New Computer/Equipment for Home Recording startup

[hallockj]

I'd like to get a new computer to begin the journey into home recording (mostly guitar/vocals). Dell has some 'back to school' specials and I am looking at the Dell Inspiron 530 desktop. It looks to be pretty well configured, but if anyone can guide me as to what to upgrade I would be appreciative. I guess I will need to buy an external soundcard so would it matter so much what the PC card is, would it?

I have a pair of KRK monitors already, some mics and good headphones, but that is about it. What else might I need?

A friend recommended that I speak with the people at Sam Ash for recommendations, but there is such a wealth of knowledge here. Brand names and models would be great. I am just looking for a startup rig right now but hopefully something expandable and not throwaway should it become more serious. Thanks to all!

[PorkPieGuy]

If you haven't purchased your Dell yet, I would consider a Mac. I was a PC lover for years (and I still love them, nonetheless), but if you are going to be using your computer predominately for recording, I'd go with a Mac if you can. I have a couple of PC's right now that I love for my job, but if I was looking at starting a studio, I go with a Mac.

With that aside, I would get one of the MBoxes with Protools LE. Seems to be pretty industry standard right now. This way, if you ever record a really great track, you can always go to a more "pro" studio to mix it, add FX, etc.

[Herb Hunter]

I've been a Mac user for 21 years and wouldn't consider anything else but your question is about the Dell Inspiron 530.

You could install an M-Audio PCI card: http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=...=pciinterfaces but I think it is better go with an outboard unit that connects to your computer via a FireWire port, if the Dell has one, or a USB port such as these:http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=...bileinterfaces. The outboard units are supposed to introduce less noise and, of course, can be used with other computers. Also, the outboard units usually have microphone preamplifiers built-in.

I notice that the Inspiron 530 has a 160 Gb drive. It would be a good idea to specifiy a bigger hard drive.

You didn't mention how much you wanted to spend. The M-Audio products I've mentioned are a good value but there are better (with regard to the microphone preamplifier), more expensive I/O units on the market.

[rmyAddison]

ProTools is great, maybe overkill, but you will never regret you didn't get something more versatile.

I got the Mbox2 Pro package which comes with ProTools LE and tons of software and gives you two decent inputs with phantom power, better than the sound card route, it connects via firewire.

MBox packages go from a few hundred to around a grand. You need a second hard drive to dump your files too or there will be latency issues. Unless the PC is dedicated to being a DAW, ProTools likes to run in a very bare bones setup, you need to set up a dual boot environment: one with all your normal software, games, whatever, and one with just Windows and Protools.

I did the above and the systems flies, no latency, crystal clear recording. 2 meg of ram and 2 hard drives, along with either a dedicated system or dual boot, are the secret to not having problems. You can convert your files to .wav or MP3's and the Mbox also accepts midi. Highly recommended.

[Yoder]

I use both Windows and OS X platforms. Each has its high-points...and lo...but in the end I am a Windows user.

The basic problem with Mac's is the cost to upgrade. S Jobs puts it to the consumer whenever he can. For example, when you want a 160 Gb HD and want to go from a 5.4K RPM to a 7.2K RPM drive then you will be charged one-hundred fifty bucks! Hmmm...you can get a new Seagate 160 Gb, 7200 RPM with 8 Mb cache for just over fifty dollars from Newegg.

Four Gb of RAM? Over 800 dollars to upgrade from 1 Gb at the Apple Store...for three hundred-twenty dollars you could get 8 Gb of Corsair XMS RAM...the Corsair XMS is pretty sweet RAM...I love it.

RAID? Hardware RAID will cost a grand for your Mac. Newegg offers hardware RAID cards for one-fifth that amount.

If you know what you want then you can basically build a PC from somebody like Dell, Polywell, HP, etc., and end up with a very fine computer.

I have had little projects in my computer classes where we build a Mac and a PC...the American dollar goes a lot further with the PC. For your money you definitely get a better deal with a PC.

I would highly recommend that you try out the Mac OS if you have never used it before. There are some things that I just hate about it...namely, they way it handles windows and always has the desktop poking through somewhere...yes, I know the tricks but find the Windows environment easier for development. Mac does have a sweet graphics engine.

