Ready to re-build my home studio...any advice?

Building Home Studio now...need input! My current setup: 1) PC - Dell 755 Optiplex Desktop -running Windows Pro Xp - Service Pack 3 - Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E8200 @ 2.66GHz Max CPU Speed 5200 MHz Memory Maximum Capacity 8192 MBytes Memory Slots 4 - video processor - Radeon AT 2400 PRo - 256mb 2) Line 6 TonePort UX2 - Gearbox software - Amp Farm 3) Studio monitors  -Yorkville YSM-1 4) Amplication -Vintage Pioneer Reciever SX-838 5) DAW SONAR Producer 8.3 6) MIDI controller  Alesis QX49 -------------------------------------------------------- Why I want to re-build? I'm primarily a guitarist that now wants to add keyboards and soft syths, midi drums....etc... I'm currently having conflicts with Alesis QX49 and SONAR when it comes to hooking up the MIDI contoller keyboard to SONAR - big conflict and they don't work together... First, need to answer question if I like Line 6 Toneport. Answer, yes and no. Latency is no problem, sound is OK, but Line 6 dropped this product and does not support. I like Line 6 easy-to-use guitar modelers, but i haven't been exposed to anything else. May consider other option if others can point me in a better direction. Secondly, SONAR 8.3 seems to work OK. Don't understand why I need to upgrade since mty PC is running Windows XP. I assume I would have to upgrade PC to Windows 7/8 if I upgrade DAW to new Cakewalk X2 product? Need advice here.... Finally, I'd like to add some sort of mixing board on the front-end of system if possible without affecting quality of signal. I like the flexibility to have an analog mixing board that has a USB/firewire type digital output if possible. Was eyeing $300-$400 Mackie mixers here...Need advice here. Willing to consider the idea of purchasing a new PC Desktop/ or Laptop to dedicate to music production. Need advise here too. Ok, ready for your input.

Some of the usb mixers only output a stereo signal, which means you have to premix full rhythm sections, which kinda misses the whole point of a daw and unlimited tracks.  If you are recording just a couple of tracks at a time, using session drummer etc. and soft synths, then I would go for quality in my interface.  In fact, it is hard not to recommend quality.  While good converters can be had cheaply, you can't say the same about mics, preamps and effects.  while a mixer has advantages, esp. if you don't want to repatch, you get a better bang for buck (usually) in a straight interface.

Good interfaces in your circumstances as I read it would be the roland/Cake series.  A sleeper w/ excellent sound is the TC Konnekt.  Something like that w/ ADAT expansion could kill two birds w/ one stone - good quality sound that you could add 8 adda later and use the soft mixer in lieu of outboard.

One thing I've never heard people say is I'm going to buy some cheap stuff because I plan to drop recording/music pretty damn quick.  You might have a low budget at this time, but it doesn't mean you have to buy disposable gear.  If you stick w/ it, you'll appreciate having decent kit to work w/ and keep.

@ 

The never ending cycle of upgrades in features and performance to digital recording equipment can lead to purchasing errors. New OS introduced, old OS not supported; new DAW software, old one not supported, bunch of gear that used to work perfectly well can't keep up. So you get stuck with gear that is worth about a quarter of what you paid for it. I advise you to look carefully for gear that can keep up with the changes for the longest period of time possible.
 
High quality analog gear is always a good investment, and tends to hold its value. Cutting edge devices that don't have wide appeal will disappear. Assess your goals, put together a studio that will help you attain those goals, and bail out of the upgrade cycle. Actually it looks like you have already followed this path so I am probably wasting breath. What you have now will probably already do the job with the exception of your audio interface. The Toneport can be upgraded without too much expense to something nice and compatible with Sonar like the Roland Quad Capture. Then you can buy your midi instruments and go to work.
 
If you feel you have outgrown your studio, meaning that your knowledge, skill, and ability outstrips the gear you have then you might want to invest in a new dedicated DAW computer. That is where I would start.
 
Paul

Thanks all for the reply.

Just a few clarifications here...

I'm mainly a guitarist that composes instrumentals. My immediate needs are as follows in order of importance:

1) great guitar sound through easy to use in-the-box modeling. I've been using Line 6 Toneport UX2 with Gearbox. Line 6 wnats an upgrade fee to get into their Amp Farm 2 stuff....Not exactly jumping at the chance since Line 6 discontinued the TonePort UX2 and then repackaged the exact same item by renaming it the POD Studio and then giving away Reason and Amp Farm 2.0 away for FREE with  a new purchase of this product thus leaving previous owners of the TonePort whom paid twice the current retail of the POD Studio out in the cold. This really pisses me off. But that's another battle for another day...So, i recap...I need a great guitar sound first and foremost.

