Ready For Modest Upgrade - Fw Or Pci-424?, laptop or desktop? I'd like to go OS X Options

[QueenIdella]

Hi all -

I'm getting ready to upgrade my studio - I cobbled it together with a mix of old and new stuff, but the old stuff is getting a little too old to move forward with the rest of the world...I would really like to work completely in OS X, as I am sick to death of FreeMIDI and OMS.

My goal is to be able to record a live band (1 vocal mic, keys, bass, guitar and 4 drum mics) as well as the usual MIDI recording, sequencing, sampling, etc.

Here is what I have now:

Beige G3 (upgraded to G4 400) 768 MB RAM, 9.1
MOTU 2408 (the old Mk I, RCA ins and outs)
MIDI Xpress, serial
30 gig IDE drive
18 gig 15k Cheetah drive
Miles U2W Fast SCSI card

Yamaha 1604 mixer (old!!)*
*(bus 3 & 4 blew out, so am using Mackie 1202 - still figuring out ins and outs)
Oz Q-Mix headphone amp/ mixer
Behringer Ultragain Pro pre-amp
Behringer Virtualizer Pro effects
Furman 40-point patch bay (half RCA, half 1/4")

I also have a Pismo (G3 500 FW, with a 5400 rpm 40-gig drive) that I have been using on the road, but am considering beefing up for studio...it's my only OS X computer right now.

I plan to stick with Digital Performer, since I am used to it. I also use Reason and ProTools Free - (PT Free will have to go once I migrate, as I'm not planning on an M-box)


These are the alternatives I'm considering so far:

1. Get some kind of G4 desktop, so that I can continue to use my Cheetah, and get one of the PCI-424 MOTU interfaces

2. Get a G4 upgrade for my Pismo and go with a FireWire product such as an 828 or the like - (that means no Cheetah) the plus being cost-effective and mobile

3. Get a G4 desktop and a FireWire interface, and still use my fast SCSI, perhaps add another Cheetah drive.

How does FireWire compare with PCI-424 as far as speed or quality? My needs are not terribly exacting, and I don't need to run a lot of plug-ins - however, I do tend to run lots and lots of vocal tracks. I need decent quality audio, but not hair-splitting, mind-blowing quality.

I need something that plays well with others.

Cost is a consideration, but not the only consideration.

Any ideas or alternative suggestions would be most welcome.

TIA, Alicia

[rickenbacker]

Since the whole "noisy MDD PowerMac" fiasco at the end of last year, some people (Apple, mainly) have been suggesting FireWire devices are preferable to PCI cards as they are outside the computer and thus well away from any potential audio interference.

Don't know how true this is, but I like the MOTU 828 as a FireWire device anyway. FireWire 400 is pretty nippy - I dare say 800 is even nippier, though no devices yet exist to take advantage of it.

Don't fret about the noise of current PowerMacs, either - I've heard one of the new 1.25 DPs and couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. Digital Performer 4 now out for OS X, too, so there's more good news for you.