Music Production set up

[Druanon]

First of all hello everyone! :) I am a music student currently studying at the University of Hull. It's my ambition to become a composer for games and films while also writing my own music. I thought while I am at uni it would be a good idea to get ahead of the game and build a portfolio, writing music for game mods. My problem is when I bought my computer 2 years ago I had no idea I would be doing this so I have no sound card and no software!

My computer specs are as follows:
Processor - Intel® Core™i7-2600 Quad Core (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache)
Motherboard - ASUS® P8P67: USB 3.0, SATA 6.0GB/s
RAM - 8GB Samsung DDR3 Dual-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card - 1.25GB Nvidia Geforce GTX 570
HDD - 1TB WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
Power Supply - CORSAIR 650W TX SERIES (TX650)
Cooler - SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER
Sound Card - ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO

What I'm looking for is some hardware to act as a soundcard, a version of Pro Tools (probably the student edition) and some orchestral instruments for use in PT.

I've used Pro Tools a fair amount at uni so I know how to do all the basics but everything is already set up for us, I have no idea how to install plugins or what to get; I'm a complete newbie on this side of things. I would really appreciate advice on the hardware and software side of things. It's very important that I get some nice sounding orchestral instruments as this is what I'll be working with most of the time.

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post :P

[guatamas]

As of Pro Tools 9, you are now able to use your internal soundcard or onboard audio as a hardware interface. All you need is the Asio4All driver

http://www.asio4all.com/

There are student editions available, I myself have 10. If you bought 10 now you will also get PT 11 for free.

Although I would recommend an interface like a Mbox or Fastrack but as I said your internal soundcard will also work

[Druanon]

So is it worth getting an Mbox instead of a soundcard? I know I can use my onboard one but I doubt it will be able to handle much especially if I get some plugins and lots of tracks going.

[Southsidemusic]

Originally Posted by Druanon

So is it worth getting an Mbox instead of a soundcard? I know I can use my onboard one but I doubt it will be able to handle much especially if I get some plugins and lots of tracks going.

A Mbox is a "soundcard" but called interface. Make sure you get an interface that is compatible with PT10 and soon released PT11 as the requirements are quite a few for Pro Tools in general.
You will also 100% need one more harddrive for recording to and keep sessions on as recording to the internal drive is NOT an option if you don't wanna spend all your time here asking questions that is answered in the post here:
http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=300050
Here are a few links you need to pay attention to aswell when choosing any interface and what your computer needs to be able to handle in system requirements and specs.

http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/e...ility/en419171

http://www.avid.com/US/products/Pro-...Specifications

[Druanon]

Ok thanks for the help so far! After lots of reading I can see that most of my hardware is not the officially supported stuff but I'd have to spend so much money I don't have to get it. Mine should mostly be ok anyway (I have 2 extra USB 3 HDDs to fill up with sounds).

I've decided to go for either an Mbox or an Mbox mini and Pro Tools. I just need to decide which one then find the cheapest way (a bundle or the student edition etc). Would an Mbox mini be enough or should I go for an Mbox? If anyone has any advice on this it would be much appreciated.

I'm also looking for a good orchestral instruments plugin that's not extremely expensive as I'm only a poor student.

Thanks again!

[Southsidemusic]

Originally Posted by Druanon

Ok thanks for the help so far! After lots of reading I can see that most of my hardware is not the officially supported stuff but I'd have to spend so much money I don't have to get it. Mine should mostly be ok anyway (I have 2 extra USB 3 HDDs to fill up with sounds).

I've decided to go for either an Mbox or an Mbox mini and Pro Tools. I just need to decide which one then find the cheapest way (a bundle or the student edition etc). Would an Mbox mini be enough or should I go for an Mbox? If anyone has any advice on this it would be much appreciated.

I'm also looking for a good orchestral instruments plugin that's not extremely expensive as I'm only a poor student.

Thanks again!

Hey

Totally understand and respect your situation as a student

If your computer is "close to" the system requirements and you have minimum 4GB aswell as 7200 rpm HDD for recording to you might be able to use PT anyway and save up money for an upgrade later on.

