam 424
mkIII which I was using as a mixing desk. So, I decided it was finally time to get a reasonable “big old
mixing desk”.
I settled with a Peavey 18 track RQ2318 and I really like it. It has 12 insert points, 16 XLR inputs, a
PFL (Pre Fader Listen) feature, monitor and Master busses, 2 FX busses and a Tape in/out interface. This
totally solves the problem of re-patching stuff which should help keep my inputs from getting damaged.
I finally got sick of my PC crashing (up to 3 or 4 times a day... not good for tracking), the mouse
randomly freezing on me, and running out of system resources when mixing more than 8 tracks. Finally
after contemplating that long walk to the crossroads in order solve my latency issues, I decided it was
time for a new computer. I figured that if I played my cards right I could find a system that was sufficiently
stable to allow me to track directly onto the computer's HDD. This would be better than tracking onto the
Korg D1200 which was always followed by lots of mucking about doing USB export and transfer which
took forever.
Having had many previous good experiences with Macs, I decided it was time to try a G5 Power Mac.
Not the cheapest option out there, however, it should be more than fast enough and stable enough for my
needs.
What about software? I had been using SONAR, Wavelab, Waves Gold and Auto-Tune 3, and I have to
say that they provide a really nice interface. However as SONAR is not available for the Mac and that I was
a bit miffed with Cakewalk's determination to try and sell me things, like MP3 encoders (why was this not
included in the price of the package, it is not as if I have gone the bargain basement package?), I decided
it was time for a change. After looking at some of the options available for the Mac which came down to:
GarageBand (the bare essentials), MOTU's Digital Performer (looked nice but would need more spending
on it in the way of plug ins), Logic Express (needs more plug ins like Auto-Tune) and Logic Pro 7
(everything I want, Compressors, EQs, pitch correction included) I decided that it would be a false
economy to go for any thing less than what I wanted as I'd just end up re-buying it later. Logic Pro 7 it
was. I managed to wangle an educational discount and got it for half price.......Yahoo ! Unlike SONAR's
draconian EULA, Logic can be installed on as many computers as you like providing you have the
USB "dongle" to make it work. This is a great idea and means I can put Logic on my Power Book as well !
So, having received some sage words from Billy Edwards at
Korgstudios.com I set to
work consolidating and exporting everything in OMF format. I then set about organizing audio files and
opening stuff. The Mix automation and plug ins (which I could have printed to each track prior to export)
didn't
travel, however, that is not a biggy as I have the final bounces saved for just about everything I have done.
It will be an interesting learning curve trying to get the imported tracks mixed and spot (or better) on
using Logic.
Logic appears to have everything Sonar had, although the interface is slightly different. You have to
manually set the end of the song when you are bouncing to stereo. However, there may be a way to tweak
that that I have yet to find. In general I am very happy with it and exporting as MP3 doesn't cost me
anything extra !
The Mac. Well this was a bunch of surprises. Originally I figured I'd be able to take the 120
GB EIDE drive out of the PC, re-format it and stick it underneath the 250 GB drive that came with the G5.
Not so, the G5 will only take ATA drives ! Poo ! Of note is that I have already used 100 GB before doing
any fresh tracking consolidating all the audio from the PC, D1200 and Tascam 424 mkIII!
I should be able to use my RME Audio DIGI 96/8 PAD card as the principal sound card. Not so, the
PCI-X slots used by the G5 are slightly different to regular PCI slots, consequently there is a big warning
on
RME Audio's web site cautioning against using these cards in a G5. However, they did say that they would
modify the card free of charge so that it would then be compatible. Good, I got a RA number and sent the
card off. Not so much luck with the sound-blaster....which I was going to use as a Midi port ! Not even a
little bit supported !!
A pleasant surprise was the on-board sound and the interfaces which consisted of: 2 TOSLINK S/P
DIF, a line out, a headphones out and a mic in. All sound great and will be used for system sounds and
MP3s as soon as the RME card comes back.
The graphics interface was a bit of a shock as I was expecting duel DVI or VGA ports. Not so, there is
an ADC and a DVI port and they supply a DVI to VGA adapter. Well, having just spent 700 bucks on two
flat
panel 19" DVI/VGA monitors, I was less than impressed that no ADC to DVI or VGA adapter was shipped !
One was ordered.
Never mind, all of these things were not exactly secret and had I done a bit more ground work before
handing over the credit card numbers I would have been a bit more prepared !
Over all.... I'm very happy. The duel 2.5 GHz processors chew through mp3 encoding at break neck
speed, the system is rock solid and very fast / stable. Logic can also use processor cycles from other
networked Macs for when the going gets tough. Tracking is a doodle and life is great.
Do I regret the switch ?
Well ask me in 6 months when this euphoric glow has subsided a bit!
Still to get:
Lesson Info
