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What sort of hardware do you dream about in a DAW?

Software?

W.

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anonymous Wed, 01/22/2003 - 04:02

So, let's see.

I can only refer to the DAW I'm using (CubaseSX).
But I think It's very comparable to the most DAW's even ProTools/Hardware. But maybe I'm wrong 'cuz I never worked with it.

The most DAW's of today are very well endowed actually.

- like MIDI and AUDIO with automation on the tracks. (The Audio Engine of SX rocks.)

- the VST and DX technology which allows you to use a huge variety of very highly developed PlugIns in comparison to the limits of todays digital technology, which are still there in some ways.

So the next steps of progression are doubtless the higher A/D/A conversion formats and in course of that the Terrabyte-Processor PC's.
That's going to be fun because I'm so curious about how companies like Digidesign are going to compete in the market then.

But what I still really miss in the today DAW's are better mixing enviroments, a better channel strip (like the big consoles have, maybe not the same quality but I think It could be done better than it is now).

It would be nice to achieve some nice results directly on the mix-desk without dealing with dozens of pluggos (Oh, what I've done on that channel? Where's the PlugIn?)

A nice thing I'm waiting for it's release after the NAMM Show is the new software/hardware hybrid Analog-filter from Waldorf. That is going to be a fun thing to play with. ;) Yeah, I'm just kiddin'. ;)

Willi

KurtFoster Sun, 01/26/2003 - 10:01

I waited to buy a DAW until there was enough native power to accommodate the way of doing things, that I was used to, using a large format desk and 2” analog multitrack. I finally jumped into the pool with a dual processor AMD Anthlon 1800+ on an Asus MOBO, 2 80 WD drives (one removable) and 1 gig of SDRAM in a tower case with a 450 watt power supply. My only complaint is it is a little loud in the control room but this will soon be remedied by the arrival of my new “Silence Case” by Elias. I am very happy with the track count and I have no problem using as many plug ins and eq / effects as I wish on any number of tracks. It has been running at about 20% CPU load which IMO is very good. I think I have my dream machine now! Lucky me. The only thing I dream of now is better sound quality. I think however it will still be a while before DAW’s can compete with 2” and a big desk in quality. Fats
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tannoy, Dynaudio, Blue Sky, JBL, Earthworks, Westlake, NS 10's :D , Genelec, Hafler, KRK, and PMC
Those are good. …………………….. Pick one.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

SonOfSmawg Sun, 01/26/2003 - 12:15

Hmmm ... dream machine ... okidoki ...
A little box with 16 rows of 16 plugs, which plugs-into a monitor. Plug anything and everything into it that you want, and it automatically does everything for you. It "hears" your sound source and tells you which of your mics to place where, and then double-checks the sound for you once you've placed them. Once you've recorded everything you want, it automatically mixes everything down according to your own preset preferences. Once it gives you it's "best idea of what you want", all you have to do is go in and do your final tweaks. Once your songs are finished, the way you want them, it automatically arranges it's "best guess" for the order of your songs, gives you final approval on it, then masters it, ready for burning.
And all this for only $99! What a deal!

SonOfSmawg Mon, 01/27/2003 - 23:10

Reality? Truly possible? Well, if ya think about it, someday it'll happen! Except I made one mistake. You wont need all of those inputs because by the time this "dream" is possible, everything will definately be wireless. The outside of "the box" will just have receivers.
Just think about this for a minute. Thirty to forty years ago, who would have dreamed that we'd all have recording studios in our homes? Studios beyond the wildest dreams of a few decades ago! The older Beatles hits were made on a four track recorder!

What sort of hardware do you dream about in a DAW? Software?

You asked, I dreamt. Without dreams, what is there to turn into reality? Someone has to do it! I don't think it's wise to limit the scope of dreams, because if many great people had ignored their dreams, or didn't tell anyone about them, many great things would have never happened, which led us to where we are today.
I stand by my dream. :)

anonymous Tue, 01/28/2003 - 03:50

3Ghz PIII/2Gb of RAM/windows XP in a nice rackmount enclosure.

Dual head AGP card. W/ 2 PCI graphics adapters
(4 monitors total.) And 4 huge open frame LCD monitors built into a custom wood console.

bootable IDE raid w/ two IBM Deskstar 100.0Gb(mirrored) for redundancy.

An adaptec AHA-F950 64-bit PCI to Fibre channel adapter connected to....

now get this.

A maxtronic Indy-2400 FC loaded with 12 Maxtor 4A250J0 250GB hard drives in RAID 5 (roughly 2.1 terrabytes of redundant usable disk space) With Sonar/Reason/Xpress DV installed on that volume.

