I Posted This On The DUC, But Thought I Would Post Here Too.
I am starting to research building my next DAW. I currently am not using ProTools, but would like to make the switch. Money is on the tight side, but I don't want to skimp on something that I will regret later. I have made up my mind that I will get an 002-Rack. I've been looking at the 2 different
Allenstein machines , and have been wondering what the real world performance differences are, and if I would be OK with the cheaper system, or if I'll kick myself later. If I go with the cheaper system. I would definitely add a second hard drive, and I guess I wouldn't feel too bad if after I had the system, I come to find that I should add another 512mb of RAM.
I'm looking for guidance as to whether I can get by with the cheaper system. I will need the machine to be able to be stable with up to 32 tracks of 24bit/48k. I guess I would like to know if I can expect 32 tracks of 24bit/96k if I decide to move up in the resolution chain. I am planning on using this system primarily for mixing, with the occasional overdub. My mix sessions are usually around 24 tracks, but I'd like to be reliable at 32. I don't use any soft synths, don't plan to either. I do plan on using the UAD-1 card from my old system in this new system. I also have the Waves Platinum bundle, which I will get transferred over to the new system. My mixes usually wind up maxing out the UAD-1 card. I generally don't use a ton of the Waves plugins. Maybe a Ren-Reverb, a couple of Ren-Comps, a gate or two, and a couple of Q-4's and delays. That's about it.
I don't have any real experience performing a full mix in Pro-Tools-LE and don't have a real good idea of what kind of plug-in counts I can expect. If I go with the cheaper Allenstein machine, would I be able to go as far as to use, say, 20 Waves Q-4's, 15 Ren-Comps, a couple of Ren-Verbs and a few delays, all while playing back 32 tracks of 24bit/48k audio?
Sorry for the long post, but I would really appreciate any feedback from someone who is using these machines.
Thanks,