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Subject:A loaded question
Posted by: jeepman83706
Date:9/28/2004 10:14:46 AM
If one was going to build their own computer specifically geared towards recording music, what should be included? I am looking for specifics on RAM, hard drive, processor speed, sound card, etc. Besides wanting to record music (and this may sound kinda weird) but me and my friends like to sing karaoke! there is this site called streamingkaraoke.com. what i would like to do is be able to hook up some decent sized speakers (not the little computer speakers i have now!) and a mic or two and go at it! what sort of sound card and other equipment would i need for something like that? so i guess this is a 2 part question with some overlap :) thanks for all the help i hope to receive ;) Greg |
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Subject:RE: A loaded question
Reply by: rome
Date:9/28/2004 9:59:12 PM
Just about any PC you buy today is equipped for recording. System requirements go up depending on various things like how many traks you want to record simultaneously, how many VST / DXs, DXi / VSTis plugins you want to run simultaneously, how many tracks you want o record at the same time etc. Acid Music Studio 5 is a good place to start. Also check for Calewalk Music Studio . There are many others. I would recommend you try out demos before purchasing anything. This will help you zero in on what you need. |
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Subject:RE: A loaded question
Reply by: Iacobus
Date:9/29/2004 12:22:16 PM
Processor and RAM: As much as you can afford. At least 512 MB of RAM. Hard Drives: At least two. One for your system, one for your media and music. How they're configured will depend on what interface you go with (Serial ATA or EIDE). If you go with Serial ATA, there's no special need of configuring the drives. Soundcard: There are lots of choices out there, but if you want pro-level audio with the support to match, go for a soundcard geared specifically for such a task, like those from Echo and M-Audio. (Others can chime in with choices too.) What kind of soundcard you choose will depend on your needs. If you work solo, there's really no need to buy an interface that has a gazillion I/O's. Be sure to keep software and hardware to a minimum; install only what you need. Mic and monitors or speakers: A good, quality XLR mic would serve you well. You'll more than likely also need a mic preamp (unless the soundcard or audio interface you choose provides one). Monitors would provide the flattest frequency response but also could cost a bundle. If you're not as concerned with fidelity, a nice set of speakers will do. (You might even be able to use your stereo system provided you choose a soundcard that has the appropriate outputs.) Don't forget to have a backup plan of some sort. Invest in a CD-RW or DVD-/+RW drive. Iacobus ------- RodelWorks - Original Music for the Unafraid mD's ACIDplanet Page Guitars 4 Kids |
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Subject:RE: A loaded question
Reply by: jeepman83706
Date:9/29/2004 1:35:45 PM
thank you very much for the replies. while looking around, I found this site that has several different Digital Audio Workstations that you can configure: http://www.adkproaudio.com/ I'm guessing building your own from scratch (perhaps looking at the above site for reference) would probably end up being cheaper? |
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Subject:RE: A loaded question
Reply by: groovewerx
Date:9/29/2004 2:28:30 PM
You can DIY a monster rig (including soundcard and speakers) for $1000 less than their "King of the hill". Goto pricewatch and musician's friend or other sites like that. |
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Subject:RE: A loaded question
Reply by: Spirit
Date:9/29/2004 4:44:54 PM
Most important piece of advice is: Don't buy a Soundblaster audio card. Everything after that is secondary. And yes you will save substantial amounts building your own machine. A good mobo, plenty of ram, and keeping your PC reasonably "pure" and free of rubbish apps will also help. |
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Subject:RE: A loaded question
Reply by: jeepman83706
Date:9/30/2004 8:03:06 AM
thanks groove and Spirit. lol...Soundblaster... :) |
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Subject:RE: A loaded question
Reply by: Big_Faced_Boy
Date:10/1/2004 3:39:07 PM
Take a look at this post from ACIDPLANET.COM http://www.acidplanet.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?New=&TID=9939&PN=1 There's some good advice in the above post. There's nothing wrong with the higher-priced soundblasters, there are simply much better available for the same price or less. Check out the latest range of E-mu soundcards. E-mu make soundblaster cards for Creative, and nobody here can argue that the latest E-mu cards have a pretty impressive spec at a low price. Of course, it all depends on what you want, and what budget you have. As I said in the post mentioned before, get a good motherboard, preferably made by ASUS, Chaintech or Gigabyte, with VIA or NForce2 chipset (do not buy Sis chipset or on-board sound - if your ideal mobo has onboard sound, then disable it in the BIOS and get a good soundcard). Make sure your RAM runs at the same speed or higher than the cpu FSB (Front-Side Buss) i.e. if you buy a 2500MHz "Barton" Athlon with 333Mhz FSB, get 333MHz RAM and get a P4 or Athlon, not a Celeron or Duron, as these have no onboard (L2) cache. When looking at disk drives, size is not the key, as larger drives have longer mean access times. The important thing is to make sure it runs at a high rpm (7200 is good), ATA133 or S-ATA (if your motherboard supports it) and has 8Mb cache, rather than 2Mb. Check out Western Digital Caviar hard disks, they're very good in my opinion. Sorry if this goes over your head at all. Look at the brandnames mentioned, and work from there. BFB. |
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Subject:RE: A loaded question
Reply by: jeepman83706
Date:10/2/2004 8:44:26 AM
BFB nope, not over my head :) that was what i was looking for...nice and specific. thanks! and thanks to everyone else's responses. i think i have enough info to start building :) |