hello everybody !

since a few week i'm thinking of upgrading some element of my producing setup. I have something like 500 euros to spend. My setup actually is something like this:

athlonXP 1800+
512DDR
40Go HD
FLstudio,cubase, and some vst's
M-audio delta44 soundcard
behringer UB502 mixer
samson resolv 50A monitor pair

There are 2 different things i want to do:
* either upgrade my computer to an athlon64 setup, with 1Go DDR, to improve my performances, considering i'm only software for the moment.
* either get myself a JP 8080, considering i really love the sound of it.

what do you think ???

static blue

Update your processor, get more ram and a bigger hard drive. I don't really think there's anything else you need to get at this point.

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I'd upgrade the computer. Assuming your computer is not fast enough to run what you would like, then buying a jp won't make a great bit of difference. Using hardware can be a bit of a hastle at times as well. If however, you don't have any problems with your computer maxxing out, then I'd go for the jp.

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yes indeed i have some problems with my CPU. at the moment i'm producing on FL and when playing more than 10 different instances/vst's with some fx assigned on each one, my CPU is always near 100% and ive got some latency/slowing down/crackling and indeed that suxx.

Question is : as i would be using the JP for some pads/leads, it will probably let me use more CPU power for all the other vst's, but will the difference be big enough ?

thanks for replying mystery & cheggy !

staticblue

From personal experience, you can never have enough CPU power. If you get a bigger processor, you will just use more plugins. You need to learn to work with what you have, and if you can bounce to audio, then obviously do that when possible.

When using a hardware synth, you can only really do one sound at a time. I know you can run more than one patch at a time, but in order to edit it so that is fits in right, you can only do one at a time, so you don't save a huge amount of CPU power from having one synth because it only saves you from running one VSTi.

Now that I have thought about it more, maybe the jp is looking like a better option. At least the 500 euros gives you something to play with, but remember, you will need midi ports as well, which from your gear list, it doesn't look like you have.

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1 out of every 4 people in this country are mentally disturbed. Look at your 3 closest friends. If they seem okay, then you're the one.

that's true about the midiports, and the unique instance at a time too i guess.

thx

staticblue

what cheggy says is sooooo true. if you've got more cpu you'll only burn it away inefficiently. ideally you should be bouncing all tracks down to wavs and reassembling the whole tune because thats the most efficient way of writing a tune. and the hallmark of a good producer is to learn to work within the limitations of what you've got. i think a jp is only 4 parts multi timbral so you can only run 4 instances of it. thats not as much as something like a virus which is 16 parts multitimbral. obviously the more parts your synth can generate the less instrumentation you need to do software side and thus the more cpu you have to burn. but in my experience its not so much the synths that kill your computer - its the polyphony and the effects that you put on it which really crunch my pc into the dirt.

if you want to make life a little easier go for the cpu upgrade cuz it will help but you really gotta get into the habit of bouncing everything down to make every cpu cycle count.

if your heart is set on the jp then your mind is already made up. its important that you enjoy what you are doing cuz it really shows in people's work. and its always good to have an instrument you just love to play. then again, its always more fun to write a tune and not have it stutter and crash your PC depends on which one you feel you need more urgently.

forget your athlon :

hey derivative, thanks for your reply. I think ive made my mind now. I'm probably going to get myself a decent computer upgrade, and the JP will wait for a few months ...


d-miurge !! know ive seen your studio, perhaps my computer isnt so shitty after all ! i'll go for the JP 8080

static blue

catch 22, bounceing track's best method but a 40gig hdd you have to limit the amount of unfinished tracks your tweaking at a time.

someone should reinvent the wav its like eating a beefburger and fry's with diet coke

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