[starsailor]

Hi guys need some quick advice, I've just seen the following set up in my local paper and it's much better than anything I've got the total cost is £135.00 which is roughly $270.00, I need to get in quick,, hope it hasn't gone already but can't ring seller till morning so thought I'd run it past you first.

Here are the specs.

MAC G4/PROTOOLS
Apple power PC 800mhz
40 Gig Hard Drive
512MB RAM
Digidesign DIGI OO1 soundcard
8 in / 8 out/ 2 mike preamps/ ADAT
+ Protools software

What do you think? all help more than appreciated

Best Wishes

Chris

[Tekker]

I'm not a fan of Pro Tools (at all).

What are the specs on your current computer? Would this computer be a significant step up?

-tkr

[papadog65]

starsailor, what's your current setup? My gut feeling would be to check out other opportunities besides an outmoded Mac G4 (I have one!). The price is tempting. It has a little extra memory. The disk drive is kind of small. Don't know about ProTools or the memory board, so I'd sure want a chance to check that system out.

[starsailor]

Hi Tekker, my current Computer is a Compaq EVo D3m, it has a 20 Gig Hard Drive and 256mb of Ram.

I also have an Imac G3, which I'm setting up, just got a new keyboard for it. specs. are:

IMac
256 MB Ram
40 Gig. hard drive
Processor speed 500 MHZ
Operating System:
Mac OS 10.4, Tiger

My stuff is quite old, so this would still be a step up, unless I should just spend the money on upgrades for the ones I have, I don't know Protools so I thought I'd ask you guys, I'm currently using a Creative soundblaster live 24 soundcard, is the Digidesign DIGI OO1 a step up from that, the computer I'm using now the Compaq doesn't give me great sound quality, that's the most annoying thing for me, I haven't fired up the G3 Imac yet so I'll see what that's like might be ok.
Thanks for having a look Tekker


Regards

Chris

[starsailor]

Originally Posted by papadog65

starsailor, what's your current setup? My gut feeling would be to check out other opportunities besides an outmoded Mac G4 (I have one!). The price is tempting. It has a little extra memory. The disk drive is kind of small. Don't know about ProTools or the memory board, so I'd sure want a chance to check that system out.

Thanks for replying Papadog, as you can see the gear I have is a bit outdated so the G4 would be a small step up, I've been told a Mac is good for studio work, I don't know protools and I don't want to get something I don't get on with as I'm not the most technical person around, I was interested in the soundcard and the extra RAM, the owner said in the ad. that the sound quality is good, apparently this set up cost £1200 new but as you know that's academic as this system is about 6 years old now, I'm not too sure if I should buy this one or save the cash up and buy a really top spec computer, I don't have a lot of spare cash so it would take a while but I don't want to get stuck with another computer that isn't up to scratch, the recording element seems to be the most expensive part of doing music

Cheers

Chris

[krissovo]

The G4 is a tough unit that stands the test of time well, PRO tools and the the sound card are ok but I imagine its version 6 or lower and in that case it not worth much. The G4 can run leopard and the latest version garageband so that would be worth the upgrade alone.

The G4 for £135, I would buy that at the drop of a hat and invest in as much ram as you can fit in.

[starsailor]

Thanks for replying Krissovo, I haven't contacted them yet, so don't know if they're running leopard, are they all named after cats? I was told the Mac is good for creative projects like home recording apparently that's where it comes into it's own, I've checked out Garageband I've been interested in it for a while can I run that with protools, my knowledge of protools is virtually non-existent, if this is still available I might ask the guy to give me a demo, what I'm really after is a higher quality of sound, my quality's pretty low so it wouldn't take a lot. The price is more than tempting.
Good to hear from you, hope you're keeping well.

All the Best

Chris

[krissovo]

My latest recordings are all done on garageband, this one I recently posted is one I am allmost fully happy with. The drums and bass came from garageband. The guitar work minus the solo was inbuilt guitar amps using my guitar and a 1/4 adaptor straight into the input on the MAC. Latency is very very low as the hardware is paired and designed to work with each other. You might have some issues with more than 4 tracks (I can get 16 software tracks with a new mac) but there are work arounds you can use. Many buddies on a MAC music site have equal results with the G4 and 516mb ram.

