Songman786 Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Hello everyone! First and foremost, this forum has been an informational hub for me…and I want to thank everyone in advance for taking the time to help a songman! I have 10 songs that I am going to be recording in my somewhat acoustically treated barn next month for a solo album. Half of my songs will be driven by my Larrivee D-03R acoustic guitar and vocals, while the other half of the songs will include a combination of clean and distorted electric guitars through a Tech 21 amp, acoustic guitars, vocal leads and harmonies, keyboard, and possibly an electric bass via DI. I will be the only one involved in the tracking/recording of these songs, and I will be using an Apogee Duet interface (1-2 track maximum at a time). I’ve heard some recordings done through a Duet with a U87 and was completely blown away. The music is really what’s important…and technology now allows the unwealthy majority to use great-quality tools at home in order to record music. These are great changing times…and it gives people like me hope. Of course my recordings won’t rival professional studio results…but that never interested me. I just always wanted my gear to be ‘good enough’ so the feeling and message in my songs were not lost. It’s safe to say that ship has arrived (unless my ears have been deceiving me). As this is going to be a solo project, I do not anticipate using any live drums. I was considering sampling a few drum patterns for a few songs, but that would be all. In a way, my right-handed downstrokes on the bass strings of my guitar will serve as the percussion for the majority of my songs. My songs are very lyrical and melody-based (Jackson Browne, Neil Young) and from what I understand (as a recording novice) Logic Express 8 coupled with an Apogee Duet should be able to handle what I need with great results. I don’t think I would use many of the features in Logic Studio and would probably end up getting overwhelmed (which is not good for me). I love the ‘naked room’ tone I get from my amp and guitars, and don’t want to manipulate the input a great deal Also, I will likely try to get this mastered in a studio if the album actually turns out the way I’m envisioning. Ok…now just a few questions…. My specific questions are more about the nuts and bolts of what I need. I plan on buying either a Macbook or Macbook Pro (2.4ghz, 4gb ram) in addition to an external Seagate 500gb HD (7200 rpm) which I will run Logic Express from. My first question is this: I’m wondering if the extra firewire port in the Macbook Pro is enough to warrant me purchasing it over a Macbook as I will not be using this computer for any graphical/video purposes? The Macbook only offers a 5400 firewire port, so there is really no point in me getting a 7200 rpm hardrive unless I purchase a Macbook Pro with that available port? I’ve heard the term “daisy-chaining” but I couldn’t really understand exactly what that meant, and I’ve also heard of a cable that can convert 5400 to 7200. For my purposes, can anyone recommend what might yield the best results? I will only be recording 2 tracks maximum at a time through the Duet, but I think I’m getting really confused in the vocabulary and I’m just trying to get a feel for how this will work as I would like to power both the Duet and HD via firewire. I’ve been writing and performing songs for years..but this is my first taste of home recording. You are all so knowledgeable and hands-on knowledge is where I am lacking. My credit card is going to take a beating in about 3 weeks or so…and I just want to get as much information from actual users as possible. Also,the primary microphone that I will be using in various positions will be the “T.H.E. Audio KR-33A” diaphragm capsule microphone. In addition to that I have an all-purpose SM57. I’m a male baritone singer and I sing in a few different styles. Maybe a marriage of Bruce Springsteen & John Lennon…I use a lot of subtle intonation. I’ve been reading about vocal compressors…specifically Neve units. If anyone can point me in the right direction of more affordable compressors they have had success with using similar gear that would be much appreciated! Thank you all again for reading this lengthy post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I think you're confusing some terms here: 5400 and 7200 are the spinning rpms of hard drives, it has nothing to do with a firewire port. The speed of firewire is indicated by either firewire 400 or firewire 800. The macbook pro has a firewire 800 port that the macbook doesn't and it has a dedicated video card. Second you shouldn't run Logic Express from the external HD, you have to install it on the main drive. If you don't you'll have many problems. You should save your projects to the external. Daisy-chaining is something you can only do with firewire and it means that you can plug one device into another one (up to 63 I think) and that goes into the computer. It's helpful when you don't have enough ports on the computer to accommodate your peripherals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Songman786 Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 In response to triplets: I apologize..some of these terms are brand new to me and I'm still learning the lingo. I think you just cleared up several things for me! Essentially, I can get an external Seagate 7200 rpm HD and use that with the Firewire 400 port that comes with the Macbook. Got it! Also, I was planning on ordering the Logic Express software when I ordered my Macbook...so yes that will be installed on the 5400rpm Internal HD And then I plan on saving my projects to the External HD as you explained. As far as Daisy Chaining, do you see any problems with me plugging the Apogee Duet into the Seagate 7200 rpm External HD? For my simple tracking purposes, do you think I would run into any problems doing so? From what I've read it seems like most people have no problems daisy-chaining. Also, do you think a 5400 rpm Internal HD would be adequate to run Logic Express? Would a 7200 rpm Internal HD (only available on Macbook Pro) be worth it for me so the overall system runs smoother? Or would this be something that I would hardly notice? Thank you again triplets! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 The apogee has one problem: It doesn't have a second firewire port so you can't daisy-chain a hard drive to it. It's better if you get a macbook pro for the firewire 800 port or get another audio interface like the MOTU Ultralite. The idea when you daisy-chain is like this: Computer - Interface - External HD If you put the interface after the HD you'll have problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Songman786 Posted May 16, 2008 Author Share Posted May 16, 2008 Hmmmm....that information is unfortunate. I have no interest in the MOTU unit, I will have to utilize the Apogee Duet. So what you are saying is that in order to use the Duet effectively I must buy a Macbook Pro (because of the included additional firewire ports) unless I want to connect the Seagate External HD via USB or forget the External HD and run everything from the Internal HD? (which of course is not reccomended) The Duet does not offer Firewire 800 compatibility I thought? What if I got a Macbook and plugged the External HD into the Interface (which I would connect to the firewire 400)? Given a 2-track maximum, would this give me any problems? Thank you again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Again, how do expect to connect an external HD to the Duet if it doesn't have a second firewire port? The interface has to go first always when you daisy-chain. The macbook pro has a firewire 400 and 800. Connect the Duet to the 400 port and an firewire 800 external HD to the 800 port. I have a friend that uses the Duet this way and is very pleased. That's the only way. I would never use USB for recording purposes. And also never use the internal either if I can avoid it, especially if it's 5400 rpm, which means too much strain reading and writing at the same time on the same disk. If for any reason the internal HD has problems your projects are done for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biff_larken Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 If you get a macbook pro, I would *highly* recommend taking advantage of the Expresscard slot, and get an eSata expresscard, and hook up an eSata hard drive that way. I'm doing that (first gen MBP, 1 FW400 port, so I really kind of had to) and it's phenomenal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Good one. I forgot about the Express Card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biff_larken Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 If you didn't have an eSata hard drive, you could at least get a dual FW expresscard, and that would add (I think) two extra FW ports! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nado Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 I almost bought the Duet, but the lack of firewire port and having no inserts put me off - you'll need those if you want to use a compressor - forget about it with the Duet. I ended up stretching the budget and bought a Metric Halo ULN-2 and couldn't be happier. I honestly can't imagine ever needing another interface, except maybe adding the ADAT option at some time in the future. The pre's in the MH are easily as good as the Duet - some say better, but that's subjective IMO. And you can daisy chain the external HD off the extra FW port (though I don't need to having an Imac with 2 ports). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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