KVR Audio

moreofmorris · Post by **moreofmorris** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 8:51 am

Hello there. I've been making electronic music for a good few years now. I was using Reason, but have recently switched over to Live, so I can have plug-ins and audio tracks... I've been making tunes in Live and been enjoying it, thing is though, my (not so old) iMac is finding it hard to cope with all the EQs, compressions and synths I have running.

I've brought Predator, Kontact, V-Station and will be getting Massive. And I'm trying to decide what top quality EQs and compressions to get - but, the thing being, that if I run loads of these (which I will be), my computer will max out under the pressure. I'm at a point where I want top quality effects, like EQ and compression and reverb so I can really learn how to use them properly have set tools that won't change...

Does anyone here have the Powercore Firewire? Is it worth the £700 price tag? Will it provide me with top quality EQ, compression, reverbs and more? Also, does it run well on a Mac and are all the plug-ins Audio Units? (I ask this, because in the future I may go over to Logic and would like to run them all on that too.

Sorry for all the questions, but I've heard great things about this forum so I thought I'd ask and hopefully get some good responses to help me with my decision!

Thank you very much for your time people!
James

Chopper · Post by **Chopper** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:09 am

for eqs and compression, consider the Focusrite Liquidmix. no reverb or fancy things, but hey there is plenty around. well worth the £450 and the best thing i've tried in th digital world. that would be 32 channels sorted for you, and the sound is brillant. top notch emulations.

edoosx · Post by **edoosx** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:31 am

I'll stay away from the PowerCore. I have one and I don't use it so often. I bought it because of the Access Virus and it never worked, it's full of bugs and since years there are no bugfixes. The good plugs are the ones not included in the purchase so you have to buy them extra and they are very expensive. Plugins aren't real AudioUnits but wrapped VSTs.
To have an idea of how unexciting is the PowerCore world see this forum: http://www.powercore.noheaven.com/
If you could add a PCI or PCIe based card I would recommend the UAD-1, I'm very happy with then (I've 3!), I use them in all my projects, tech support is good, software is stable and constantly updated, price for extra plugs is reasonable and there are ofter special offers and discounts.
Or consider stay native, there are plenty of fantastic native EQs and Compressors out there, many of them are not too expensive. Anyway this would be what I would choose nowadays.

moreofmorris · Post by **moreofmorris** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:45 am

I have an iMac... I don't have support for PCI cards... I've heard alot about the UADs and that, but I can't have them.

I'm using Sonalkis EQ and compression, and do like them, but it's taking up too much CPU-age. Any of the really good reverbs take up alot too. At the moment I have Live, Predator, V-Station, Kontakt, Sonalkis EQ & Compression & Filter, PSP Vintage Warmer, PSP EasyVerb... Running a number of these, in an average track (10-15 tracks) pretty much maxes me out... That's why I'm thinking I need something like the Powercore - not only for high quality plug-ins but so it doesn't drain my computer.

I've updated the RAM recently to a 1.5Gb, but my little RAM meter thing says I don't really cut into that too much. But my CPU is maxing out, quite a lot really...

I wouldn't mind a Liquid Mix, but it's just EQ and Compression, and I'd really like to have a decent reverb for stuff... Buying a new computer isn't really an option as I haven't finished paying for this one yet and it's still not even 10 months old!

The Powercore really not getting no? Pleases bear in mind, I'm only an intermediate producer - at that point where I want to REALLY learn about EQ and Compression and the use of Reverbs.

moreofmorris · Post by **moreofmorris** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:51 am

The support of products is very important to my purchasing... I just had a look over that forum link you posted me... It does look like depressing really - a lot of people on there complaining about lack of updates and others saying that the firewire product is basically being dropped soon?!!

quantize · Post by **quantize** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:52 am

Sigh ..

OK let's clear that baloney up

I would definitely GO FOR PowerCore. I have one and I use it OFTEN. I bought it because of the Access Virus and it works extremely well (inside Cubase 4 - Logic makes me ill) despite a *few* isolated bugs.
Indeed they are VST's (the only true cross platform format!)
and will probably would work much better in Live.

