QueenIdella

Ready For Modest Upgrade - Fw Or Pci-424?

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

PowerBook, DP, and USB audio...in Japan?!?

Hi all,

I'm on the road in Japan with a musical revue, doing mostly one-nighters. My home rig is a beige G3 (upgraded to)500 mHz w/768 MB RAM - I've been using DP with a 2408 mkI/PCI 324 card and ProTools Free (w/ Sound Manager). Of course, we're talking no Firewire or USB. For my 2-month road trip, I invested in a Pismo PB G3 500 for hotel-room recording.

For the most part, I've been fairly successful, considering that the peripherals I bought over here all have Japanese manuals only - I got an inexpensive Firewire CD burner, and a RolandED PC-70 MIDI controller, using a UM-1 USB MIDI interface. No prob w/that - I can record MIDI and record my Unity DS-1 as audio. For audio input I bought a RolandED UA-30 USB audio interface - it works to the extent that I can hear audio coming in thru the headphones, but for the life of me, I cannot get a vocal into DP - I don't know if it's a FreeMIDI problem or something else entirely - the main problem is, the manual is in Japanese, and the pictures only go so far.

I e-mailed Roland, who said that they would sell me an English manual at a Roland dealer, but so far at the stores I've been to, they don't have them in stock, and ordering them is not an option, obviously. The language barrier is a severe problem - just trying to get folks to understand what the problem is may take an hour or two (this is with 2 or 3 dictionaries, 2 phrasebooks, Japanese manuals, the PB with me and drawings galore). By that time it's time to go to the venue...

Long story short, does anyone have a working knowledge of USB audio? At home I don't have USB so it's never been an issue, but I'd like to integrate this PB into my rig when I get home. either with a MOTU 828 or a Digi001. Nevertheless, while I'm here I would really like to use the stuff I bought - I could send in audio throught the little minijack, but then what's the use of USB?

TIA for any suggestions - I love the mobility otherwise, but don't want to spend more $$ (or yen) and a VXPocket seems a little excessive unless I was going to be on the road a really long time (not!).

all best, Alicia Morgan