the watmm GAS thread

Also we're in the middle of the biggest silicon shortage in human history AND a GPU bubble because crypto miners are overbuying and pushing the prices up.  Probably/hopefully prices will improve in a year or so. Part of the reason i spent my tax return on that Studiolive 32 instead of replacing my 10 year old PC like I originally planned.

My main, non-music computer is an Asus gaming laptop I got used for $300 a couple years ago and it works pretty well, good enough for messing around with Reaktor and editing 1080p video without any issues, but with heavy realtime video stuff like SMode it struggles.

  On 5/5/2021 at 1:02 PM, flacid said:

Thanks for the advice.

I'm used to Mac's now but will likely look at a normal laptop as think the price point might be cheaper for a less 'cool' product? 

Looking at some of the Dell, 16gm ram. Maybe one like this > https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/laptops/new-inspiron-15/spd/inspiron-15-5515-laptop/cn51206 or https://www.johnlewis.com/dell-inspiron-14-5406-convertible-laptop-intel-core-i7-processor-16gb-ram-512gb-ssd-14-inch-full-hd-titan-grey/p5265848 

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My opinion - as a personal and professional Mac user for some years - is that the initial price of purchase may be higher but it will last for a longer time (even the resale value is quite good for well kept macs). Some people also say that Macs are essentially business class laptops (especially Macbook Pro), so you should not compare the price between a Mac and the cheapest Dell/Lenovo you can get with the same specs.

I have heard people mention the Dell XPS series as the go to laptop for when you want known quality: https://www.dell.com/en-uk/work/shop/laptop-computers-for-businesses/xps-13/spd/xps-13-7390-laptop/bnx73917

Oh and looking at that Dell you linked I see it has a numpad.. which reminds me: if you have the opportunity, go and check the machines out in a shop in person to see how the keyboard and touchpad feels to use. There can be a mountain of difference between different keyboard types in terms of responsiveness (and I guess also the screen, overall user experience etc.).

As for the 2nd, please for the love of god do not get a convertible tablet laptop. This is the rule of thumb: the more trades a jack has, the worse it is in every specific trade. The hinges will probably break earlier too.

Also worth considering what is the thing you want to do with it: do you want a portable workstation to take out to gigs and also use it to produce music at home? Or is it more likely that you have one static workspace where you would connect an external screen anyway and you are not going to move the "music computer"?

If it's the latter, you might want to go for something like Mac Mini or Intel NUC - a small form factor desktop that you hook up your gear to and kick ass.

Building a full desktop PC might be insane as it's true that GPU prices are now at the same level as individual fully built computers because of the crypto mining craze.

  On 4/27/2021 at 10:32 PM, Stickfigger said:

This pedal gives me instant Butthole Surfers vibes ... What kind of stuff u planning on putting thru it ?

Im working on a dark ambient / doom sludge release to coincide with some lush death horror folklore art.... pedal bought specifically for the project! Hope it does what I want it to do!

  On 5/5/2021 at 2:18 PM, thawkins said:

Also worth considering what is the thing you want to do with it: do you want a portable workstation to take out to gigs and also use it to produce music at home? Or is it more likely that you have one static workspace where you would connect an external screen anyway and you are not going to move the "music computer"?

If it's the latter, you might want to go for something like Mac Mini or Intel NUC - a small form factor desktop that you hook up your gear to and kick ass.

Building a full desktop PC might be insane as it's true that GPU prices are now at the same level as individual fully built computers because of the crypto mining craze.

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Thanks for all your advice, really appreciate it. 

I'm now thinking that maybe the best idea is to clean out the Mac I have and get a new computer for work instead. I only plan to make music with it and maybe some streaming but nothing crazy. I'll have a think on it. 

  On 5/5/2021 at 3:36 PM, flacid said:

Thanks for all your advice, really appreciate it. 

I'm now thinking that maybe the best idea is to clean out the Mac I have and get a new computer for work instead. I only plan to make music with it and maybe some streaming but nothing crazy. I'll have a think on it. 

If it still has a HDD with spinning drive you may want to upgrade to an SSD, this will definitely speed it up a lot.

