A while back I told you about my intention to completely rebuild my entire working/music area. Since I’ve just started making the first couple of purchases I thought I’d fill you in on what’s happened so far.
So the first purchases so far are:
- A new Mac Pro – I need more power, we will always need more power, whatever some might tell you.
- Two new screens – I wanted a pair that matched.
On top of that I’ve borrowed a Wacom pen tablet the size of an a A4. I really need to get away from the mouse as much as possible, especially now that I do so much composing by typing in notes one at a time.
I don’t think the Wacom, the 003 and my other controllers will satisfy me completely. Therefore I’ve also booked a D-Command demo with a buddy at Digi. If that doesn’t satisfy me I think the only option is a setup with more analog gear. I can’t think of a digital system that does as much for the same €uros.
The acoustic treatment is pretty much solved and I’ll place the final order tomorrow. I’ll let you in on the company and my experience with them when the order is finalized and the products are up.
On the software side I’ve just recently started trying out Plogue Bidule. So far the experience has been mostly positive. I’ll give Reaktor another go as well again soon to see which one I prefer. I’m still torn by keeping this part of my studio in the software realm, not because of the sound, but because patching cables on a screen will probably prove to be a complete drag after a while. The other real option is a euro rack modular synthesizer setup, but on that side of the fence I believe I would really miss out on the recall such a system lacks. In the past I’ve been suggested to get one of the Clavia Nord modulars. Unfortunately they’re now discontinued, and from what I understand the chance of a new version is slim to none.
Other things I’ve looked at recently includes remote solutions with various iPhone apps, notation software, a ton of ribbon microphones, and real reverb possibilities. I’ll get back to you on those things and more once I’ve dived deeper into them.
Tomorrow I’ll setup the new Mac. I’m really looking forward to try Kontakt 4 (it’s been sitting on the shelf for some time now!), the Wacom, as well as new plug-ins I’m not really allowed to talk about. There’s a lot more planning to do.
By the way, nothing at my place is safe from evaluation and the risk of getting the foot right now – not even Pro Tools.
Hey stiff,
I used Plogue Bidule for years now, and Reaktor in the years before and can definately say, now that I have Reaktor again, it´s not either or it´s definately AND.
Because Bidule is mostly an live performance environment that perfectly blends in with Reaktor running inside of Bidule.
It can also host VST and AU Plug-ins, which Reaktor can´t. And it´s light on the CPU as a host. And I find the data processing and MIDI routing/OSC conversion to be more effektive than in Reaktor (not necesarily more powerful).
just my 3cents.
We have a D-Command at work – it arrived in September. I’m only just starting to get to grips with the really powerful stuff it can do in terms of control – particularly the custom faders section, and custom groups.
dyscode,
I’ve got a similar impression (that it’s “and” and not “or”) I’m still unsure if I need both though! I was quite surprised how fast I actually made something that sounded useful to me in Bidule, that was very important to me. Not that I don’t expect a learning curve, but I want to be able to make something at least halfway useful while learning.
Just curious, what screens did you buy?
A pair of Viewsonic vg22300wm.
http://www.viewsonic.com/products/desktop-monitors/lcd/graphic-series/vg2230wm.htm
I’m not to concerned with monitors, but I really wanted a matching pair and I also liked how easy these were to adjust (I work both standing and sitting). I got them very cheap.
Gearing up myself for Christmas… Just brought a Focusrite Octopre MK1 with ADAT card for my Digi 002, and hoping to purchase some Adam A7′s soon.
Nice!
Installing Kontakt 4 now… And downloading Pro Tools 8 with my iPhone – 4GB is gonna take quite some time! Stupidly enough I hadn’t saved a copy of 8
Kontakt 4 kicks ass m8, you’ll love it!!
I was very happy with Kontakt 3.5. It seemed rock solid with PT so I’m hoping for this release to be as stable as well. Oh yeah, the new features look nice too
I have a 24 inch dell and a 17 inch dell. Ive been toying with picking up a 30 inch dell too. haha. Monitors are super important. the more you have the more space you have!
I’m having much luck with Bidule. I love it and have a very efficient template set up for PT.
Bidule runs loads soft synths and I appreciate the performance boost compared to RTAS instruments in PT. I use an Echo Audiofire 2 (analog outs) for Bidule outs and route them into PT HD via Lynx Aurora 8 with LT-HD card. I run Kontakt in standalone and also use the Echo AF2 (digital outs) into PT. I’m running PT HD 7.4cs10 on a Mac Pro/2.66 two dual core/14GB RAM. Very happy with Mac Pro!
dominic, you’re nuts – are you trying to build a wall of monitors?
I’m still not sure what to do with my old ones, they’re not bad so they could easily fit into the setup – I’m just not sure I want that many screens.
phase90, sounds like a great setup. May I ask why you prefer to run Bidule and Kontakt through the Echo? Bidule supports ReWire and Kontakt can of course work as a plug-in.
Hey stiff, I don’t use ReWire since it’s coded to use only 1 processor and I see much better performance using the Echo’s physical outs. Echo uses Apple’s FW drivers. Very solid. Makes more sense to do physical audio patching here.
For Kontakt as standalone, all 4 midi ports are available… Very helpful when loading lots of patches and keeps the processing load to a minimum by not calling up more than 1 instance as a plugin in PT (or Bidule). As a standalone app, there’s also more RAM available for Kontakt. More efficient. Better performance.
A drawback to Kontakt standalone is no midi clock sync. So yes, that’s the only time when I’ll use Kontakt within PT e.g. when using Beat Machine, Time Machine or any other clock/tempo synced functions within Kontakt.
Great explanation. That makes a lot of sense!
Got screwed when the Focusrite didn’t turn up with the purchased ADAT card
So I’ve told them to take it back, and have purchased the Octopre MK2 instead from another dealer. Will let you know how it sounds 
That sucks. Hopefully you’ll get the Octopre MK2!