Subscriber Mel81x+ Posted June 6, 2019 Subscriber Share Posted June 6, 2019 1 hour ago, Dr. Gonzo said: Yeah I don’t really like Apple computers but I guess for music production it’s the better option, so I shall force myself to learn to like one. Sadly keeping it cheap will be tough with a Mac (except the Mac Mini), but I’ve also got a FocusRite Scarlet (the smallest one) and have messed around just a bit with it on my PC (using Reaper as my DAW) and I think I just couldn’t figure out how to get rid of that noise issue with the PC and thought it was something to do with my guitar. And I think that put me off it a bit (although last night I just used the Helix straight into the DAW and I didn’t notice it, but that was my first time trying to record myself in a while). So if I can avoid that with a Mac then great. The problem with Scarlett's is like a hit and miss thing. I have a 2i2 that I have used for years now and never had any issues but my friend's just seems to always create this strange buzz when you go past 12 oclock while mine doesn't do the same thing. I think its the internals honestly but if your Helix is working with no issues I'd just use that instead. The only big preference for me and the Scarlett is the size because it fits in a bag and can be taken around. Plus USB lines and Motherboards are a big factor here too. I will only say this about line disturbances, its a big fat rabbit hole. The more you do the more you spend then you spend and realize you need to spend on other things like shielding, etc then you go out and get better cables then you go out and fix coil hum then you'll fix the line power jack input by fiddling on your PC only to realize that you need more power so you'll get a DAC (internal preferably) then when its all done you'll want some more power on the line into the DAW from the instrument. I try and keep it simple but its a very slippery slope this line fuzz thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Gonzo Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 15 minutes ago, Mel81x said: The problem with Scarlett's is like a hit and miss thing. I have a 2i2 that I have used for years now and never had any issues but my friend's just seems to always create this strange buzz when you go past 12 oclock while mine doesn't do the same thing. I think its the internals honestly but if your Helix is working with no issues I'd just use that instead. The only big preference for me and the Scarlett is the size because it fits in a bag and can be taken around. Plus USB lines and Motherboards are a big factor here too. I will only say this about line disturbances, its a big fat rabbit hole. The more you do the more you spend then you spend and realize you need to spend on other things like shielding, etc then you go out and get better cables then you go out and fix coil hum then you'll fix the line power jack input by fiddling on your PC only to realize that you need more power so you'll get a DAC (internal preferably) then when its all done you'll want some more power on the line into the DAW from the instrument. I try and keep it simple but its a very slippery slope this line fuzz thing. I think it could be my Scarlett's one of the older ones and the guitar I like best right now has active pickups... and apparently the older Scarlett's and high output pickups don't mix well. I tried it on my SG which also has high output pickups and it was actually noisier, but with the Jackson it's alright. But I figure now I have this fancy fucking modeler in the Helix I can just use that as an interface. I'd still like something portable though. And looks like all of my friends here that do this use Logic Pro so if we do want to share tracks, that'd be the easiest way. So thanks to your input I have an idea of what I'll be looking at. Unfortunately, it's more money than I wanted to spend - so that's a bit shit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Mel81x+ Posted June 6, 2019 Subscriber Share Posted June 6, 2019 4 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said: I think it could be my Scarlett's one of the older ones and the guitar I like best right now has active pickups... and apparently the older Scarlett's and high output pickups don't mix well. I tried it on my SG which also has high output pickups and it was actually noisier, but with the Jackson it's alright. But I figure now I have this fancy fucking modeler in the Helix I can just use that as an interface. I'd still like something portable though. And looks like all of my friends here that do this use Logic Pro so if we do want to share tracks, that'd be the easiest way. So thanks to your input I have an idea of what I'll be looking at. Unfortunately, it's more money than I wanted to spend - so that's a bit shit My mantra ever since I started on the road to understanding the use of Logic Pro X. But you're right about the Helix just use that instead and I think you're sorted. Looking at the discussion around guitar gear you'd think its grounds for its own thread haha and this is from the conversation in here and the conversations in that other thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Gonzo Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 52 minutes ago, Mel81x said: My mantra