[stuartrevnell]

OK, I know this one is going to get a lot of opinions flying around!! ;-)

Just been down in a studio with a producer in Cornwall, England, and he's recently done a No.2 single for an artist, and as a result, has a bunch of top ten pop artists being booked up now. I went down there expecting a state of the art studio with all the latest gear, but was quite surprised to find him running Cubase VST 5.1 with OS9...I had a good chat with him about this, and he said that he had a system which worked well for him and allowed him to do whatever he wanted, so he didn't feel the need to change.

It got me thinking...each month I buy 'Sound on Sound', go onto the forums, etc. It's fair to say that I've been pretty overwhelmed since I got into this whole home studio thing, about a year and a half ago...it seems like there's so much stuff out there, and the temptation is always to think that an upgrade or a new bit of gear will somehow help me.

What's good is that I've now come to realise that with the system I have at the moment, I should be able to do almost anything I want, and am finally focussing on using what I have and doing my best to learn how to get the desired results out of it. I still read the magazines and keep abreast of what's going on, but have stopped spending!!

But still the voices keep saying "I should get a Mac", "I should get OSX", "Core Audio will be better than VST plugs", "Just one more soft synth", "I should really read part 28 of the series of articles about how to mix in Surround Sound 7.1", etc. etc.!!!!

It's like anything in the technology arena, I guess...stuff comes out, and most users take advantage of about 25% of a product's capabilities, but still the feeling that you should have the latest and greatest is so consuming, especially when all the current crop of OSX stuff has that elusive "cool" factor to it too!

Whaddya think, people?!

Stuart

[clif marsiglio]

Get the best machine you can afford now, and stop worrying about what everyone else has. Thats what I can tell you

I've known too many others that actively complained about the lack of power in this or that and never get anything done because in their mind its never enough. But I can't run 37 Platinum Verbs...how will I EVER record anything. I guess my 3 piece rock and roll band will just have to go back to something else.

Its just like the Mac thing today -- I've got one friend that ALWAYS told me how the next technolgy was the best. Once the machines got to 1Ghz, for months he talked about how he'd never need anything more. Now I get to hear him spoutting off on this site about how he couldnt possible ever get anything done on the new Macs because they are way too slow for him He knows who he is and will have a completely different story or claim that I'm distorting his words -- luckily he hasn't reregistered so I don't have to put up with his BS yet

Seriously, the technology is good enough that you need to learn what you need to learn and stick with that. I rarely upgrade systems on PCs or Macs and I'm generally stuck with ancient software (hell, half my software I use to make music are ancient sharewares and alpha / beta quality apps my friends sent me to evaluate and give them feedback on but never made it to the market place). Find what works and learn to use it as a musician, not as a technician and you will be fine.

[RowdyBacon]

When you consider that hit records (whatever that may mean to you) of just a few years ago were recorded and produced on equipment that's positively antiquated by today's standards, it becomes clear that the current state of technology is more than enough to get the job done.

On some level, I can certainly appreciate (and quite often experience) the lust for the "latest and greatest" gear. But if I can't manage to make quality music with most of the hardware and software that's been introduced in the last couple of years, it certainly isn't due to any shortcoming on the part of the equipment!

[david mondrup]

Amen to you, Stuart. You're right, we have so many features now we shouldn't really need much more - but I feel positive that much more is exactly what we'll see advertised in the years to come.

The one thing I'm really missing is on the hardware side. I would soooo much like to see a computerdriven DAW that:
- doesn't crash - ever!
- is powerful enough to actually fulfil the promises made by software. That means, in the case of logic, the ability to run 300-400 audio objects with up to 15 plugins on each of them.
Wouldn't it be nice to see future DAW releases that bost stability and horsepower more than new features? Who gives a s**t if logic can run 192 audio tracks, 64 vsti's and 32 busses when no machines outside of military intelligence can keep up with it?

[Paul M]

This is a great thread. I have thought a lot about this in the past.

I went from a cassette 4 track to Logic. At one time I was thinking about buying an effects processor, but a friend convinced me to look at making my computer do something, and there is no comparison. For me to point and click and pull up yet another effect - it's nothing short of amazing.

There's been a lot of upset people in the last few months. I was a bit angry about the deadlines for crossgrading, etc. Upgrading isn't an option at the moment. But the reality for me is I can do more with 4.8.1 on a cheap Celeron 466 than I could have ever imagined.

To be honest, staying back a version or two isn't a bad thing if it does what I need. As with nearly all software, the more features, the more power required. But as technology on the hardware side adds power, if one chooses to keep the software the same, the overall package gets closer to being able to take advantage of all of the features.

