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Alécio Costa 6 October 2003

I will start this one...
A midi controller/nice keyboard/semi weighted action keys ( I am not a keyboard player, sorry)with:

256 voice poliphony
Sampler with 1 Giga memory
at least 16 discrete outputs
2 ADAT lightpipe outs
reads all sampler libraries ( Akai, emu, Giga, Kurzweill, Reason, Yamaha, Ensoniq, etc)
Firewire/SATA buses
VGA output
individual compressors, eqs, reverbs, delays
lots of sliders, RT controllers and faders
baks/reads at/from CDR, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW :)

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Comments

Ethan Winer Tue, 10/07/2003 - 07:03

Alécio,

> Is it a dream ?

Only because you described it as a workstation. :D

The obvious answer is to buy a fast PC with Windows XP, the new Sonar 3 Producer edition, and a small controller keyboard with no sounds. Even with a large video screen you'll come in way under $2,000.

If the rig must be portable, buy a Dell Inspiron 8500 laptop. I just got one and was astonished that it's every bit as fast as my desktop PC. An Inspiron costs $1600, which still leaves enough for Sonar, but not quite enough to also get a controller keyboard. So you pay $2,200 and have a truly serious system that blows away any keyboard workstation.

--Ethan

Alécio Costa Wed, 10/08/2003 - 07:41

ethan, unfortunately here in Brazil we have a very different reality. Last year I bought a G4 800 Qs and it cost me over $2000!!!!

Seems you do like PC´s. I have a nice Athlon Xp here also . Lots of guys were lucky and have the knowledge of making these machines do fine, chosing the proper boards, etc etc. I am a computer moron.
However, being very off topic now, I prefered the stability of OS/G4´s for the PT TDM system.

Nate Tschetter Wed, 10/08/2003 - 11:26

Howdy

I wouldn't dream of taking a computer to some of the places I play. I _want_ something big and heavy so it doesn't disappear between sets.

In the studio, fine. You could probably do this with an iBook and a Mobile I/O for just above your price. I say the MIO because nothing else seems to have that low a latency for playing softsynths. Of course, that doesn't factor in the actual software itself which could be far greater in cost than the whole hardware side.

As far as multiple outputs go, its a must...especially once you use sequences and live musicians. You have to have an extra set for a click. I don't see a need for 16, but I can easily use 8 in a live situation.

Ethan Winer Thu, 10/09/2003 - 07:56

Alécio,

> I feel we shall be starting another thread..lol

Of course you know I'm just egging you on! :o

> I am a computer moron.

Then fix that! Seriously, if you're an audio pro you have to know the tools. All of them. What did you do the first time you had to align an analog 2-inch? Did you run away when you had to learn how to work the automation on a large format console? It's the same for computers, which are now in just about every pro and home satudio.

> I prefered the stability of OS/G4´s for the PT TDM system.

I assure you my Dell computer is at least as stable as any Mac. It never crashes. Of course, to have a stable computer requires knowing how to set it up. If you can't be bothered, get a friend or hire someone who knows how to do that for you. The effort to learn about PCs will be payed back many times over with lower hardware and software costs. I laugh when I seeplug-insadvertised for both DirectX and ProTools. The same plug-in always costs exactly twice as much for the ProTools version!

--Ethan

Alécio Costa Thu, 10/09/2003 - 08:44

In fact I have been quite satisfied with my Athlon XP 2100.
But concerning TDM, things get much longer to be written to PC. Logic guys seem to feel motherless right now.
I do prefer to concentrate on music than being worried about the latest drive, the latest bug, etc etc. Yes, I agree with you, I had to read lots of manuals but I would never service an SSl or even an 02R.
Man, we´ve just thrown one dozen eggs at each other!
:)
:s:

Nate Tschetter Thu, 10/09/2003 - 09:09

Howdy

No computer platform wars in the keyboard forum please.

Always live by the following:

- either / neither platform is superior

- either / neither outperforms the other

- either / neither is more cost effective

- in the hands of a skilled operator, both will do the same thing

And now we have the final word in computer platform wars.

- the best computer is the one the operator prefers

Thank you all for abiding by the only thing I demand of keyboard forum posters.

Have a musical day.

realdynamix Mon, 10/13/2003 - 15:00

Originally posted by Nate Tschetter:
Howdy

Daniel can go straight to the head of the class. Bravo!

Balanced outputs...I mean, HELLO MANUFACTURERS...???

This makes me want to start a new thread!

:) OK, would that be realistic? The balanced outs that is. Might an external unbalanced to balanced box make more sense? Unless I am missing something special about the extra signal path involved, or circuitry involved. It makes sense for any long cable run, sure!

But I would have had a hell of a time with some mixers and gear that provided balanced mic inputs, but unbalanced line inputs. What would improve the sound that much to warrant balanced as an output on a sound source such as keyboards?

I know for gigs, with stage lighting, dimmers in dance halls, fans and stuff would generate lots of spikes and buzz. But that stuff may enter the gear at any point balanced or not. This is a good one for the DIY board too? Those guy's dig transformers.
Your thoughts? Daniel can still go to the head of the class.

--Rick

Mario-C. Tue, 10/14/2003 - 18:47

In addition to everything mentioned...

give midi with tight timing, we are still using a 1982 data transmission protocol that is very sloppy for some purposes, what happened to mlan ? manufacturers need to get together again and agree on something, that will surely put hardware in the spotlight again....

Mario-C. Wed, 10/15/2003 - 19:46

If you are talking live performance I totally agree Nate, but I'm thinking more in terms of playback tightness, I hear Logic's sampler is sample accurate during playback for example, with midi as you add more tracks to a sequence it starts getting pretty sloppy, I have one of those roland groove(less) boxes and boy I have to use every trick in the book to get the drums sounds more or less tight...
I can't remember exactly why, I think with the standard midi protocol a midi module can't play and process a bunch of notes exactly at the same time, there's a small delay, hence the slopiness...

So I guess what I'm saying is I would love to see one of those worstations play a super dense sequence without choking... ;)

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