tc powercore

If you've got a desktop and have a spare PCI slot I'd recommend the UAD-1 over the TC-Powercore. In the past I found the powercore to be the weaker of the two systems.

The best way to increase power in a computer is to fill it with RAM though, 1gb min.
 
Razorjack said:
If you've got a desktop and have a spare PCI slot I'd recommend the UAD-1 over the TC-Powercore. In the past I found the powercore to be the weaker of the two systems.

The best way to increase power in a computer is to fill it with RAM though, 1gb min.
Click to expand...
doesnt the uad have a latency problem with pro tools though?
 
I use two UAD-1 cards and a Powercore PCI mkII with Cubase SX and have zero problems.

It would be tough for me to pick. They're completely different animals, but they each do their job very well.

Powercore is more utilitarian -- nothing fancy overall, but you can run a shitload of good plugs that get the job done. I love Master x5, and would hate to master without it now, so that's one slight bias towards Powercore for me that wouldn't apply if you're just mixing.

UAD has all the glamourous "vintage" plugs, but you can't run enough of them on one card IMO. Be prepared to buy the Studio Pak and at least two UAD-1 cards. I feel that the UAD plugs are more high quality overall.


edit...
You can probably find some Protools compatibilty info here:

http://www.powercore.noheaven.com/
 
Same here. I have both UAD/PoCo. Gotta' agree with black sugar: UAD is more "vintage". The 1176, LA-2A, and Pultec EQ sound great on just about everything. On the PoCo side, I really like the reverbs: Mega 'Verb (very flexible and realistic) and Classic "Verb (soft, lush sound.....I really like it!). MasterX3...talk about pumpin' up the mix...WOW!

Tough to decide....good luck.
 
yea i was thinking i can run my eq and compressors all off my pc and use powercore for time based stuff. ive heard theres a serious latency problem with the ua with pro tools le though. something about a latency compensation plugin hat you have to put on every track in order to use it. doesnt sound fun.
 
Bummer.....more bad news......if Pro ToolsLE does not have latency compensation, well you'll have to deal with that with PoCo also. I use Digital Performer and they just put that feature in a while back thank god.....Yes, you are right!...It's a real pain in the ass dealing with these DSP programs without it.
 
Powercore has the same problem, though. The issue lies with the fact that PTLE doesn't support automatic delay compensation, for whatever reason. UAD uses an extra plug called DelayComp that you insert before every UAD plug that fixes this latency issue by delaying all of the audio so it "catches up" with the UAD plugs. Powercore does the same thing, but you set the delay by hand in the Driver Configure menu. You have to add to this figure for each plugin you open, because more plugins means more need for delay. The amount of delay is also related to your buffer size; if you set your buffer size to 2048 samples, you need to add 2048 samples of delay (about 46 milliseconds) per plugin. It's a lot of math. I like UA's solution better.
Powercore does have a zero-latency mode, but when it's engaged, the CPU jumps to about 30% per plugin. Which is quite a lot. It's kind of a useless feature, unless you only ever run a maximum of three plugins.
So, I think UA has the most elegant solution here, but it's mostly PTLE's lack of automatic delay compensation that makes this such a hairy issue.

EDIT: whoops, must have missed jv's post... but yeah, we're right! Fully automatic PDC is a vital feature for DSP card usage.
 
black sugar said:
Be prepared to buy the Studio Pak and at least two UAD-1 cards. I feel that the UAD plugs are more high quality overall.
Click to expand...

So the studio pak comes with only one card?

I was thinking of picking one up but i'm not sure i can afford it, i definately can't afford to buy any extra cards....
 
I got by with one card for a year; obviously, they don't run tons and tons of plugins at once, but you can always export the wet track and import it to save cpu. It's not that you NEED more than one card, it's just that after a while you really, really WANT more cards. They're like crack cocaine. I never thought I'd get more than one; I was fine bouncing tracks, it was no big deal; these are computers after all! It's not like tape, I can always "un-bounce" and do it again! But the thought of twice as many LA2A's, 1176's, and Pultecs... it became too much for me, and now I have three cards. But I was doing just fine with one, and probably still could be, but like I said: addiction. The plugs are just great.
 
Yeah, the UAD-1's Rock. I just got a new G5 Mac and chose the dual 2.0Ghz with PCI-slots so when I get more $$$ ... I can load it with one or two UAD-1's. The other new Macs have PCI-X slots and the UAD-1's do not run to great on those. I think the UAD-1's blow the Bomb Factory stuff outta the water!!!!
 
I've spent WAY more money on Powercore and UAD that I probably should have, but it was worth it. I would do it again in a second.

I used to be the king of bouncing. For years I would setup a batch process in Wavlab for each track that would take the dry track in a backup folder and replace the wet track in the folder that Cubase was importing from.

Yes, that means I was writing effect presets for each track in Wavlab and basically adjusting levels, applying fades, cutting, pasting, and grouping in Cubase. I would run a few effects in Cubase, mostly on groups.

So if I wanted to change something on the snare track, I would re-render a preset in Wavlab and re-open the project file in Cubase. Pretty shite, right?

This all started as a way of life back in the "486 and soundblaster" days and lasted pretty much until a few years ago when I could finally afford a decent computer and some hardware.

So needless to say, mixing now is way more fun and way more of a creative experience since I don't have to worry about bouncing.
 
black sugar said:
Yes, that means I was writing effect presets for each track in Wavlab and basically adjusting levels, applying fades, cutting, pasting, and grouping in Cubase. I would run a few effects in Cubase, mostly on groups.

So if I wanted to change something on the snare track, I would re-render a preset in Wavlab and re-open the project file in Cubase. Pretty shite, right?
Click to expand...


Hahhaa yeah I remember when you had to Drumagog each piece of a drum kit (snare, kick, toms) in wavelab one track at a time. Oh man that must have sucked. Now your PCI effects power tears mine in half.

Must say I agree with BlackSugar the PoCo master X5 is the next best thing to the finalizer! If you want a decent master and do not have the cash for the finalizer then is a good option.
 
A few thoughts before you deceide:

-There will probably be a UAD-2 soon because of the Powercore MKII.
-Master X5 are said to not sound as good as the Finalizer
-Never run a software without Automatic Delay Compensation
-Inflator for powercore is a nice way to compete in the loudnessrace

I bought a Powercore Element just to run the Inflater after L2....works really well within Samplitude, wich has ADC.
 
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