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  #1  
Old 11-24-2014, 07:23 PM
Dopamine Dopamine is offline
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Default Anyone Record to External USB 3 drive?

I know Avid doesn't recommend it, BUT I have a Macbook Air and need to record (just 1 mic). I was wondering if for just 1 track would a USB 3 drive would work- assuming it was a good 7200 rpm drive.

Anyone try this? Or do I need to bite the bullet and buy and expensive Thunderbolt drive?
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  #2  
Old 11-25-2014, 03:16 AM
ZenMaster ZenMaster is offline
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Default Re: Anyone Record to External USB 3 drive?

I haven't read avid's recommendations, but recording to external storages has been done for ages. I say go with it :) Doesn't even need to be USB 3, as even USB 2 will work with multitrack i/o. So no worries!
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  #3  
Old 11-25-2014, 09:57 AM
Darryl Ramm Darryl Ramm is online now
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Default Anyone Record to External USB 3 drive?

You really have a session with just one track? Just try recording it to the internal drive... Especially if it is a recent MacBook Air that uses a fast PCIe (not SATA) based internal SSD. In that case recording to the internal drive may give you better performance than any dedicated audio/session HDD. Make sure your system is otherwise set up and optimized correctly (instructions in the install documentation),
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Old 11-25-2014, 11:35 AM
Dopamine Dopamine is offline
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Default Re: Anyone Record to External USB 3 drive?

Cool. I'm going to to test this out today.

I just need to record (1) mic. However I have 3 strikes against me:

1. Using Yosemite
2. Using an unsupported MAcBook Air
3. Recording to internal SSD

Fingers crossed. I'll report back!
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  #5  
Old 11-26-2014, 02:20 PM
ZenMaster ZenMaster is offline
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Default Re: Anyone Record to External USB 3 drive?

Are you guys for real?
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  #6  
Old 12-03-2014, 12:46 PM
Dopamine Dopamine is offline
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Default Re: Anyone Record to External USB 3 drive?

Happy to report that things are working great! I just need to record a band's rehearsal then do some vocal overdubs. And I've tested my MB Air and things are solid running Yosemite and latest PT 11 build.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ZenMaster View Post
Are you guys for real?
Yes!
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  #7  
Old 12-08-2014, 11:27 AM
Dopamine Dopamine is offline
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Default Re: Anyone Record to External USB 3 drive?

Update:

Recorded all weekend and PT/Yosemite was flawless!

Originally I was just going to set up a mic and record the band playing, then overdub vocals. Instead we ended up recording the full band, 2 inputs at a time.

With a buffer of 64, this worked great! It was my first time using PT 11, and it was a real joy.

This was all on an unsupported MB Air using the internal SSD drive.

Really unbelievable, I felt like I was on my HD system!
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  #8  
Old 12-08-2014, 01:21 PM
Darryl Ramm Darryl Ramm is online now
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Default Re: Anyone Record to External USB 3 drive?

Congrats, thanks for the update!
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  #9  
Old 12-08-2014, 02:17 PM
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jryser jryser is offline
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Default Re: Anyone Record to External USB 3 drive?

Very cool!
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A Rig: MacBook Pro Spring 2013, 2.8Ghz I7, 16GB RAM,
OSX Mavericks 10.9.4, PT 11.2, MBox Pro 3, Glyph GT 050 Qx3 1.5 TB drives Thunderbolt-FW400, Presonus Faderport. 10 REMOVED!
B Rig:MacBook Pro Spring 11, 2.33 GHz I7, 16GB RAM, OSX Mavericks 10.9.4, PT 11.2, MBox Pro 3, Glyph Portagig 62 portable 1 TB drive Firewired with 400, Presonus Faderport. 10 REMOVED!
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  #10  
Old 12-13-2014, 09:51 PM
suttlet1 suttlet1 is offline
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Default Re: Anyone Record to External USB 3 drive?

Just for the record, I record a live radio show, 2 to 2 1/2 hours long. 40 - 48 tracks @ 44.1k onto a USB 3 drive all the time. No problems here.
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