Getting a new DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), i.e. PC

My frustration with my recording setup finally bore fruit this weekend, as I am now fully committed to upgrading my DAW (home recording PC).

While recording vocals for "Avalanche", my Dell kept crapping out in the middle of a recording, despite my turning off anything and everything that consumed RAM (disabling effects, archiving non-critical tracks, "freezing" permanent tracks, etc etc).  That was the final straw.

I’m opting to have a pro put together something customized.  Though geeky, I’m simply not geeky enough to trust myself with the task of tweaking and tinkering a DAW into a lean, mean, audio converting machine.

My current setup includes:

Dell Dimension 8200, Pentium 4 CPU 1.99 GHz, 1.99 GHz, 1GB RAM
C: ATA Controller: WDC WD800BB-75CAA0
F: Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST3160023A
M-Audio Delta 1010LT soundcard
M-Audio DMP3 preamp
M-Audio Studiophile BX5a monitors
Nvidea GeForce 6200 video card (with Dell 2005 FPW and Dell 1702FP monitors)
Sonar Producer 6
Reason 2.5

Everything above is solid for my needs…except the ancient Dell from 5 years ago (did MP3s even exist back then?).  Two words:  UP.  GRADE.  More soon…

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Comments

9 responses to “Getting a new DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), i.e. PC”

  1. dja Avatar
    dja

    “5 years ago, before MP3s even came into being”? Eh?

    Reply
  2. garagespin Avatar
    garagespin

    dja: I sometimes forget that sarcasm is hard to communicate via a blog. 🙂 Indeed, MP3s DID exist in 2002, I was joking…however, 5 years is a very long lifespan for a computer, especially a DAW.

    My own PC is way, WAY out of date compared to what’s available now, and can only barely run the software I currently use, Sonar 7.

    Reply
  3. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Good luck with the update.

    There is an indie PC shop down the street from where I work that has a sign reading “Dude, we fixed another Dell” outfront.

    Reply
  4. garagespin Avatar
    garagespin

    Heh, actually pretty funny. 🙂

    Reply
  5. harry Avatar
    harry

    two words…

    get mac….

    trust me

    Reply
  6. garagespin Avatar
    garagespin

    Harry: You know, I would seriously consider it if I wasn’t a Sonar 6 user…Cakewalk Sonar doesn’t work on Macs. For now, I’ll be sticking with PCs. 🙂

    Reply
  7. Dan Connor Avatar
    Dan Connor

    Hey! Just came across your blog when searching for other music industry blogs like mine.

    I feel your pain. I hobbled along with a 800Mhz P3 with 768MB of RAM for years. Then in 2004 I splurged and bought the machine of my dreams which was a monster at the time (even kind of is today): dual Opteron 2Ghz with 2GB RAM and a speedy 10,000 RPM SATA drive. Now I just use a 2ghz Macbook. These little laptops are getting so fast that there’s not a while lot I can’t do on them. I do occasionally bring the thing to its knees with convolution plugins and the like, but, for the most part, you can get a really sweet machine these days for a song.

    It’s a gorgeous feeling not having that piece of technology inhibiting your creative proess.

    By the way – if you’d like to exchange links let me know.

    Take care!
    Dan Connor

    Reply
  8. Jose Perez Avatar
    Jose Perez

    Relax big guy!

    Your fine and there is not…not a solution for ur problem. lol. The thing about this new form of music making is that its frustrating but just hold on and read alot itll be worth it. After all you cant beat free.

    Reply
  9. garagespin Avatar
    garagespin

    Thanks, Jose! I’ll be sure to take a chill pill while navigating through technological hurdles. 🙂

    Reply

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