Keep it simple

[dawboxpro]

Just a reminder for you guys out there trying to do it yourself , thinking of doing it yourself, or getting a new machine to keep it real and keep it simple. Also for anyone at any level with computers from 0-20 years experience this applies to all.

In many cases it is just worth it to go new motherboard, ram, and chip with at least a new drive for the os or record.....

There are more than a few models that work great and have little to no problems within the context of keeping the build simple.

Many times an old crappy part that is recycled into a new system can be the ball and chain that brings down the horse. In my case it has been an old All-In-Wonder Card that kept sucking down too much PSU and I was too stuborn to just let go into another machine or tossed in the toilet. Also old aging drives that have bad sectors, old ATA cables that have been yanked on so that a few of the data pins are bulging out rendering them partialy working....

Even an old PSU with a few years into it can be an issue..... If the thing has cat hair and is making the noise you made as a 6 year old talking like Styx in Mr. Roboto on a hot summer day then do your self a favor and toss it!!!!
Also if screws are starting to strip on your case or motherboard stands are missing, (Duhh) get that stuff tightened up. I have seen counless times system not even turning on because they have a short due to this....And guys have paid me top dollar for tightening screws....

Like alot of you I am mounting a nice museum of crappy 440BX, old lame Via, and PCI slot stuff that is just a jok e and wasted IRQ space, time and money. Do your girlfriend or wife a favor, take some time with her and turn that stuff into a key chain then faggetaboutit!!!! (LOL)

If you are nodding your head at this point feeling my pain instead of trying to figure out some clever response in a forum save this junk then your suffering from Technology Syndrome...

Technology Syndrome: A slow atttacking Disease of your life that causes you to gain 20 pounds, lose most of your friends, give you carpal tunnel, make you the expert of things only guys in cyber space you can't actualy see nor hear care about.... (LOL)

Remember it is a slow killing dissorder and you wake up one day after 7 years realizing that if you do have this junk, box it up, thow it away, or pass it on to someone who is excited about solving the bios update issue in a circa 1997 motherboard that runs a hacked version of 95 in cakewalk 6. (LOL)

I can hear circuit boards scrape together as they fill a 60 gallon trash bag... Ahhhh peace...Time to go ride my bike and enjoy 75 and sunny in Minneapolis MN. Weather hard to come by in the dead of winter when it is -20 below....

Technology is your friend, but keep it at bay and keep it working for you.......when it fails to work for you or in other words causes you more work than play. Upgrade it so that it makes it easy again.... The key is productive work....Making music...

I do not know how many dorks I have met that have every software known to man, and every plug in.. Of course they know everything about everything and can fix anything. Well spend the rest of your life fixing or use your PC/Mac and your software to create some music and share it with real human beings....

You can understand the workings of a rocket at a scientists level but if you can't use that rocket for something other than bragging rights with nothing to show for it you have fallen victim to the disease....

If you care more about the technology than the music that can come from it, the disease has spread to your heart. Whenever I make some music with technology and it sounds good I forget about all the bs we sometimes think we have to live up to in a half real world....

So keep your perspective, if you begin to lose it the Disease is setting in....


Computers For Music

[MrM]

Well spoken!

[KX]

unless you're a real musician,
technology has nothing to do with music.

[mding]

Technology helps even the real musician. He's just saying don't let yourself get bogged down on it.

[MrM]

Not the tool is important here, but the endresult (the tune, the song, what you hear), that is the message.

It is OK to be proud of your tools, to take care of your tools, to love your tools, but USE them.

[dawboxpro]

Technology is a good thing, and yes I am a real musician. If it wasn't for computers I would still be messing around with adats and old tape machines... Just tryinging to share my thoughts on something that can get carried way too far and has happened to me. I am super proud of my gear and technology or I would not have taken it to this level...

It can work for you in ways that gear before it never could, but if your fighting it, it can work against you...The message is if you are struggling with gear that is not working then do what it takes to look at better gear, or refine your setup...


:)

[mding]

I'm extremely grateful to this forum and others like it. Without it I'd still be fumbling around with crackling audio and old via chipsets. Smooth sailing with a newer SIS board.

Thanks..................M

[Joe Hannigan]

Dawbox, have you been reading my (e)Mail?

That was great, (and funny too!) Couldn't have said it better myself. I've been having the same kind of discussion with several friends in the same line of work. (Endless tweaking vs. actually WORKING.)

There's a thread on the Samplitude forum that runs about 30 posts now, abut which software "Sounds" better. The guy who started it seems nice enough, but he's AGONIZING over which pricey software "Sounds" better after summing 50 tracks. (Who's got TIME to check, or even CARE about this sort of thing!?!?!?!) We're talking about a 1% or 2% difference in sound here.....