As far as Mbox or Mbox mini I suggest checking out either the "buy and sell" here at the forum :

http://duc.avid.com/forumdisplay.php?f=12

Or check ebay for a used Mbox 2 or 3. If you buy a new Mbox budled with Pro Tools or an Fast track w/PT 9 or 10 you will recieve Pro Tools 11 free of charge either way, student or not so even if buying a new setup for you get a brand new Pro Tools and free ugrade to 11 and thats worth alot. I would check out sweetwater http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PTMboxEdu/

Or http://www.sweetwater.com/store/sear...ndle&Go=Search

Make sure to check for the free upgrade to PT11 when you buy anything and read carefully what the deal says

My 50 cents

[Druanon]

Thanks very much for the links and advice. I'm still considering but I think I'll probably go for an Mbox mini and Pro Tools - I want to steer clear of the Express edition as I think I'll have more than 8 Instruments/16 MIDI tracks that you're limited to with it. Seems like this bundle is a very cheap way to get started as well (comparatively). I'll make sure to look out for the Pro Tools 11 upgrade, is a must really seeing how much money it will save!

Now just to find some nice instrument plugins ^_^

[Druanon]

Just had a look around and this looks like a very good deal to me http://www.amazon.co.uk/Avid-Pro-Too...productDetails

Trouble is I'm not sure whether I would get the upgrade with it?

EDIT: Scrap that, that's Pro Tools 9!! ^_^

EDIT: Sorry for all the edits :P I'm wondering if the above will include a free upgrade to PT10 (and 11?). Also been looking at this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Avid-Mbox-...item27d310d45f

I keep finding Mbox minis with Pro Tools 9 and a free upgrade to 10 but I don't know if they're eligible for upgrade to 11 :s

Keep finding even more! If this one's legit then it's the best deal http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Get-Pro-To...item2ec755743f

And this is an Mbox (not mini) with Pro Tools 9 and free upgrade to 11 (apparently) for the same price http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AVID-Digid...item27d1901efb

I don't know what to make of all this :s

[nst7]

Part of the problem is that Avid has had a few different versions of these.

As of almost 2 years ago, they actually stopped selling the regular Mbox and Mbox Mini with the full version of Protools. They started selling those with just Protools Express, and only the Mbox Pro is sold with the full version of Protools.

So if you're seeing any regular Mboxes or Mini's sold with any full version of Protools, these are simply the last remaining stock of the old versions before Avid changed their line up.

Nothing wrong with that, as long as what you're buying is new in the box. I think you need to be extra careful who you buy from on Ebay.

[Druanon]

Well I've had a look at that last link and the seller is very reputable and two people have already bought that item and said it works (there are 5 left).

I'm now getting worried whether my computer will be compatible though. I know that it definitely meets the minimum system requirements but I don't want to buy the software + hardware and have it not work :s

Here's my Sandra report:
SiSoftware Sandra

ID
Host Name : Zuthal
Workgroup : WORKGROUP

Computer
Model : OEM System Product Name
Serial Number : System Ser**********
Chassis : Desktop
Mainboard : ASUS P8P67 PRO
Serial Number : 1097375********
BIOS : AMI (OEM) 1606 04/29/2011
Total Memory : 8GB DIMM DDR3

Processors
Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2600 CPU @ 3.40GHz (4C 8T 4.22GHz/5.9GHz, 4.22GHz IMC, 4x 256kB L2, 8MB L3)
Socket/Slot : FC LGA1155

Chipset
Memory Controller : ASUS Core (Sandy Bridge) DRAM Controller 103MHz, 2x 4GB DIMM DDR3 1.37GHz 128-bit

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : Samsung M378B5273DH0-CH9 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-10700U DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)
Memory Module : Samsung M378B5273DH0-CH9 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-10700U DDR3-1334 (9-9-9-25 4-34-10-5)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : Samsung SyncMaster
(1920x1080, 29.6")
Video Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (15CU 480SP SM5.0 1.46GHz, 640kB L2, 1.3GB 3.8GHz 320-bit, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Graphics Processor
OpenCL GP Processor : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (480SP 15C 1.46GHz, 640kB L2, 1.3GB 3.8GHz 320-bit)
Compute Shader Processor : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (480SP 15C 1.46GHz, 640kB L2, 1.3GB 3.8GHz 320-bit)
CUDA GP Processor : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (480SP 15C 1.46GHz, 640kB L2, 1.3GB 3.8GHz 320-bit)

