hello guys. its been a long time since i posted here. hope you all are doing well.
im ready for an upgrade and figured this would be the best place to ask a few things. keeping in mind that im interested in a software studio with NO hard ware besides the pc....here are the questions:
1. i would like to know which Os runs audio software most efficiently with out using a lot of system resources. the most efficient Os ive run on the pc is DOS but it does not let me run any other apps besides impulse tracker and a couple of other stone aged apps. for the bulk of my productions i have been using win98se but that OS is fairly crashy. therefore i switched to windows xp professional, as i had read about its stability. unfortunately winxp is too top heavy for my tastes even after tweaking the system to use minimum resources like gui graphics and other flashy bits and bobs.
now theres a couple of other options i have infornt of me.. i could give windows NT, windows 2000 server, windows 2000 or windows ME a try. but it just seems like i will be spending a lot of time figuring out what would be best for me. have any of you used these operating systems? again, i am looking for reliablity, compatibility and efficiency.
to close the first question, id say my best experience has been with BeOs (which is dead now) and DOS. i have also heard a lot of good things about debian(linux) and MAC OSX but im not ready to switch to a mac and linux dont have the apps i use.
2. its about time my celeron 433 got replaced and so i was thinking of upgrading to a P3. a quick look at the market revealed that a P4 is not that costly. i dunno if a P4 would be a good option cause i have read a lot of horror stories about it on the net on how its inferior to a P3 and it actaully downclocks when it heats up ! also i suppose upgrading to a P4 instead of P3 would mean changing my mother board, my RAM and possibly the vid card and other bits and bobs on my computer. i dont wanna do this ! :-/
and speaking of amd athalon, i dont want to go with those processors cause they run hotter and besides most of the apps are developed and optimised for teh intel processor line ( have a look at the cubase home page). hmmm, P3 seems like a good option here
3. my final question is regarding whats a fully featured and efficient sequencer for vst instruments that supports audio track palyback as well.
i would have opted for logic, unfortunately it refuses to run in asio with my sb live value runing the crack kx drivers. so logic is not an option for me at the moment :-(
well, i am waiting eagerly for the official release of cubase sx but reading the minimum requirements makes my think theres no way in hell i could run cubase sx satisfactorily.
propeller head's reason is very good and its the most code optimised app i have ever run. i imagine i could even run it on a prehistoric 486. but godamn it, it will never run VST instruments and it wont ever have a midi out... so its not exactly what im looking for.
which brings me to fruityloops, Orion Pro, Buzz tracker and Psycle tracker... i have used BUZZ and Psycle for a significant time and have become aware of the instabilities while using vst instuements ( reaktor crashes a lot on both of those and sometimes i cant control the faders and stuff on reaktor from within BUZZ/Psycle)
now fruityloops and Orion Pro i have never really tried out that much.. can some one please tell me if these apps are worth giving a spin? like i mentioned earlier i am looking for an app that supports sequencing of VST instruments, VST fx envelope sequencing and can play audio tracks all in loced syns. also, its important that it does this with out killing the cpu and using minimum amounts of system recources.
a software i have recently started using is soundquest's infinity for sequencing stuff.. the possibilities on this app are mindblowing but its too complex for me to get into and i need to mess arround with it for a long time before i can pass judegement on its usefullness for me.
4. this is not really a question but a breif of what i am currently using. my current system is pc celeron 433 with 196 mb ram running winxp and 98se (dualboot), sblive value with the kx drivers for asio, tnt2 ultra video card. seagate 8 gig harddrive and a keyboard and mouse to eneter me notes into me software.
the software im using is cubase vst 32 for VSTi sequencing and vst fx parameter sequencing. i also use the dr. rex loop player in reason a lot and make loops and stuff on impulse tracker from time to time. the final mixing and adding some fx here and there is done on nuendo although im looking at the possibilty to replace cubase with neundo altogeather.
as great as this all is, it just kills my Cpu weather i run it all under win98se or win xp.
a nice interesting app for me at the moment is soundquest's infinity, but as i mentioned its to complex.
