Getting clean sound into my G5

[Cleveland Brown]

Can any of you guys give me a small break down of what other equipment I absolutely have to have, to get live recordings into the Powermac G5. For instance guitar and vocals.

ie special firewire plugs etc.

[Matt Stahley]

A Firewire interface is probably your best bet. But I have been using the Tascam US122 usb interface. Has two mic/line inputs 1/4" and XLR - phantom power etc. I have been using this to record vocals only in garageband that I have rewired with Propellerheads Reason. All on an iBook 12" G4 800 with 640mb ram. So far so good but then again im not doing any serious multitracking so the usb has worked fine.

[Rhett Allen]

Take a look over at MOTU (Mark of the Unicorn). They have some really incredible hardware offerings as far as audio goes. I especially like this one.

[G. Lee Gordon]

Cleveland, both of the previous units metioned are excellent, But, I'd go PROTOOLS if I were you. Why mess with the rest when for the same price you can have the best. It's the industry standard, it's easy to use and they have different models to match your budget. Trust me, I've used them all and PROTOOLS is the way to go.

[Cleveland Brown]

Thanks G,

I would get Pro Tools but I am kind of out of funds. In the last couple of months I have lost my job and aquired a Canon XL2, a 3x wide angle zoom on top of that as well as a Powermac G5 with the FCP production suite. I guess I have as much as I'm going to need for now. I can get by on the programs I have. The thing I am concerned with is how to get the clean sound into the machine. I don't have a mixer unless you count a Korg PXR4, which is a walkman size digital 4 track. I suppose I could do all my instruments through that and maybe even some dialogue If I use the USB port to the computer, it makes MP2 files.
Another possible route is to plug the XL2 into the G5 and use audio from the mic. That doesn't sound very optimal to me though.

[Ignacio Rodriguez]

Pro-Tools is nice but they have a way of locking out other manufacturers. They want you to use their interface with their software and, even though both are nice, there are better price/performace ratios to be obtained elsewere. Pro-Tools has in a way become the Microsoft of audio. Other companies like MOTU make awesome open hardware AND software that can you can mix and match easily.

Besides, only the high-end ProTools interfaces have the great AD converters. You will get better results with M-Audio and for less $$. I use M-audio with MOTU Digital Performer. If I needed more channels and even better AD, I would prefer one or more MOTU 12-channel interfaces. One of theses is like having six Mboxes:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=303458&is=REG

It's no accident that the Mbox is priced about the same as Digital Performer. You get what you pay for, an entry level interface and a crippled version of their DAW program that won't work with third-party hardware.

[G. Lee Gordon]

I agree, Mark of the Unicorn is an awesome company. But, in my experience, nearly all major sound facilities are set up with Pro Tools. It makes it a lot easier. I used to use Mark of the Unicorn with Cubase & Acid ... and I loved it. But for the same price I got a Pro-Tools set up and haven't looked back. In the end it's whatever you are most comfortable with. I used to be satisfied with my little m-audio. My advice is just choose a platform and master it. It's the same with the Mac, PC argument. PC's own 97-98% of the market. They both have good things to offer, just choose one and run with it. Which is better... thats another argument for another time, but, you get more bang for your buck with a P.C. Good luck with whatever platform you choose.

[Christopher C. Murphy]

Dude, get ProTools like everyone says.

It's like $400 now for the MBOX - it's the best deal in audio!

[Ignacio Rodriguez]

Hmm. Did I mention that I do work at a major sound facility? At least, it's one of the largest ones in my market. We used to be Pro-Tools based, but we just didn't see the advantage of having to continuously upgrade both computers AND propietary hardware, not to mention the software.

The main difference between the MOTU solution and Pro-Tools is that Digital Performer is more host-based. The program, for a long time, has been getting the most out of Apple's hardware, whereas Digidesign has traditionally had an edge on using custom DSPs for processing. The result is that today the MOTU solution makes better use of the computer's on-board horsepower, because that is what MOTU knows about. Pro-Tools now does that to a certain extent too, but MOTU does it better. I am not trying to fuel a platform war, I just want to tell you guys about my experience. We still have Pro-Tools, a 16-channel kit with great AD, but after getting used to the more versatile software and modular hardware from MOTU, there is no going back for us.

Besides the technical differences, the local Pro-Tools rep is just one, and service is pretty lousy and expensive because they have no competition.

I know in other markets the case may be different, and I also know of people putting Nuendo, SoundScape and other packages to good use. But my personal experience is that the MOTU solution beats Pro-Tools and other platforms in functionality and specifically beats Pro-Tools price/performance if you use a fast Mac. I have not tried Logic but I have also been led to believe it's very good and can now even take advantage of networked processing.

But heck what would I know, I'm just a Sound Enginner.

[G. Lee Gordon]

Well, Ignacio, that may be how they do things in Chile, but here in the U.S... (I'm just kidding). Go for it, More power to MOTU!

[Ignacio Rodriguez]

Jejejej well... then again my case is a 24-channel recording studio. Cleveland mentions he needs to spend a lot less money than that. And there is nothing near US$400 that will get you what you get with the Mbox combo, because MOTU's software costs more than that by itself. MOTU starts to make sense at about US$1200 or more.

[Guy Cochran]

Just to throw one more option into the mix http://www.edirol.com/products/info/fa66.html "The FA-66 is a 6-channel Portable FireWire Audio Interface"

[Valeriu Campan]

As mentioned before Pro Tools tend to steer you towards their hardware. If you realy want a professional outfit capable of SMPTE time code integration you'll have to pay $$$ with ProTools. I think MOTU will offer better bang for the buck (or Signal/Dollar).

[Cleveland Brown]

Guy,

I checked out that Edirol FA-66. It's a neat little gadget. Unfortunately, my budget right now is slim to none. Right now I am going through a Korg PXR4 into the 1/8 jack input on the back of the G5. But when I can afford it, I think something like that is what I will need. It has firewire as well as the optical Toslink connectors. Thanks.

I have an Edirol UA-25 which is the USB interface has optical in and outs, XLR inputs, monitor, and phantom power. Sweet little portable unit. I use it for getting in voice and soon a guitar with Garageband and FCP.