Advice Please

[Lindurion]

I am a composer with some sampling/sequencing experience. I am currently using a PC and I own many programs like Sound Forge, Cakewalk, Finale, etc. I am still a student and don't plan on doing much commercial work for at least a little while longer; my goal right now is to be able to make realistic recordings of work I compose so I can get a better sense of how an orchestra really sounds (much better than general MIDI patches can do anyway). I am very impressed with what I've heard of the VSL and am interested in purchasing what I need to use it effectively. I plan to go into commercial music in the future, so I would like the ability to eventually expand whatever I get now to the highest quality & most samples available. I don't know if the PC I have is worth upgrading (it's a Pentium4 1.4 gHz w/ not enough RAM for my tastes), if I need to get a GigaStudio, or if I should just save up and get a Mac w/ Logic. I am primarily concerned w/ standard orchestral instruments for now and I would greatly appreciate any advice concerning the smartest way to acquire what I need to use the VSL effectively, including what to buy and where to get it, etc. Thanks in advance,

- Lindurion -

[plowman]

@Another User said:

I plan to go into commercial music in the future, so I would like the ability to eventually expand whatever I get now to the highest quality & most samples available.

A present goal and a future goal. In the short term, I don't think you could go wrong on either platform running Opus 1. And that puts you on an upgrade path -- in fact, you can crossgrade to the other platform when you upgrade, so you're covered there too. You can, in essence, put off the platform decision.

If you were a hobbyist, I'd leave it at that. But I must say, if you plan to make a living at this, you will quite likely move to Logic or a program of competing strength. Personally, I'd get on that learning curve as early as possible. And since VSL comes in native EXS, which operates organically with Logic (and since you have no present investment in Giga at all), I'd encourage you towards the Mac. (Easy for me to say. It's not my money.)

But if the lures and ubiquity of the PC world are too much to resist, or if finances preclude a Mac plus Logic here and now, don't despair. Many composers drive PC Giga set ups from their Mac based Logic. So, PC or Mac, you could be assembling a viable system no matter what short term decision you make.

I was running a PC only set up with Logic and Giga on the same computer for a while. When I finally inherited a Mac, the transition was quite natural. But now, the more I learn EXS, and the more I appreciate the interconnectedness of EXS to Logic, the more I'd like to consolidate my studio and go Mac-only.

Only my opinion. Hope you get more feedback.

[cm]

welcome Lindurion,
reading your post opus 1 comes into my mind as a really good starting point, which has already been descibed also as the *essentials* from the pro edition and would offer an upgrade path to the pro.
a decision for a certain platform is a matter of taste and budget. considering you are already on a PC and could run your sequencer or notation program there. it seems to me getting a second PC with 2 GB RAM and gigastudio would give you the most value for your money.
running logic on a mac has also benefits that may count for you, especially having everything in a single environment. currently you could also load slightly more instruments on a mac with 2 GB RAM, but the costs would be significantly higher.
i'd say make a list with your personal pro's and con's for both platforms, i'm sure others will step in with their suggestions
christian

[Lindurion]

Thanks for the advice, I'll definately look into Opus 1. If I were to get a new PC and GigaStudio, any suggestions on what to get and where to purchase? I want to make sure I'll have everything I'll need (as in any other hardware or software needed to utilize these libraries effectively). Thanks again.

- Lindurion -

[cm]

Lindurion, in any case i would get a board with 800 MHz frontsidebus and i have always been happy with asus boards, but there are several others. don't forget you will need a soundcard which supports GSIF drivers for gigastudio like RME
christian

[james_b]

Hi Lindurion,

I put together a machine about six months ago as my new digital audio workstation. I run both Sonar 3.0 and Gigastudio on one machine with no problems, even with a big orchestral set loaded plus effects and other plugins.

Basically, I bought a standard mini-workstation system (dual P4 2.4GHz, 2 GB DDR RAM). I have a 100 GB drive for applications and projects, and a 200 GB drive dedicated to samples (both drives are fast IDE). OS is Windows XP Professional (Home works fine too), ASUS motherboard with a fast bus.

Audio card - M-Audio Delta44 (great inexpensive card), Midi - USB Midisport 8x8...

Overall, I haven't had any glitches or complaints to speak of. I originally had 1 GB of RAM but just upgraded to 2GB, and that seems to be about right. I spent about $3000 for this system (not including audio and MIDI gear, that was from my old machine).

[Peter Alexander]

We just built a VSL system for Trevor Rabin similar to this:
http://www.truespec.com/computersystems/daudio/index.shtml

It included the Pro Edition plus quite a few of the Horizon libraries.

FYI, your 1.4GHz system is ok for Giga 2.54, just try to expand the RAM to 2GB.

Peter Alexander
peter@truespec.com

[skip]

I have a P3 1ghz with 512k mem running XP home. I run Nuendo, gigastudio, performance tool set and record audio all at the same time on the same machine and have no problems. Your P4 is a lot better than mine.
Skip

[Peter Roos]

Skip,

With the system you have, you can hardly do any serious orchestral stuff, without resorting to serious bouncing to audio and submixing. There is of course nothing wrong with the system and you being happy with it, but for people who expect to do serious production work with VSL it is absolutely unusable (sorry for this).
With XP and today's prices for RAM you could already do soooo much more with more memory on the same machine.

For serious orchestral music with VSL you will need at least 2-3 sampler machines and a separate sequencer/Daw machine.

I just want to comment on this, in case new visitors think they might get away with a P3/512 and VSL [:D]

Peter
www.PeterRoos.com

[Lindurion]

Right now I'm thinking of getting a P4 3.2GHz w/800MHz FSB + 2 GB DDR SDRAM - It comes with a SB Audigy 2 Sound Card. I'm thinking about buying either an RME HDSP9652 or the 9632 Sound Card (which has analog inputs too). I found both cards on sale for $600 (if anyone knows where I can get either of these chaper, please let me know). The one thing I don't understand is why the 9652 supports up to 96 kHz sampling rates for digital inputs (I'd be primarily using SPDIF) and the 9632 supports up to 192 kHz. Am I misunderstanding the descriptions or do the digital inputs have no need for higher sampling rates? Sorry, I'm new at this stuff. Also, should I keep my Audigy 2 SC and add the RME, or just take the Audigy 2 card out and replace it? Thanks for the help.

- Lindurion -