2) I need to get a Midi Keyboard controller that actually works with SONAR 8.3. I need soft synth and drums to add to my mixes. My Alesis QX49 does not work with my SONAR 8.3 DAW for a myrid of reasons. I've been the victim of a catch 22 situation btwn Alesis Customer support and SONAR customer support which I no longer desire to be a party to. Each company blames each other for the items not working. It's childish and embarassing and not helpful. I am forced to sell my Alesis on Craigslist for a substantial loss because I can't simply get customer support through either of these companies. 

3) Folks here on the forums have mentioned Line 6 audio interfaces dropping out and making noises. I have experienced none of these problems. Perhaps these problems stem from other issues like lack of PC RAM? Anyhow, the Line 6 unit has worked well for me. I just am peeved at Line 6 because of their repackaging strategy of the same unit I own and them blocking me from the same upgrades they give other owners that I deserve.


4) If someone can recommend an Audio Interface that has great guitar sounds that rival Line 6 then i would consider selling my TonePort UX2. Also, can anyone recommend a midi controller keyboard that works with SONAR 8.3 that would be much appreciated.

5) Anyone have any thoughts on using a PC desktop vs. a PC laptop vs. an Apple computer I'd like to hear from you. If I buy a new computer i'd like to know which one to buy.


thanks,
bob

bobsacco

1) great guitar sound through easy to use in-the-box modeling. I've been using Line 6 Toneport UX2 with Gearbox. Line 6 wnats an upgrade fee to get into their Amp Farm 2 stuff....Not exactly jumping at the chance since Line 6 discontinued the TonePort UX2 and then repackaged the exact same item by renaming it the POD Studio and then giving away Reason and Amp Farm 2.0 away for FREE with  a new purchase of this product thus leaving previous owners of the TonePort whom paid twice the current retail of the POD Studio out in the cold. This really pisses me off. But that's another battle for another day...So, i recap...I need a great guitar sound first and foremost.

2) I need to get a Midi Keyboard controller that actually works with SONAR 8.3. I need soft synth and drums to add to my mixes. My Alesis QX49 does not work with my SONAR 8.3 DAW for a myrid of reasons. I've been the victim of a catch 22 situation btwn Alesis Customer support and SONAR customer support which I no longer desire to be a party to. Each company blames each other for the items not working. It's childish and embarassing and not helpful. I am forced to sell my Alesis on Craigslist for a substantial loss because I can't simply get customer support through either of these companies. 

3) Folks here on the forums have mentioned Line 6 audio interfaces dropping out and making noises. I have experienced none of these problems. Perhaps these problems stem from other issues like lack of PC RAM? Anyhow, the Line 6 unit has worked well for me. I just am peeved at Line 6 because of their repackaging strategy of the same unit I own and them blocking me from the same upgrades they give other owners that I deserve.


4) If someone can recommend an Audio Interface that has great guitar sounds that rival Line 6 then i would consider selling my TonePort UX2. Also, can anyone recommend a midi controller keyboard that works with SONAR 8.3 that would be much appreciated.

5) Anyone have any thoughts on using a PC desktop vs. a PC laptop vs. an Apple computer I'd like to hear from you. If I buy a new computer i'd like to know which one to buy.


thanks,
bob

I understand the Toneport issues. I owned a Toneport. Later I purchased the UX2 because I thought it was upgraded hardware. Line 6 implied that it was USB 2.0 when in fact it was 1.0. When I addressed this in the line 6 forums they said that their claim was that it works in USB 2.0......Duh....any device that is 1.0 will work in 2.0, but the way they worded it seem to imply that it was a USB 2.0 device. When you looked at the system specs it did not give USB 1.0 it said USB 2.0 compliant. I gave my toneport away and kept the UX2 because of the software packs that were added on. Later on I purchased the Pod X3 pro. I have had no problems with line 6 hardware and dropouts. I understand your frustration with the Toneport.


If you change your audio interface you may want to hang on to your Toneport. Copy the gearbox vst plugin files from the line 6 folder into your default Cakewalk VST folder. Keeping the toneport plugged in while using another audio interface will allow you to use and unlock Gearbox within Sonar. If you don't think you will use Gearbox then by all means sell it. I have found line 6 customer support to be really good even though I don't agree with the way they market some of their stuff.


Alesis is the problem not Sonar. I speak from experience. At one time I used a bunch of Alesis products. Their customer service sucks! I looked up your keyboard on the Alesis site. It is made to work with apple and ableton. It has cubase mapping too, I could not find anyplace to download updated drivers for the device. This is typical with Alesis. They tend to release hardware and then they don't follow through with the bugs in their drivers! This is why I no longer purchase their products!


