buying a computer strictly for live5

ayentee · Post by **ayentee** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 10:42 am

right now im using an mpc, vp9000, and a vs1880. but im thinking of selling and purchacing a semi powerful computer dedicated to live5.

I have a few questions for you advanced users before i do.

I will be relying 100% on sampling my own records. i wont be using any sample libraries or synths. Does live have a good internal recording program or should i sample through something like sound forge and import the samples later?

when recording my samples, should i use the highest sample rate and bit rate? Does it make a big difference for pitch shifting, time stretching and warping?

is it better to cut samples to perfect loops before using them or does it not matter much since you can edit the start/end points in each clip. if it doesn't matter then i'd much rather not cut the samples into perfect loops?

i have many more questions but i would like to start with these three and go from there. thank you in advance and im looking forward to reading your responses.

MrYellow · Post by **MrYellow** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 10:59 am

Keep the gear and get the computer.

MPC would go awesome with Live.....

Ever since swapping an Ibanez with floating bridge for a shitty drum
machine I've gone by the philosophy of never selling anything musical. You
always wish you still had it at some time.

First step will be getting the vinyl to play smoothly with the best quality u
can..... One cool tip suggested here is wetting the records as they place to
reduce friction.... Liked the sound of that one.

You can record direct into Live.... Then warp marker them to get rid of any
inconsistencies in the tempo/time. You can setup the whole tracks to start
where you want and end where you want, copy them to new clips and set
different markers for looping sections or whatever...... very flexible....

It's all non-destructive so u'r original wav stays untouched as you setup all
sorts of different looping situations or warp changes.

-Ben

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:00 am

I will be relying 100% on sampling my own records. i wont be using any sample libraries or synths. Does live have a good internal recording program or should i sample through something like sound forge and import the samples later?

Live is sufficient. No hassle.

when recording my samples, should i use the highest sample rate and bit rate? Does it make a big difference for pitch shifting, time stretching and warping?

Generally I would say no, except for very extreme "oldskool" pitching, like a record player at 3rpms. I like 24bit, 48khz.

is it better to cut samples to perfect loops before using them or does it not matter much since you can edit the start/end points in each clip. if it doesn't matter then i'd much rather not cut the samples into perfect loops?

No need to cut anything. And if you still *want* to at times, then you can "consolidate" the sample, stripping away the excess.

Andreas

ayentee · Post by **ayentee** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:24 am

so if im recording all my wavs in live, does it ask me where i want to file them? because not only will i be recording samples, i will also be recording whole songs that i want to convert to mp3's for my ipod at a later date.

also, i have a stanton turntable with a digital output that i have been using for sometime now with my mpc. digital out of the table into the digital in of the mpc. ive always thought maybe this was a bad idea but i figured stantons a/d converters were probably just as good as akai's. but now that i will be recording into a soundcard, im wondering if i would be better off going analog out of the turntable and let the soundcard do the converting.

ayentee · Post by **ayentee** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:31 am

MrYellow wrote:Keep the gear and get the computer.

MPC would go awesome with Live.....

-Ben

im selling cus im tired of turning on so many pieces of equipment. if i genuenly miss the mpc i can always use my back up mpc. I just dont like using it very much and im not sure what the mpc could bring to the table that live cant do for itself other then using it as a controller. if youre talking about controllers, id much rather use a midi keyboard

ayentee · Post by **ayentee** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:35 am

Machinate wrote:
when recording my samples, should i use the highest sample rate and bit rate? Does it make a big difference for pitch shifting, time stretching and warping?
Generally I would say no, except for very extreme "oldskool" pitching, like a record player at 3rpms. I like 24bit, 48khz.
Andreas

there will be numorous times when i decide to pitch a guitar lick and use it as a bass line while maybe even speeding up the tempo. can 48khz make a sample sound "ok" after you have transposed it a few octives in either direction? or am i being unrealistic altogether.

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:40 am

ayentee wrote:so if im recording all my wavs in live, does it ask me where i want to file them? because not only will i be recording samples, i will also be recording whole songs that i want to convert to mp3's for my ipod at a later date.

You can change this in the preferences.

