[ddots-l] Re: sound card and mixer recommendations

  • From: Nickus de Vos <bigboy529@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2012 10:03:49 +0200

I totally agree, as long as you get a propper motherboard with propper
firewire chips and configure your stuff correctly you'll have no
firewire issues plus I don't see a reason why you would want to go
below a 64 sample buffer size.
If it will make you more comfortable about firewire, find out what
motherboard you're going to get in your machine, then check what
firewire chip it uses and research online whether people have any
issues with those firewire chips on a windows machine. Oh and while
mentioning windows, I hope you're going for windows 7 and not back to
windows xp, I know a lot of jaws users still like xp but I don't see a
reason why not to use windows 7, plus you can probably expect to have
some driver issues with the firewire if running xp. Way back in the
days of xp microsoft wasn't very fond of the firewire thing because
it's Apples interface. But as the years whent on, hardware guys
started putting firewire on motherboards because the demand was there
so microsoft had to build firewire drivers for windows xp. Because it
wasn't in xp from the start and later added on, the chances of having
issues with very new motherboards and sound interfaces are good but
because firewire was designed in to windows 7 from the start, it is
rock solid.

On 9/22/12, D!J!X! <megamansuperior@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I can say that if you get the right hardware and get it configured
> properly,
> firewire will not be an issue, as long as you don't need to go lower than
> 64
> samples buffers.
> I've even heard of some real nice USB offerings, mostly from motu though,
> as
> the others for high track counts might be iffy.
>
> Regards, D!J!X!
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
> Behalf Of John J. Fioravanti, Jr.
> Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012 8:17 PM
> To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [ddots-l] Re: sound card and mixer recommendations
>
> I'd like to stay with what I have; however, the machine is 7 years old and
> don't think it will last much longer. Also, I already purchased 8.5 and
> can't find the upgrades to sonar 6 any where, must have lost the cd I saved
> it on. Anyway, your suggestions are very helpful. My son, who is very
> expert
> in computer and works for me in my law office, is a bit leery of firewire.
> John
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
> Behalf Of Nickus de Vos
> Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012 5:36 PM
> To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [ddots-l] Re: sound card and mixer recommendations
>
> Because you mostly mix in the box and not on the outboard mixer I would
> recommend getting a control serfice and then a firewire interface like the
> focusrite safire pro 40 or the presonus firestudio or fire tube. Have a
> look
> at the Mackie control serfices, from what I hear they are very good at a
> reasonable price. I know the safire pro 40s software pannel is accessible
> by
> using HSC but not sure of the presonus cards.
> I personally think firewire is stable enough to record with and you will
> easally record 8 tracks at the same time with the pro 40 even with low
> latencies. PCI can maybe be a better option but personally I think it is
> only a better option if you go to a bigger setup like 24,
> 32 or 64 track recording. If you later want to expand to more than 8
> channel
> recording at the same time, then you can simply buy a pre amp or rack with8
> pre amps with a ADAT output, it will plug in to the safire pro 40 giving
> you
> 16 pre amps to record with at once. A good example of a 8 channel ADAT pre
> amp is the presonus digimax but there's a lot of options out there
> depending
> on your needs and budget.
> If you really want to add a mixer you can look at the little soundcraft
> analog mixers, there's a couple of models ranging in feetures and channel
> count, think there's 8, 12 and 16 channels, those mixers are really nice
> and
> compact.
> The great thing about this is setup is that you don't have to buy
> everything
> at once. You can first buy the safire interface and get going with that. As
> your needs and budget then grow or if you feel you need it you can then add
> the control serfice and later also 8 more pre amps if needed or as said if
> you feel you want it, also a small analog mixer.
>
> A question on was why don't you stick with your current setup if it aint
> broken why fix it. Well I guess the main reason for your upgrade is to get
> better quality gear to get a better sound. Well the focusrite safire stuff
> is a huge upgrade in terms of sound quality over the m-audio stuff and the
> soundcraft mixer will also be a huge bump up in quality from the mackie
> mixer you are using. The great thing about the control serfice is that it
> doesn't effect your sound quality because it only passes command
> information
> too and from sonar, it doesn't pass audio signals, so whether you buy a
> really low priced
> 1 fader serfice for $80 or whether you buy a huge avid control serfice for
> $70000, it all depends on what you need and what will work for you.
>
> On 9/21/12, John J. Fioravanti, Jr. <fioresq1@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> Nickus: I run my hard synths into a mackey 1202VLZ and take the main
>> outs into a delta 66. I also have a separate preamp with two outs so
>> combined with the Mackey, I can record four tracks at once,
>> unfortunately, not in stereo. I use some soft synths. I generally mix
>> in sonar and don't run back into the mixer. I use automation all the
