Learn how to squeeze every last drop of performance from your audio or video production computer in this essential guide by Matt Vanacoro.
Matt Vanacoro on Mar 22, 2016 in Recording & Production 7 comments
Matt Vanacoro is one of New York's premier musicans. Matt has collaborated as a keyboardist in studio and on stage with artists such as Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Mark Wood (Trans-Siberian Orchestra), Mark Rivera (Billy Joel Band), Aaron Carter, Amy Regan, Jay Azzolina, Marcus Ratzenboeck (Tantric), KeKe Palmer, C-Note, Jordan Knig... Read More
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Discussion
It would have been nice if your article covered more than Mac based studios, not to say what you have outlined isn't relevant.
I would add that these same principles apply for the PC equivalent studio setup running on Google, Windows or Linux platforms. Although similar concepts apply, the functionality of usb , memory, storage, and networking can be quite different. PCs barely support Thunderbolt technology without requiring adapters or hardware that at best offsets any added value, at least in terms of offloading dedicated processes and system memory to external storage or devices.
As you pointed out, dedicating drives and devices to balance load and processing power is crucial. This has to be configured differently for PCs. Configuring devices for ASAIO, WASAPI, any LINUX based distro, and MIDI is a totally different proposition. This is not nearly so straightforward in PC studios as Apple's Core Audio, supporting both Thunderbolt and UAD devices presently unavailable for PC as prescribed in your article.
Thank you for pointing attention to this vital and often overlooked topic.
Regardless of the platform, understanding this concept should be a general requirement for anyone trying to be more than a hobbyist at digital recording and production!
the external HD for just audio will speed up my computer? So its best to run the DAW software internally and the audio externally. What important issues should we keep an eye out for in this scenario?
my wifi router so I can use it as FTP server while broadcasting wifi and Bluetooth enabled device, and can access media assets with any network connection.
If that's not an option, partition remaining HDD space after OS for programs, and a third partition for storage and or USB storage or boost drive to help balance load and delegate processing power away from internal storage and ram., if that makes sense.
Whatever you do, it's just like everything electronic, your input cannot be greater than the output, unless there's something to buffer or offload, otherwise you will get distortion, sibilance, or blowing chips,
fuses, preamps, and the like.....
MY IMAC = 3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor + 8GB (two 4GB) memory + 1TB hard drive1 + AMD Radeon R9 M380 with 2GB video memory + Retina 5K 5120x2880 P3 display
MY INTERFACE = Focusrite Clarett 2Pre
MY EXTERNAL USB HD = 1TB
MY DAW = Cubase 8.5
MY IOS = El Capitan
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