Rooster Rules The Roost

[starsailor]

That's the sound quality I want Kriss this is very good, great tune as well by the way, garageband is the business judging by this, if I can get a decent sound quality, have a set up I can manage and have recordings I'm happy with then that will be fine, in the future I hope I can get really smart equipment but at the moment I just need to get by A) because of finances and B) because I'd have trouble convincing the Wife that spending loads of cash on a Computer for my recording is a good idea as she knows at the moment that I'm not Jimi Hendrix or Segovia reincarnated
Thanks for helping me out and for posting the recording, that was cool

[Tekker]

If you're going to go Mac, I'd also suggest Garage Band. I have never used Garageband, but I just really despise Pro Tools.

I just got a PC with a Dual-Core AMD Athlon 64 5200+ and 2GB of RAM a while back for under $300. This also came with a case and power supply (no hard drive), so if you pieced out your components and assembled them yourself you can save a lot of money.

As far as Mac vs PC for recording, they can both work fine. The important thing is to pick your recording application first and then choose a platform. IMO PC has the best applications and the best effects plugins.


For PC, Reaper is a fantastic recording application and it costs $40 and from what I've heard it blows Garageband away.

There are a lot of interface options, how many inputs do you want? Do you want/need 8 inputs that the Digi001 has (but only two of them have preamps)?

-tkr

[starsailor]

I reached a bit of a crossroads really and I was just wondering if I should try and straighten things out with what I've got or go and buy this one that's quite cheap, the soundcard was the attraction, I don't think I need 8 inputs at present anyway, I think it's borne out of frustration, this ones quite cheap and the seller says it has excellent sound quality so I should be able to get good results right away.
I have the G3 to set up and see what it's like but as you know this is quite dated now, the computer I'm using at the moment has a Pentium 4 processor and the 24 bit external soundcard but I'm still not getting good results really and I've really run out of things to troubleshoot I've even checked the whole house out to make sure all the electrics were earthed properly as I thought that might be causing interference but that's fine but I'm still getting slight intereference I'm moving all my kit out to my little studio, maybe I'll get improvement out there, I'm kind of thinking maybe I should stick with what I've got and put the cash towards a really good soundcard but I haven't got much money to spare, the whole recording thing has become very frustrating for me, if I don't get some stuff down soon that I feel proud of I think I'll go nuts, I feel I'm a bit jinxed on this at the moment hopefully it will get better.
Thanks for checking this out Tekker it is appreciated

[Tekker]

Sound Blaster cards are not meant for any kind of serious audio recording, they are gaming sound cards. So upgrading your sound card would make a huge difference.

On ebay right now there are 3 of the Aardvark Direct Pro Q10 audio interfaces, which is the interface that I use. Aardvark is out of business so these cards are selling for dirt cheap! They used to sell for over $800(I got mine for $600 used), and now I've seen them sell for under $200.

The Q10 does have 8 inputs and it has mic preamps on all channels, which you said you didn't necessarily need.... But it is CHEAP and VERY good quality!

Here is an example that I recorded with the Q10:
SoundClick artist: Tekker - page with MP3 music downloads

The instruments to listen to are the drums, bass guitar, and percussion (shaker and bongos) those are all real instruments recorded with the Q10. The organ, synth, and cello sounds were done with a MIDI keyboard and the Q10 doesn't affect their sound quality.

-tkr

[jimmyzowens]

tekker is usually spot on, he turned me on to audacity and is the best thing since sliced bread , so his advice is usually worth a look.

[Nutty]

Hi Chris,

If you do go for the new set-up, I just finished reading "PC Recording for Dummies". It was a very good book, but all the examples used Protools and I forget the PC program (Pro Logic or something like that). But if you use Protools, which you would have, it would be an excellent resource. I knew nothing, so the book helped a lot. If you are advanced at recording, then it might not be so helpful. The author uses Protools; not sure which version though.

Hope I didn't add to the confusion.

Nutty

[starsailor]

That's tremendous clarity Tekker, I could pick out the instruments clearly, that's a very high standard of recording, and a very nice piece of music which was a real pleasure to listen to.

I think I've really been going about this the wrong way I've got a house full of bits and pieces but I should have just saved and been a bit more patient, I'll check out the Aardvark, is the fact that they've ceased trading an issue or is that not really a big deal.

I was looking at this Microphone hope you don't mind me running it past you, the ones I have are pretty cheap, I was looking at this one and the Samson CO3U which is a bit more but a nice Mic.

Samson Co1U USB Pod Casting Microphone on eBay, also Wired Microphones, Microphones, Pro Audio Equipment, Musical Instruments (end time 24-Apr-08 20:50:37 BST)