HD or LE???

[Gallellao]

I desparately need some impartial advice on my system or on an upgrade.

Too many SALESMEN are giving me the "right" advice to part with some hard earned cash!!!

I have a Mac Pro 2.66Ghz Quad core running Pro Tools LE 7.4 with an Mbox 2 Pro Factory.
Up until now it has been used to record a full band (Bar drums) and then taken away to be mixed.

Now, we want to mix in-house and want to buy all the necessary plugins (Waves-Diamond, SSL 4000 etc)
However I keep getting conflicting opinions on whether my current system will be able to handle running these plugins
without any hassle.

I've been told HD will be a good option but don't want to spend money unnecessarily.

Any advice would be very much appreciated!!!

G

PS Can RTAS run on HD or is it TDM only??

[Matt@]

I desparately need some impartial advice on my system or on an upgrade.

Too many SALESMEN are giving me the "right" advice to part with some hard earned cash!!!

I have a Mac Pro 2.66Ghz Quad core running Pro Tools LE 7.4 with an Mbox 2 Pro Factory.
Up until now it has been used to record a full band (Bar drums) and then taken away to be mixed.

Now, we want to mix in-house and want to buy all the necessary plugins (Waves-Diamond, SSL 4000 etc)
However I keep getting conflicting opinions on whether my current system will be able to handle running these plugins
without any hassle.

I've been told HD will be a good option but don't want to spend money unnecessarily.

Any advice would be very much appreciated!!!

G

PS Can RTAS run on HD or is it TDM only??

It all depends on how many tracks your using i guess.

I've never used HD so i cant really help much but if i were you i would go with HD.
You get so much more with HD.

Yes, RTAS does work on HD.

Matt

[Gallellao]

So is it Native that doesn't work on HD or am I just completely confused??

G

[Drew Mazurek]

Regardless of power, which I believe these newer macs have plenty of, automatic delay compensation is a must for serious mixing ITB IMO. Also, if you're going to be inserting any analog gear (I know I do on EVERY SINGLE MIX) the quality of the converters (and the ADC that goes along with it) again favor HD for serious mixing. These and Cranesong Phoenix make HD a must for me.

Having said all that, I would NOT buy HD at the retail level right now. Used market, yes, but not retail, no matter how discounted.

None of this means you won't be able to mix on LE BTW. It just makes it harder. And I would seriously reconsider whether Waves Diamond is needed. Waves SSL?... I'd say go for but most of what Diamond does can be had elsewhere for less.


my 2 cents.

[studiojimi]

LE is is designed to get you addicted to the ease of ProTools

if you need a lesson that ProTools is what you need....then get an Mbox or LE

yes you can do a lot with an Mbox if you are doing a vocal in locations like hotel room and on the road etc and LE to record and put things together ...but mixing..you'll need HD.

If you want to save time and effort and get right to the inevitable...then get HD

working around retail IS a good idea

i bought my accel cards 2nd hand and saved a lot of bread

and they still go for the same price i paid for them years ago.

with a little investigation you will be happy to find something discounted out there.

good luck with your choice.

you will love HD....a fat enough rig and you won't get prompts telling you

the classic star trek line "cap'n i can't giver n' more"

also the law of the universe...if you give (spend) you wil get (receive)

i'm happy i have HD

don't you deserve the best?

I do. and i think you do too!

it is tough enough get the performance and nuances of music production well documented without having the lesser tools bog you down or distract you or remind you that you can't do something

with HD you CAN.

and.......you'll save yourself a lot of time and grief from procrastination.

[Gallellao]

Any other plug-ins then to replace Waves - Diamond.
I've only been looking at the Diamond stuff cause the producer we've been working with it has it.

G

[25ghosts]

McDSP is worth more than Gold. Waves is over rated but also very good

[innesireinar]

You can start by replacing your Mbox with a 003R and buying a good 8 channel converter like an Apogee Rosetta 800 or a Lynx Aurora which you can connect to the 003R via adat pipeline. In this way you have 8 high quality in/out. I did some great works with this configuration (002R, Rosetta 800, macpro 2.66). Every virtual instruments are not counted into the 32 tracks (you have 32 tracks plus all virtual instrums your mac can handle). If you can't work with this rig you can utilize those converter with an HD sys by adding the properly option card. You will have only to sell the 003, but it's like cash.
About the plugs there are lots of good stuff in rtas and you save a lot of money avoiding tdm plugs that cost twice.
Take a look at Sonnox (ex Sony OXF), McDSP, the new Paul Frindle animal (Dynamic Spectrum Mapper).
I would miss the TC VSS3, Revibe and the Virus Indigo that are tdm only, but there are tons of good rtas stuff for replacing them.
The lack of delay comp could be a problem but most of rtas plugs are delay free.

[Andre Knecht]

No need for you to replace anything yet. Start by getting HD (if that’s the route you choose). With a modern and powerful CPU such as yours, you’ll have quite a bit of DSP at your disposal. Use your Waves Diamond components as RTAS. Additional needs — based on your personal workflow — will reveal themselves over time. Decide on a next move at that point.

PS: Waves products are not overrated at all. They are indeed very, very good.

IHTH.