Guitar Rig...and Newbie Introduction, Powerbook G4 setup for college recording Options

[iShawn]

Hi there. I know this is mainly based in the UK, or so it seems, but I am an American on here. God...the elections drive many of the forumers away!

Well...I have just recently gotten into macintosh, and convinced my father to get me a 15" 1.5GHz Powerbook with 512MB of Ram (or maybe higher if I can talk him into it) for college...for I need a laptop to take around campus anyways. I chose Mac because I am getting tired of all the shit on PCs these days, and the way thigns are more accessible in Panther really drives me towards it (My school's graphic design has Power Macs for everyone in the classroom) for it's use and functionality (God I love the way you can specify how much RAM you want used for each app!)

So...I wanted to let you know that the best thing for me is the new Firepod from Presonus. It will allow me to do some of the combo and larger-band recording (I play mainly jazz) but it will allow a nice way that I can do my solo jazz guitar stuff. More on that later though. Firepod comes with Cubase LE and I have searched on here about the problems and the very rave reviews on Cubase, and for what I want to do (with a max of 16 tracks pretty much) I'm sure Cubase will perform stellar.

Watching the 2004 Keynote WWDC I saw the plugin for Guitar Rig in there. That looks really cool, I am looking up stuff on it now and I really think it'd be cool to mess around with. I wanted to know what you all had opinions or thoughts about or if any of you have it and could proclaim it's faith so-to-speak. I think this would be really cool for the solo guitar stuff that I could mess around with none-the-least. My question is...I know it is a program, but can it perform like a plug-in as well (for Cubase for example)?

And also...a side-note.
What files can you export Cubase to for mass media (like wav mp3, etc.)

[jacobw]

Well...I have just recently gotten into macintosh, and convinced my father to get me a 15" 1.5GHz Powerbook with 512MB of Ram (or maybe higher if I can talk him into it) for college...

More RAM would be beneficial if you're using OS X for any sort of audio/visual applications. Don't buy RAM from Apple, go through a site like dealram.

(God I love the way you can specify how much RAM you want used for each app!)

Under OS 9 you would do this, under OS X memory is automatically managed, although you can use UNIX commands to give certain apps processing priority over others.

Firepod comes with Cubase LE and I have searched on here about the problems and the very rave reviews on Cubase, and for what I want to do (with a max of 16 tracks pretty much) I'm sure Cubase will perform stellar.

I've demoed a FirePod at a local shop, and was pretty impressed. I haven't had a chance to use it in "the real world", but the hour I spent with it hooked up to my machine (an iBook G4), everything was stable and I was able to run my music apps (Reason, Guitar Rig, GarageBand, Ableton Live, Sound Studio) at low latencies. I'm trying to figure out if I am going to spring for a FirePod or the recently announced FireBox. For your uses, I think Cubase LE is a better bundle than other interfaces at the FirePod's price point offer. (M-Audio's FireWire 1814 has cut down versions of Reason and Live, but linear, multi-tracking DAW. Edirol's FA-101 doesn't come with any bundled software!)

The "downside" of Cubase is that in its current incarnations, it does not support Apple's Audio Unit (AU) format which takes advantage of some unique OS X only features. It does support VST, and you'll find that most plug-ins are available in either format (including Guitar Rig). If you decide you need more than what LE offers, you'll be eligible to cross-grade discounts (reduced price) to the bigger brothers of Cubase LE (SL, SX, and Nuendo) or Digital Performer.

I wanted to know what you all had opinions or thoughts about or if any of you have (Guitar Rig) and could proclaim it's faith so-to-speak. I think this would be really cool for the solo guitar stuff that I could mess around with none-the-least. My question is...I know it is a program, but can it perform like a plug-in as well (for Cubase for example)?

With Guitar Rig, you really need a fast computer and a low latency audio interface. Your PowerBook and FirePod fit that requirement quite well. If you visit Native Instrument's website, you can hear more audio samples, download a demo, and hear from other users on their forums. I tried the demo for a month and bought Guitar Rig this past July. The included foot controller is sturdy, the interface is very intuitive and works with you, not against you, to achieve great results. Most importantly, the sound is there. People have complained about the distortion sounds, and Native Instruments is releasing a free update shortly that adds four more distortion pedals to the mix. Most everyone agrees that Guitar Rig does clean sounds very well, and as a jazz guitarist, I'm sure you'd appreciate that. I actually use Guitar Rig with my Fender Electric Violin, and I've been happy with it in every respect except for latency. I'm using a USB audio interface, and know that with a FirePod (or other FireWire audio interface), I won't have to worry about latency any more. I would wait until you get your PowerBook & FirePod and give the Guitar Rig demo a whirl. It doesn't have as many presets of the full version, runs for thirty minutes, and cannot save presets, but you are able to access all the features of the full version. Guitar Rig works as a stand alone program, as well as a plug-in in any application that supports the VST, AU, or RTAS plug-in formats. This includes Cubase LE (VST)

And also...a side-note.  What files can you export Cubase to for mass media (like wav mp3, etc.)

I'm not sure if you can export directly to mp3, but if you export (or bounce) your song to WAV or AIF, you can use the mp3/aac encoders in iTunes or a variety of other stand alone encoder applications.

Hope this helped you in your decision making process, and let us know what you end up getting, how things are working out, and any questions you may have. OS X is full of great things for musicians!