FUCK FUCK FUCK (the rant)

[Lasse Lammert]

damn...today I came into the studio...switched on my trusted old G5......nothing....well, the was "something", but nothing nice....
long story short, after having fannied about with it myself for a couple of hours I brought it to the service and paid 50€ just for them to tell me what I already feared...it's fucked....logic board or CPU.....

so I had to get an old G5 just so I can get back to recording (got a band in her atm)...paid 300€ just to get a G5 that's a cunthair slower than my old one was (it was the only one within 50km though and I had to get one to not piss away more recording days)...so now I spent 350€ for a computer that I won't even be able to use in mixdown (my old G5 was JUST fast enough, so this one will be a bit too slow).....
--->I'll have to buy a new mac before I start the mix....
Problem: no new mac accepts my PTHD PCI cards since they all have PCIe slots only now
--->I'll also have to get new PT HD PCIe cards.
Problem: Digidefuckingsign don't offer the (way overpriced) PCI to PCIe crossgrade anymore.
--->I'll have to buy new (used) HD PCIe cards
Problem: they never pop up on ebay Germany, so I'll have to buy them from the USA
---> un-lub'd anal rape from customs and taxes, plus the risk of receiving fucked HD cards.

Either way, I'll have to buy new HD cards (could do with HD2 Accell for now) AND a new mac = somewhere between 6000-10000€ (the problem "where to buy the HD cards" still remains.

so the extra 350 for the "in between mac" are only a small pain compared to the overall 10k€....

so not only will I have to buy a new HD system, I'll also have the problem that I won't have enough money before I'm getting paid for the project I'm working on atm...which I won't be able to finish without the new Computer/HD system of course
-->need 10k€ credit
Problem: self employed
--->fucked

 

[LydonB]

Are you able to do a PTHD to PTHD Native trade in? You could also try a Magma expansion chassis for the HD cards, but they are expensive, too.

 

[gabriel g.]

you could do that if I am not mistaken:

buy new mac pro: 2700€
buy protools 9 native 500€
buy any top class interface that runs firewire and has total delay compensation or no latency at all.
for example Metric Halos 2882 : 1600€
Hook up your converters via adat.

you would be ready to go with around 5000€...

and if you need more i/o and adats buy extra 2882 when you have the money.
You can use 3 slaved together which gives you a total of 18x3 inputs and 18x3 outputs

 

[pipaguapique]

that's way too much money man...what if you just find another G5? they're pretty cheap now, like a quad G5 on ebay, even if it's from the US. It will be better than spending 10k. But at the end, you know that eventually you will have to upgrade.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

Oh shit, I'm really sorry for you man, that's a major SNAFU. I would seriously consider Gabriel's suggestion. 5k (-VAT I assume?) is still quite an investment, but that would leave you set for years and years to come. If you find it impossible to sell the old gear in time, you could consider a minimum-sized business loan to afford the new system. At least around here getting a 5k short-term (pay it off in a couple of years) loan is really easy to get.

 

[gabriel g.]

I know for fact, easy credit gives you 10k without any problems, but the % arent small over 2 or 3 years.

Do you realy wanna use protools HD in the future or do you wanna make the step to the protools native version with other gear.
What was your plan?

 

[jipchen]

Aww man, that sucks :/
You might want to look out for ProTools HD systems on Gearslutz, though.. I've seen a few in Europe (mostly PCI, but there were at least two PCI-E based systems)
Also, you should call the Avid support, I've read several times they make "good" offers for people who decide to switch to PCIe - just not officially.

And yeah, interfaces like the Metric Halo or the Fireface UFX offer no-latency monitoring and near-to-zero recording and have DSPs for zero-latency effects. With the Metric Halo you'd even have your beloved Channelstrip on the DSP chip without latency
FWIW, I run the Fireface UFX very stable with a buffersize of 64 (allthough it doesn't even matter because you have no latency for the monitoring chain anyway). I can see how mixing will be a lot different, though. But if you get the Sixcore Mac Pro, I can't imagine it being any "slower" than the PT system. And you're way more flexible.. on the other hand there are a lot of plugins you payed for the TDM version I guess?
Yup, you're fucked x(

 

[Lasse Lammert]

Are you able to do a PTHD to PTHD Native trade in? You could also try a Magma expansion chassis for the HD cards, but they are expensive, too.