ever since I started on the road to understanding the use of Logic Pro X. But you're right about the Helix just use that instead and I think you're sorted. Looking at the discussion around guitar gear you'd think its grounds for its own thread haha and this is from the conversation in here and the conversations in that other thread. I thought about making a thread just for us to talk about guitar shite, but I think it'd just be you and me and maybe @Happy Blue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Blue Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 10 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said: I thought about making a thread just for us to talk about guitar shite, but I think it'd just be you and me and maybe @Happy Blue Go for it, might be other players on here we don't know about ..or new members might play ...i'm thinking about doing a thread for machine gun owners but think that just be me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted June 7, 2019 Subscriber Share Posted June 7, 2019 10 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said: I thought about making a thread just for us to talk about guitar shite, but I think it'd just be you and me and maybe @Happy Blue Why not @Dr. Gonzo? someone like @Stan or another Admin/Mods could make a subforum in the Music Forum, then you can make your Guitar thread and if anybody else has something musical to add like Piano etc they could post in the latter, just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Mel81x+ Posted June 7, 2019 Subscriber Share Posted June 7, 2019 4 minutes ago, CaaC (John) said: Why not @Dr. Gonzo? someone like @Stan or another Admin/Mods could make a subforum in the Music Forum, then you can make your Guitar thread and if anybody else has something musical to add like Piano etc they could post in the latter, just a thought. I dont think there's a need for a subforum perse but maybe just a thread for music gear and discussions around it and even I think its a bit pointless since its only two or three people discussing it in general anyways. I only came to that realization when I realized the conversation kind of overtook the thread on purchases as well as this thread now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted June 7, 2019 Subscriber Share Posted June 7, 2019 1 minute ago, Mel81x said: music gear and discussions around it Sounds good, I played the piano when I was a kid but nowadays I can't even twiddle my fat fingers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Mel81x+ Posted June 7, 2019 Subscriber Share Posted June 7, 2019 1 minute ago, CaaC (John) said: Sounds good, I played the piano when I was a kid but nowadays I can't even twiddle my fat fingers. I think its awesome that you even tried. When I was much younger my sister got a piano as my parents wanted someone to actually be able to play it and I remember thinking how nice looking it was. Fast forward a week and my brother's really good friend gave him a Whitesnake cassette. Yeah ... that sounded wayyyyyyy better so I ditched trying to learn. I can still do a mean Happy Birthday for people though haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Gonzo Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 On 07/06/2019 at 02:44, CaaC (John) said: Sounds good, I played the piano when I was a kid but nowadays I can't even twiddle my fat fingers. Bet you’d be surprised how much you remembered tbh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber CaaC (John)+ Posted June 8, 2019 Subscriber Share Posted June 8, 2019 10 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said: Bet you’d be surprised how much you remembered tbh True that over the years when I would buy our children one of those small piano toys I would play around with the keys and ding out tunes like Happy Birthday, Merry Xmas etc lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUFC Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 This is my laptop, but from Dell UK not USA. Everything is brilliant and fast apart from 2 things. Windows updates are quite slow and installation or downloading of software is slow, any idea why. https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/dell-g3-17-gaming-laptop/spd/g-series-17-3779-laptop/dncwG3G2207RPh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Mel81x+ Posted June 27, 2019 Subscriber Share Posted June 27, 2019 46 minutes ago, MUFC said: This is my laptop, but from Dell UK not USA. Everything is brilliant and fast apart from 2 things. Windows updates are quite slow and installation or downloading of software is slow, any idea why. https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/dell-g3-17-gaming-laptop/spd/g-series-17-3779-laptop/dncwG3G2207RPh Snazzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUFC Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 Just now, Mel81x said: Snazzy Did a update last week, it took 2 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber nudge+ Posted June 27, 2019 Author Subscriber Share Posted June 27, 2019 I swear by Lenovo ThinkPads. Inexpensive, good performance, extremely durable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Mel81x+ Posted June 27, 2019 Subscriber Share Posted June 27, 2019 23 minutes