Stability? You either get the "Blue Screen of Death" or the "Spinning Beach Ball of Death." I have seen far more beach balls in the last two years than I have BSOD's.

For a DAW you want a box that is quiet and there are many options available here in the world of PC's. I would suggest at least 2Gb of RAM, at least two HD's...one for your OS and apps, and the other for your music. With the bus speeds of today you would be wasting your money if you went with SCSI...not to mention the noise...just make sure you are getting a 7200 RPM HD.

A wide-screen monitor is nice but dual-monitors is a little nicer. If only one monitor then I would get no smaller than a 21"...preferably a 24". The 30" is just too big for desktop use.

[Herb Hunter]

Originally Posted by Yoder

... Stability? You either get the "Blue Screen of Death" or the "Spinning Beach Ball of Death." I have seen far more beach balls in the last two years than I have BSOD's.

...With the bus speeds of today you would be wasting your money if you went with SCSI...not to mention the noise...just make sure you are getting a 7200 RPM HD.

Well, it certainly clear what platform preference you have but your post was hardly fair.

The "Spinning Beach Ball" is not analagous to the "Blue Screen of Death". I've never encountered a situation where the spinning color wheel required rebooting. The "Blue Screen of Death" requires rebooting. Furthermore, whatever your experience has been, statistical data shows that the Mac OS is more stable than Windows. (I've never had my music studio Mac freeze in over five years.)

Everyone has there preferences and expressing them is fine. Misinformation is not. In any case, this thread is about configuring a Dell computer for music studio use, not about which platform is better.

Also, how does one build there own Mac? The only component source is Apple, irrespective of things like hard drives, so buying the parts from Apple and assembling them makes about as much sense as buying parts from Ford to make your own Mustang.

[Colbyjack]

I won't argue which is better, but only state my opinion as professional user.
I use Pro Tools 5-6 days a week hours per day. The only reason I say that is to give perspective.

I've used Pro Tools for PC and Pro Tools for Mac. For me the choice is clear: Mac. Why? Without getting into tech language (I'll leave that to the more technicaly types), the fact that Macs are more "user friendly" has a lot to do with it. Plus Pro Tools was written for Mac first and YEARS later they started writing it for PC. Pro Tools runs more smoothly on Mac IMO. Also, Macs are desgined for "arts people" in how they process to how they interface with humans.

Sorry, not much "tech talk", just my opinion as a professional user which system is better and the short, undetailed version why.

[RustyAxe]

Originally Posted by hallockj

I'd like to get a new computer to begin the journey into home recording (mostly guitar/vocals).

I have a TASCAM US-144 you could have cheap ...

If all you want to do is lay down some tracks for yourself then do yourself a favor and check out the Boss BR-600. I just bought one, and I'm blown away by it. 8 tracks (2 simultaneously) with a total of 64 virtual tracks. It has an array of effects (amp modeling, even bass simulator!), has a built in drum machine, and much more. And none of these features are junk ... they are really decent. Runs off of AC or DC (AA batteries) and is small and light for portability. Plenty of audio I/O, and USB for transfer of songs (in multiple formats, including WAV that can be read by any computer editing program). And EASY to use. The one thing it lacks is phantom power for condensor mikes, though.

I was using my US-144 to Cubase LE and while it worked fine, it was a PITA to use. The Boss BR-600 does all that (except MIDI) and is simple to use.

[Rodger]

Regardless of what type of computer you get, I would recommend the following:

* second hard drive to record your music to. Preferably, about 500 Gbytes.
* plenty of RAM... 2GB should do it.

My history: I've been a PC user for 14 years. Never used a Mac... until this year. I was using a Dell 2.4Ghz system (1.5GB RAM, 200MB hard drive) with a Digi001/Protools LE system. I have had trouble with system crashes when I got to 10 or 12 tracks. Plugins were a problem also. My son-in-law is an IT guru (Computer Science degree, IT Manager for a local school system. He tweaked the Dell as well he could, but the performance was still less than I needed.)

