My brain is spinning (getting back into Pro Tools)

[L-Dogg]

I got out of music recording for a long time, both out of disillusionment and also to have kids. I'm ready to get back now and champing at the bit to get going. I have a little "mad money" saved up that I can get new gear with. See my signature for the old stuff I have.

I have my mind set on an Apollo 8 Quad.

No idea what computer to get. Trashcan, 27' iMac Retina 5K? If I do an Apollo, I must have TB.

Apollo boasts ultra low latency, yet all I read about here is latency issues, getting error messages etc etc....just like I always had before. I can't deal with that. I just want to avoid starting with another software platform if I can help it. I love the layout and the look of Pro Tools and while I have forgotten a lot of what I learned, I used to have it quite down.

✪So...folks.......what should I get? I want to be able to work uninterrupted without getting error messages about running out of CPU power etc etc and being plagued by latency issues.

✪Is anyone here running an iMac (not the Pro I can't afford it) and getting excellent performance, high track counts, manageable latency especially when tracking guitars and MIDI input?

✪Is the Apollo the way to go....not just with plug in's (expensive) but overall performance and converter and preamp quality?

✪If running an iMac, how are you dealing with external drives? USB 3? Using the one extra TB port? I need one or two ports just for my USB hubs for the dongles.

You can see where I'm at.....so any info will help. I'd like to get stuff over the next week or so......but the more I research the more confused I get so I think it will be great to hear it from the horses mouth so to speak, what's really going on at street level. Not advertising BS. Tell me about your rig if it is giving stunning performance.

Thanks all for indulging me folks. It will be greatly appreciated.

p.s. I guess the unwritten question is.......is running anything less than a full blown HDX or HD Native system really a waste of time and money? Considering the cost of these systems comparatively of course.

[albee1952]

No surprise on brain overload The way Apollo gets around latency is by you working within their own interface. If you record just audio, that can work fine. If you record lots of midi(like from a keyboard or E-Drum kit), it can go south really fast because AFAIK, the UA interface doesn't handle midi(but you might look at the UA website and watch some tutorials there, and on youtube). Of course, you can do midi work in the Pro Tools window, but you will need to kill any UA plugins(I have a Quad card in my rig and every plugin reports over 1100 samples of latency, so I can't track with them at all).

An iMac quad-core i7 with 32GB of RAM should be a solid job. If Mac is your preference, go for it(but do be aware that a properly configured PC these days will match performance and often for less $$). And yes, you can even get Thunderbolt on a PC now(my rig from pro-tools-pc.com has it). If you find reasons to NOT go with Apollo, Focusrite, Presonus and MOTU also offer Thunderbolt interfaces.

With iMac(and any Apple), avoid the FUSION drives. With a big SSD and modest sample library needs, just add a TB or USB3 recording drive. In the past, iLok has had an issue with USB3 ports, but I am having no issues here(3 iloks on a USB3 powered hub). The solution (if there is trouble) is to use a powered USB2 hub on a USB3 port.

As for the last question, if you are running a commercial studio, HDX makes a lot of sense. For self-production,(my opinion) its total overkill. I run a commercial studio in Nashville with HD/Native with 2x HD IO and 2x 192 IO and its been great, but I got plenty of work done with my old 003 plus some great outboard preamps

[L-Dogg]

Thanks for getting back...um, "Dave". I totally appreciate that.

Originally Posted by albee1952

Of course, you can do midi work in the Pro Tools window, but you will need to kill any UA plugins(I have a Quad card in my rig and every plugin reports over 1100 samples of latency, so I can't track with them at all)

You see, that's what I'm talking about......I thought the whole idea of the UA plugin's is that they ran using their own processor....so no hit on the recording software/computer processor.

But in your case, and I've read others too.....this seems misleading. Running the UA software is doable....but it seems to add a whole other step in the process. I would prefer to stick to being in PT.

Originally Posted by albee1952

With a big SSD and modest sample library needs, just add a TB or USB3 recording drive.

Yes I have a fairly big sample library. I have a dedicated drive just for that in the Mac Pro.

I have a fairly big plug in collection.....although I have not converted them to AAX or whatever it is. If the UA way is not all that great.....I can rethink the interface and just use my existing plug in's.

I had actually found a used Apollo 8 Quad with a bunch of included UA plug ins. He claims in addition to what it came with there is over $1000 in plugs. So I was interested in that.

Thx again mate!

[albee1952]

"You see, that's what I'm talking about......I thought the whole idea of the UA plugin's is that they ran using their own processor....so no hit on the recording software/computer processor." This is true, EXCEPT, it takes extra time(IOW, Latency) for the audio to make the trip out to the UA processing, thru it and then back to the DAW. UA has made it possible to work with negligible latency when you work inside of their "window"(watch some tutorial videos to see this in action). You can choose to print the UA processing or just listen WITH it, but print "dry"(which means when you get to mixing, you will need to still use the plugins you tracked with). This is a good reason to print WITH the processing(be courageous...make commitements)

"Running the UA software is doable....but it seems to add a whole other step in the process. I would prefer to stick to being in PT."exactly why I suggest watching some videos so you have a clear picture of the "reality" of it(my comments are NOT from hand-son experience)

Apollo users will likely tell you its great, but they may also offer up ideas on limitations, and(hopefully) how to get around those limitations There's no doubt that UA plugins are among the best sounding. The real question is; do you NEED them to make your music?

[L-Dogg]

Thanks again bud, very nice of you to take the time.

I will look for some video's about the UA software and using it in conjunction with PT, and anything else I can find.

I just checked out some of the music recorded in your studio, off the website. You get a really nice sound and vibe in there. I didn't check them all, just bits and pieces but when I have more time than I do at the moment, I'll listen some more in my studio so I can really hear things more like they were meant to be heard and not with laptop speakers.....and obviously considering there is always a lot of quality loss etc at these hosting websites like SoundCloud etc.

Oh and hey, what a great place to to have your studio...slap bang in the middle of Nashville. Awesome!

Thanks friend.

[albee1952]

Many thanks for the kind words

[mikeyman]

glad you are getting back into music Dogg..I will not be the one helping you that is for sure because I need help myself...But one thing I want to mention is and I'm not positive but I think I heard the newest AVID software only uses AAX plugins

[L-Dogg]

Duly noted, thanks mikeyman.