Hey everybody.  I'm looking into getting a professional music lab to go with the composition degree I'm working on and I was hoping to get some input.  I'm going to be running on a PC, hopefully a monster with 2GB Ram, Pentium D, Windows XP and the nicest sound card I can get my mitts on.  I already have a nice MIDI keyboard, VDL2 and Sibelius 3.  I want to add at least a good sampler and sequencer program, and probably Garritan Personal Orchestra as well.  I've been looking at stuff like Cubase, Logic, SoundForge, and ProTools.  I actually haven't found much about pricing for just the ProTools software, and the manual for VDL2 says Digidesign designs their stuff to work only with their hardware.  What do all you professionals run, and how do you like it?  What else, if anything, do I need to be able to do some good music production from home?  What should I at all costs avoid?

J. Peter Wolk-Laniewski
George Fox University

[u]Don't[/u] get a Pentium D system.  It has been replaced by the much much faster Core 2 Duo.  A 2.1 GHz Core 2 Duo will beat a 3.6 GHz Pentium D by a wide margin, and the Core 2 Quad is months away.  Core 2 Duo will also beat the more expensive Athlon X2 and FX series. 

Definitely get Kontakt 2.  It will make using VDL2 with other sample libraries easier, you can save presets, and modify your sounds.  It comes with some samples too.

Software is very open to debate.  Pro-Tools is what you'll find in most studios, but really most programs get the job done well.  Entry-level protools would be the mbox at around $400 for the hardware and software.

I like to read user reviews at the music store websites.  A lot of products have dozens of user reviews- just be aware that some people will complain about a product because they don't know how to use it.

[quote author=nervoustic link=topic=1390.msg6225#msg6225 date=1160684153]
actually haven't found much about pricing for just the ProTools software, and the manual for VDL2 says Digidesign designs their stuff to work only with their hardware. 
[/quote]

You may have misunderstood. Basically to use ProTools, you'll need to purchase something like an M-Box as Jedi mentioned. With the M-Box, you get ProTools LE included. So it's a pretty good deal. If your MBox (for example) isn't connected, then ProTools won't launch. This is very similar to the USB dongle type protection used by many audio programs. So this isn't something that's restrictive, if that's how you read it.

If you're going PC, check out some of the custom audio machines from various manufacturers who cater to musicians specifically such as SonicaLabs, Sweetwater, ADK. You can get these configured with a good pro-level soundcard (though if you went the m-box route, you wouldn't need it), extra RAM, drives, etc. Personally, i've found the sonica machines to be a great deal, and very realiable.

For a PC sequencer, you're probably looking at Sonar, Cubase, or ProTools.

Kontakt 2 is a great sampler which will import most any other sampler format, so it's pretty versatile.

You might also want to look at a good set of studio monitors. There was a discussion on the forum here recently about that. Do a search for ";studio monitor"; and you should find it.

The Electronic Musician Magazine website has some pretty good product reviews as well. As far as hardware goes,�� ";Keeping up with the Joneses"; certainly can be frustrating. It seems no matter what you buy, there will be something faster, smaller, and cheaper just around the corner. I bought the best system I could afford at the time and am happy with it even though there are already better machines out there!

www.emusician.com

Sound Card: Get a Pro Audio card NOT a consumer card.  M-Audio Audiophile is a good sound card.
Processesor and RAM: ";As much as you can afford"; Jim Casella said this to me when I asked him a few days ago.

Hard Drive: 2, it's a good idea to store your samples in a different location then your programs.
Sampler: K2 is perfect for me since most of my sounds are formatted to use with the Native Instruments format.

Sequencer: I used Sonar prior to going all Mac.  All of the higher end programs are basically the same with a few different features.  Logic is Mac only.  Just make sure the sequencer has the ability to host plug-ins, most specifically VST and DXi.  cIf you have never used a sequencer then get ready for a large learning curve.  It was hard for me think of music in numbers rather then notation.

The guys at www.Sweetwater.com are a great resource.  I have heard that MusicXPC makes a good machine too.

Gabe

Hey guys,

I have a question for you concerning hardware.  I just moved to a new school and am the process of assembling a new computer to use for my musical applications in addition to the normal school stuff (attendence, grades, coorespondence, etc.).  The computer has been ordered but is not here yet.  I think I am good on processor, ram & hard drive.  My question is about the sound card.  I am a life long Mac person but the school does not support Mac (curse them!).  I am getting a Dell (obviously running Windoze).  What would be a decent sound car for me to get?  I am looking to use the machine for Sibelius, Kontakt 2 & VDL2.  I am sure it will come with whatever is the ";stock"; sound card for this particular machine.  Any ideas (with links from Sweetwater or wherever if possible)?

Thanks in advance.

If budget is tight, check out the M-Audio audiophile 2496. It supports ASIO drivers which will be important for you. If you need more options like more ins/outs, m-audio makes a number of other outboard audio interfaces that could work for you. Other good pro-level soundcards are made bay RME and Frontier.

As always - Jim to the rescue!  And BLAZIN fast too!!!!

Thanks Jim!