Let me give you just one example. I bought the Alesis Multimix 12 firewire. At the time I had Windows XP and Sonar 7. I upgraded my machine. The new computer had Vista and it was a multicore processor. I could find no drivers that worked with the Multimix at the time. I contacted Alesis. They told me to buy a new machine with windows XP and to stay away from multicore processors. That was their solution? I sent them a heated response as the mixer was only a few months old. I went back to using my line 6 hardware. Vista had already been released for a while.


A year later they came out with a new driver for Vista. The multi mix never worked. Two years later they came out with another updated driver for vista. I could not get it to work with the multimix. Then they discontinued the firewire version all together. Alesis has a bad habit of releasing hardware without supplying the proper driver support. That is why I stopped buying there products.


That keyboard is meant for apple based machines and limited windows machines depending on the software. Going buy the history of Alesis. I think the problem lies with the keyboard not with Sonar.


http://www.alesis.com/qx49 


As to what keyboard you should get. If you stick with Sonar check out the Hardware aspect too. You will find customer support much better. Here is some of the cakewalk hardware to consider.


http://cakewalk.com/Produ...akewalk-Hardware 


Check out the keyboards in there. I have the Edirol versions and all of them work great! Also consider these interfaces. I personally use the VS-100 and I have been really happy with it. If you have questions about any of this hardware you will find people here that use it. They can help you.


http://www.roland.com/products/en/UA-1010/ 


http://www.rolandus.com/products/category/498

That is why I recommend not using Line 6 audio interfaces. Don't get me wrong. I love their products. I have a Pod XT, Pod X3 Live, and Pod HD. I like PodFarm quite a bit, and still use Gear Box. The best guitar tones I have come from the Pod HD and PodFarm, though I cheat a bit and use an LA-610 in front of the Pod HD. That and a PRS Custom 24 make for a good combination.
 
Really though, switch audio interfaces. Get a nice midi controller. Buy some software synths, a software sampler, and some quality soundsets. You will be able to make great recordings. You could still use the Toneport as a dongle for Gearbox, and send the output into your new audio interface.
 
Give it a try.
 
Paul

The answer to your question is 42...

Actually, it should be..'How much money do ya got?

I can not talk right now, but for guitar, try DigiTech 355- it also USB 1 in 1 out. Win. XP is not supported and will not work with SP2X. Go on Microsoft web site and read about upgrade to Win. 8. There is upgrade assistant that will scan your computer and tell you if you can upgrade. For interfaces I would go with MOTU, Presonus or M-Audio. For computer, check out http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

I've been happy w/ "soft guitars" for the most part.  Nomad's guitar sim is pretty good as well as the new/old ones included w/ SONAR Producer.  A new interface and one of those should work fine.  If worse comes to worse, you can use a real amp/mic.

There are plenty of cheap midi controller keyboards.  I got a Novation LE (25 keys) for $50 years ago.  Any should work, except for Aleissis, I guess.

Your computer is pretty much the same as I was using up to a month or so ago.  As long as you ain't slathering on the fx, it should be fine.  If it stutters, freeze.  A faster computer is easier to work w/ (rather than freezing guitar sims and convolution reverb I can just keep dropping them in!) but not necessary.  I would recommend a new one, but interface first.

@

For me the preamps in the Toneport were neither clean and transparent, nor rich and warm. They also didn't have enough level for some of my microphones. I ditched it quickly and traded it for a Pod X3. That gave me Gear Box, Pod Farm, great guitar modeling, and at least as good a soundcard as the Toneport. Now I mount it in an Atomic Reactor amp, and use an FBV mkII as a controller. That gets me some more life out of a legacy product.
 
The number of I/Os was also a limitation, and it never worked glitch free. I actually only wanted to use it to get guitar sounds into Sonar because my Pod XT was being used for my live rig. An Echo Layla 3G still serves as my audio interface, and that is probably the longest lived device in my studio. Computers, monitors, plugins, effect devices, midi controllers, pitch to midi converter, and more have been replaced because of the upgrade cycle in operating systems and DAW software.
 
That is why I warn others about making purchases without considering longevity. Some equipment is long lived; others a flash in the pan. I got caught badly by investing TC Powercore and Focusrite LiquidMix. A bundle of money down the drain that I wish I had invested in a really good stereo analog compressor. I know better now. It is sad but a good amount of ill will towards those companies is associated with their financial decisions to abandon these products. I just don't trust them any longer, and won't purchase products from them. That is the best way I can respond to such practices. Now I am much more cautious with my purchases, and realize fewer tools more aptly applied leads to quicker and superior results. I also save a great deal of time that was formerly spent learning new products, and integrating them into my studio, along with the frustration that goes along with it.