ago, nudge said: I swear by Lenovo ThinkPads. Inexpensive, good performance, extremely durable. I swear by them for work but they are far from cheap haha. I am currently using an X1 for work and moving to a P1 in December. But yeah they last a long long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber nudge+ Posted June 27, 2019 Author Subscriber Share Posted June 27, 2019 Just now, Mel81x said: I swear by them for work but they are far from cheap haha. I am currently using an X1 for work and moving to a P1 in December. But yeah they last a long long time. To be fair I buy them refurbished so it turns out pretty cheap...just add a bigger HD. I still use my X230 which is almost 7 years old and I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Mel81x+ Posted June 27, 2019 Subscriber Share Posted June 27, 2019 Just now, nudge said: To be fair I buy them refurbished so it turns out pretty cheap...just add a bigger HD. I still use my X230 which is almost 7 years old and I love it. That is a great machine. I've had my X1 for almost 3 yrs now and love it but its time to move up and get a machine that can handle more of a workload on the move otherwise I'd still stick with it. Those X2XX series laptops are awesome from a portability standpoint. Some people don't like the screen but I think they're okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber nudge+ Posted June 27, 2019 Author Subscriber Share Posted June 27, 2019 4 minutes ago, Mel81x said: That is a great machine. I've had my X1 for almost 3 yrs now and love it but its time to move up and get a machine that can handle more of a workload on the move otherwise I'd still stick with it. Those X2XX series laptops are awesome from a portability standpoint. Some people don't like the screen but I think they're okay. Yeah portability was one of my priorities but I honestly love everything about it... I think many people prefer thinner models but I love the sturdiness; I had some HP laptop (not the cheapest one either) in the past and the screen hinges just broke after a while (despite me not even closing/opening the laptop unless I had to transport it) and it was not surprising as they were made of plastic and couldn't properly support the weight of the screen. The poorest design I've ever seen. Had a few Dells before that; not too bad but I feel like it's a bit of a lottery with them. Customer service was great (in my experience) though. I'm buying a Lenovo ThinkCentre desktop next week and I hope it's just as reliable and well performing as their ThinkPads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Mel81x+ Posted June 27, 2019 Subscriber Share Posted June 27, 2019 2 minutes ago, nudge said: Yeah portability was one of my priorities but I honestly love everything about it... I think many people prefer thinner models but I love the sturdiness; I had some HP laptop (not the cheapest one either) in the past and the screen hinges just broke after a while (despite me not even closing/opening the laptop unless I had to transport it) and it was not surprising as they were made of plastic and couldn't properly support the weight of the screen. The poorest design I've ever seen. Had a few Dells before that; not too bad but I feel like it's a bit of a lottery with them. Customer service was great (in my experience) though. I'm buying a Lenovo ThinkCentre desktop next week and I hope it's just as reliable and well performing as their ThinkPads. When i worked at IBM years ago I used to have a ThinkStation and I thought it was rather good. Would I trade it in for my current PC? No. But for business and work its actually quite well built and will last the test of time and the best part is that with them its always business functionality and the upgrade path is very clear as well. Its one of the other reasons I am ditching the X1 and moving to a P1/X1-Extreme just because you can swap the RAM out and the SSD slips out as well. The more we move towards thinner and lighter the more we lose these little things and sometimes they can be upgraded but to be able to change RAM on some devices is so hard its unbelievable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Viva la FCB+ Posted June 27, 2019 Subscriber Share Posted June 27, 2019 I just upgraded my Ideapad Y510 maybe 6 months ago. It was my first lenovo product and my second ever laptop, I have nothing but good things to say about it. It actually ran perfectly fine still (maybe about 5/6 years old) but I had the chance to buy a used MSI laptop off my buddy for a pretty good deal and it was alot more up to date with a GTX970 and bigger screen and whatnot. Only complaint I really had about the Lenovo was it got pretty hot fairly quickly, alot of laptops if you're trying to run games off of do that though but this seemed abnormally hot. Anyways I gave it to my old man as he needed a new laptop anyways, still runs like a charm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUFC Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 3 hours ago, Viva la FCB said: I just upgraded my Ideapad Y510 maybe 6 months ago. It was my first lenovo product and my second ever laptop, I have nothing but good things to say about it. It actually ran perfectly fine still (maybe about 5/6 years old) but I had