Powerbook G4 and motu 828???

[Eric917]

I am very new to the audio recording and editing world but Im jumping into it with both feet and if Im going to do it I wanna do it right. The specs on the Powerbook G4 Im getting are 500mhz, 256 ram, 20 gig HD and DVD drive and a Motu 828 for the ovious reasons. This is a hard to heavy rock band with some acoustic songs as well. The band consists of 1 vocal, 1 electric guitar, 1 bass guitar, 1 keyboard for some intros and sound fx and stuff which the bass guy plays, and 1 drummer with with a standard setup with 2 bass drums and 3 electronic drums going into a mixing board and then to a Roland vs 840 ( I think, which I would like to maybe integrate into the G4/Motu setup [ it has a spdif and optical outs] ) which they are using right now to record and practice with in a small recording studio they are renting. Will this set up be good enough for making produce an album that doesnt sound like a demo? I plan on learning the ropes from these guys and maybe turning it into a small business or record label ( who knows ). I want to use a laptop for several reasons. 1 I need portability. I will be traveling from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to do recordings with my friends band. 2 I already have a desktop pc. 3 Take it to record other bands (make money to pay for this monster). 4 For fun like watching movies on it. And so on...... Am I wasting my time and money trying to do this or am I going to make an impact worth while? Man, I have so many more questions I need help on but Im to tired to think of them. I just hope theres someone out there that can help. Should I use adiodesk(which comes with the motu), protools, or vegas audio?

[smoothmoniker]

I'm using that setup to do sound design/pre-production. It's pretty powerful. You'll want a ton of RAM (I'm using 768mb).

I've been using Logic Audio as my software with that setup, and it's been flawless. Tracking is no problem, and I can playback over 30 tracks with plugs, including some virtual instruments.

[shinobimaster]

Hello,

The 828 is a great unit. I like it alot. I use it with DP 3, not audiodesk though. Audiodesk is a basic program used to market motu's digital performer look and feel. I am doing mostly all audio recording and some midi sequencing.

Basically you just need to find the software you enjoy using. They are all competitors, so they pretty much are the same. I use MOTU DP 3 simply because I like the user interface, and I am a big fan of their hardware, which is made to work with their software. I also like Steinberg's Nuendo. It is a very good program. I havent used much of Emagic's stuff, so I cant agree with the use of Logic.

Good luck, I hope I helped

Shinobimaster

[junglephone]

I use DP3 and the 828 with PB G4 400 Mhz 512MB RAM. I'm pushing this baby pretty hard with plug-ins, virtual instruments and 24 bit audio. I'm still working out the bugs but things seem promising. Two things I can't stress enough: 1) Get more RAM than 256MB. Get a smaller internal HD if you have to sacrifice something. I'd say a minimum of 512MB. If I had the money, I'd be maxing the machine at 1GB. 2) Get a separate audio hard drive. The Glyph Firewire drive 'X Project' is probably your best bet. You don't want to be recording to the same drive your apps are on. Slow, slow, slow. Glitches, hiccups and misery.
Well, that's my two sheckles. Good luck!

[jclvsu2]

hey man... while powerbooks are extremely powerful, the one thign that will hold you back is the HD speed. However, it is definitley still the best computer on the market for portable digital audio recording. Go with the MOTU 828 with either Audiodesk or Digital Performer. Digitalperformer is much more powerful than Audiodesk, so I would recomend that. DO NOT GET PROTOOLS. In order to be portable under Protools, you have to get a PCI expansion chasis, which means a lot more money than you are already spending. You cannot use a MOTU 828 with Protools. I have both, and I have gone with Digital Peformer for all of my newer stuff because it is much more useful.

Okay... thats my two cents... good luck!