Is PT 6.4 LE w/a digi 001 still relevant?

[HeyHaberdasher]

Hi everybody,

I have a G4 Powerbook 1.33 that I have been looking to trade for a DAW.

I am looking to get a bare-bones system where I can edit songs that have been tracked at the $100/hr. places that have the nice gear. I found a guy that has an old G4 running PT 6.4 LE with a digi 001

link

First: Would this work for what I am doing? I'll be mixing and editing simple (<10track) songs, and maybe doing some pre-production tracking.

Second: I'm assuming that the 6.4 LE setup is compatible with the state of the art whatever they are running at the local studios, right?

Third: Is his setup worth $500? Am I an idiot for thinking of trading my PBook for it? What would be a fair trade?

Thanks in advance for helping a music vet that pretty much knows nothing about digital recording.

 

[zimv20]

dunno if it's worth the price, but if the system is up and running, yes you can definitely work in it.

PT session files made in later versions probably wouldn't translate, but the audio files will. if the session files are important, you can have them save them to a previous format (i've not tried that, so no guarantees there).

imho, the digi001 converters are actually a little better than the ones on the various mboxes and the 002. i haven't heard the 003 converters.

you're going into this knowing that the digi001 card won't fit the later machines, yes?

 

[HeyHaberdasher]

PT session files made in later versions probably wouldn't translate, but the audio files will. if the session files are important, you can have them save them to a previous format (i've not tried that, so no guarantees there).

you're going into this knowing that the digi001 card won't fit the later machines, yes?

I'll see if the first suggestion works. This is how dense I am: I have no idea what the difference is between a session and audio file. I have a guess and I'll research, but that's where I'm coming from.

I didn't know that the 001 wouldn't work with a later machine either. Thanks for letting me know. I think based on these two things alone, I might be moving on. I am always annoyed by people asking questions before doing any research themselves, but I am pretty lost, so here goes...

If you had 600 or so US dollars, what would be the setup of choice to do the stuff I described above? I know this is kinda like asking what kind of spaceship you could make with stuff from Radio Shack, but that's all I got. Thanks.

 

[zimv20]

I have no idea what the difference is between a session and audio file.

audio files are the raw audio data, usually in AIFF or WAV format. these files can be loaded into any DAW.

the session files are DAW-specific, and to a degree version-specific. that files saves meta-information about the tracks, including levels, assigned plugs and their values, edits, etc etc.

I didn't know that the 001 wouldn't work with a later machine either.

the 001 connects to the mac via an old-style PCI card; modern macs don't support it.

If you had 600 or so US dollars, what would be the setup of choice to do the stuff I described above?

is it PT you need/want to run? they've got several models of mboxes w/in that budget that will work with your laptop and come with free PTLE software.

 

[HeyHaberdasher]

After a little more research, I am back to where I started. I am thinking Mbox 2 mini. This is what road I was on until I had some delusions of grandeur. Is the 96 vs. 48 kHz gonna matter? I am not a total audiophile, but can tell the difference between syrup and *****.

If this is indeed the box for me, I am running 10.4.11, so I just need to figure out which LE is compatible.

This page seems to say that 7.1-3-4 all will work with my OS, but 8 won't right? So... Next purchase=
MBox mini 2 w/7.4 LE
RAM (I have 256MB built in to my "12 G4 1.33 Powerbook running 10.4.11)

I found this @ crucial: Is this a decent deal for the RAM I need? I am stretching the limits of my computer prowess and feel like I am missing something. Please don't let me be a total tool and F this up. Thanks.

 

[zimv20]

Is the 96 vs. 48 kHz gonna matter?

fwiw, i work at 48. i did record a live jazz show @ 96 and was pretty blown away by the result, but that probably had (much?) more to do with the talent and my mic setup than the sampling rate.

48 is quite workable if you can get good signals and keep the record levels low. same goes with 44.