Drool on:
http://www.maxtronic.com/new_html/midlarge_raid.htm

anonymous Thu, 01/30/2003 - 18:51

sorry about this in advance.

As long as some here in the cafe are dreaming. I can't resist giving a glimps of my dream the future daw ... here goes...

someday we will all have an organ called the history organ. or maybe something more scientific. this organ will record every thing you hear. (and see) It will be able to play anything back as you herd it for anyone you want to send it to. (through some broadcast telepathy chip/organs geneticaly implanted in your ears.) there will be no need for studios because we will all have a DAW inside our heads. you will think your edits and mixxes. each mix would be taylor made on the fly by a special brain download plug-in...
eek :eek: ok i am finished.

hope that was as fun for you all as it was for me.

SonOfSmawg Fri, 01/31/2003 - 19:39

I thought that was pretty kewl! After all, sometimes you can just be walking down the street humming, but it "feels" as good as a symphony!
Sorry for the interruption, Waldo. We know that you intended to have people give their technical answers here, but the "dream" part of your question is just too hard to pass up. At least this thread will never be construed as being "dry"!
Rock-on, Brother!

:c: Cheers!

anonymous Fri, 01/31/2003 - 19:42

I did say dream, not fantasy! lol

A 'dream' is defined as something attainable!!

Anyhow, if people want to get back on topic, I am seriously interested in what you would purchase if you could afford it, or what changes you would make to existing gear, that is SCIENTIFICALLY POSSIBLE in this day and age!

W.

SonOfSmawg Sat, 02/01/2003 - 12:36

OH! Here we go! Putting those damned limitations on us again!
Well, still a ways in the future, but maybe a little closer to reality:
Linux is growing rapidly. Eventually it will develop to the point that it will be very user friendly, and hopefully become a major contender in the DAW arena.
I drool over the possibility of having a DAW that can take full advantage of four or eight Athlons in a Cluster, running on Linux ... an open-source operating system that matures every day.
I'm guessing that this "dream" is probably three to five years away still, but I don't feel that it's a faerie-tale.
Do you?

SonOfSmawg Sat, 02/01/2003 - 17:38

Yeah, Clusters are eating the market right out from under the Supercomputers ... at 1/10th the price. The kewl thing about this technology is that so many colleges in the US have them and most of them open-source their research! :)
My "reason for delay" is that I figure it's just a matter of time before someone designs a DAW that is of excellent quality, runs on Linux, and can take advantage of the Cluster technology.
Waldo ... are you saying that you know of a Linux DAW that's designed to be used with a Cluster, or did I misunderstand you?

KurtFoster Sat, 02/01/2003 - 18:41

I read somewhere that the SETI (search for extraterrestrial intellegence) project is doing this. You can contact them and donate your spare downtime on your computer to them. They are networking throughout the world to gather enough computer power to continue their search after some major budget cuts. Fats

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tannoy, Dynaudio, Blue Sky, JBL, Earthworks, Westlake, NS 10's :D , Genelec, Hafler, KRK, and PMC
Those are good. …………………….. Pick one.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

anonymous Sat, 02/01/2003 - 19:42

SETI that is, has been doing this for at least the past 10 years (I was running the screen saver/number cruncher on most of my machines for about 3 years until I decided it was loading my machine down too much, and I'd never get anything out of it). The company that runs the network system also runs genetic info, cancer research, etc. through the same software/network structure.

SOS, I know of at least two universities using Sparc machines running *nix or solaris in large arrays for crunching numbers, specifically dealing with audio. The uses are wide ranged, but yes, do involve recording and mixing at some levels. I haven't seen anything geared towards average users at this point, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

W.

Doug Milton Wed, 02/12/2003 - 00:12

As to the thread about the dream DAW I have this to add:

Tech Support.

I have been a SADiE user since '96 and have been totally amazed by their great support. Besides great phone support (I once called the US VP at 3 am on his cell for a project I had to have out the door by 9 am) I had a machine freak out one afternoon. I drove to the airport and put it on a Southwest Airlines counter to counter to Nashville at 7pm. SADiE guys picked it up, solved my problem and put it back on an airlines flight counter to counter the next morning. I worked a session at 1pm that afternoon.

It cost a little more than putting Cakewalk on your PC, but if it's your full time gig, it's really nice to have that level of support.

And as to Roger's question:
"Modern Recording Techniques" by David Miles Huber & Robert E Runstein.
Amazon.com $35-ish

Roger, if you have specific questions about compression, start a thread and ask away….