Professional Music PC

[LeBodge]

Hi all,

I'm not sure this is the right forum to ask this question but if I'm wrong please point me to the right one.

I have a client who wants a new PC built for professional music creation using Reason 2.5, can anyone give me some clues as to what soundcard and speakers to use, what processor and graphics will do for this software.

Any help would be really good!



LeBodge.

"I know what I like and I like what I know"

 

[pedrettig]

gamers don't build good DAWs (digital audio workstation), because the things that matter for one don't matter for the other.....don't build a gaming machine, build a DAW

- 3D graphics don't matter one bit, but 2D quality and dual-head support do matter (all DAW software uses massive screen real estate)

- HD cache doesn't matter one bit (when playing back from hard drive the cache is flushed in the first second and never has a chance to refill, when recording it doesn't matter)

- get a HD that can SUSTAIN a high output (very hard to get specs on this but some manufacturers will provide this)

- HD interface doesn't matter once you hit ATA66 for IDE drives (no parallel ATA drive can sustain more than 60 megs/sec.)

- HD performance determines number of tracks you can run in multitracking software

- processor performance determines number of audio effect plugins you can run at once, with floating-point performance being the most important for this application - meaning Athlons used to have the edge here, but now the high end P4s are king

- software synths use a little of both processor and drive resources AFAIK, though I don't use them

http://www.prorec.com

 

[LeBodge]

Thanks for the reply. What sort of soundcard and speakers should I be looking for?



LeBodge.

"I know what I like and I like what I know"

 

[pedrettig]

you will want a professional soundcard, from the likes of RME, MAudio, Aardvark, Echo, or MOTU (they tend to be Mac-centric, though) -- if they're running Reason they probably want a card with MIDI in/out, then your required analog in/outs depend on how many analog tracks they'll be recording at one time -- if they're doing simple overdubs one at a time (single guitar overdubs, voice overdubs), a 2 in/2 out card will be just fine, if doing a full rock band cutting all rhythm tracks live you'll need at least an 8 in/8 out, but more realistically 2 x 8 in/8 outs.........8 in/ 8 out can cost you $650 - $1200 from the brands I mention above, a simple 2 in/2 out with MIDI $100 - $250........my highest recommendation goes to the RME Multiface, but it is a bit more spendy, if you need a simple card a lot of people like the MAudio Audiophile 2496

there aren't any computer speakers that will actually cut it for professional audio......the klipsch 5.1 system will give a good approximation of what a 5.1 system might sound like for the average home theater listener, but 5.1 isn't anywhere near the "standard" for music-only releases yet anyway.....the pros will take 2 of the outs from the card to drive professional studio monitors, to get by cheaply use 2 outs to drive a stereo hifi system --- the cheapest stereo speakers run circles around the most expensive PC speakers (the Klipsch system being the only exception to that rule that I know of, but even so the Klipsch system is geared towards gamers ("is my room rumbling yet, dude?&quot, not towards the scrutinized listening of professional audio)

 

[norty303]

Also take into account things like noise. Buy a good quiet case and spend some decent money on a quiet psu and fans. Seagate Barracudas have long been a muso's favourite because of their quiet running. Try and get by with the minimum number of case fans too and make sure that the ones you do use run silent.

I'd leave the monitor (speaker) choice to the customer as their is so much variety and preference. I can recommend Samson studio amps for most speakers but if it's ultimate quality then the best bet is a set of matched active monitors. Bear in mind that these can cost more than the rest of the system put together. However it strikes me that this is a system for someone exploring music if they're only looking to run Reason.

 

[ceh4702]

Probably looking for a true 24 bit sound card.

May want to look at something like Audigy Platinum Z II with the external drive and inputs for keyboards. Also look at the software that comes with the sound cards. Also probably want to look at keyboards.

Might try looking at Tech TV and see what they had on this. They had something a while back on keyboards and midi, and some software, and downloading sound fonts.

They also make a keyboard with piano keys, but This might not be good enough for a real audio file. Other options are front panels to plug in your components, headphones, etc.

Of course you will want some good dolby digital speaker system 5.1 or 6.1 or 7.1, and maybe some software to record to Dolby DVD.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.