  On 5/5/2021 at 2:18 PM, thawkins said:

Also worth considering what is the thing you want to do with it: do you want a portable workstation to take out to gigs and also use it to produce music at home? Or is it more likely that you have one static workspace where you would connect an external screen anyway and you are not going to move the "music computer"?

If it's the latter, you might want to go for something like Mac Mini or Intel NUC - a small form factor desktop that you hook up your gear to and kick ass.

Building a full desktop PC might be insane as it's true that GPU prices are now at the same level as individual fully built computers because of the crypto mining craze.

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Now that I've finally shed the Firewire 400 I might seriously consider getting one of these for my next computer.  Not the most powerful or cost effective but it would be really good as a portable recording/streaming machine and still more powerful than the old Dells I'm using for recording and streaming right now:

https://www.dfrobot.com/product-1729.html

The big determining factor would be whether or not I could get it to work with my older PCIe capture card AND A GPU FOR HANDLING REALTIME VIDEO ENCODING (which is what would make it usable as a streaming platform), if it did then I'd definitely go for that in a DIY custom enclosure with a touchscreen, solid keyboard, a couple drives, a capture card, and maybe MIDI IO and/or some custom UI elements via the Arduino section over a laptop any day.

  On 5/5/2021 at 6:29 PM, TubularCorporation said:

 

Now that I've finally shed the Firewire 400 I might seriously consider getting one of these for my next computer.  Not the most powerful or cost effective but it would be really good as a portable recording/streaming machine and still more powerful than the old Dells I'm using for recording and streaming right now:

https://www.dfrobot.com/product-1729.html

The big determining factor would be whether or not I could get it to work with my older PCIe capture card AND A GPU FOR HANDLING REALTIME VIDEO ENCODING (which is what would make it usable as a streaming platform), if it did then I'd definitely go for that in a DIY custom enclosure with a touchscreen, solid keyboard, a couple drives, a capture card, and maybe MIDI IO and/or some custom UI elements via the Arduino section over a laptop any day.

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What type of current capture card would you recommend for getting vhs recorded in good quality? I’m in the market for one, it could be usb or whatever. Just curious what you would recommend. 

Depending on your price point there are a lot of options.  For VHS I still use a really old Aja Kona LHe but I wouldn't recommend it now.  It looks nice but it was already obsolete when I got it (that's how I could afford it).  For everything else I've been using a one or two geenration old Startech branded OEM version of some expensive Japanese capture device retrogamers swear by because it can handle all sorts of nonstandard resolutions, and I've had good luck with that. The Startech part number is PEXHDCAP60L but there's a new version out.  I went with the old one because it was cheaper and had years of being used for game capture, where the currentone was pretty new at the time and people weren't sure if it was still as accepting of weird signals.

If you're doing VHS you'll eventually need some kind of timebase corrector, otherwise if you try to capture a tape that's at all worn you'll get dropped frames.  Really high end, professional TBCs were nearly free when I was shopping for this stuff (I have three and spent between $20 and $40 for each one - but the $40 had retailed for $4600.00 less than a decade earlier) but they're getting more expensive now, unfortunately. The only alternative to a TBC is to get a video mixer with timebase correction built in but that's even more expensive.  The video art revival really ended the era of cheap/free SD analog video gear.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/274356251187
 

This is triggering my GAS bad. I feel bloated and am having cramps.

  On 5/13/2021 at 11:47 PM, Himelstein said:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/274356251187
 

This is triggering my GAS bad. I feel bloated and am having cramps.

Ha, I was just wondering the other day what SidStation prices are like nowadays.

  On 5/5/2021 at 12:24 PM, flacid said:

Hello friends. 

Was wondering if any of you have recently bought a new laptop/computer for music making and if so what did you get? 

I just need something that is decent for Ableton, running multiple plugins etc etc. 

I'll then keep this computer (Mac 2013, 2 GHz Intel Core i7, 16gb) separate for work so that it doesn't die on me. 

Any help appreciated!

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Lenovo Legion 7 with a ryzen 9 cpu and 32gig ram is coming out at the end of June, looks pretty tops so I'll be getting one.

This summer I'll probably pick up a pair of these to replace the 2.2gHz quad core Xeons I've got in there now:

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-X5670-Processor-Socket-LGA1366/dp/B003EM2Y1O

The way I work that should buy me another 5+ years on the current computer, it's already fine as-is for mixing but it would be nice to be able to drop the buffer size a bit more.