Also i was imagining maybe a solution for me lies in the strategy of using two apps.. that is, i run something like Orion or fruity loops in midi sync with something like reason or Nuendo or even acid pro3, so i could have one app running sequenced VST instruments in perfect locked sync with another app runing audio tracks i had recorded earlier.
one more thing id like to mention is that my tastes vary from otto von / R.devine to vsnares to ae and Boc... so thats the kind of music i try to make.
thanks for reading this far down the post,
waiting for your comments,
regards,
teardropb
i can be contaced on
msn : boygothic@hotmail.com
icq : 55962348
irc : #gabber, #BUZZ and #trax on effnet as username : teardropb
― teardropb, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)
Hey. A few quick tips:
1. As far as the OS goes, you may be best off with Win98 if it's
stable for you, and if you feel the need to stay in the Windows
universe. I've been running both Win98 and WinXP dual-boot for the
last few months, and I've found XP to be quite stable, though it
does tend to give you a lot of pop-ups for the first little while
("Would you like to clean up your desktop?" NO, GO AWAY.) That stops
after you've been using it for a bit. Biggest issue will probably be
software compatibility for the first little bit. I tried a few apps
that I'd previously used under Win2K and 98 and they didn't run
properly under XP without some compatibility fudging in the
properties panels. I did get Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 up and running,
but I haven't used it extensively enough to comment on the
reliability. I was goofing around with the eJay products for loops
and such, and they only seemed to work in compatibility mode, with a
few issues of stability. (Note: I think most musicians who do this
for a living would probably point you towards MacOS here, anyway.
But if you're not willing to go there, that's that.)
2. The Pentium 4 is just fine, and yes, it does downclock when it
starts to overheat, but then again so does the Pentium III. Don't
think of that as a liability--it prevents the processor from frying.
Just make sure you have a rock-solid cooling fan on the processor
and it will be fine. I've actually been using an AthlonXP 1900+ at
home, and it also works fine with most of what I do, and it's
cheaper too. Only problem: if you overheat it, it's gone gone gone.
For good. Definitely important to make sure your system is cooled
properly when you're using an AthlonXP machine, but as long as you
do that (which is just common sense) you'll get better performance
than the P4 at the same clock speed, and at a lower price. I'm
assuming your Celeron 433 is Socket 370 if you're thinking of
upgrading it to Pentium III? Before you do the upgrade, make sure
you double-check that compatibility, and the compatibility of your
current motherboard for faster memory: Celerons at that clock speed
run on a 66MHz bus, but many of the newer Pentium IIIs run on 100 or
133MHz--there's a distinct possibility that you may not be able to
run a substantially faster processor on that same board anyhow, at
which point moving to P4 would probably make more sense, overall,
for the additional multimedia features on the die.
3 and 4. Nothing much to add here.
― Sean Carruthers, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)
wow, teardropb it sounds like you already have much knowledge in this area. I am just starting to explore computer based music making/recording so maybe you could give me some advice. The only thing i thought of that could maybe help you out is to check into
98lite for your OS. I have not tried it but i saw lots of raves on a midiman users' board. Supposedly strips 98 down to 'lean and mean'
As far as people giving me advice, here's where im at: 1.8g P4, 512mb , 40gig HD, win XP pro. I just got Reason and ReCycle (yesterday!!) and am continuing to shop around for soundcard/multitracking software. I am currently favoring Aardvark, maybe the 10input one but more likely the 4/6 one, both of which come with cakewalk 9. Likely almost everything i'd be making would be sequencer-oriented at the core, with overdubbing so I don't need a lot of inputs and I have an outboard mixer so I don't need the mic preamps. I have considered waiting for digidesign to come out with a digi001 for XP, but that's in beta now and who knows when it will actually happen. I was looking at the midiman products (delta 1010 or 66) but have seen too many complaints from users. I'm probably going to get an oxygen8 keyb soon.
― Ron, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)
hey, thanks for the win98lite url, this is something i was not aware
of at all.
the first bloke who is just getting into sequencing, id say he pulled
a smart move getting reason as its a great little app to make noises
in an intact audio environment.dude, reason 2 is coming out soon and
i figure you should be able to get this upgrade and take advantage of
the massively improved sofsampler.
now answering my own question, i did a bit of quick look on teh
internet and the best os has to be win2k cause its leaner. if im
going to have driver issues or problems then i should be checking xp
otherwise there is no reason to use the 9x line of win anymore
and processor wise, the p4 is not a good option cause if i overhaul
my system, id much rather get a mac instead of a pc. or i do go for a
pc, my processor needs would be served more cheaply with an athalon
xp or those fancy new 512 l2 cache p3 that are doing the rounds at
1.2 gigs now.
on a side note..check this out
http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/02q1/020117/p4_3000-01.html
that crazy fucker has cranked his cpu up to 3 gig hertz....... i
wonder what his DAW would be like
keep rockin,
teardropb
― teardropb, Wednesday, 1 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)
seven years pass...