Cheers,
Paul

[ November 14, 2002, 11:15 AM: Message edited by: Paul M ]

[asterox]

I suffer from technology lust as much as the next guy. In my former life doing web design stuff, there was always an excuse to upgrade (mainly since the company would pay for it), but I came to realize that upgrading was both a way to procrastinate ("well, when I get a better machine, then I'll REALLY do something cool - till then, I may as well bide my time") and a way of feeling like I was making progress without actually doing anything. Just like I tend to eat when I'm unhappy, just to feel full inside. (*tear*) Recently, life's been about getting rid of excuses. In Chuck Jones's book "Chuck Amuck" about his time making Loony Toons Cartoons at Warner Bros. he describes one of his first drawing instructors in school: "...Nicolaides at the Art Students League, greeted his beginning classes with the following grim edict: 'All of you have one hundred thousand bad drawings in you. The sooner you get rid of them, the better it will be for everyone.'"
Likewise, I'm not gonna get my crappy songs out of me and get to the good stuff unless I move on it...

[ppgwave]

My upgrade rule of thumb is:
Never upgrade unless you get a 100% improvement., and don't upgrade unless you hit a limit on a project.

When I went from my single G4/450 to my Dual 800, I got well over a 100% improvement in the number of plugs and instruments. I can't say that going to a dual 1.25 would give me a similar boost yet... I'm doing huge mixes with 20+ instruments live, never printing to audio.

Same with Laptops - my TiBook 500 is a great Reason machine - but I haven't hit any situation where I need to go to the 1ghz TiBook yet.

Now with Software, I habitually upgrade. But hardware, by holding to my 100%/don't move unless you hit a limit rule, I've saved wear and tear on my credit card this year!

PPG

[technohazard]

with all the stuff i have, the sound and the feel of the piano i grew up with is the most satisfying music i make...technology is a great tool but i do find it strange(ironic?) that the latest and greatest stuff of today still competes with an instrument invented several centuries ago...

[oscwilde]

Take off eh, ya hoser! wink

(for non-Canucks, this is the traditional greeting among friends)

One of the interesting things about tecchnology is how it changes the way music is made...
as you pointed out, the piano is an enduring piece of technology..as are violins, the french horn, drums, cymbals etc.

These different "technologies" changed the type/sound of music being created....so "technology for it's own sake" is right on one hand and not, if viewed a different way.

What has happened with recent music-making technology is that it is, relatively speaking, far cheaper these days to produce hi-quality results with a computer.

On the flipside, everyone likes/wants to make music, but not everyone can...
Modern computer-based music tools allow anyone to create "music", but the "quality" of it is overwhelmingly biased towards those who have the skills/talent.
i.e. if you are trained/gifted musically, then the music created will generally be better than that created by a "technician".

This is not to say that some technically-oriented composers don't create good music...but rather that someone who has musical training AND technical skills will more consistently create good music.

To provide another analogy...many people can drive a car, but few could actually drive an F1 car (and not kill themself or others). This comes down to innate skill/reflexes and a LOT of training.

Obviously, I'm bandying around the word "good" here as if music was quantifiable...but I'm sure you get the drift wink

Hope no-one minds my changing the tangent here...

[machinesworkinghardforyou]

I'm with PPG on this one, a 100% increase in performance warrants an upgrade for me. I don't really spend money on anything else that costs any amount of cash. It's all up to the individual what they see as a real expense, or a waste of cash.
I see OS X as a chance for audio on the computer to be done "right". My fear is that companies outside Emagic/Apple are doing the same horse shit they've always pulled, trying to establish proprietary control over plug-in formats for "their" DAW. Maybe why MOTU are so behind in moving to X, but I digress...
I personally am thinking on the lines of K.I.S.S. , for the future. I'll upgrade soon to the 1Gig. Powerbook, I do run into limits quick right now, but after that purchase, I'm through for a good while.
I really only run about 9 to 22 tracks in most songs, so chasing any future upgrades is sort of pointless.
I don't have any problem with thinking that somehow I'll be a better musician if I get a new toy, my music could be made on inexpensive equipment, I just like having the option to polish up segments.

[The Puppeteer]

I only upgrade when I need something that I can't do.

At the moment, that is mainly post production/mastering gear, because I can now hear deficiencies in my music, that I know how to fix, but don't have the tools to do it.

Pity this stuff is so damn expensive tho...

As for the software side, I'm still running Cubase 3.7 on a PII 350. I usually end up picking up a couple of broken down computers and fixing them to do my upgrades.

Just picked myself up a AMD K7 600, with a blown power supply for nothing, and might finally upgrade to SX, just so I can work with audio stuff a bit better.

