rcross73

Which Mic To Buy?

Hello everyone.

I'm about to throw down some of my Christmas gift money for a better studio condenser than the functional but low-end one that I have now (an MXL 990). My question is simple: what should I get?

In the running:
Rode NT1a ($199)
Rode NT2a (is it really worth the $399?)
MXL 3000 (pre-amp built-in, I can get it new for $129, list is $399)
Studio Projects C1 ($240)
AKG Perception 200 ($159)
M-Audio Solaris ($299)

I want the best quality mic in this mid-price range for my male vocals (big range baritone-tenor, strong and clear) and acoustic guitar (high-end Taylor, steel-string, mostly strummed). I am a singer-songwriter playing modern rock (I don't know, think Radiohead, Counting Crows, and Coldplay). I can get a separate small-diaphragm condenser for the acoustic if it will really make a difference. But if one of these above is both a fantastic vocal mic and versatile enough to get the best sounds for the acoustic too, that would be best. I don't have all the money in the world.

I'll be recording into the system you see below, into Logic 7 through either my M-Audio USB Mobile-Pre, or my Line6 TonePort - lots of preamps to choose from. I'm also thinking of springing for the new Alesis iO/14 at some point.

So, which mic would you say?

Best Realistic Bass Software Instruments?

Hello everyone.

I was just wondering - does anyone have suggestions on the best (i.e. most realistic-sounding) bass software instruments? Something to stand in for rock acoustic and electric bass guitar that doesn't sound like a software instrument. I've seen the Trilogy Bass Module - is this good? Is there something better or comparable?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

And I realized that I mistyped "instruments" just as I hit "post", but I can't seem to change a thread title. Sorry about that.

[Edit LPM, I edited and expanded ]

Where To Put What - Logic, Etc.

Hello everyone. I will be receiving my new Mac in a couple of days, and I want to know where to put what files to optimize performance of my audio software. Here are the details:

System:
15.4" MacBook Pro 2.33 GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 120 GB 5400rpm HD
External HD: 250 GB 7200rpm via Firewire 800 (WD MyBookPro - also brand new)

Running:
Logic Express 7.2
Reason 3.0.5 (usually via ReWire as a slave to Logic)
Reason Drum Kits 2.0 (big, and and with various other refills as well)
GarageBand Jam Packs 1 and 4 (a big one)
Line6 GearBox (and I think I might buy the plug-in upgrade)
Amplitube 2.0 (and I might also buy NI Guitar Rig 2.0)

So I assume that all of my programs themselves should be installed on the internal hard drive, and that I should record all of my audio files to the external hard drive. But what about the plug-ins, samples, etc. (Reason Drum Kits, refills, Jam Packs, Amplitube, et. al.)? Do these go on the external? Or will that be bad for performance? Simply put, what goes where?

Thanks in advance.

Boot Camp, Parallels, And Xp Pro Or Home?

Hello all.

I'm going to be getting the 15.4" 2.33 GHz MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo, with 2GB RAM and a 160GB 5400 rpm HD. I'll be running Logic Express 7.2, Reason 3.0, Line 6 GearBox, and NI Guitar Rig 2, and I'll be wanting to record at 24-bit level.

But I also want to be able to run Windows on the machine. I understand that, for gaming, Boot Camp is the only way to go - and running PC games would be nice. But Parallels is also attractive to me for various foreign-language dictionaries and other little programs that only work on Windows, and for which I wouldn't want to start the computer up again every time I want to use them.

My first question is: will installing either Boot Camp or Parallels affect the computer's performance negatively in any way when I am NOT running them (i.e. while I am recording in Logic and simultaneously working with Reason and/or GearBox)? Simply put, will their simple existance on my machine hamper its performance for my music apps?

Secondly, whichever I choose (Boot Camp or Parallels), which version of Windows XP should I put on it? Pro or Home? I have been running XP Home on a Sony Vaio for years and I'm very familiar with it, and I understand that Pro isn't really that different. I'm not going to be networking with other computers, and I'm not a business guy. But I understand that it supports dual processors, while Home only supports single ones. Does that include the Intel Core 2 Duo? Or is this treated as a single processor, despite having two cores on the one chip? Again, simply put, do I need to get XP Pro in order to maximize the power of my machine, or will XP Home work totally fine?

Any help on either question would be greatly appreciated.

Logic 7.2 - 5400 Or 7200 Rpm Drive?

I am about to buy a MacBook Pro, and I will be running Logic 7.2 on it - recording audio, using lots of reverb, compression, software instruments, etc.

I like the 15" 2.33 GHz for portability, but it doesn't come with a 7200 rpm hard drive option. Only the 17" does.

I have been working on a G4 Ibook (1.33 GHz, 700-someting RAM) until now, which has forced me to use an external 7200 drive -- which is a pain. And I'm always having to freeze tracks, shut all nonessential tasks down, etc. to make eight to twelve tracks actually play back while recording. I would like to be able to mix down 24 tracks while also running Reason through ReWire.

Will the 15" MBP C2D 2.33 GHz with a 5400 rpm internal drive (with 2 GB of RAM) still be screaming fast enough, or will I need to opt for the 17" at 7200? Do I need to sacrifice a bit of portability (extra 1.2 pounds and wider and longer) for drive speed? Or are the improvements in chipset, processor speed, and RAM enough, so that the difference between 5400 and 7200 rpm drives is only going to be noticed by some guy working with 120 simultaneous tracks of audio?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.