the chance to buy a used MSI laptop off my buddy for a pretty good deal and it was alot more up to date with a GTX970 and bigger screen and whatnot. Only complaint I really had about the Lenovo was it got pretty hot fairly quickly, alot of laptops if you're trying to run games off of do that though but this seemed abnormally hot. Anyways I gave it to my old man as he needed a new laptop anyways, still runs like a charm. I use to have an MSI, spec is similar to the Dell I currently have, which is posted a few messages back. Have you had a gaming laptop before? Obviously they are fast as hell when surfing the Net and playing games, but it depends what you want it for. Reason I am replying is because you mentioned MSI which is for gaming, the Dell I have now is my 4th gaming laptop and I have noticed one reoccurring pattern with all 4. They get really hot mate, the current Dell I have has a double cooling system, the fans could blow a window open and the sound can be annoying. I really need a desk for it, when I am surfing sat on my bed, I can feel the heat from the laptop on my legs, and this heat is going through a duvet. So a desk will at least improve circulation as it allows the air to flow freely. I have heard that you can change fan setting through bios and stuff, but its at your own risk, and it does seem the fan blows, and it heats up when I am playing games. Typing this post, I can't hear the fan at all, and the heat has actually subsided. But if you play games you will notice the fan and heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewolf Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 1 hour ago, MUFC said: I use to have an MSI, spec is similar to the Dell I currently have, which is posted a few messages back. Have you had a gaming laptop before? Obviously they are fast as hell when surfing the Net and playing games, but it depends what you want it for. Reason I am replying is because you mentioned MSI which is for gaming, the Dell I have now is my 4th gaming laptop and I have noticed one reoccurring pattern with all 4. They get really hot mate, the current Dell I have has a double cooling system, the fans could blow a window open and the sound can be annoying. I really need a desk for it, when I am surfing sat on my bed, I can feel the heat from the laptop on my legs, and this heat is going through a duvet. So a desk will at least improve circulation as it allows the air to flow freely. I have heard that you can change fan setting through bios and stuff, but its at your own risk, and it does seem the fan blows, and it heats up when I am playing games. Typing this post, I can't hear the fan at all, and the heat has actually subsided. But if you play games you will notice the fan and heat. I am on my MSI system now, not a bad laptop in fairness, not too noisy but agree about the heat, I got one of them laptop cooling pads that it sits on to help with the cooling but even with that it can sometimes feel hot... I also have a ASUS ROG gaming Laptop which seems to run quieter and with less heat but they have much better ventilation at the back... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUFC Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 2 minutes ago, Bluewolf said: I am on my MSI system now, not a bad laptop in fairness, not too noisy but agree about the heat, I got one of them laptop cooling pads that it sits on to help with the cooling but even with that it can sometimes feel hot... I also have a ASUS ROG gaming Laptop which seems to run quieter and with less heat but they have much better ventilation at the back... Its crazy mate, was gaming for 2 hours before and the fan and heat was bananas. Been surfing the net for 2 hours and I haven't heard the fan, just one big blow for 2 seconds every 20 minutes, and heat has cut by like 75%. Must be just a gaming thing, where it goes into overdrive, suppose it has to if in return your getting gaming which runs fast, smoothly and much quicker then a non-gaming laptop would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewolf Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 1 hour ago, MUFC said: Its crazy mate, was gaming for 2 hours before and the fan and heat was bananas. Been surfing the net for 2 hours and I haven't heard the fan, just one big blow for 2 seconds every 20 minutes, and heat has cut by like 75%. Must be just a gaming thing, where it goes into overdrive, suppose it has to if in return your getting gaming which runs fast, smoothly and much quicker then a non-gaming laptop would. When your gaming both the CPU and the Graphics Card are running hot so the the levels of heat being pumped out are far greater but when you are just surfing the net it mainly uses just the CPU so yea, there will be a significant drop off.. games are so demanding on systems these days... I don't really play games all that much so It does not have to push the boat out for what I do play but it's able to handle the higher end stuff if needed, a lot of the newer models have cooling systems like those in Desktops but there is only so much room inside a laptop you can use without making it too big and clumsy to carry around.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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