Your point is very well taken: It's about making the music, NOT tweaking the gear.

I've been spending a little extra time lately going through my stuff, and wondering which piece of now-useless analog gear to toss out, post on ebay, or put into "Dead" storage. I have tons of live (PA) gear, and tons of analog processing stuff that is barely worth the time to sell for a few bucks on Ebay. (It just breaks my heart to put it out at the curb for the stoners and hoarders to collect on trash day...)

And I also have boxes of old sound cards, motherboards, HDs under a gig.....old modems, old cables, old SCSI drives, and on and on and on.....

There's a great essay (From the Editor) in this month's EQ magazine, by Mitch Gallagher, entitled: "Too Much Gear", and it addresses all the same issues.

What it all comes down to, is getting the Job done, vs. endless tweaking. Let's face it, most of the stuff that's still hanging around out there is just gathering dust, and not worth fixing. (I laughed out loud your description of the 1997 bios /Win95 /Cakewalk 6. That was ME not too long ago! Hahahah)

I agree with you about just getting a new box, loading the XP-based software, and lettin' it rip. I have five machines here (Four of them for various A/V production work), and each time I upgrade one (and dump the worst of the lot) it gets simpler all the time. I buy the best/fastest I can afford, load the apps, and just GO. they're all networked, and they all work out of the box....or they go back.

With so many choices of plugins, apps and softsynths, etc., the making the choices sometimes take longer than the actual work.

I'm spending the rest of the week and weekend TOSSING OUT the crap I longer use. My rule is: If it hasn't been used in the last 2 yrs, wont be used again in the next 2, and has no "Vintage" cache, then it's time to TOSS it.

We have sooooo many choices, it's easy to get bogged down in the tweaking portion of the job. Eventually, though, it's time to just put down the soldering iron and get on with it........

[Joe Hannigan]

That reminds me.......we should compare notes on how people discard old HDs and other now-useless hardware..

I had a pile of small, outdated and busted, useless HDs from various systems, laying around, gathering dust, taking up space. What to do?

In addition to wiping the data as safely as I THINK i can do, I have a few nasty ugly tricks I do to my HDs to render them useless before putting them out in the trash.....

1. Destroy the pins - both the power connection and the data pins....rip 'em out, bend 'em off, whatever. Needlenose pliers work nicely for this.

2. Gouge and/or hammer the chips on the circuit boards....hehehe...this is fun..but watch your eyes! Use a screwdriver and hammer like a chisel, and watch those surface mounted babies FLY off the board!

3. The best part.....WRECKING the platters in the drive itself..... I pull the vacuum seals off (didn't know that's what they're there for...hehehe...) and put DISHWASHING LIQUID into 'em. Yep. I put a good bit in, and then reclose the seal. Nasty surprises await anyone who tries to resurrect my old data from those things....

It's a VERY liberating thing to take out a little anger and frustration on a drive you spent big $$$ on a year ago, only to have it die, or cough up a bad sector, and now see it for sale at about 20% of it's original value at Best Buy now.....

Try it out on a drive that no longer works, or has become obsolete. You'll grin like a kid in gradeschool, but no one will make you sit in the corner!

[vulcan_dc]

ROTFL... nice post DAWPRO... :)

:D

[MrM]

Joe, What was on your HD that is 'for your eyes only'?

Porn or terrorist info?

Or just some great music, to good to fall in the hands of common people :)

(please don't be offended, I'm only joking)

[Pingel]

Yeah, Joe, you got it! When I have useless crap, I save them until I got pissed off of something. Then I throw them out of the window, until nobody can't discover what kind of device it was before. Same with cars.

[Brian Jones]

Originally posted by Joe Hannigan
That reminds me.......we should compare notes on how people discard old HDs and other now-useless hardware..

I had a pile of small, outdated and busted, useless HDs from various systems, laying around, gathering dust, taking up space. What to do?

In addition to wiping the data as safely as I THINK i can do, I have a few nasty ugly tricks I do to my HDs to render them useless before putting them out in the trash.....

1. Destroy the pins - both the power connection and the data pins....rip 'em out, bend 'em off, whatever. Needlenose pliers work nicely for this.

2. Gouge and/or hammer the chips on the circuit boards....hehehe...this is fun..but watch your eyes! Use a screwdriver and hammer like a chisel, and watch those surface mounted babies FLY off the board!

3. The best part.....WRECKING the platters in the drive itself..... I pull the vacuum seals off (didn't know that's what they're there for...hehehe...) and put DISHWASHING LIQUID into 'em. Yep. I put a good bit in, and then reclose the seal. Nasty surprises await anyone who tries to resurrect my old data from those things....