I would use two of my most important plugs (Phoenix and ReVibe), both are TDM only

I considered a Magma, but they cost an arm and a leg, and it feels bad spending that much just to be able to use an outdated system
plus, AFAIK PT9 doesn't support the chassis anymore, so I could up spending a couple of thousands for that and then being stuck without any upgrades.

I've actually just bought a Quad...just to find out that those were PCIe already

Also, you should call the Avid support, I've read several times they make "good" offers for people who decide to switch to PCIe - just not officially.

good idea, thanks

definitely no HD for me, I need those TDM plugs

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

I know for fact, easy credit gives you 10k without any problems, but the % arent small over 2 or 3 years.

Ditto, though I got a really good interest rate from my bank.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

I know for fact, easy credit gives you 10k without any problems

Yes, if you're not self employed

 

[John_C]

That sucks man

It doesn't sound like your in the financial situation to use this as an opportunity to upgrade so why don't you just buy another G5?


ACTUALLY, seeing as you have 2 G5s, you're in a great position to do some swap and check troubleshooting. Find out exactly which part is broken.
If it's the logic board that's fucked then the board from the other one could act as a replacement.
If it's the CPU then old G5 cpus aren't that expensive so you could just replace that.

Then after some serious saving up you can take the plunge and get a fully up to date system

 

[::XeS::]

Different solutions:
1- Hackintosh
2- Magma
3- Another external chassis like http://www.exsys.ch/index.php?zenid...esult&search_in_description=1&keyword=ex-1095

These chassis work at 32bit so they have some kind of voice limitation (if you have an HD3, it works like an HD2..or something like that)

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

I would use two of my most important plugs (Phoenix and ReVibe), both are TDM only

I considered a Magma, but they cost an arm and a leg, and it feels bad spending that much just to be able to use an outdated system
plus, AFAIK PT9 doesn't support the chassis anymore, so I could up spending a couple of thousands for that and then being stuck without any upgrades.

I've actually just bought a Quad...just to find out that those were PCIe already


definitely no HD for me, I need those TDM plugs

I can't really say for ReVibe as I've never used it, but could you consider using an RTAS alternative to the Phoenix? While the Waves MPX isn't exactly the same deal, it could be worth trying. After all, your mixes kick ass because of your ears and your head, I'm sure altering your workflow on a couple of plugins won't alter the end result that much

Maybe consider it a chance to move forward with your equipment and try new stuff. IIRC there was quite a few things the old PPC architecture didn't allow you to try, right?

 

[gabriel g.]

Yes, if you're not self employed

AFAIK easy credit is fine with that if your income is "good" enough....

so you bought a g5 quad and its only pcie ?!?!

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

Yes, if you're not self employed

I am, and I got an 8k loan really easily. It's worth a shot!

 

[gabriel g.]

I can't really say for ReVibe as I've never used it, but could you consider using an RTAS alternative to the Phoenix? While the Waves MPX isn't exactly the same deal, it could be worth trying. After all, your mixes kick ass because of your ears and your head, I'm sure altering your workflow on a couple of plugins won't alter the end result that much

Maybe consider it a chance to move forward with your equipment and try new stuff. IIRC there was quite a few things the old PPC architecture didn't allow you to try, right?

the metric halo softsat character (which can be used on each channel) is fantastic. Waves MPX gets awsome reviews and only costs 100$. Slate vcc works great on my 2011 quadcore mac pro (and sounds fantastic)
so the alternatives are out there.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

I've got Vtape, AC1, AC2, URs stuff etc..nothing compares to phoenix.
same goes for revibe, hands down BY FAR the best reverb plugin..nah, I'm gonna stay HD....I'll have to upgrade eventually anyways, I'll just use the slower Mac with the PCI PT HD for "studio b" then I guess (looking for an assistant anyways...someone to help me with editing and sometimes tracking, so a second workstation would make sense.

Anyone wanna buy my Bogner Marshall?

 

[Skinny Viking]

sorry to hear that all Lasse, that really is a shitty situation.

I'm not much of a hardware guy so all I can say is it sounds like there are some good options the others have presented for you to consider. Much better than having zero options

 

[Keregioz]

I'm really disappointed in you guys...I really hoped this would turn out in to a "Mac vs PC" thread...

J/k...That really sucks Lasse, I hope you find a solution that works for you.

 

[jipchen]

(looking for an assistant anyways...someone to help me with editing and sometimes tracking, so a second workstation would make sense.

You're telling us now? I'd have loved to work for/with you for a year or so (also unpaid) until I built my studio. Now I needz teh moneyz.
damnit