Hey Dan,
yep I know, just figured that if he's working to a tight budget he might be
looking at 2nd hand gear. There's still a lot to be said for PPC G4's and
G5's, a lot of studios haven't made the intell jump yet.
Scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan Keys" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "General discussions on all topics relating to the use of Mac OS X by
theblind" <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2007 9:41 PM
Subject: Re: Question for a Audio guru
Hello,
All new Macs are Intell based and not PPC.
Dan
On Dec 2, 2007, at 9:55 AM, Scott Chesworth wrote:
Well if it turns out most of the work will be done onboard whatever
keyboard he chooses, then true, the computer doesn't need to be anywhere
near the price of a macbook pro. If its not going to be the backbone of
the whole setup, any mac will do the job to have around for backups, run
a plugin now and then, and maybe edit things here and there. I'd still
say go intell based if you can afford it, but there's no need to go
overboard cost-wise.
If he does get into working with vocals seriously, and we're talking
multitracking and a lot of editing/processing being done, then yeah I'd
recommend either the pro tools or logic route. Out of the two, I found
the learning curve way easier with pro tools, but there's demos of both
he could tinker with and see what he prefers. If its just gonna be the
odd bit of vocals now and then, then its nothing a copy of sound studio
or something similar and a soundcard with a decent mic preamp couldn't
handle.
As far as hard drives go, their are a few specs that play nice when
you're recording. Basically when you're looking at the specifications
of the drive, you want one that runs no slower than 7200 RPM, and you
want as much cache as you can get for the money you've got. I paid a
bit extra to have a 7200 drive in my macbook pro, seems to do a good job
so far with multitracking, but a cheaper alternative would be to work on
an external drive. I've always run sessions off of either firewire or
USB2 drives up until I got the MBP, and it served me well.
What I can't tell you is how good the onboard sequencer is on the Triton
series, but thats definitely worth looking into. Anybody else got any
recommendations for this bit?
Hope that helps
Scott
----- Original Message ----- From: "VaShaun Jones" <[EMAIL PROTECTED] llc.com>
To: "General discussions on all topics relating to the use of Mac OS X
by theblind" <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2007 2:48 PM
Subject: Re: Question for a Audio guru
No he can see so no software needed other than maybe a editing program
or something. I think he will get into voices and if he does this is
what you recommend only if he deals with voice. I understand where you
are going but what purpose will the computer serve if he doesn't need
Pro Tools or something? Also does he need a music hard drive? I called
a store and they told me they only had a couple of hard drives that
was pretty expensive and when I asked why they said they was for
recording. This is how I know they have separate uses maybe. I say
maybe because some people may not know that much about hard drives and
they charge a premium for the ignorance. Can you let me know your
thoughts?
On Dec 2, 2007, at 6:32 AM, Scott Chesworth wrote:
Hi again,
Well, now I know more about the situation, forget everything I said
before haha. Pro tools and logic would be overkill if he wasn't ever
going to touch vocals. True, logic has some serious advanced midi
stuff, but the onboard sequencers in most keyboards nowadays are
decent, and unless he was really ever going to need more than that
the learning curve of Logic just wouldn't be worth the time or effort
I don't think. The one function that might be handy for him would be
to load up 3rd party synth plugins from time to time if he needs a
sound or affect that the Triton doesn't have, but do a bit of
research, and you'll find a load of VST hosts that will load these
plugins without spending anywhere near as much. You'll also be
wanting to look into the process of backup for his work on the
Triton - the ability to archive all his work so that if he needs to
reload a song and tweak a few things a few weeks or months later for
the client is essential. That's one of the beauties of working
computer-based, but I'm sure that nowadays keyboards have jumped on
that wagon.
Just one other thought, I don't know if your son can see or not? If
he can't, maybe the Triton isn't the series for him in terms of
access. I recall a Triton model with touch screen and maddeningly
deep menues, but again there's probably others on list that can offer
way more insight to this which is why I kept it on list. If it turns
out that he can't see, there's a list I can point you towards that's
full of blind guys/gals doing similar things to what he'll need, so
just shout if you want that.
Cheers...
