Feels like such a long time since I last put anything on here.
Funny how life has a habit of getting in the way.
But it’s time to get back to business…
A brand new setup:
So the best way I can get started is to outline what I have in my studio and what I have already set up and what I will be attempting to get up and running.
Let’s start with the computer side:
1. Asus Laptop with 6gb Memory and AMD Dual Core 1ghz processor dual boot with Ubuntu Studio and Windows 7
2. Store bought desktop PC with 6gb Memory and Dual Core Intel Processor – loaded with 3 UAD-1 cards single boot Windows 8
3. Home built PC desktop with 4gb memory and AMD Dual Core 2.2 ghz processor. Dual boot Ubuntu 12.04 and Windows 7.
Each PC will have it’s own function, all will be connected via a gigabit lan.
In addition to the 3 computers I have,
2 iPads – to be used as midi controllers, synths and possibly guitar effects
WD 4tb network hard drive.
I also have a 4th PC that maybe be integrated depending on the national grid. It’s a single core 3ghz processor with 4 gb of memory.
***THE PLAN***
1. Turn laptop into guitar effects unit for monitoring purposes – the idea behind this is that at night it’s too late to mic an amp to record guitar(my preferred option) – therefore using the laptop as a surrogate I will be able to get ideas down and either stick with the sound recorded or record in the morning. *Problem 1* latency when monitoring, with Amplitube there is a latency problem in my DAW so recording guitar can be a painful experience, taking that process away in theory should help. *Problem 2* still get latency in my laptop so switch to Ubuntu Studio and a program called Guitarix which fixes the latency problem and is pretty rock solid and as a bonus sounds pretty good – it does though come with a few setup problems which I’ll go into in more depth in future post. There are also other benefits that I’ve found with my chosen audio device which is a Lexicon Alpha USB interface. It has two outputs which means I can route my signal as clean and as an effect meaning I can record my playing on two tracks and then apply effects from Amplitube afterwards. Again I’ll deal with this in more depth later.
2. Use Windows 8 PC purely as my DAW – loaded with three UAD-1 cards and all my other plugins I have a pretty nice setup – dsp processing is pretty solid, but I can use a 2nd pc as an effects farm using my preferred DAW reaper. I’ll be trying this out and will report on that later also.
3. 2nd Desktop to be setup using Windows 7 and Ubuntu 12.04 – this PC at the moment is used for browsing but will either be configured as a synth or as an effects farm.
4. 3rd PC – the antiquated single core pc – possibly setup as effects farm using windows xp 64bit
5. See how iPads can integrate into system and look at the pros and cons.
***
So there it is, my new setup. Quite possibly a bit of overkill on my part but it does give me a lot of options.
There will of course be snagging points and in setting all this up I’ve be able to report on those as I go along.
Groovy