Seedjar & other computer using musicians looking for advice on setup

[swords]

Hey folks,

I was going to buy a Roland Fantom X6 Synthesizer but after reading the current magazines there's so much out there on PC for sound recording (Reason, Pro Tools, Sonar 6, etc) plus sound creation (any sound module/synths you could ever want are on DVD Rom) so I thought I would rather buy a pimped out PC and work through Midi/audio interfaces.

I've read lots of stuff that says Windows Vista sucks for music production and NOT to buy an off the shelf model. I spoke to our software programmers at work and they also said Win XP is the best so here's what I was planning to have a custom PC builder set up for me. I'd appreciate it if any of you who work music on the PC (seedjar I know for sure) would let me know if I'm heading in the right direction here as I wanna make the system the best I can:

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 (quad pentium processor)
4-8 GB of 800mhz RAM
Zalman ultra quiet CPU fan
2x 500 GB Sata2 harddrives
Asus Extreme ATX Motherboard
Coolermaster Extreme 600W power supply
Windows XP Professional as my OS
2 Firewire and 8 USB 2.0 ports
3-5 PCI card slots

I'm also debating adding the GeForce 768MB 512 Bit dual video card and seperate power supply for the graphics card since I also wanna use things like Cinemascape and other CGI creature and video creation programs. It comes stock with a 16 bit 256 MB graphics card but I figured if I'm going nuts I might as well go all the way!

Does this sound like it would be able to work Well for a graphics and music production PC?

I haven't decided upon a recording software platform yet, I'm open to any suggestions (and links) to which programs are cool, full of features, work well with software synths and effects plug-ins. Price doesn't matter but usability is, being new to this era of recording is a big jump from my old Tascam and Fostex recorders.

 

[Clint]

I don't know about any of that stuff but I feel your pain! Nothing worse than having money to spend and then buying the wrong thing! Sometimes I wish people were there to say "Buy THIS and THIS and THIS and THIS and do as I say because you'll thank me later!"

 

[seedjar]

Are you familiar with maintaining a Windows machine? For most applications, it's not a big deal, but working with technical programs like sound tools requires some finesse with hardware and software configuration. I use a Mac, so I'm biased, but from what I've heard, Windows isn't really what you want for composing and mixing. Judging by your parts list there, I'd say you could buy an off-the-shelf low- to mid-end Mac Pro, a few MIDI interface cards and maybe a high-speed line input and save yourself a lot of trouble. The new Intel Macs can run Windows, so you won't miss out on any software, and I'm hard-pressed to think of audio hardware that's on the shelf nowadays that doesn't use platform-independant interfaces. If you're really set on building and maintaining your own PC, then run Linux or BSD and save yourself the money on software. For what it's worth, processor speed isn't really something you need to worry about; a 128-channel audio mixer is lightweight compared to something like a 3D game. Your CPU can handle pretty much anything that the software will throw at it. Where you want to spend is a good premixer, soundcard, cables, software and recording devices, as these will preserve the fidelity of your work. A large RAM and processor cache will bring out the full potential of your processor, as will a motherboard with a high clock speed. Consider a widescreen monitor, or two displays and a dual-output video card. Also, make sure you have a good workspace; have a spacious desk where your wires and cables can be separated and shielded from electomagnetic interference from things like monitors, hard drives, speakers and power supplies.
~Joe

 

[swords]

Thanks for chiming in Joe!

Windows is the only computer system I've ever used so i would be most comfortable staying with it. What specifically makes a MAC better than a PC for this work? I see 90% of the software I'm interested in is available on WIN and MAC in the same box but articles i've read say to stick with your usual platform so you don't have additional stuff to learn ontop of the DAW and midi synths. I have XP home edition on my PC so the XP Pro ought not to be too much different. Being custom built my system will arrive only with the OS no add on junk software.

My KORG D3200 HD/CD-R digital studio can be used as a midi interface once I've got the computer and programs setup. I'll have to read that part of the manual to learn it as I've not messed with midi at all. If it's not as fully featured for midi as I need what model(s) do you suggest I look at? I like the look of most interfaces and stuff by M-Audio which connect via firewire or USB 2.0 instead of the classic installed PCI card. I'd like monitor and phone outs so I can work at night but check music in the open air when the sun is up.