On the other hand, for the same price I could buy an entire second r710 with 5670s and more RAM than mine has, move all of my hard drives and cards into it, an then set up the other one in some other part of the house (to keep fan noise down) and use it as a network VST host or something, or just keep it around as backup and really commit to using this specific model as long as I possibly can.  The only reason I might not take that route is that it would be expensive to ship and it's a bulky, heavy computer.

EDIT: or I could go used and get a pair of 5690s for about $150 easily, which is pretty tempting. 12 3.5gHz cores is more than enough for what I do.

Tempted to pre order one of this redesigned monome grid...

As a former 40h and 256 owner, I can tell you : fonce.

  On 5/17/2021 at 6:44 PM, Nil said:

As a former 40h and 256 owner, I can tell you : fonce.

They managed to make it cheaper, it's now 550$ for a 128, pretty cool. 

pretty sure these sounds could all be done in Ableton or whatever but fuck if this thing doesn't sound damned interesting. i've gotten a lot of those vibes with hardware/software and effects and lots of effort, but a lot of the patches he's playing in this seems to cut straight to the weird shit

also stick around for lolz at the horn section towards the end, maybe this thing invented the shittyfluted genre

My GAS as of lately is all normal stuff. 

Normal as in not synths or drum machines. I've been wanting a new electric bass, some hang drums, a buncha mic's, a new drum kit and field recording stuff. Got enough synths and samples and drum machines and effects and shit.. but I figured out 10 years in that I like to just make stuff.

Make stuff as in:: Learning production in the likes of "IDM" and electronic stuff expanded my knowledge as a musician/producer so damn much. But looking back I spent my whole childhood/teen years playing 7+ instruments in classes for band, orchestra, percussion ensemble -- doing jazz guitar, marching band drumline, junior symphony percussion stuff. I honestly yearn to make stuff sound humanized by doing/playing it myself, not automating the shit out of a bassline lol. Using what I learned to go back has been more fun than making what I've made for the last few years being purely synthesized

IDK why I'm sharing that, just good to pass on revelations like a weirdo here. 

Now I've got to install a new motherboard since I had a revision that couldn't support the CPU upgrade.

Good thing about working with old computers is that the version 2 board was only $50.

The only things I really want right now are parts, the silicon shortage and general global supply chain collapse we're in the middle of right now is really making it hard to get things that were no problem last fall.  I've got one Mouser order that I made in February and it's currently backordered until March 2022.

The birth of my baby girl a few days ago has temporarily annihilated my GAS. I’ve had some cash saved for gear I’d now rather spend for her. I’ll still get a M1 MacBook someday if I’m lucky enough to book live gigs.

I’ve been venturing into VCV again, sticking to Mutable Instruments, Erika and Instruo modules to keep things contained. I absolutely love Elements. Now I have to find a way to properly sync it / route it to Live.

I am waiting for my MPC1000 which is still stuck in customs although now they have said I am going to pay some import taxes on it, so things finally might be moving along.

I don't want any gear anymore really. I want more free time to play with my gear though.

Maybe real-world studio rental places could open up again so I can meet up with my guitarist pal and unload myself at a drum kit.

  On 6/6/2021 at 3:43 PM, thawkins said:

I am waiting for my MPC1000

Why that sampler? Ive never used an MPC and i just wonder why would someone use one in 2021 and why that one with other MPC-s, and other sampler options around?

  On 5/25/2021 at 4:08 AM, auxien said:

pretty sure these sounds could all be done in Ableton or whatever but fuck if this thing doesn't sound damned interesting. i've gotten a lot of those vibes with hardware/software and effects and lots of effort, but a lot of the patches he's playing in this seems to cut straight to the weird shit

also stick around for lolz at the horn section towards the end, maybe this thing invented the shittyfluted genre

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I've always wanted one of this. Isn't this what richard used on fenix funk 5?

  On 6/7/2021 at 12:42 AM, Bubba69 said:

I've always wanted one of this. Isn't this what richard used on fenix funk 5?

idk at all, i'd guess it's been used on some IDM or another tho given how interesting it sounds and its age....

ah Vintage Synth mentions Orbital among others: http://www.vintagesynth.com/korg/z1.php