What do you guys think

[Judge]

I was looking at buying the Motu 828 mk 2 and Samplitude Classic. I was told by someone i should look at the digi rack 002 w/ protools le software and it got me thinking about it, due to it being the industry standard.

Could someone point out the pro's and the cons for either.

Thanks for you help

[bdunard]

I also downloaded Samplitude along with others and I think by far it is the most intuitive and sounds the best. Open project, arm the track, select the input, and bam you're recording. Don't forget that for recording the software is only half the daw the soundcard being the other. I use the Hammerfall HDSP 9652, which works very well with Samplitude (actually Samplitude recommends it). I still work in Pro Tools some, and yes PT is the standard but that doesn't make it better.

[cdog]

I haven't used Samplitude much but I would advise you to not use PT LE as your main DAW unless you're slaved to PT for some reason.

PT LE's 32 track limitation is just not realistic. Among other issues.

[bdunard]

Originally posted by RobertPhilbeck
I agree. It's ridiculous to for it to have so many tracks.

huh?

[Judge]

for the stuff i do, i dont think i'll need more then 32 tracks, i'm more worried about the sound quality more then anything else.

Would they basically be the same?

[manning1]

if you want top sound quality then the quality of the sound card is vitally important. a top sound card favored by professionals is the lynx sound card. if your at the budget level and only need stereo in and out tracertek.com have some affordable ones starting under 100 bucks. one if i remember will even do 24 bit.
terratec has the phase series i think - its quite good - just came out recently - so you might want to wait for more user reports.
if you want a superb cheap piece of multitrack software with
unlimited tracks - well actually i think its about 70 to 80 tracks - 24 bit support and vst plug ins and dx etc etc check out ntrack at
fasoft.com. its only about 50 bucks. talk to some ecstatic users on the forum there if you dont believe me.

[Maston Thrust]

I have used PT le and Samplitude and IMO Samp sounds much, much better. I think you can get Samp 6.0 for around $50. to $100. and then pay to upgrade if you want to go to 7.0

[Jay Kahrs]

Originally posted by RobertPhilbeck
I agree. It's ridiculous to for it to have so many tracks.

LMFBO!!! After comping I rarely get past 18-20 tracks on most projects unless I'm printing stereo everything. In the last year I've only had one project go over 24 tracks and I've mixed a few off DAW's that were in the 35-40 region but two of those had stupid amounts of safety tracks.

Anyone using Cubase? I desperatly need to update my DAW multitrack software.

[bdunard]

At some point in writing I may have 30 to 50 tracks because I am still deciding on what I or the client wants so it's safe and easy to give it a track. These are not safety tracks just different parts and not all will make it to the stereo. If you are a band and work things out in rehearsal I don't think you would need nearly as many tracks but from a composition tools I can see where 40 to 60 tracks would be useful.

[JesusDoesVegas]

I think 32 tracks are plenty for most genras, but i could see where some would need more than others.

I am new to the world of recording, and within minutes of hooking up the digi 002 setup and installing PT le, i was recording.

maston you said that you think samplitude offers better sound quality... im not familior with this, what does it offer that protools does not?

[Jay Kahrs]

Originally posted by bdunard
If you are a band and work things out in rehearsal I don't think you would need nearly as many tracks but from a composition tools I can see where 40 to 60 tracks would be useful.

I write music with an old Adat and a little Yomama board, 8 tracks is plenty for basic composition IMHO. Once I'm done writing I'll go back and rerecord it all.

As for tracks, I remember getting one project where the band had at least 4-5 tracks for each guitar part. A couple of close mics, a room mic, DI for reamping etc. Multiply that by 5 or 6 guitars per song... don't get me started on the vocals...Now by comparison I'm in the middle of mixing an album for a five piece band with drums, keys (stereo piano & B3), two guitars, bass and three vocals. Even with percussion and overdubbed solos and acoustic guitars I think we topped out at 20 or 21 tracks and most songs are 18.

[bdunard]

Originally posted by Jay Kahrs
I write music with an old Adat and a little Yomama board, 8 tracks is plenty for basic composition IMHO. Once I'm done writing I'll go back and rerecord it all.

As for tracks, I remember getting one project where the band had at least 4-5 tracks for each guitar part. A couple of close mics, a room mic, DI for reamping etc. Multiply that by 5 or 6 guitars per song... don't get me started on the vocals...Now by comparison I'm in the middle of mixing an album for a five piece band with drums, keys (stereo piano & B3), two guitars, bass and three vocals. Even with percussion and overdubbed solos and acoustic guitars I think we topped out at 20 or 21 tracks and most songs are 18.

Most of the time with a live band I can do things at 24. However, I have alot of orchestral arrangements and horn parts for soul music that can usually use 12 tracks on just those instruments. I use softsynths to lay down each section of the orchestra (if I had 30 fingers I could do it to two track). Most projects that are 40 tracks or so usually end up going down to 20 to 30.

[Henchman]

Get Nuendo. it walks all over Pt's.
And no track limitations. You can use whatever interface you want.
So, really no limitations whatsoever.

[davemc]

Originally posted by Jay Kahrs
I write music with an old Adat and a little Yomama board, 8 tracks is plenty for basic composition IMHO. Once I'm done writing I'll go back and rerecord it all.

I have told a lot of non computer people this.. Its cheap, you can take it to rehersals etc etc. 8 tracks of adat is plenty for ideas, you could geta second if you want for 16 they are pretty cheap now.

As it is easy to take tracks in and out of the studio Pro Tools LE has an advantage. I am starting to get a bit of work where they will
Track with me
Take it home to edit the songs and do some overdubs,
come back do some more vocal or core overdubs
Take then home to edit
Then come back and mix in the studio.

Editing and working out overdubs takes a long time in the studio as you all know. If you can do that at home you do save yourself a bit of money.
Yes a 002 convertors are not the best, although if your doing core stuff in a studio your only editing parts together etc etc they are fine.

[Jay Kahrs]

Originally posted by davemc
I have told a lot of non computer people this.. Its cheap, you can take it to rehersals etc etc. 8 tracks of adat is plenty for ideas, you could geta second if you want for 16 they are pretty cheap now.

Yeah, I know...I paid a fair amount for all of mine back in the day. I sold one a few years ago and have three. I took one as a writing machine and the other two are for DAW I/O and budget projects that can't afford 2" tape.

Said about Nuendo:
"So, really no limitations whatsoever."

Except being able to walk into any commercial studio and run thier rig. Cause it WILL be ProTools.

This is the only reason I run an 001.

If you do not plan on interacting easily with pro studios OR ever
evolving into a frelance engineer....stay away from Protools.
If these are your eventual goals then you really don't have a choice.

D

[neilsby]

i've got a 828 mk II. It's great because it acts as the centre of everything. It has talkback facility, many outputs for setting up different mixes, it acts as a seperate mixer, good metering, you can use the preamps on the front as well as the eight inputs on the back. Basically, it's a great solution for a small studio that doesn't have these capabilities easily at hand. On the other hand, you pay for these features so money is being taken away from the quality.

If you have any specific questions i'll try and answer them, i forget to mention stuff.