The cache of the quad processor is 8mb. I'm opting for the fastest motherboard and ram speed I can get. I want the beefy processor and graphics card both for music and for graphic design/animation software. Even if I don't need it today, tomorrow who knows? Basically it'll be my projects computer that gets no web access except for software updates. I might even download them on this computer and install them on the other. I wanna keep it as gremlin free as possible.

I've seen pics of the dual monitor stuff in photos and it looks pretty cool but what is that for, how does that work? is one program in one monitor and one in the other or does the work stream from one to the other? Is that what's called "Crossfire"?

Do you know of any websites that have an up to date primer on all this or an archive of articles for new comers? I've looked at MIDI books at the music shop but they date from 2002 so there's a whole lot of current stuff not covered like what I'm reading about in Future Music, Electronic Musician, Mix and Keyboard mags.

 

[seedjar]

Well, I've not done much audio work on Windows machines, but I do know that when you get into applications that utilize custom hardware, especially niche markets like audio composition and editing, the quirks in an operating system begin to crop up real fast. These products are marketed primarily at professionals and as such, they are not always 100% compatible out-of-the-box. I prefer Macs in this respect because in my experience, the Mac OS typically does a better job of automatically configuring things (and just generally working without a fuss) than Windows. Additionally, I find that the way to do specific tasks seems to vary widely between different Windows installations; even after installing identical versions of Windows XP on my roommate's laptop and my friend's laptop, I had to go through totally different processes to configure each for networking, and I nor my friend (who used to be a support tech at my school's computer center) can figure out why. When I'm help my friends with their Windows machines, I can pretty much ignore the directions that come with whatever they're trying to do, because they almost never apply. Having worked with other operating systems, I know that I don't need to go through that kind of grief in order to use a tool that's supposed to make my life easier. So far as learning goes, there's no curve to a Mac - they work essentially like a Windows machine, only a little easier. It's all the same ideas; the biggest difference is that you have "Preferences" instead of a "Control Panel" and "folders" instead of "directories." Reason on a Mac looks (and works) just like Reason on a Windows PC. Macs have been the preferred platform for audio and graphics for decades now. If you fear change, stay with a PC, but there's a reason why Apple's market share is growing. At the very worst, Macs have good resale values. But you're a smart guy; I really can't imagine you finding a Mac entirely useless if you decided to try one. It wouldn't be the same at first, but you might just like it better than what you have now. Besides, Vista is coming, so you're going to have to pick up something new eventually.
As for the MIDI stuff, I can't tell you off the top of my head, but I'll do a little looking. I might be able to find you some sources, at least.
Multiple monitors work any number of ways, depending on what kind of software you have driving them. Macs have had a long-standing desktop-sharing system for monitors; you specify the physical arrangement of the monitors and then the desktop appears spread over them, so that when the cursor rolls off the left edge of the right monitor, it appears on the right edge of the left monitor. I don't know if that technique has a general name. I think that the tool that does it for Linux/POSIX systems is called xinerama, but that's a particular program. I assume Windows has similar support now, but back in the day when I had a Windows box, you had to have special drivers and graphics cards to use multiple monitors.
~Joe

 

[technoracer]

wow, swords! i wish i could help you with some specifics. when i went through recording engineering school years ago we didn't focus too much on building and spec'ing a pc for home recording. we spent time on miking and mixing and such. keep the posts coming as i like to read them, even if i can't help you much...

tech...

 

[swords]

I went and picked up The Desktop Studio book even though it's from 2002 at least I can get a grounding in this before I start shelling out dough (or rather refilling my Visa that I'm paying back). I'm used to the old fashioned plug it into a mixing board and record from there so this will give me something to go through as I decide on a system, it discusses the pros/cons of MAC & PC but even that chapter seems to boil down to whatever you're comfortable with but does discuss how to setup the computer for each platform which will be a good read.