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[Harley Hexxe]

Oh Okay, I don't know how ADAT works since I've never used it. Still, 16 inputs should cover anything I might want to put on a recording at one time.

   About Pro Tools, Yes, I see those Educational versions with multiple licenses, and I wouldn't even bother with any of those. I do understand how the other versions work too. You can pay for a year subscription or pay by the month, and when your subscription expires, you get no more updates or support, but you get to keep what you have until you subscribe again. I saw those prices too, and I see prices that go even higher than that, much higher! It's ridiculous really, all because this is what is used by professional studios as an industry standard. It'a all about the money. Still, I would like to learn Pro Tools, but I don't believe in restricting myself to just one DAW, so I would definitely like to learn Cubase as well, and maybe a few more. I still mess around with Audacity, and Reaper is another one I could download and learn too. Back in the day I had several different DAW's I was learning and I kept working with Vegas and Sound Forge, but those seem to have gone the way of the dodo bird.
   You know, I remember some of the comments that were posted on the video for "We're Stars" the was done by the Depot Gang, and on one of the comments there was a guy who was a retired engineer/producer, who really gave the Depot members a lot of credit for producing it, and making it sound and look as good as it did with no budget, and using the equipment and software that we had available. Since I know Jur was a big fan of Cubase, I'd be willing to bet that was how the soundtrack was recorded and mixed. So I can see the possibilities with Cubase. Self-produced videos is a direction I want to go in.

    Harley

[MarshallJMP]

yep Jurrie used cubase SX3 back then, but a lot of things have changed since then in the DAW world 

So which one (soundcard) are you going to get?

[Harley Hexxe]

Not a sound card, I'm more than likely going to go with the Focusrite, and probably the 18i20, since I can expand it. That seems to be the best option for me.

[MarshallJMP]

Yep looks that way and I find the 19" rack a better option too.

[Harley Hexxe]

Yes, I'll have to get a table top rack for that stuff, and probably set up a better work station desk than what I'm using now which is a glass top computer desk.

[Harley Hexxe]

    I meant to ask you, what OS would be best with AI8?

[MarshallJMP]

Well it works on apple and windows based computers.Not an apple man myself so if you go for windows I would stick with win7.
I left my recording computer also on win7.Works fine.

Another thing about focusrite they give free plugins from time to time (if you have registered your product) so that's also a nice bonus.

[Harley Hexxe]

Okay, that's good then because the laptop I have in the studio is set up with Windows 7. I don't have any Mac PC's or I would look at Firewire for connection. Macs are so bloody expensive, and I would have to learn how to use their OS from the beginning.

[MarshallJMP]

Firewire also works on a windows pc, I have my tascam DM3200 hooked up with firewire to my pc for audio (32 channel In and 32 channel out) and I use usb for the midi (as daw controller).So I use the tascam as a "soundcard" and as a DAW controller.I like to have a real mixer in front of me.

But you're right Mac's are way too expensive for my taste too.

You will need the 64bit version of win7. And the more memory the better. I was on 8Gb but I had to expand it to 16Gb.But it depends on how much plugins you use.(I use a lot).Also it's best to tweak windows a bit for use as a daw .

Here are some links but there's a lot of info about this on the net.

http://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/pc-optimization-guide-for-windows-7/
http://www.presonus.com/news/articles/Optimizing-Windows-Vista-and-Windows-7-for-Music-Production
https://www.steinberg.net/nc/en/support/knowledgebase_new/show_details/kb_show/optimizing-windows-for-daws.html

[Harley Hexxe]

Thank you, I will look at these and see what I have to do.

   I don't plan to use too much in the way of plug ins, I'd prefer to just go straight in with the instruments since I get a great sound that way, I just want to capture that as accurately as I can. Maybe if there are any vocals I want to track, I might add some reverb to that to sweeten it up. Possibly in the mastering stage I may need to do that, or maybe some EQ enchancement. I don't want to go overboard and end up with an over-processed sound, (like Bon Jovi).

    I have to take that laptop in for a new keypad, so I'll have the memory upgraded, and I may also have them swap out the new HD for a SSD.

       Harley

[MarshallJMP]

An SSD is a very good idea, and like I said make sure win7 is a 64 bit version, it won't work on a 32 bit.

[Harley Hexxe]

   Okay, I just went and double-checked the laptop downstairs, is has Windows 7 Ultimate, 64 bit, the processor is Intel Pentium 1.3GHz. As I stated earlier, the Memory is 4 gig which I'll update, as well as have the keyboard replaced. I will have whichever repair shop I take it to, transfer the entire system and files to a SSD and install it.
    I was considering trying to see if I might be able to install firewire adapters in it, but it has limited connection ports. 2 USB 2.0, and 1 USB 3.0, HDMI and VGA LAN connections.

      Harley

[MarshallJMP]

Ok, ultimate should work (I use it too), now 1.3GHz, isn't that a bit low for a modern cpu?

Why would you replace the keyboard, just plug in a usb keyboard? Works better and saves you some $$ !

I don't think you can add a firewire connection to a laptop (I think).

You can check the laptop if it's ready for daw use with this DPC latency checker.

http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml
http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

[Harley Hexxe]

 Well considering it was a laptop I bought at a yard sale last summer for $75.00 and it's an ACER, it was probably a Walmart cheapie brand when it was new.

   The keyboard on it is messed up and some of the keys start to type by themselves even with the USB keyboard plugged in, so, I'd want to fix that issue.

   I don't believe this one could be adapted for firewire, so I won't bother

   I was shopping around last night for SSD's, and the prices are down from last year. Are there any special considerations I need to look for besides the size of the drive for large media files? i.e. ATA vs. SATA etc?

[MarshallJMP]

Ah ok so it needs to replaced anyway. Maybe you can just detach it??

Normally all those SSD's are sata so make sure you laptop has sata. Now you can also get SSD with a pata connection but these are harder to find.