I wanted to upgrade to a Digi002 system this year. I knew I needed a better computer. After researching, I convinced my wife to invest in a MACPro G5 with Intel dual core processors to go along with the Digi002. 2GB RAM, a 250GB system drive, 500GB secondary drive. Yes, it was a serious investment, but once I mastered the MAC Operating System, I've been thrilled. Took some time to get the right ProTools software to run on the MAC. But the time (and shortterm frustration) were worth it.

There are many MAC and PC zealots out here, but I've never been passionate about choice of computers. To me they are just a tool. It's always a question of how much you can afford for your tools and what application you are using them for. The MACPro and Digi002 might be overkill. But, so far I've recorded four songs that are in the 15 to 20 track range without a glitch. It's been worth every penny.

[Thin Crust]

Just my observations mind you. First off, you have KRK monitors. So do I....Rokit 5 and I love them. Ordering the sub later this week. BUT.......any sound card that is USB powered or receiving its power from the system board will most likely be noisy on the KRK's. The unbalanced RCA connectors are just not the way to go. I finally gave up, bought a Lexicon Omega Audio / MIDI appliance, hooked it up with balanced cables and poof, no unwanted noise. It wasn't all that bad, but I'm picky. In fact, I have a Tascam U-122 for sale cheap in the classifieds. Secondly, I agree that a Mac is the better tool for recording. But since I'm a systems engineer by trade, it just wasn't practical for me. A PC will do well with the right tools. A couple of suggestions though. First, try to spring for the Core 2 Duo processor and 2 gigs of RAM. Memory is cheap, and if you don't want to pay Dell for it, there are plenty of after market vendors out there. PM me, and I can help you here. Second, insist on a hard drive that is 7200 RPM. Anything slower on a PC and recording software doesn't perform as well. As for recording software, there are tons out there, and a good external audio / MIDI interface will come bundled with something. The Lexicon came with Cubase LE, but I prefer what I was already using, which is Sonar (Cakewalk) Home Studio. For first timerers, there is freeware out there called Audacity that is as simple to operate as a CD player........just very limited editing capability, but hey, it's free.

I'm really just getting serious into the home recording thing now, but I have been playing around with it for a couple of years off and on. If you drop me a line, perhaps I can help you avoid some of the mistakes I made.

[soliloquise]

I used to use a little dell laptop and cool edit pro, then my lovely partner bought me a new laptop for my birthday running vista with cubase LE and a lambda lexicon.... vista proved to be such a bugger with my recording software we reinstalled xp just a few days ago ! still having trouble with cubase UGH.....

[Yoder]

E-Mu has recently put out new drivers for their hardware. Has Lexicon done the same? From what I have read most hardware, and software vendors were hoping to get all of the drivers done by years end. It may be your hardware.

Today we installed Pro Tools and some M-Audio interfaces on some iMacs, and Cubase and E-Mu interfaces on some PC's in the lab that I work in. All are running fine.

[Pvee]

Don't know what you want to spend but here is an inexpensive input analog to digital convertor that I use.

http://cgi.ebay.com/XITEL-INPORT-Rec...em110165550081

Xitel INPORT, Plug and play USB install. Stereo inputs.

Most passive pickups output level will drive this device with no problem.

I still use Cakewalk GuitarTracks-II for recording but there are several freeware packages and pro packages also.

There are freeware packages to convert file types from WAV,WMA to MP3 etc.

[jwsamuel]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

I've never encountered a situation where the spinning color wheel required rebooting.

You should have been in my office yesterday. I have a new MacBook Pro and when I saved a Word document, I got the spinning ball. Nothing else worked and I could not even Force Quit to get out of Word. In the end, all I could do was shut the computer down and reboot.

I use both Macs and Windows and prefer to use Macs. I have a Macbook Pro at the office and a new Mac Mini at home. That said, I have very few problems using Windows PCs and believe that a lot of Mac users overstate the problems with Windows and understate the problems with Macs.

Jim

[jwsamuel]

Originally Posted by hallockj

I have a pair of KRK monitors already, some mics and good headphones, but that is about it. What else might I need?

No matter what computer you use, if the computer has coolings fans and you are going to use mics, you need a way to isolate the sound of the fans so that the mics do not pick them up.

You can get soundproof enclosures for the PC or you can do as someone I know did and place the CPU in an adjacent room. He ran long cables to his monitor and keyboard so they could be located in his recording area.

Jim