Wrt to A/D conversion, that would depend a lot on which sound card you get.

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:42 am

ayentee wrote:there will be numorous times when i decide to pitch a guitar lick and use it as a bass line while maybe even speeding up the tempo. can 48khz make a sample sound "ok" after you have transposed it a few octives in either direction? or am i being unrealistic altogether.

Try out the demo, mate. You'll probably find that in some cases a 96khz sample will help, but in many/most cases you'll just be filling up your hard drives faster and straining the cpu more.

forge · Post by **forge** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:59 am

Machinate wrote:. I like 24bit, 48khz.

Hey Andreas,

Why do you use 48kHz - do you use dat, or do you find any noticable benefits?

I tried for a while once and all that happened was it was one more hassle to think about down the line and didnt notice any benefeit, are theire any real benefits IYO?

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 12:03 pm

the step up from 16bit, 44.1 to 24,48khz is quite big, soundwise. To my ears, at least. From then on it's only really usefull for extreme repitching and such.

forge · Post by **forge** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 12:07 pm

ayentee wrote:right now im usin
is it better to cut samples to perfect loops before using them or does it not matter much since you can edit the start/end points in each clip. if it doesn't matter then i'd much rather not cut the samples into perfect loops?
.

it's so easy to create loops in live you just use the whole track and create clips from it where only the loop you want plays, totally non destructively, you'll never bother creating a rendered loop again.

ayentee · Post by **ayentee** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 8:24 pm

using the demo on my laptop..like it so far. haven't been able to record audio in just yet.

ok now for the big question. does anyone have any suggestions for the type of computer i should buy to run this program? I kinda want to stay away from mac but if its really that much better on mac then i'd consider it. Lets say my price range is around 1500 for the comp and another 500 for the sound card. lets hear some suggestions.

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 8:43 pm

ayentee wrote:I kinda want to stay away from mac but if its really that much better on mac then i'd consider it.

well lucky you - it's not! they're almost completely identical and the performance is better on pc.

ayentee wrote: Lets say my price range is around 1500 for the comp and another 500 for the sound card. lets hear some suggestions.

that depends a lot on what currency you're talking about mate.

FaX-01 · Post by **FaX-01** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 9:37 pm

forge wrote:
Machinate wrote:. I like 24bit, 48khz.
Hey Andreas,

Why do you use 48kHz - do you use dat, or do you find any noticable benefits?

I tried for a while once and all that happened was it was one more hassle to think about down the line and didnt notice any benefeit, are theire any real benefits IYO?

Funny I find 24bit 48khz more than enough sound wise also.

FaX-01 · Post by **FaX-01** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 9:45 pm

ayentee wrote:using the demo on my laptop..like it so far. haven't been able to record audio in just yet.

ok now for the big question. does anyone have any suggestions for the type of computer i should buy to run this program? I kinda want to stay away from mac but if its really that much better on mac then i'd consider it. Lets say my price range is around 1500 for the comp and another 500 for the sound card. lets hear some suggestions.

Centrino / Dothan / Sonoma with dedicated graphics card.
1.7ghz @ up too 2.13ghz will suffice.
Toshiba / Ibm would be my first suggestions for a solid stable notebook but check what others are using.
What do you need from sound card input/output wise ?
Probably stay away from Maudio firewire interfaces if possible.
Try and snag a laptop with Ti based cardbus and Firewire chipsets if possible.
Though my next lappy may be a Samsung M50 .
17" 2ghz Centrino w/ 2meg Cache
4.5 hours battery life
Weighs only 1.9 kgs.
Titanium Alloy Case
Good Graphics and buss powered 6 pin F/W port which is unusual for a PC.
Currently using a Toshiba HT P4 3.2ghz 17" wxga desknote and it is rock solid with Live and my other apps.
My eyesight isn't the best so I need a largish screen myself.
Not very portable however and not terribly great battery life either.
On the upside it has lots of grunt but a 2.0ghz Centrino would be just as powerful in real world use with LIVE IMHO.
i'd still hold on to the MPC.
I sold my RS7000 and still wish I had it for what it's worth.

buying a computer strictly for live5

buying a computer strictly for live5

Re: buying a computer strictly for live5