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[marc bu]

Hi .. this is my first post here, so I added a bit of blurb about myself at the end of the post, but let's start with my questions.

What I have:
 Some ancient midi kit (Roland, Yamaha, etc.)
 AKAI S2800 sampler (with SCSI interface and some Hard disks)
 Tascam 12-to-4-to-2 mixing board (quite good)
 Some accustic sound sources (microphones, fender rhodes)
 
 Apple G4 (400Mhz) PowerBook, 256MB RAM
 OS X 10.0.4 and 9.1 (will upgrade to 10.1 when available at my dealer)
 Apple Macintosh Quarda660AV running an old version of Deck
 Apple Powerbook (68030) running an old version of Cubase
 Griffith iMic (does not work in OS X yet.)

What I need:
 A midi/audio recording/sequencer, preference would be MOTU Performer (seems easiest to use) or Opcode Vision (like the Audio-to-Midi feature!)
 A midi interface for USB!!
 A firewire harddisk (please recommend)
 Maybe a better 'audio in/out' device then the iMic
 Advice on how to get it and make it work! ;-)
 
I am ready to spend in the region of $2000 US now.  I use OS X as my every-day OS on my PowerBook and olny use OS 9, when I need to run VirtualPC. However, I am aware that none of the publishers have yet announced OS X versions.

More questions:

How does the USB midi interface work using a USB hub alongside with having a mouse, Epson printer and Visor-cradle plugged in? I intend to buy a Belkin hub. Do you have recommendations?

Is there a way to link the Sampler to the TiBook? Would this work with a usb-to-scsi bridge?

Me: I live in Livingston. Soctland. I used to work as a professional musician (singer/songwriter/piano - wrote once a film score as well, but not using my own gear), but am currently doing other things to earn money. However, I am still writing and arranging (with my old kit), but want to gear up a notch. I have not found a good shop either in Edinburgh or Glasgow that really knows Mac. (They'd sell me the stuff, but when asking questions to their experts, I noticed that knowledge is really limited to using the software.) If you know one, tell me about it!

Cheers

Marc

[igor]

Hi Marc,
My advise will be to work on Logic Audio ( powerfull , Audio to midi too ;o) and in few month under OS X and OS9.1 ( on the same CD) with the V5 of Logic...
Logic got some interesting 'Instruments' like EXS24 , a sampler ( www.emagic.de)
If u plug an USB midi interface ( they are almost all good...have a look at midiman , midisport 1x1 or 2x2...) to a hub, take a Powered HUB...

How to plug u'r sampler .... hummm maybe there is a USB /SCSI cable ... but where ?? I don't know...

Igor

[igor]

Ooops I forgot about the Firewire...
Try to buy the Generation 2 of Firewire, they are very good and quick !
I've got 22 Mo/s here ;o) good for audio...
Try to see the Audio USB too but always test them before !! maybe it's not working good on a USB HUB...or a PCMCIA Card like the VX Pocket...www.digigram.com

igor

[ryosode]

Hi
I don't know anything about what hard drive you should use, but here's what I know.

Hardware:

MOTU828 - FireWire 8in/8out audio interface. This works perfectly with DP3 since both are created by MOTU

= $700~$900 (depends where you buy it)

Midiman MidiSport 8x8 - USA 8in/8out audio interface

= $300

Audio/MIDI studio
Logic Audio - supposed to be the best one for Mac. I had some good experience with it too...

= $500

Metro - made by same guys who make Cakewalk, which is the best PC recording solution I've seen so far ...

= $400~500? I fogot

Digital Performer 3 - Good interface. Can't import different kinds of audios.

= $600~700? I dunno

Live - a new software just like Acid for PC. Very good for looping sampled sounds.

= $???


I don't have MOTU 828 yet, but I am definitely going to get one. I already have MIDISport8x8 and I have it hooked up to Apple's keyboard as a chain device and seems to work well. As for the software, I would wait if I were you since I have different speculations on audio softwares being ported to OS X. I will probably get Live since I love mixing loops on Acid, but that's because I do techno rock kinda stuff.

Did this help at all?

[DrZaius]

Hi Marc
my recommendations...

Sequencer - Logic Audio Platinum - powerful, flexible, industry standard + seamless integration with ES series soft synths, EXS 24 sampler and EVP virtual instruments

Midi Interface - Emagic Unitor 8 Mk II or AMT 8 - rock solid timing via USB

Audio interface - MOTU 828 (firewire) or Emagic EMI 2/6 (USB) depending on your budget, recording requirements etc

Firewire drive - make sure it's at least 7200 rpm... LaCie drives are widely used,and drives from Buslink are supposed to be good too

[marc bu]

Thanks for the contributions guys! While they stimulated my thoughts, I went for an all MOTU solution in the end:
828 audio interface
Fastlane midi interface
DP3

I bought an EZQuest drive, as it was the only one available with 2 firewire ports, so I can hook up drive and 828 without the need of a firewire hub. (And it works a treat.)

I have got a lot of input from a US message board and in the US MOTU seems to be king. The main argument for DP versus Logic was how newbies described their learning curve. I was made to believe I would be recording and working within minutes of installation and can learn new features as I go along with DP, while Logic was described as beeing hard in the first few steps.

I don't know about Logic, but from unpacking to recording, the MOTU solution took 20 minutes! I am working for a wed days now and have not read the manual once yet.

BTW. DP3 does NOT work under OS X (not even Classic), as expected.

Cheers

Marc