advice re mac soundcard

so im buying my imac at the weekend (finally) 3.06ghz / i3 / 500GB HD / 4GB memory, 21” monitor.

Im getting logic 9 and my first task once I get to grips with it will be to track out a lot of my beats that’s are on my MPC onto the mac.

However – im not going to be able to afford the external soundcard until May..

Do you think the built in soundcard will be suffice for recording (for the meantime) obv I will have to track out 1 stem at a time but that’s fine – just wondered if the quality would be significantly reduced.

Any advice much appreciated.

Cheers

looks like you got not much choice...stock sound card will do for now

Which MPC do you have?

Ive got the MPC2500..

- so i suppose i could mix down each track internally on the MPC and transfer to the imac via the USB and then line em up on logic afterwards.

You just reminded me that i have that function!

I have only played around with that tecnique breifly and havent tracked out whole songs in that way..

thanks mp3.. was that what u were gona suggest?

Miser wrote:Ive got the MPC2500..

- so i suppose i could mix down each track internally on the MPC and transfer to the imac via the USB and then line em up on logic afterwards.

You just reminded me that i have that function!

I have only played around with that tecnique breifly and havent tracked out whole songs in that way..

thanks mp3.. was that what u were gona suggest?

Yup! Solo each track, resample it (I use JJ OS audio tracks), transfer all the resampled tracks to the DAW via USB, match the DAW tempo to the MPC tempo, and you're done. No MIDI or audio connections needed, no sync headaches, no loss in sound quality. Its the perfect way to track out.

MY 2500 stays in the living room/bedroom now; I have no need to take it into the lab.

Nice one, thats helpful. I guess ill still need 2 line up the start points of the traks once in DAW. Thats not a problem tho. If the start of any tracks begin with silence i usually put a snare or hh at start of the trak 2 make it easier 2 line up. That was usin very old version of cooledit tho, mayb its easier using logic 9..?

Buzzin bout gettin the mac, been computerless 4 time and neva had any apple

Peace

If you use JJOS audio tracks, then the start points will line up. If not, then you'll have to use a trick like you mention to line them up.

My only additional advice if you're using audio tracks to do it, is to double the length of the sequence before you start resampling. Audio tracks tend to cut the end of the track short, so you'll want to double up, and then cut the loop in half once you get it into Logic.

Use the digital I/O thats on your Mac, and your MPC.

Sorted.

clint246clint wrote:Use the digital I/O thats on your Mac, and your MPC.

Sorted.

Nah. Then you have to deal with bad clocking and MIDI sync.

Miser wrote:so im buying my imac at the weekend (finally) 3.06ghz / i3 / 500GB HD / 4GB memory, 21” monitor.

Do yourself a big favour and hang on another month and you will end up with a machine that has double the power for the same money.

Hopefully within a few months there will be Thunderbolt equipped sound cards dropping... I'm holding out for that myself for my new MacBook Pro.


http://www.macrumors.com/2011/03/22/pot ... 4-6-weeks/

mp3 wrote:Nah. Then you have to deal with bad clocking and MIDI sync.

This guy is handing out poor advice.

Lot's of gear has digital connections as standard, he's suggesting they are not worth using.

USE THEM.

Come again??? I'm suggesting not using one specific set of digital I/O. I'm NOT suggesting not using the digital I/O of "lots of gear with digital connections," as if that has any bearing on the discussion at hand...

Lots of gear has respectable digital I/O with respectable digital clocking and can reliably clock or be clocked by other gear. Macs, hmmm, you may get along okay, you may not. (Same with my 2500 and the 1000 I had before that.) That's like recommending someone use their internal PC soundcard, the one with the green jack. If there's been any poor advice given, its yours...

Besides that,you have to buy yet another piece of gear (coax to optical converter) to connect the two. Macs don't have coax connectors.

And besides that, you have to worry about getting things synced up with MIDI clock, MMC, and/or, MTC.

To disagree is one thing. To declare my recommendation 'poor' is another thing altogether. I expect more from moderators. Oh and I'm right here. You don't have to address me as 'this guy' like you're pointing at a projector or something.

Sorry now im a little bit confused now..

when you say didgital I/Os you are refering to the didgital i/o port on the top left rear of the mpc (if you are staring at the back of the mpc)

So.. i would use coaxial cable to run from this, into a coax to optical converter box, and then a ?????? cable would run from the convertor to the ???? input of the mac??

I assume as no one has mentioned it, i shouldnt try and use the mini jack audio input on the back of the imac.. is that because of quality will be poor?

Do yourself a big favour and hang on another month and you will end up with a machine that has double the power for the same money.

ahhhh damnn.. im not sure i can wait another 2 months have already been set back many times - plus i assume there is likely to be the usualy bugs with new releases.. as long as the mac i have can record well and wont be freexing up all the time- i will be more than happy

thanks for all the advcie people

Miser wrote:Sorry now im a little bit confused now..

when you say didgital I/Os you are refering to the didgital i/o port on the top left rear of the mpc (if you are staring at the back of the mpc)

Yep.

Miser wrote:So.. i would use coaxial cable to run from this, into a coax to optical converter box, and then a TOS-link (aka ADAT aka aka optical) cable would run from the convertor to the optical input of the mac??

coax to optical converter = M-Audio CO3

This method = more stuff to buy. It should work though.

Miser wrote:I assume as no one has mentioned it, i shouldnt try and use the mini jack audio input on the back of the imac.. is that because of quality will be poor?

Bingo. It would also work.

Miser wrote:ahhhh damnn.. im not sure i can wait another 2 months have already been set back many times - plus i assume there is likely to be the usualy bugs with new releases.. as long as the mac i have can record well and wont be freexing up all the time- i will be more than happy

I'm not sure where you've heard 2 months... 3 or 4 weeks seems to be the best guess. That's the problem with Apple though, they don't announce non-iOS devices till they go live on their site. What is obviously going to appear in the new models are the latest Sandy Bridge processors, Thunderbolt ports, and a larger hard drive as standard. There's also speculation of new screen sizes.

It's also worth considering that because you're going with the base spec iMac, it may not quite be up to the task if you start working on more serious projects. The resale value will also nosedive a few weeks after you've bought it. Not good.

I know the money is burning a hole in your pocket, but I would personally wait to see what the new machines offer. If you're not impressed you'll still be able to get the current gen substantially cheaper than it is now, and you can put that saving towards a soundcard.

And don't worry about bugs... Apple sort out software conflicts quickly.