I'm Getting A Mac!!! (is This Config Enough?) Options

[pc132]

Hello,

I'm going to order a new mac notebook in a couple of days and I CANNOT WAIT!!! I've been using a PC for most of my life, but I'm starting to get into real serious music production now and need a stable platform.

With that said, I'm eyeing the 800 MHz G4 iBook. It really seems to be at the sweet spot in terms of value.

BUT, I have a question on whether this config would be powerful enough. I'm going to add 528 megs of RAM so it would have a total of 756 (or whatever) .

I'm going to be doing mostly midi sequencing, and maybe up to 5 tracks of audio. I'll probably mix down on the mac, so there may be up to 16 tracks, but that's not that important. What is important is how many VST's I can use. I'll probably just use Reason and Ableton Live.

What kind of performance can I expect in this situation? (16 midi tracks, 4-5 mono audio tracks, Reason and Live all running at the same time) I'm not sure which sequencer I'm going to use, Cubase, Logic or Protools, but I'm not sure if it makes a big difference?

Thanks! I can't wait to order!!!

[PristineRec]

I've been using a much older/slower G4 system for a few years with Pro Tools, and have been able to use sessions with 19 tracks and plenty of plug-ins with no trouble.
The most important part is to get a fast (7200RPM) external firewire drive to record to. The internal drive can't handle the burden of running the system and writing/reading audio at the same time. If you recorded to the internal drive, you would only get a few tracks in there before it would be too much for the disk to do at one time.
Good Luck!

[lepetitmartien]

For Live you'll be limited to about 8 tracks at a time, until Ableton decides to make Live altivec/velocity Engine compliant which makes G4 and G5 seem to be slugs they are not.

For RAM you're on the right track, the more the better.

PristineRec is right, a good FW external drive will serve you well

Welcome on board

[pc132]

Thanks for all the info!

What's a good brand external drive to get. I think I can deal with USB2.0 drives since they are as fast as firewire no?

I figure I'm going to get at least 7200 rpm drive. I figure the most important features besides that is quietness, right?

[surrealka]

Hey,
I just got that exact same setup. Reason seems to work very well, though it does eventually hit some limitations (it takes a lot of tracks). Be aware that the max amount of RAM the iBook can hold is 640Mb, and you'll want to get all of that. Though I think the advice about using a 7200rpm external hard drive is good (for recording), I also have to say that I have recently been able to record four simulataneous tracks of audio using the internal hard drive without much problem. That was using a MOTU 828 firewire interface and Digital Performer 4.12.

As to your question of which sequencers to use, here's my humble take on the matter.
Cubase is fairly intuitive and effective, and it is certainly good for the realm of virtual instruments. I'm not crazy about the user interface, but overall, a lot of people seem to work with it well. However, in some regards, I think it lacks some of the features and stability of a truly pro system (such as Steinberg's higher end sequencer Nuendo).

Logic, I'm told, is quite a powerful program, but frankly, I wouldn't know because I was never able to get past it's absurdly illogical user interface. I should add that I'm no stranger to DAW software. But Logic is notorious for being complicated and strange. Still, I've often heard that once you get past the rather steep learning curve, it is a very good tool.

That leaves, in the pro-level category, Pro Tools and Digital Performer (I've never used Nuendo, so I won't comment on it). Both are excellent programs. Though there's a lot to say about each, a very rough comparison would be to say that Pro Tools is probably better for doing audio work and DP is better for doing MIDI work. Of course, both have very good audio and MIDI functions, but PT started as an audio program that later added MIDI features and DP was a MIDI sequencer that later added audio features. Because I am a keyboardist working extensively with MIDI, I chose DP, but I've worked with, and am fond of, both programs.

One thing to consider about Pro Tools is that they are one of the most proprietary manufacturers in the business. Unlike most other systems out there, their software will ONLY work with their hardware. And RTAS plug-in's are often more expensive than their VST or MAS equivalents.

That said, one distinct advantage of Pro Tools is that they are an industry standard. It can be very useful if you're exchanging files with a studio to have protools, as the majority of computer based DAW's used in recording studios are PT systems.

But if you're mainly working with MIDI, I reccomend checking out Digital Performer. I find it to be a very powerful and intuitive program for MIDI sequencing. Motu have been in the MIDI business for a long time, and they have a great selection of hardware to choose from.

Of course, all these things are highly subjective. Any of the programs you mentioned are quite good, and there are undoubtedly people who would claim each of them as the "best" program out there.

Good luck.
Jim Genaro

[PristineRec]

Get Firewire, Not USB 2.0!

If you read the specs of throughput per second, they appear the same at 400mb per second, but they achieve this by different methods. USB sends info in big packets, designed to copy lots of info quickly, which it does. Firewire was originally developed to stream video, much like audio. It sends a constant stream, which is what you want to do in this instance. I have heard of a lot of people having trouble trying to record lots of tracks using USB, firewire would be a safer bet.

[pc132]

I just ordered an ibook!!!

The ibook only has 1 firewire port, and I'm planning on getting a firewire audio interface (like an m-audio firewire 410 or firewire audiophile). Can you daisy chain firewire devices, in my case the interface and a hard drive, and still get good results?

Thanks for all the info so far, it's been a great help!

[PristineRec]

Connect the drive to the ibook, then connect your interface to the other port on your drive. It should work great for you.