IS this POSSIBLE??? :help:

[Jerry W.]

Hi ALL,

Due to my lack of decent power on my Mac stuff I have decided to add (choke) a PC to my setup to host my VSTi's and let it do the gruntwork. But I still want to control it with my mac. I think that I have come up with a nice solution, BUT - I don't know how Tracktion handles external inputs/outputs

Here is my desired setup


IS THIS POSSIBLE WITH TRACKTION????

I know this is NOT what most of you would do, but just humor me here. Ha ha

Thanks guys.

Jerry Wickham

[mrflimper]

I have no idea if it will work or not but that is one pretty schematic you got there. I think that you could launch a space shuttle with that set up. Let us know if it works.

[jtxx000]

Maybe this would be of interest?

[AD80]

Yeah good luck gettin it worked out. I cant even begin to think of working with something like that . Sorry I cant be of any help.

It looks like the PC by itself is more powerful than both your Macs combined so why even bother.

Also, have you considered http://www.museresearch.com/. Receptor can run PC plug-ins without CPU drain on your computer. It could make your life easier. Hope you get it worked out.

[Jerry W.]

Maybe this would be of interest?

yep - looked into it. There is supposedly a Mac OSX version forthcoming. When it is released, I plan on getting it.

I know that Recepter would be ideal, but - all totalled, the stuff I need to buy for this setup will cost me $480. That is a LOT cheaper than receptor. I already have the keyboard, the monitors, the macs, Tracktion and other stuff, but the PC (and related hardware), KVM Switchbox, the GB router, ect. are all things I am slowly buying. Basically, what I am doing is a poor man's receptor. I just want to know if it would work.

My question would be more (as this is the Tracktion forum here at KVR), does Tracktion allow for external outputs like that (Using MIDI over LAN or FX teleport?) And does it allow for mutliple audio inputs (wormhole).

I want to stick with using my mac because I really love the platform and am comfy with it. As long as I am using Windows PC pretty much as a hardware synth, than I won't have to deal with WIndows much.

Not knocking Win, but I just prefer my mac. And if another computer is doing all the grunt work, my low-end macs can handle the sequencing and stuff with no problems.

thanks again - and keep 'em coming.

Jerry

[Lunch Money]

It all depends on how the software identifies itself in terms of drivers. If they appear to your computer as "audio devices" then they will also appear that way to Tracktion. Ditto for the MIDI. TonePort, for example, has "MIDI" send and receive even though it's not actually a MIDI device, and these appear in Tracktion.

Using them all at once is another matter, and latency from network lag is again another. I'd be very leery of such a setup for realtime use; and if it's not going to be in realtime, then you could just save yourself $480 and render everything.

Greg

[meister eder]

Get yourself a G5 and sell the other stuff. You'll be happier than you'd ever thought you could be. With the setup you draw here, you'll soon be tired of switching from here to there, having MIDI latency and syynchronisation problems etc.
If you can't afford it now, save up a little bit and you won't regret it.

[Jerry W.]

Thanks Greg,

Rendering for me has been mixed. When I render Kontakt 2 stuff, for example, nothing but stutters and stops. (It plays just fine when I am playing it in the edit, but when rendering, freezing, or exporting, I get lotsa gaps).
When I render with GPO, it is different - much better. Probably having to do with K1 being less CPU intensive as K2. (loading in RAM vs. DIsc Streaming too)
If I could afford it, I would just buy me a nice Quad core Powermac G5, but cannot, I would buy Receptor, but cannot, so this is the next best thing. I know several guys who do this kind of thing, only with standard (but more expensive) dedicated MIDI interfaces and hardware.

Thanks again, Greg.

Jerry

[FoxV]

"As long as I am using Windows PC pretty much as a hardware synth, than I won't have to deal with WIndows much."

Famous last words! I seriously doubt this will go smoothly.

It may, and even if it doesn't, it may work...

Best of luck!

[Jerry W.]

"As long as I am using Windows PC pretty much as a hardware synth, than I won't have to deal with WIndows much."

Famous last words! I seriously doubt this will go smoothly.

It may, and even if it doesn't, it may work...

Best of luck!

Thanks. I am not certain it will, but it SHOULD work.

Actually, There are guys who do this sort of thing with PC's in a Mac Studio all the time. Back when Gigastudio was king.

The sound engineer I got the idea from uses a PC to host his VSTi's and Gigastudio with hardware MIDI interfaces with lightpipe connections, etc. All using a Mac G5 running DP to control things. His uses two computers. Mine uses three. He routes the audio right back to his Mac.

People use USB MIDI all the time. I am just using MIDI over a much faster connection. A Gigabit ethernet connection (which is faster than FW 400) can carry hundreds of MIDI channels simultaneously and can also transmit at least 16 mono audio channels simultaneously - in my diagram, audio is piped to my laptop this way), can do the job without the need for a sync clock.
Whether or not this will be great for a realtime thing is the only other question I had. I just wanted to make sure that Tracktion can route to external devices. The lag (if there will be any) will be fine for what I do (a lot of orchestral work)
As soon as I get this setup together (a month or so away) I will give you all an update.


Jerry

[james0tucson]

I'd set up the Windows machine strictly as an instrument, controlled via MIDI-IN and have Audio-Out to the mixer. None of this audio-over-ethernet abomination. Maybe that stuff works, but I'd never be able to trust it. Just set up the PC so it boots with your synths loaded, send it program change messages over midi, play it as various channels over midi, and take its audio into your mix.

[mikebeck]

I use both Mac and PC, largely because of programs not available for both platforms. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread for future reference. My inclination is along the lines of a previous post that recommended consolidating to a G5, because otherwise you may end up saving money up front but spending it later troubleshooting and managing files instead of recording. My inner geek hopes this all works out according to your plan, though!

[ruwaldo]

There is a great article in this months issue of "Virtual Instruments" magazine about networking PCs and Macs, that might be of some help.

Also as someone who works for Intel, I agree with a few of the other responders on the idea of just getting rid of what you have and buying a new Mac. Wait a few months and there will be some very cool stuff available in the Mac world. Running multiple computers will never be as fast or stable as running one good one. The days of needing to network multiple computers to meet the needs of serious audio users are ending quickly.

One more thing, some more RAM wouldn't hurt either. 768M for serious audio isn't really all that much. Good luck.

[kpop]

The way I do combine my mac to my pc:

Mac (logic 7.1.1)-> MidiOverLAN -> PC (traction 2)

On the mac side I have
- Yamaha 01X
- master keyboards (Yamaha P250, Kurzweil Expressionmate, Evolution kb)

PC (in another room)
- Delta 66, spdif to O1X
- several hardware synths (via midisport 8x8 and a patch bay) connected to a Mackie mixer feeding to O1X

I control everything from my mac mini:
- mac plugins
- PC plugins
- hardware synths

The mac (I gb RAM) is perfect for this setup; totally silent, small, cheap. All processor intensive tasks are done on the PC, the mac is mostly a HD recorder. Works really great, the sync is perfect (even with drum software like BFD).

If you want to use Logic (like I do), this way you will get most bang for the euro (no need for an expensive and noisy G5). If I wouldn't need Logic or DP, I'd just use a PC (or 2).

kpop