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Old 02-10-2020, 09:14 AM
MrErikJ MrErikJ is offline
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Default Sweetwater Creation Stations?

Hey All,

Anyone use or have used one of the Sweetwater custom computers? I know they're just white-labeled Intels and so on that they purchase and then configure, but I'm just curious if anyone has experience with them. I've been looking to purchase a comp and DAW and, of course, my SW rep recommended their CS100 for my singer-songwriter setup. The specs were pretty good but I did request a ram upgrade in the quote.

The overall value seems good for comp, monitor, DAW, OS and accessories but, of course, I've had nerd friends recommend that I get a Mac or build a PC or something else more expensive. I don't want to go cheap but I do like a good value and would love to hear if anyone has used the CS100 or anything comparable by SW.
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Old 02-10-2020, 10:45 AM
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Mbroady Mbroady is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MrErikJ View Post
Hey All,

Anyone use or have used one of the Sweetwater custom computers? I know they're just white-labeled Intels and so on that they purchase and then configure, but I'm just curious if anyone has experience with them. I've been looking to purchase a comp and DAW and, of course, my SW rep recommended their CS100 for my singer-songwriter setup. The specs were pretty good but I did request a ram upgrade in the quote.

The overall value seems good for comp, monitor, DAW, OS and accessories but, of course, I've had nerd friends recommend that I get a Mac or build a PC or something else more expensive. I don't want to go cheap but I do like a good value and would love to hear if anyone has used the CS100 or anything comparable by SW.
if you know what your doing you can no doubt build a similar unit 4 Less. I opted for a creation creation back in 2003. lasted for more the 15 years before the internal hard drive went. had all my "stuff" on an external hard drive.it

last year I got another creation station.
works great. if you plan on using lots of plugins with
multiple tracks (15 or more) I would consider getting the next model up from the 100.

you pay a little more but you get the customer support which is pricless, especially if your not a computer wizz.
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Last edited by Mbroady; 02-11-2020 at 07:44 AM.
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Old 02-10-2020, 10:48 AM
MrErikJ MrErikJ is offline
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Originally Posted by Mbroady View Post
if you know what your doing you can no doubt build a similar unit 4 Less. I opted for a creation creation back in 2003. lasted for more the 15 years before the internal hard drive went. had all my "stuff" on an external hard drive.it

last year I got another creation station.
works great. if you plan on using lots of plugins with
multiple tracks (15 or more) I would consider getting the next model of from the 100.

you pay a little more but you get the customer support which is pricless, especially if your not a computer wizz.
Thank you for the insight! For what I do, I don't see me having more than a dozen tracks so I bet the next level up would be overkill but who knows. Even though there's a premium compared to building it, I do like the customer service and convenience of purchasing it from SW.
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Old 02-10-2020, 10:55 AM
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Originally Posted by MrErikJ View Post
Thank you for the insight! For what I do, I don't see me having more than a dozen tracks so I bet the next level up would be overkill but who knows. Even though there's a premium compared to building it, I do like the customer service and convenience of purchasing it from SW.
you can chat with the sales rep about What Hardware u are you using, As well as the software. And they could guide you through What system would work best. Keep in mind that they are sales people, and there's always the chance they will try to upsell you. , but they are knowledgeable., And we'll walk you through. Everything you need to know About getting set up
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Old 02-10-2020, 11:35 AM
MrErikJ MrErikJ is offline
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Originally Posted by Mbroady View Post
you can chat with the sales rep about What Hardware u are you using, As well as the software. And they could guide you through What system would work best. Keep in mind that they are sales people, and there's always the chance they will try to upsell you. , but they are knowledgeable., And we'll walk you through. Everything you need to know About getting set up
Surprisingly, he didn't try to upsell me. Recommended the CS100 for my projects over the next model up. He seemed sincere but good salesmen usually do lol
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Old 02-10-2020, 11:50 AM
jim1960 jim1960 is online now
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I've never bought a Creation Station from Sweetwater, but I did buy a couple of Macs over the years that I had them set up for me. They did a good job both times and it was worth the extra I had to pay for the service. Their tech people know what they're doing.
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Old 02-11-2020, 07:07 AM
MikeBmusic MikeBmusic is offline
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$1000 seems way overpriced for the basic CS100. 4 USB ports - you'll need one each for mouse and keyboard, 1 for your audio interface and 1 for WIFI (I didn't see it had it) when needed, or to plug in a USB-MIDI keyboard.
I'm shopping for similar, and saw a refurbished similar micro-box computer with a 256 SSD (instead of 500G HDD) for $300.
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Old 02-11-2020, 10:31 AM
MrErikJ MrErikJ is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeBmusic View Post
$1000 seems way overpriced for the basic CS100. 4 USB ports - you'll need one each for mouse and keyboard, 1 for your audio interface and 1 for WIFI (I didn't see it had it) when needed, or to plug in a USB-MIDI keyboard.
I'm shopping for similar, and saw a refurbished similar micro-box computer with a 256 SSD (instead of 500G HDD) for $300.
It is pricier but you do get setup, customization, and service included. That said, it isn't necessarily a great value if you can build it and service it yourself. I can't and, for me, the whole setup is less than a Mac, which is nice, but not necessarily better.
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Old 02-11-2020, 11:43 AM
jim1960 jim1960 is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeBmusic View Post
$1000 seems way overpriced for the basic CS100.
I haven't looked at the prices for those computers in 15 years or so. The prices were more competitive back then. That CS100 is pretty poorly spec-ed for the price they're asking.
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