Helpful ReplyHelp on creating a good but minimal home studio

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JayCee99
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Re: Help on creating a good but minimal home studio 2016/02/12 16:04:02 (permalink)
Bristol_Jonesey
I disagree, for all of the reasons outlined above by myself and others


Not sure what you're referring to, but the specs I based my opinion off of are:
model: ixtremeM3720 rating 3.3
processor: intel (R) Core (TM)2 Quad Pro Q8300  @2.50 GHz 2.50GHz
RAM 4.00GB (3.75 usable)
 
If that's correct then for the OP's stated needs of writing a few soft synth tracks and recording vocals, he has more than enough power.  He just needs to make sure he has a decent interface with the right drivers.  Buying a new computer certainly won't hurt but it's unnecessary.

Sonar Platinum
Audio Interface: Focusrite 18i8 ASIO Interface 
Keys: Korg Kronos 88, Alesis VI25
Windows 8.1 x64 Laptop, 8GB RAM, i7 CPU
#31
gcolbert
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Re: Help on creating a good but minimal home studio 2016/02/13 18:29:58 (permalink)
I tend to agree with rlared.  People have done a lot more complicated work than you are talking about with a lot less computer.  You may be able to achieve your goals with what you already have, but with some performance tuning (turn off WIFI, better driver for audio interface, etc).  Find out where things are failing before tryibg to figure out what to replace.
 
Glen

Platinum / VS-100 / 12 GB RAM / Win 10 Pro / AMD A8 / MP Touch Monitors
Platinum / on-board audio / 4 GB RAM /Win 10 Pro / HP dm4 Laptop / stuff
THpfft!
#32
Paul P
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Re: Help on creating a good but minimal home studio 2016/02/13 22:34:23 (permalink)
gcolbert
People have done a lot more complicated work than you are talking about with a lot less computer.



And if you manage to swing an RME Babyface interface, you'll be happy for years.
 
Spend the rest on acoustic treatment of your space.  Worry about the computer later.
 

Sonar Platinum [2017.10], Win7U x64 sp1, Xeon E5-1620 3.6 GHz, Asus P9X79WS, 16 GB ECC, 128gb SSD, HD7950, Mackie Blackjack
#33
GregGraves
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Re: Help on creating a good but minimal home studio 2016/02/13 22:57:24 (permalink)
IMHO you need a 64 bit OS, cuz you need 4 gigs of usable ram minimum.  If you don't, then you will be utilizing your swap file (hard drive fake memory) and then be posting here complaining about pops and clicks.  Probably 8 gigs is the minimum.
 
You need a cpu that is on the "high end" cpu list on cpubench site. 
 
As far as AtoD cards, I don't get the M-audio bashers.  I've had a Delta44 for years and years and the thing works flawlessly.  I also have an M-track still in the box that I've never used.  Bash not.
 
 

I am "Five Foot Wall" on Spotify, Deezer, etc.  Platinum, Windows 7 64bit, AMD FX-6100 hex-core @3.8ghz, 8 gig ram (never use more than 5 gigs), Delta 44, UM-2
[Note: join date reflects inability to migrate old account to new forum]
 
 
https://greggraves.bandcamp.com/track/whatcha-gonna-do
https://greggraves.bandcamp.com/track/true-believer-man
 
#34
Sanderxpander
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Re: Help on creating a good but minimal home studio 2016/02/14 03:06:01 (permalink)
The Delta series was pretty good. The Fast Track Pro is not. 
#35
jpetersen
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Re: Help on creating a good but minimal home studio 2016/02/14 07:49:17 (permalink)
I have an Atom-powered laptop that records 28 tracks live simultaneously over two Tascam interfaces (US-1800 and US-1641) through ASIO4All - the worst possible setup. And it has worked great for years.
 
So if that works, your computer is fine.
 
Where things will become problematic is when you start using plug-ins and then nobody can say how much power is enough because each plug-in is different. But Sonar is a mature product with helpful tricks for those older machines. For example you can freeze tracks to save processing power. The plug-in on that track gets converted to an ordinary WAV file and does not use CPU anymore.
 
You will hear warnings about dropouts, etc. If that happens, just increase the buffer size. Dropout problems are usually due to causes unrelated to processing power. Folks here with super-pro machines report dropouts.
 
Latency does not arise when recording vocals or instruments over your interface, only when playing VST plug-in instruments live over a MIDI keyboard. You say you can't play, so that's never going to be an issue for you.
 
One day you may want to get a power machine. You can decide on that later. For now, you're good to go.
post edited by jpetersen - 2016/02/14 08:16:27
#36
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