Storage Devices
WDC WD1002FAEX-00Y9A0 (1TB, SATA600, 3.5", 7200rpm) : 932GB (C:)
WDC WD20NMVW-11W68S0 (2TB, USB3/SATA300, 5200rpm, 8MB Cache) : 2TB (K:)
Seagate ST1000LM010-9YH146 (1TB, USB3/SATA300, 3.5", 5400rpm, 16MB Cache) : 932GB (I:)
Generic- SD/MMC (USB2) : N/A (E:)
Generic- Compact Flash (USB2) : N/A (F:)
Generic- SM/xD-Picture (USB2) : N/A (G:)
Generic- MS/MS-Pro (USB2) : N/A (H:)
ATAPI iHAS124 B (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache) : N/A (D:)
ELBY CLONEDRIVE (SCSI, SCSI-2, BD-R, HD-DVD-R, DVD-R, CD-R, 256kB Cache) : N/A (J:)

Logical Storage Devices
System Reserved : 100MB (NTFS)
Ben's Expansion Drive 2 (K:) : 2TB (NTFS) @ WDC WD20NMVW-11W68S0 (2TB, USB3/SATA300, 5200rpm, 8MB Cache)
Ben's Expansion Drive 1 (I:) : 932GB (NTFS) @ Seagate ST1000LM010-9YH146 (1TB, USB3/SATA300, 3.5", 5400rpm, 16MB Cache)
Hard Disk (C:) : 931GB (NTFS) @ WDC WD1002FAEX-00Y9A0 (1TB, SATA600, 3.5", 7200rpm)
Removable Drive (E:) : N/A @ Generic- SD/MMC (USB2)
Removable Drive (F:) : N/A @ Generic- Compact Flash (USB2)
Removable Drive (G:) : N/A @ Generic- SM/xD-Picture (USB2)
Removable Drive (H:) : N/A @ Generic- MS/MS-Pro (USB2)
Optical Drive (D:) : N/A @ ATAPI iHAS124 B (SATA150, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)
Optical Drive (J:) : N/A @ ELBY CLONEDRIVE (SCSI, SCSI-2, BD-R, HD-DVD-R, DVD-R, CD-R, 256kB Cache)

Peripherals
LPC Hub Controller 1 : ASUS P67 LPC Controller
LPC Legacy Controller 1 : T0 C3-33
Audio Device : ASUS Cougar Point High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Codec : Realtek Semi High Definition Audio
Audio Device : nVidia GF110 High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Codec : nVidia Riva 128 Graphics Accelerator [NV3]
Audio Codec : 1 0001
Audio Codec : 1 0001
Serial Port(s) : 1
Disk Controller : ASUS Cougar Point 6 port SATA AHCI Controller
Disk Controller : ASUS JMB362 AHCI Controller
Disk Controller : ASUS 91xx SATA 6G Controller
USB Controller 1 : ASUS Cougar Point USB Enhanced Host Controller #2
USB Controller 2 : ASUS Cougar Point USB Enhanced Host Controller #1
USB Controller 3 : ASUS Renesas Electronics USB 3.0 Host Controller
USB Controller 4 : ASUS Renesas Electronics USB 3.0 Host Controller
FireWire/1394 Controller 1 : ASUS VIA VT6308 1394 OHCI Controller
SMBus/i2c Controller 1 : Intel ICH SMBus

Printers and Faxes
Printer : Microsoft XPS Document Writer (600x600, Colour)
Fax : Microsoft Shared Fax Driver (200x200)
Printer : Brother DCP-J525W Printer (600x600, USB, Colour)

Peripherals

Network Services
Network Adapter : Intel(R) 82579V Gigabit Network Connection (Ethernet, 100Mbps)
Wireless Adapter : Edimax EW-7612PIn Wireless PCI-Express Adapter (802.11g (ERP), 54Mbps)

Operating System
Windows System : Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 6.01.7600
Platform Compliance : x64

Windows Experience Index
Current System : 5.9


If someone could take a look at whether my machine will run Pro Tools I would be very grateful