The included plugin set is excellent, and particularly the mastering unit is superb. The powercore is extremely stable and fairly regularly updated (they will soon finish a long beta phase of the universal binary update)

I would not pay TOO MUCH attention to http://www.powercore.noheaven.com/
as I've found a fairly even mix of both pure ignorance and stupidity as you do here on KVR.

The UAD's are rated highly also, but only a fool would pass on the opportunity to use the Virus Powercore, which simply sounds on another planet from most VSTi's, despite anything you will ever read online about 'bugs'. It is also going to have another major upgrade sometime this year and is already universal binary in TC's beta install.

moreofmorris · Post by **moreofmorris** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:19 am

See, I'm confused now! It's one of those situations where I just can't download a demo and see if it works well in my setup...

TO be honest with you... I'm looking for something that will provide me with some high quality tools that I can own and learn from there. At the moment, I'm going from one plug in to another in my tunes, trying to decide what to go for... I worry that, a year or so down the line, I'd want to open up my old arrangements and can't because the plugins I used for those tunes aren't on my computer anymore, as I'm using others.

This isn't the only reason, but it's one of them... I understand that there are many good EQs, compressions, reverbs out there, but I can't really do much with them as they take up alot of CPU. I don't really care if the Powercore isn't updated every couple of months with the latest features or whatever, as long as the purchased box I buy will work with Live (possibly Logic) and they do what they meant to do...

I want an investment that will last me for years, until I get to the point where I setup again to more 'pro' gear or whatever. Also, I want may want to go live with my performances, so would like something I can put in a rack, with my Mackie Onyx 400F and my future drum module and connect it to a laptop and off I go...

Any other opinions would be great also. Thanks for your fast replies!

moreofmorris · Post by **moreofmorris** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:22 am

Another quick question... I have a Mackie Onyx 400F firewire audio interface that I connect to my iMac's one (and only) firewire port...

If I get the Powercore and daisy chain it with my Mackie, will they still work perfectly through that one firewire port? (I know firewire stuff can be daisy-chained, but does it mean it takes away performance)?

I only usually set my Mackie Onyx 400F to CD quality and rarely do multi-track recordings.

quantize · Post by **quantize** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:26 am

provided your firewire chain doesn't have too many devices that draw buss power you should be absolutely fine.

Things like iPods and iSights can definitely cause problems, but you should be fine.

moreofmorris · Post by **moreofmorris** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:30 am

My Mackie audio interface is powered by a powercord, so it doesn't take anything from the computer buss. Also, I believe, the Powercore is strictly non-buss powered...

So I should have maximum performance out of both, even though one is daisy chained into another and that's plugged into one firewire port on the iMac?

Does anyone here have a Powercore and another firewire device that's going through one firewire port? All ok?

quantize · Post by **quantize** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 10:40 am

Me, i've done it, it's fine.

maxxxter · Post by **maxxxter** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 11:09 am

DELETED

quantize · Post by **quantize** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 11:11 am

absolutely no stability or recall issues here with Cubase 403 and mac

that is a fact.

I cant speak for Live or Logic..

RoyNoahJones · Post by **RoyNoahJones** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 11:35 am

I Can't tell about the firewire, i've heard many issues about it, but as far as i'm concerned the pci version's always been rock solid(5 years), of course some plugins are not among the cheapest but the quality is outstanding (VSS3,DVR2, MD3... !!!).
if you're serious about mixing in the box; the powercore can hardly be ignored.

edoosx · Post by **edoosx** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 11:42 am

@ Quantize:
I'm happy for you since you have a working combination. But the lack of updates, bugfixes, professional tech support are facts as well. I'd never invest in the PowerCore again even if I agree Virus PowerCore is awesome (what is what one should expect since the pricetag!)
The quality of the included plugs doesn't justify the cost of a purchase in my opinion. The extra plugs are in another liga but at what price?

@ littlejim84:
1,5 Gb of RAM are really not so much under OSX. I would expand RAM to 3-4 Gb. When I upgraded from 2 to 4 Gb I couldn't believe how much this improved stability and performance.

Should I get a Powercore Firewire?