Hi!

My system sucks! I'm using an avalon u5 with a motu traveller and my pc+cubase is the typical cliché! Bugs, etc...

Because of that I want to buy me a new system (computer+sequenzer) that WORKS. I don't care if this will be a mac or PC. I'm a newbie in recoring so I need some help. Í'm able to spend 2000€ on soft. sequenzer + computer.

I know there are many apple vs. pc threads here , I just need some experiences which hardware+software works! I searched the forum...
So if you own something that gets the job done, tell me!

thx,

Johannes



p.s An Imac would cost me 1650€, logic pro 350€ (edu)

looks like you have a good plan already.. you'll get a great machine and a logic which comes with tons of useful instruments and effects, especially if you're a newbie. just remember that logic can be difficult if you try to jump into it too far. keep it simple in the beginning and go from there. logic works like all the other daws. it's just when you get ready to get into the environment is when you start to get a little headace. plus your cubase should run on your mac, even though most agree that it's not efficient on a mac.

I would get a new Mac Book Pro - amazing machine and Logic 7.2

As mentioned previously this is all the software you'll need to get started, plus is a very deep program that will work well as your set-up expands. It shouldn't be that hard to work out if you know Cubase.

Then I'd send my Motu Traveller to 'Black Lion Audio' and get the preamps, converters and clock upgraded! This is an amazing mod, that takes the unit to a whole new level in my mind.

Motu and Apple are seamless so compatibility will be sweet.

Then start saving for studio monitors, a great preamp and a decent mic. It never ends

Cheers - Rez

Sending my motu in would be difficult: I'm living in germany...
Is an imac+Logic 7 a system which will also work in the future?
I mean does apple plan to release logic 8 this year? Will they switch to amd?


thanx for the fast and good answers!

I live in Australia and I sent my Motu in... worth every cent

Mac is very very committed to Logic, and will most definitely continue to invest in developing the program... it's already the ultimate DAW for home recording if you're using lots of midi (imho - please no DAW war).

I think in terms of hardware, mac are in great shape. Reports on the intel line thus far have been outstanding and all the third party software companies are committed to providing drivers and support for mac. Motu and Mac is a very stable setup.

In any case, a PC will work fine as well - but I'm a Mac fanatic and am very happy I made the switch.

Alles gutte und viel spass,

Prost - Reza

(P.S. Weltmeisterschaft finale - Deutschland v. Australien heh)

bassoon....
i suspect your pc wont suck if set up properly.
if you post your pc config in DETAIL i'll have a look and make suggestions to make it less sucky.
lots of folks includeing myself are doing lots of stuff on pc's.
its all in how the pc is set up/configged unless you have a old boat anchor in which case maybe you might consider a new pc.
but post your current configuration and lets have a look. peace.

Good point. I get on the Mac happy pills sometimes, but if you can get your PC running better and then spend more on the good stuff then that's a great option

Weltmeisterschaft: Looking forward to it! heh
I don't think I can get my pc running!I had to change the dvd device 2 times+ 2 times the graphic-card. It's a 3000+ AMD 64, 1 gig ram.

I made very bad experiences with cubase, does sx 3 works? Nuedo is to expensive for me!


An other point is that I want a system which works from the time I buy it. I just want to make music, not to repair it the whole day....

maybe you should download a demo of sonar, first and see if that works on your present machine
another fine program

bassoon...
i cant help if you dont detail EXACTLY your problems.
an amd 64 is a fine pc capable of a load of tracks etc.
thus please detail exactly your problems.
1 gig memory is good.
also tell me how many hard drives , one or two ??
are you useing the traveller as your sound device ??
this might be an issue if not installed properly.
i need details please to steer you in the right direction.

I have one harddrive! 150gig s-ata drive. 2x512 gig ram, radeon x800, an annoying mainboard.

problems:

1)One problem is that my windows crashes very often! I formated my pc already three times this year. A blue screen appears with some blablabla, more often my system reboots on it's self.

2)Altough my pc is 100% clean (formated, no new software) it takes about 4 minutes to boot! I know this is not common for a windows pc!

3)Sometimes cubases freezes, this happens with some other applications, too!

other annoying facts about my system:
-very loud
-some hardware parts of my discounter PC have to be replaced once a year

If I'm sure that logic+iMac is easier to install+runs safer, I'll buy an apple next month! If that is NOT true, I'll send B. Gates some money and buy a windows pc...
very easy. I need a good sequenzer with good (third-party) plug in support, therefore I think i have to decide between cubase and logic, maybe sonar

What's your "annoying motherboard" brand and model?

go for a pc and run samplitude.....best daw ever....in my opinion.

bassoon....
firstly you can be patient or not up to you.
if your willing to be patient you might end up with a good system.
but lets see if we can do something to resolve this.
firstly the 4 minute boot time.
this indicates to me something is seriously effed up.
did you build this system yourself ??
do you use it for the net also ??
heres STEP ONE. did you install the one hard drive yourself ??
please check dma is enabled in control panel for the hard drive.
BE PATIENT.
also please tell me what you have in your pci slots.
and your mainboard model id as well as your hard drive model so i can look this stuff up and advise you.
BELIEVE ME IF I HAD YOUR SYSTEM IT WOULDNT SUCK !
i assure you it would purr like a kitten. AMD 64's are darn nice.
its simply misconfigured.

I didn't change ANYTHING on my system. I did not build it up own my own, i bought it ready to go. So: original hd, no pci cards...
I'll give you exact data tomorrow!