Dave,

You should also take a look at the Tascam US-122. It's a nice little interface, USB powered so there's no extra plug, ASIO drivers (16 & 24 bit), headphone jack and line out for speakers, plus it has 2 phantom powered mic inputs and 2 line inputs for recording. Cost is around $200 and you get LE versions of Cubase and GIGAStudio.

I was asked to start teaching a music technology course this year and outfitted a 16 station lab with these and the Dells. PITA to try and set up software for these with the resrtictions placed on the student computers, but that's another story.


Ted

semi related Kontak question,

I can import my EMU/Akai sample library into it???�� REALLY?!�� I thought I would have to start from scratch for that end of my sound library.�� There are only like 3 CDs I really want, all from Sampleheads from back in the day....but they are great for me.

I havent bought Kontak yet but will the day it ports to UB for my intel Mac.�� Which version of Kontak should I get? I think there are 3(?)

thanks so much, I finally had a good reason to get excited today.

Kent

[quote author=sonordrum link=topic=1390.msg6257#msg6257 date=1160796511]
semi related Kontak question,

I can import my EMU/Akai sample library into it???�� REALLY?!�� I thought I would have to start from scratch for that end of my sound library.�� There are only like 3 CDs I really want, all from Sampleheads from back in the day....but they are great for me.

I havent bought Kontak yet but will the day it ports to UB for my intel Mac.�� Which version of Kontak should I get? I think there are 3(?)

thanks so much, I finally had a good reason to get excited today.

Kent
[/quote]

Kontakt 2 is the program you should purchase.

[quote author=ted_boliske link=topic=1390.msg6251#msg6251 date=1160770027]
Dave,

You should also take a look at the Tascam US-122. It's a nice little interface, USB powered so there's no extra plug, ASIO drivers (16 & 24 bit), headphone jack and line out for speakers, plus it has 2 phantom powered mic inputs and 2 line inputs for recording. Cost is around $200 and you get LE versions of Cubase and GIGAStudio.

I was asked to start teaching a music technology course this year and outfitted a 16 station lab with these and the Dells. PITA to try and set up software for these with the resrtictions placed on the student computers, but that's another story.


Ted
[/quote]

Thanks Ted!!!  That was exactly the kind of information I was needing!!!

[quote author=nervoustic link=topic=1390.msg6225#msg6225 date=1160684153]
Hey everybody.�� I'm looking into getting a professional music lab to go with the composition degree I'm working on and I was hoping to get some input.�� I'm going to be running on a PC, hopefully a monster with 2GB Ram, Pentium D, Windows XP and the nicest sound card I can get my mitts on.�� I already have a nice MIDI keyboard, VDL2 and Sibelius 3.�� I want to add at least a good sampler and sequencer program, and probably Garritan Personal Orchestra as well.�� I've been looking at stuff like Cubase, Logic, SoundForge, and ProTools.�� I actually haven't found much about pricing for just the ProTools software, and the manual for VDL2 says Digidesign designs their stuff to work only with their hardware.�� What do all you professionals run, and how do you like it?�� What else, if anything, do I need to be able to do some good music production from home?�� What should I at all costs avoid?

J. Peter Wolk-Laniewski
George Fox University
[/quote]

Think of Digidesign as a hardware company.�� They happen to produce a softare designed to work intuitivly with their hardware.�� Pro Tools LE (MBox, M-Box 2, M-Box 2 Pro, Digi 002) will only run with the listed LE hardware.�� However Pro Tools M-Powered will run with approved M-Audio hardware, and there are a ton of interfaces available.

Look at a hardware and software combination that would be in your budget and that has the features you think you would need.�� It is important to note that Logic and Digital Performer are for Mac only, and Sonar is PC only.

I work almost exclusively on Digidesign systems, LE and HD.�� However, I do mostly mixing/editing/composing for commercial products (bands or film stuff).�� If you forsee yourself doing a lot of audio along with the MIDI, I would highly suggest Pro Tools due to the excellent editing capabilities that program has.�� The MIDI features are great, but they are not the focus of the program as of now.�� Pro Tools was designed as an audio editing and recording program first, and has been slowly integrating more and more MIDI features with each release.

I have also used Logic quite a bit, and it is another great choice.  Awesome MIDI features and flexability.  I happend to find the audio editing in it a bit annoying, but that's just my workflow.

If you see yourself working with mostly MIDI, I would suggest Sonar for PC or Logic for a Mac.�� Both slightly cater to the composer, and come with great soft synths out of the box.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SONAR6Pro
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LogicPro/

You most likely will be able to get the student pricing for the software, which cuts down the price tag by a lot.

And not to push Steinberg, but be aware of the notation abilities of all the programs.  Sonar in particular is very limited when it comes to notation, but I like it a lot.  I do my notation in Sibelius, so I'm not limited. 

Apparently Logic Pro is the way to go. And the fact that it has notation on it is cool, but I am a HUGE fan of Sibelius and would like to keep working with that. Is there any way to import a Sibelius file into Logic either directly or by way of Midi file? Or is Logic's notational capabilities superior to Sibelius?

I'm really most interested in utilizing sound libraries and having a place to mix and master the final product.