Scott
----- Original Message ----- From: "VaShaun Jones" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
llc.com>
To: "General discussions on all topics relating to the use of Mac OS
X by theblind" <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2007 10:53 AM
Subject: Re: Question for a Audio guru
Scott that makes sence. I have a MBP, but he will not get his fat
fingers on it. He will buy his own. Most people said the Mac Book
Pro was overkill for me just moving to the Mac and I found that to
be not true at all when you are running 14 programs at a time. I
want to know what Pro Tools and the other software you mentioned
actually do for studio production. He plays for a few churches in
the Atlanta area and his studio will have all the equipment with the
exception of a sound room for voice because he just does the tracks.
If he knows nothing about the software and I can't help him is the
software really worth it? He says the Triton Studio Pro keyboard
does everything you would need from the keyboard. I don't know if
this is completely true or if it is easier to use software assuming
that it is the same as the software in keyboards. Maybe we can talk
off line because I don't want him to spend unnecessary money, but I
want him to have the best.
On Dec 2, 2007, at 1:45 AM, Scott Chesworth wrote:
Hi - some of this will be vague no doubt, but without knowing more
about your Son's setup its difficult to be specific.
So, as far as the notebook goes, i'd say macbook pro if he can
afford it. It used to be the case that the architecture was faster
in the power books than the iBooks, and at a guess that still will
be the case in the pro's over the macbooks, because the systems
always feel more responsive to me. Plus the machines just feel like
they'll last longer, and in a studio environment the thing will no
doubt take some abuse. Whilst everything he'll need would still
run on a power book, i'd say spend the extra cash and pick up
something intell based, because Apple and other companies won't be
putting out universal binaries forever. Also, i'd say go intell
in the event that you need to do a session, because it gives you
the option of restarting into xp with bootcamp and using a
recording package on the windows side that may be more accessible
for you.
Software-wise, if I walk in to a studio here I usually expect to
find either Pro Tools from Digidesign or Logic from Apple at the
centre of things. There's advantages and disadvantages to both
software as far as usability goes, but that's just personal
preference, because in terms of what they can actually do its
swings and roundabouts as the saying goes. You'll find that the
majority of software plugins and synths and whatnot will work with
either package. Logic gives you a wider choice of hardware
interfaces to work with for your inputs and outputs, but all of
the interfaces pro tools is compatible with are decent, and you're
probably less likely to run into any teething troubles taking
something that comes recommended.
Of course, for you, neither of these packages are accessible.
Others on the list will know more about the current chances of
things changing, but unless someone corrects me I'd say you're
chances are higher with Logic being the 1st out of the 2 to be
accessible, given that Logic 8 is partly readable. I don't have a
copy to test it, but I've been wondering if it would be possible to
do Sessions with logic these days with a few session templates to
work from and a controller... anyone tried? I don't know enough
about soundtrack studio to know if you could use it for bigger
projects, but even if the software is advanced enough, the tricky
part would be finding the balance to appease clients. What I mean
by that is, I've spent some time on both sides of the glass, so I
realise that whatever software the engineer/producer is using, its
just a tool. How your session sounds is far more down to the
players, the instruments, the hardware used to capture it, and then
the ears and mind of your recordist... software is the last
consideration. Trouble is, a lot of musicians don't realise that,
they think that pro tools does all the work... if only. My point
is that if I walked into a studio and saw a package i'd never
encountered, as long as the engineer seemed to know what he was
doing using it and the session sounded ok it wouldn't concern me at
all, but most musicians you'll encounter will be far more swayed by
the unexpected.
I'm not sure that actually answers your question, but take a look
into pro tools, logic, some interfaces, and that might do.
Hopefully there's other listers who can tell you more about the
accessible route too.
Cheers...
Scott
----- Original Message ----- From: "VaShaun Jones" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
llc.com>
To: "General discussions on all topics relating to the use of Mac
OS X by theblind" <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, December 01, 2007 11:16 PM
Subject: Question for a Audio guru
Hello and good day,
My son is sighted and plays the keys, piano and organ. He will be
opening a studio in the summer and I will be assisting with the
computer and software where I can. I wanted to know what is the
best Mac notebook for audio production as well as software? The
software doesn't have to be fully accessible because I will have
lots of help, but I do want any professional suggestions. Please
include why you recommend what you suggest. Thanks
