Needing help with new iMac setup(interfaces,ports,externals)

[Geddy Leo]

Hi,

 

Completely new to Macs and Logic (have a few years pro tools experience so not completely new) and am looking for help with how to assign certain devices to ports. I have a new 27" retina imac, with Logic Pro (and 2 thunderbolt ports). I am planning to use one of the thunderbolt ports to furnish a second display (although could be talked out of this if it really isn't necessary) and have my eye on the focusrite clarett 2pre thunderbolt audio interface (have also had Roland Super UA USB recommended to me,which apparently boasts 32 bit as opposed to 24 bit). My main question is this - should I opt for a second display and a thunderbolt interface which would leave me with a USB3 port for recording onto an external HDD? (is a USB3 external HDD sufficiently fast to record onto? assuming I purchase a 7200RPM one with decent spec) Or should I sacrifice a second display and use 1 thunderbolt port for my interface and the second for an external HDD to record onto? Or can one port be daisychained to run an external HDD PLUS the clarett interface? And IF THAT is possible, would the sharing of the speed make it that USB3 would in the end be the best way to go? (another outcome obviously would be to purchase the Roland super UA USB interface and leave both thunderbolt ports free but that seems like the worst option at this point).

 

It feels like a real dilemma being new to both Mac and Logic, and having to use one of the thunderbolt ports to extend the screen space seems a little bit like a waste of a port, but I'm not here to make complaints! I'm here for solutions (hopefully!)

 

I'd be interested to hear any opinions or personal experience/advice. Even suggestions as to which interfaces and external HDDs would be most suitable. I've spent a lot of money on a new iMac and although resigned to spending some more money on these things, would like to try to keep the costs down as much as possible.

 

I've tried for ages to find some generic advice online or people who have experienced this kind of problem in forums such as these, but haven't seemed to have uncovered anything. That is either because I am so stupid that no one else has had this kind of quandry, or that the new-ness of the thunderbolt peripherals has meant this is a new problem for folks.

 

I'm hoping it's the latter of course, but if it's the former, a polite "statement of the obvious" pointing in the right direction would also be appreciated

[triplets]

Thunderbolt is great for multi-tracking, we're talking 8 plus tracks simultaneously at a high sample rate with almost no latency, which is hard to achieve with USB.

 

But, if you're not recording more than 2 simultaneous tracks, even a USB 2 will do the job.

 

Remember that Logic does not work with 32 bit files, so going for the Roland is pointless in my opinion.

 

And a lot of plugins, like Waves, are still 24-bit fixed if I'm not mistaken.

 

Also remember that Thunderbolt is like Firewire, which can be daisy-chained. Something not common in the Windows world.

[Geddy Leo]

Thank you very much for your comments. I am pretty much set on the idea of the focusrite clarett 2pre thunderbolt audio interface. I think the benefits of a thunderbolt device far exceed anything that using the Roland USB interface could offer (my friend recommended the Roland and sold it on the premise of "floating at 32 bits" but I must admit I wasn't sure if this was as important as transfer speeds etc). The optical port on the back of the clarett also sold me as it leaves room for more preamps should I decide further down the line to move past the 2 channels thing (if I decide or feel able to record live drums at some point for example).

 

This then leaves me with no free thunderbolt ports though. If I decide to go ahead with an extra display (which I already possess).

 

So, has anyone successfully daisy chained an interface like the clarett 2pre and an external hard drive on one port? (assuming the idea of daisy chaining a display and anything else is a no-go due to having to use an HDMI converter)

 

Or is USB3 fast/good enough for recording onto?

 

And given that new iMacs appear to have 2 thunderbolt ports and 4 USB3 ports, am I the only person who has faced this "problem"? (or is it even a problem?)

 

I'm very unfamiliar with the idea of daisy chaining and would welcome any comments on whether it is easier or more effective not to bother daisy chaining and just use both thunderbolt ports for single use - and use a USB3 external hard drive for recording onto? I understand sharing a thunderbolt port shares the load also and although USB3 is slower, is it sufficiently fast to consider it over daisy chaining the faster port? Added to the mix, I read that not all thunderbolt devices can be daisy chained. I think the clarett has only one thunderbolt port so (if it is theoretically possible) would it have to be at the end of the chain?

 

I am so unused to Mac that I am aware I could be overthinking all this, but can't seem to find a practical way to proceed, and am at the stage where I have the computer ready to go and need to find the best way to purchase the peripherals to make it work as smoothly as possible.

 

Anyway,as I said before, I feel the having to use a thunderbolt port to extend the display seems a bit like a waste of a port which could be used for something a bit more "important". An HDMI port could have been a massive improvement. But anyway, this is by the by, as they say!

 

And also any comments and recommendations for suitable external hard drives (whether thunderbolt or USB3) specifically for use with Logic would be greatly appreciated.

[triplets]

This might interest you in terms of thunderbolt daisy-chain capabilities:

 

http://www.macworld.com/article/2146360/lab-tested-the-mac-pro-daisy-chain-challenge.html

 

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/forget-usb-8-thunderbolt-accessories-mac/

 

Besides that you can go to www.macsales.com to get some 7200 rpm USB 3 drives, which should be plenty for recording purposes.

[Wolfie2112]

Get one of these....

 

http://www.caldigit.com/thunderboltstation2/

[Geddy Leo]

Woah! So that last link leaves me with one question - could I purchase one of those TS2s and connect an HDMI cable (for secondary display) plus an eSATA external drive to record onto? Because I already have one of those. Not having to buy another external OR an HDMI-thunderbolt adapter would make this a highly desirable investment. I could hook up a monitor and an external to one port, and my audio interface with the other. Problem solved!!

[Geddy Leo]

p.s - thanks for the other daisy chaining links. Just saw those. Nice of you guys to be so welcoming to a new guy trying to get answers to questions that might be obvious to long-time Mac users. Just ventured over to this side of the tech divide (haha) and can see once I get past these initial problems that I have done the correct thing.

[Wolfie2112]

Woah! So that last link leaves me with one question - could I purchase one of those TS2s and connect an HDMI cable (for secondary display) plus an eSATA external drive to record onto? Because I already have one of those. Not having to buy another external OR an HDMI-thunderbolt adapter would make this a highly desirable investment. I could hook up a monitor and an external to one port, and my audio interface with the other. Problem solved!!

 

I almost bought the first generation dock, and was told by their support team that you could indeed hook up multiple monitors. maybe check with them first, but that dock is brilliant.