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