I don't really need to do this, but it will allow me to replace my Pentium 90 office computer, which will be nice.

Personally, I would rather sit down and spend time writing muzak, than doing upgrades. Stuffing around with all those tiny screws and grazing you knuckles trying to get those friggin cables into the back of the CD burner ain't all that much fun.

If I can spend less than 1% of my time in the studio stuffing around with getting things working then I'm a happy man.

I like to set it up, turn it on, and leave it turned on. I can get home each day open the door and start playing.

[adtree]

I thought about "upgrading" when i heard the emagic goes apple thing.The world turned black..... etc.etc.etc.etc. wink
No-more upgrades,no-more new stuff to try etc.etc.etc.
i thought i was missing a lot,but when you think about it it's a blessing (for me) i always THOUGHT i needed the latest stuff and i was spending more time on trying things and figer out how i could use it and now

I CAN MAKE MUSIC AGAIN

technologie is good but i think that compagnies overdo it.I saw in an add. a harddisk of 120 GB well that's a lot.
I am now focusing on buying one more thing an amp-simulator of line 6 , when i read the articles on that then it seems to me that the first simulator was perfect,the second was the same but it has more knobs and the third simulator of line 6 has the seem sounds as the first but a new design and a few more sounds.

My point is normally you would by the first,a year later or so the second and now the third.

WAIT a few years to buy something

[Comfort]

I really agree with everyone here. Over the past two years I spent way more money and time on equipment than I did on making music. I've decided to ramp that tendency in.

I was itching to buy an Ensoniq DP4, but then I started really listening to just the standard plugs that come with logic. I discovered, that for me, these are great. Now I'm on a simplicity kick. I'm thinking of getting rid of my mixer (the Mobile I/O has an enternal mixer that allows for pre-daw, monitoring).

The only thing I'm considering is something like the Mission Control to run the monitors and use as a quick input, tape out thingy.

I told a friend that my DAW is like my brain, I'm only using about 5% of it. My rule is going to be no more buying until I can use everything I have.

[The Puppeteer]

Just to change the topic a bit, how do you find the Metric Halo Mobile I/O. I read a review of it, and it looks quite good.

[Comfort]

It's a great box. However, it's been a bit of an ordeal as well. I was/am an early adopter and it took a long, long time before it was fully functional--and it still isn't quite there, we're still awaiting onboard DSP. That said, it kind of worked well for me. It's growing along with me.

Some have complained about the noise level of the micpres. Metric Halo is actually releasing a two channel unit with some very, VERY, quiet pres to appease these folks. However, for almost anything but classical recordings--and some think it's fine for that as is--they're wonderful. Considering I got mine for $1,500, eight pres of this quality is amazing.

Two things are pretty much lauded by all owners: the convertors and the software mixer. I can't really compare the convertors to others, don't have enough experience with that sort of thing. As for the mixer, it's very cool, and for me, very complicated.

As soon as I can run channel strip from within the box, I'll be set. I think I'll be able to put away any and all outboard gear.

The other thing that's great is the level of service Metric Halo provides. Those of us who bought early feel almost like co-developers.

Sorry, that was long winded.

[The Puppeteer]

Yeah, I heard that this is a product still undergoing some development.

I'm looking for something that will do DSP Factory type of mixing, and having external DSP's and mixing is certainly appealing.

I've recently moved to Win XP, and am still having a few problems getting the DSP Factory drivers working in all of my packages, and was considering looking at something else.

Do you have any idea of the capabilities of the DSP option in the box. Ie how many FX busses will it support (though I'm sure this will depend on the complexity of the algorithm).

Cheers

[MisterBlue]

... moving things back to the original topic wink :

Agreeing with some earlier posts, I also found that it is so much easier to get absorbed in technical details of a studio rather than making music.

So, why is that? I think it is very simple:
It is a lot easier to upgrade a frickin' computer than to write and record a great song! Messing with the equipment is a great way to waste time as it fools you perfectly into thinking that you are actually doing something productive (getting your studio ready) while you are indeed only distracting yourself from the main goal - making great music.

I have finally managed to get my gear-lust under control and I am actually using the equipment to record music these days. I find it very gratifying and only every now and then I fall back into old habits and upgrade some software and reinstall stuff - Hey, you gotta do some of it to stay in touch .!

MisterBlue.

[Louis Armstrong]

I agree, I am just as guilty as the next person of blaming my system for not doing what I want it to do. On the other hand, its easy for one to be distracted and have gone too far down the hardware tweaking path. I do believe, though, that after two and a half years of owning the same PC and hardware, its time to upgrade. I honestly cant wait until all my crossgrade/upgrade woes blow over, so I can get back to the grindstone.