>> time.
> Thanks for everything.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Nickus de Vos
>> Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012 8:02 AM
>> To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Subject: [ddots-l] Re: sound card and mixer recommendations
>>
>> Hi
>> The focusrite Safire cards are full interfaces in other words you can
>> use it with out a outboard mixer. The safire pro 40 is basically a 1U
>> sized chassy.
>> You connect it to the computer via firewire, then you connect your
>> mics instruments or synths directly to its XLR/jack inputs and your
>> monitor speakers or headphones directly to its outputs. It's basically
>> like a very simplified mixer with all the inputs and outputs but
>> without faders and channel strips with EQ, aux sends etc.
>>
>> The advantage of using a control serfice when mixing in the box is
>> that you basically have some physical faders and knobs to work with
>> and you don't have to do everything on the computer keyboard. A
>> control serfice makes tasks like fader automation,
>> muting/soloing/arming tracks, navigation through tracks and even plug
>> in
> control much easyer and hands on.
>>
>> I won't say that there's a advantage of using a control serfice rather
>> than a full mixer. I would still always prefer mixing on a propper
>> analog mixer rather than mixing in the box even with a propper control
>> serfice. It really depends on your work flow and what you prefer, I've
>> heard amazing mixes done only in the box so it's not really a question
>> of quality anymore like it was a couple of years ago.
>>
>> If you can explain a bit about your current work flow then maybe I can
>> advise you better. What gear do you have, how is your soundcards
>> connected to your pre amps, how is your mixer connected to your
>> soundcard and after recording to sonar, how do you currently mix, in
>> the box or do you send out to the mixer and mix analog.
>> I'm just trying to get a feel for how you do things and your current
>> setup, as it sounds to me so far, you prefer a analog workflow rather
>> than doing a lot of stuff in the box on sonar.
>>
>> On 9/21/12, John J. Fioravanti, Jr. <fioresq1@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>> I am having  daw custom built. a
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of D!J!X!
>>> Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012 1:02 AM
>>> To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Subject: [ddots-l] Re: sound card and mixer recommendations
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Well, what will you be doing for the most part, recording with mics,
>>> playing back lots of tracks (mixing and mastering), or messing around
>>> with soft synths, or a bit of all that. Performance wise, PCI express
>>> cards run better than firewire or USB, mainly because firewire
>>> interfaces for the most part use dice II chipsets which has its
>>> limitations; I think you can't go lower than 64 samples buffer. From
>>> what I've seen PCIE cards have better latency and can go down to 32
>>> on a system that is properly configured, which is the question, what
>>> kind of system are you getting, is it a prepared daw?
>>>
>>> Bak to interfaces, RME makes some solid stuff, but it's expensive,
>>> and you'll have to buy the proper breakout box for your needs; not
>>> sure on its preAmps and such, but the drivers, stability and latency
>>> is
> good.
>>>
>>> In the firewire land, there's the focusrite saffire lines, stuff like
>>> the pro40, the liquid mix, the 56 etc. Motu also has some good stuff
>>> in both USB and I believe PCIE and firewire.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> HTH, D!J!X!
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>   _____
>>>
>>> From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of John J.
>>> Fioravanti, Jr.
>>> Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2012 10:50 PM
>>> To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Subject: [ddots-l] Re: sound card and mixer recommendations
>>>
>>> Haven't decided on the type of connection yet, either PCI or firewire.
>>> Would
>>> you recommend firewire? e budget is not the problem.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of D!J!X!
>>> Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2012 10:43 PM
>>> To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Subject: [ddots-l] Re: sound card and mixer recommendations
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> What's your budget? What kind of  connection capabilities does your
>>> new computer have, firewire, PCI express, USB etc.
>>>
>>> How much controll do you want over control panel and such, do you
>>> have outboard gear like preAmps and such or do you need something
>>> with good preas already in it?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> HTH, D!J!X!
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>   _____
>>>
>>> From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of John J.
>>> Fioravanti, Jr.
>>> Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2012 10:33 PM
>>> To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Subject: [ddots-l] sound card and mixer recommendations
>>>
>>> Hi: For a few years I've been waiting for caketalking to make 9
>>> accessible and although I purchased 8.5 I've never installed it. Been
>>> using 6; however, I'm about to upgrade to 64 bit  with a new computer
>>> and sonar 8.5. Any recommendations for workable sound cards and
>>> mixers to enable me to record at least eight tracks at once? Thanks
>>> in advance.
>>>
>>> John Fioravanti
>>>
>>>
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