Almost Ready To Buy First Interface And Software, newbie questions Options

[ArchivalAudio]

As far as externals
I have 3 OWc (Other World Computing) external Neptune Firewire drives 2 x 250GB and 1 165Gb drives
all are excellent value for the $

my "upgraded" 7200 rpm 80gb HD in my iBook (by macResQ) is partitioned
in to 2 about equal 1/2's
one for the
apps & system files
and the other to write to

then I can use Techtool to optimize and fix errors

also
I like applejack
to repair permissions and other things

don't know if this helps?

peace

[Rodrigo Ramos]

Yeah thanks ArchivalAudio, this does help, i want to check out as many ext. HDs as possible before i buy. I am looking at the OWC page right now and the neptune does look good for the price 160 GB for 107$ is very reasonable plus i like that it is compatible with other voltages, i am living in spain (canary islands) but its nice to not have to worry about taking it back to the states and losing files; that is, provided it behaves accordingly, right?

OWC also mentions that the neptune has the oxford 911 bridge, i dont know what this is or does but i have read other users mention it in other threads. I believe it has to do with audio applications, but am not sure. . .


I have never heard of Techtracker or applejack, are these necessary for making music with computers?

I suppose i will look them up on the net, but i was curious how and when you use them?

thanks again

[mortalengines]

Also try www.pacificproaudio.com their drives fit almost any budget and for a little while they were the "official" approved drive for Pro Tools....

[ArchivalAudio]

hey
techtool is a great tool program, it is not a music softtware program, but is very usful for diagnosing porblems and "optimizing" your drives
applejack is a free opensource program, it is easy to use and is great for repairing permissions, I am not sure but think it works better than apples disc utility, at least I like the functions it has

as for OWC sign up for their mailing list and "specials" page
I reciently got a 250 GB Neptune drive for $109

I have not had any issuers with their HD's
and I like them for any hardware (non audio) I even got a great deal on an "older" version of techtool (by Micromat) there......
http://www.micromat.com/
thechtool is similar to Norton DiscDoctor utilities, I think it works better for macs
but what do I know
?

Apple Jack
http://applejack.sourceforge.net/


both are easy to find just google them
thats how I got these...

peace
thru
music

[greg001]

Thank you HaHaworld and ArchivalAudio for your input, i feel like motu/logic is the road for me. . . as a side note, two nights ago i went to the apple website and watched the logic express demo, and i gotta say it looks really clean and doable. . . of course, i won't be flying around the DAW like the charming english lad in the demo, but it wasnt intimidating either.
On the other side of the coin where is the protools demo??? I went to digidesign's website and found nothing that would introduce or orientate their software (DAW) to someone (like myself.)

Anyhow, I am going to max out my RAM to 2G and i am ordering the 10.4 tiger discs from apple to get my G4 ready for logic. Now my next big question is:
what ext hard drive do i get? In another thread concerning this issue (should i begin another thread for this topic?) i read several complaints against Lacie and postive things about maxtor. . . does anyone have comments or advice?

SHould i really go for a FW ext. HD? My G4 has 2 FW ports (800 & 400)? I am assuming the the MOTU ultralite will want the 800 port, which leaves the 400 for the HD? Can anyone comment on more optimized HDs for audio, should i be looking specifically for a HD with an oxford 911 chipset? what does it do?

Again, i dont have a big budget (100-200euros), i want to get started with just one ext. hard drive for the moment and i know this is contrary to what Lepetitmartien and others have said- two ext. HDs are ideal 1-to save and the other for backup. For now, i am going to take my chances with just one.

whats the word?

rigo

Hi there. I have a Motu Ultralite and Logic Pro running on a Mac mini. The reason for the second hard drive is that it is too much for the computer to read and write to the same drive. Drains a ton of CPU resources which = bad for recording audio in real time. You want an A/V (audio/visual) rated drive (at least 7200 rpm) with at least 9ms (something or other blah blah blah... lol.. i forget.) You also want a FIREWIRE DRIVE. Don't go USB 2.0. With USB 2.0 (and this is the chief difference which ONLY makes a difference when you are recording audio on a computer) the CPU will allocate bandwidth and this will create lag with your efforts. Which, as we have already established = bad. A firewire device will not only allocate a specific UNTOUCHABLE area of bandwidth to record upon (thus no other devices will mess with it) but it is also driven FROM the device as opposed to putting the load upon your CPU. After that its a matter of basically deciding which brand you want to go with. You said Lacie and I've heard solid stuff about them. Just make sure that the device you get matches this parameters. The drive I got wasn't Lacie ( i forget what it was.) but it was 350 gig and it met all those specs. I picked it up at Target. It has a light that is blue in a black boxie thingy and it reminds me of the computer eye in 2001. Word. $150. All in.

Good luck!

[Rodrigo Ramos]

Alright, it sounds like the important features to look for in a audio-oriented ext. HD are: that it is FW, speed of 7200. I would reckon that noisiness and heating up are also factors to ask about. Today i found a brand called conceptronic- FW and USB 2.0, 7200, 320 GB--124 euros--plus 2 year waranty. Anyone heard of or use conceptronic?
Yo thanks Greg for breaking down the relationship between FW and the CPU, but what were you talking about in when you wrote 9ms?

thanks again

[mortalengines]

What you want to also make sure of is that the drive has is a Sony "Oxford 911 Chipset".....Your Seagates, Lacies and Glyph drives all have that....it is optimized for audio streaming during recording and playback. If it has that then you will probably be happy with it.

This post has been edited by mortalengines: Sat 26 May 2007, 05:14