General question: What sequenzer runs safest on windows? Ok, i can't afford pro tools. As I know Cubase and Logic have the best plug in support, this would be very important to me...
Can Cubase SX 3 (win) run as safe as logic (mac) ?


thank you for you help,

Johannes

bassoon....
all sequencers will run great on windows that are programmed for windows.
its not your current recording software thats the problem.
if your amd64 isnt set up properly any windows recording software will have a hard time working properly. whether its powertracks that i use or cubase or sonar or samplitude or whatever.
Therefore you need to forget about audio software and get your pc properly configured. otherwise youll get problems whichever software you use.
The long boot time of 4 minutes is a clue that something isnt right.
The freezes/crashes are another clue that your pc isnt set up right.
who built this pc ?? is it a brand name or a clone ??
heres a simple checklist....
1. as i said check your hard drive dma is enabled.
THIS IS IMPORTANT.
2. tell me if you get crashes in normal windows applications (ie non recording applications.) for example in some office application you use.
3. i would like you to run a test. instead of useing the motu traveller.
try recording/playing back with your on board soundcard. (no plug ins.).
if no crashes this points to maybe the motu being a problem.
in which case contact motu support.

please note. running one hard drive is not recommended for multitracking.
ideally you need two hard drives. one for windows and one to record to.
but i dont want you buying another hard drive till we figure out whats wrong with your system. You might simply have some bad memory.
I looked up the traveller. its a firewire device.
please describe what firewire support you have in your pc.
is it texas instruments ??? look in control panel under ieee support.

heres my synopsis to date/conclusions.
1. your hard drive isnt configured properly
and MAYBE...
2. the traveller doesnt play well with whatever chipset is being used for firewire support on your pc. please post what motherboard is being used in your amd 64.

bassoon...
ok i went to motu's site.
it looks like there is an issue with motu firewire and xp service pack 2.
heres the link ....
http://www.motu.com/techsupport/tech...-13.9344567818
do you have service pack 2 installed ??
i would contact motu support about this.
maybe its been resolved. peace.
ps you might also read these tech notes from motu's site on various aspects of useing their products,
http://www.motu.com/products/motuaud...technotes.html

-dma is on!
-Also the onborad soundcard makes that faults
-PC reboots without doing something: I left it for an our in windows (didn't do anything) and it rebootet after one hour! I formated the harddisk yesterday, windows is original, NO other programs on it....

I have the same setup as you, as pc i am using a dell 8300 with winxp SP1 and cubase sx3. Over here it works flawlessly. But, there are some things to consider.



What kind of firerwire card do you use? The traveler doesn't like cheap FW cards, so you should buy one with a texas instrumenta chipset. I bought a PCI FW card by the local apple shop, these ones have most of the times TI chips in it. But, they are like $90 instead of $15.

-Dont use any other devices on the same FW port.
- Don't let cubase auto-install the card and calculate buffers, just add it yourself in the device setup. Another thing:"don't start cubase when ur traveler is off, this results in having to select the traveler in the device setup again.


Hopefully these tips will work for you!

Maybe a bit radical, but ripping out the backup battery that sits in your motherboard can help!

leave it out, boot the pc, turn it off, put it back in and reboot again. It worked for me one time when i had messed up all my configurations

bassoon.
ok dma is on. fine.
next question do you have xp service pack 2 installed ??
did you visit the links i gave you ??
because it looks like traveller with sp2 are issues.
also note what the previous poster said about firewire.
how are you connecting up the traveller to the pc ??
i still think there are issues with your hard drive. re...boot time.
who sold you this system ?? an authorised amd reseller ??
heres one thing i would do.
go back to whoever sold you this system and get them to replace the hard drive with a 7200 rpm 16 mb cache hard drive.
you should see windows boot fast with this type of hard drive with a large cache. MAKE SURE YOU SEE IT WORKING IN THE STORE BEFORE PAYING OUT MORE MONEY.
i suspect the hard drive you have is 2mb cache maybe.
also get them to check your memory is ok.
if you know the model number of the hard drive please post it.
as well as your mainboard model number/maker.
so i can check it out.
i would also like to know in control panel do you see any devices flagged ??
by windows ?? please also post back if your on windows service pack one or two.
if your on two try rolling back to service pack one possibly.
if we can get this pc of yours working correctly you should add a second hard drive later on to record to.

Looking for a rock-solid solution?

Samplitude V8.3 with any RME audio interface on a PC.


In addition, Samplitude will sound better than anything you have used before. Magix has developed the best sound engine period.



Regards,


Guy Cefalu

Sonica Audio Labs

The batterything doesn't help!
I think you don't undesrstand me: I have currenty NO traveller connected with my pc.
It starts rebooting without and with sp 2... Like I said: Just windows and the internetexplorer on my pc...

bassoon...
re rebooting without traveller attached.
ok now we are getting somewhere.
this indicates to me many possibilities.
one being possibly a flakey power supply.
be aware if this is an el cheapo clone pc you might just have a bad power supply.
there are many knock off power supplies floating around that dont meet technical spec if you scour the internet for power supply problems.
A BAD POWER SUPPLY IS ANATHEMIA for a hi performance processor.
what brand is your power supply ??

heres what i would do. get a QUALIFIED pc tech to check the power supply out and you might as well get memory checked at the same time and your drive.
all through this thread youve never mentioned the manufacturer of your pc.
is it a brand name or a clone ??
for all i know you got this pc heavily discounted because its got some
problematic components installed.
please post the brand of pc and i'll check it out.

in addition by any chance in your country where you live do you have any power issues with your local electrical power supplier ??
do you get interruptions in power to your house for example ??

I would say that MOTU have a history of problems related to PC use. I have SX3 on a PC and runs fine.

ok, i gave my pc to a good tech! Let's see what he will find out...

Yeah, well what the hell do you know, Guy.fuuck