It's a VERY liberating thing to take out a little anger and frustration on a drive you spent big $$$ on a year ago, only to have it die, or cough up a bad sector, and now see it for sale at about 20% of it's original value at Best Buy now.....

Try it out on a drive that no longer works, or has become obsolete. You'll grin like a kid in gradeschool, but no one will make you sit in the corner!

Joe, everything you've said here, I do with my girlfriends when they become redundant. :D :rolleyes:

[Pingel]

But be sure to read their manual first.

[dawboxpro]

Ohh my god Joe your getting all uni-bomber on us (LOL) just kidding. That is seriously funny...

I thought I was losing my mind when I wanted to make a computer that hung from the ceiling using old parts and fishing line... Like a nerds mobile... I drew the line at that thought...

When I get those urges I just pick up my guitar and remember why computers interested me in the first place.

More funny stories please!!!!

[KX]

Keep it simple:
here's my setup
1 computer for VST instruments
1 computer for Kyma
1 computer for guitarport
1 computer for sequence and audio edit
1 computer that is waiting to do something.
nothing simpler
nothing to tweak but the firewall configuration
when a new computer comes in.

[Michael Quayle]

5 computers??? That's simple?????

We live on different planets.......



:D

[KX]

Originally posted by Michael Quayle
5 computers??? That's simple?????

We live on different planets.......



:D

Each computer has only one task to do. No crash
nor conflicts. For example, instead of miking my B3, I sold it and got a 150$ computer that do nothing but plays Native B4. To me, it's simplier than going with the real thing... and lighter too!

[Joe Hannigan]

KX, I hope you got good $$ for that vintage Hammond (& Leslie?) I have a Leslie 145 (just put into storage) that I simply can't part with, for entirely emotional reasons. (At least not until I buy a "new one" someday....hehehe..)

I have five computers as well, each one has fairly dedicated functions:

1. Vaio Laptop - email & general duties at my kitchen table until it goes out on Live Gigs as the main recording unit.

2. Vaio Laptop tricked out as a desktop (external monitor, HD, burner, etc.) for use as the "office" machine. Quicken, emails, faxes, word processing, printing, etc.

3. Vaio Desktop 1 - Main audio & video editing system, with dual monitor card, all the in/out goodies, with the stereo & 5.1 monitoring rig. Primarily CD Mastering & DVD Authoring.

4. Vaio Desktop 2 - Backup/second audio/video editing system, "bulk" input for analog & digital video prodution, DVD dupes & authoring. Single monitor.

5. Generic PC, P3 (The old slow beast now!) Sits next to my turntable, analog tape decks, cassettes & DAT machine. Mainly used for Audio restoration work, CD tweaks, arhival transfers, and a direct connection to an EPSON 960 inkject printer for CDs/DVDs.

All machines are LAN/networked via a hub and router to cable modem to the web. Three other Epson printers for various duties on a separate Lynksys printer server also LAN'd on the hub. Any PC can print to any printer this way.

It sounds like a lot, and I guess it is to some, but it's what we call home here, and helps us get the work done with some time to play afterwards. ;-)

Oh yeah.......I'm stopping at 5. In fact, I can stop anytime I want. Problem? Who's got a problem? Who, Me? Hehehe.... I can stop anytime, right now..............click!!!!!!!!

[KX]

A few months ago I said to myself: "3 is enough"...!
I'm now at 5 but I know I can stop anytime!

I was shopping to get a small MP3 player/recorder
but a friend gave me and old Acer laptop p150 that I use
as a 2 track recorder/editor on gig (just to make sure all the wrong notes I played
are not so apparent!) and as synth editor. I just ordered a wireless router so I will have acces to my whole collection of ripped Cds anywhere in my house...

Only 1 laser printer in my setup (inkjet sits in the locker)and it's plugged into my
all purpose computer that is always ON so any computer can print at any time.

I paid my MINT 1967 (aesthetic and electronic) B3
1000$cad...! I don't have to tell you I didn't loose $ with this one!

[Joe Hannigan]

KX, I'm almost weeping here... a MINT, VINTAGE B3???? Oooooooh, that's soooooo nice. Hope if went to a good place and a good home.

I recall they were going for up to $2500 USD in the 1980s, while the last of the "new" ones were still out there. Then the bottom really dropped out once the analog synths took over. The real/vintage stuff came back again in the 90's until the soft-synth kicked 'em back again recently. Now, they'll propably start to creep up again, appreciating in value until they're as rare as Strads or Guarneri's.

Either way, you've done a good and noble thing. You accepted the fact that you can't haul that beast around anymore (if you ever did?) and gave it a good home to an eager newcomer or collector. hehehe...

I salute you sir. (with mixed feelings joy, sorrow and nostalgia... ;-)