Re: Computers and Global responsibility - was RE: Snap, Crackle, Pop - VST Effect & Sound Card Problems

["Krispen Hartung" <khartung@cableone.net>]

That's so true, Claude.  This is why I always have a hardware system on 
the 
side to back me up.  It satisfies all my looping needs, just not all my 
effect needs, which is why I turned to the laptop. For $800 and some 
browsing the internet, I was able to acquire enough VST effects that would 
fill a 10 space rack if I had gone to hardware. That's the ideal.  I still 
like the idea of an all laptop system, but until implementing that idea is 
as simple and painless as plugging into my Boss VF1 and Looperlative, it's 
not worth my time. So now I have shifted my focus to a hardware system, 
while working on a notebook system in the background that may pop in and 
out 
of my performances depending on how it is working.

Kris


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Claude Voit" <c.voit@vtx.ch>
To: <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 7:26 AM
Subject: Re: Computers and Global responsibility - was RE: Snap, Crackle, 
Pop - VST Effect & Sound Card Problems


> Hal
>
> thank you for entering this "FAQ" subject
> here is a reply for the Snap,Crakle, Krispen show thread I didnt send,
> because I found it a little too provocative at that moment but I changed 
> my mind :=)
> here it is-
> ---------------------------
>
> During all these month long "puter setup blogs" , hardware musicians 
>where
> playing, composing, practicing, enjoying life using gear they really 
>know.
>
> dobidobi--dow
>
> :=)
>
> Claude
>
>
> Ap13-Switchblade-2 edps- Gforce- pcm80- Clavia G2- 8port se- pc1600x -
> pmc10 -
>
> almost the same setup since year 2000 and almost no HW failure (GForce 
>had 
> a
> slowly diying display and I had to change the batteries in the pmc10 )
>
> And yes it is a lot heavier but I setup in 15 min from closed racks to 
> tuned
> guitars
>
> I programmed all sounds, all fx, all configs myself, I know exactly all 
> buttons, functions, pedals years ago.
> I can play the devices fast, improvise with them, all relaxed without 
>the 
> "display angst looper face"
>
> and also yes, it is a very very expensive setup compared to a laptop a 
> sound
> card and "free" softwares.
>
> but I still think analog mixing/summing of different sources/devices 
> sounds
> a lot better, richer and punchier than bit crunched sources comming out 
> all
> from the same DA converter
>
> and
>
> no latency in my vocabulary
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Dean, Hal " <HDEAN@wcupa.edu>
> To: <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
> Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 3:01 PM
> Subject: Computers and Global responsibility - was RE: Snap, Crackle, 
> Pop - VST Effect & Sound Card Problems
>
>
> This whole sequence prompts me to solicit everyone's thoughts on the
> environmental impact of gear acquisition syndrome and the migration to
> computers of so much of what "electronic musicians" of any stripe do.
>
> On the level of the individual, committing to computers requires a
> readiness to upgrade/ replace at a steady clip, even if you don't care
> about the latest and greatest, because eventually your computer will
> break and you won't be able to get it fixed, because the OS is an
> antique or the connection protocol is kaput or the software you used is
> no longer made and you can't find the install discs, or they've gone
> bad... just to list a few of the reasons that an elderly computer and
> associated audio software and peripherals won't last a lifetime. I'll
> trust that no one needs to be apprised of how much toxic stuff is in the
> machines that then get tossed, or what happens to it.
>
> I kept an Atari 520ST running Hybrid Arts software and a 16-bit sampler
> together for 15 years.  To be honest, if I were willing to become more
> of a geek then I could probably still have it working.  Maybe one way to
> address this issue is to say, if you are going to use this stuff, then
> be responsible enough to keep it working, and if you can't, perhaps you
> shouldn't be using it.
>
> I've not been able to stick to that resolution myself. Instead, I've
> left a trail of the Atari, the Twinhead laptop, and the DirectWave
> desktop, along with several soundcards, never mind other peripherals.
> Meanwhile, my 1974 Les Paul is worth 5 times what I paid for it, other
> guitars retain their value, and there is no reason to think a guitar,
> amp, VF-1 and EDP won't be running splendidly in 20 years, albeit with
> some maintenance that doesn't require a degree.
>
> So even though I am a Cubase addict, love Absynth and Halion and
> AudioMulch, and have been planning to dive into the batch of VSTs that
> Krispen researched and so generously shared info about, I've concluded
> that moving wholly into the CPU realm isn't a good idea.
>
> On the larger scale, the use of computers everywhere for everything is
> so widely touted as a boon to productivity, and so often cited as an
> environmental benefit because pixels replace paper and people can
> telecommute, that it seems blasphemous to question this received wisdom.
> I'm not so sure. Try looking up the "cost of the Internet"... it's
> interesting how little you can find about it. But all these home and
> business boxes consuming power, plus all the servers and the enormous
> server banks, are using a LOT of energy. I don't see paper use radically
> reduced. Telecommuting is anything but common. Then there is the waste
> stream of electronics.
>
> I could go on, but let that be my rant for the day.
>
> Hal Dean
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Krispen Hartung [mailto:khartung@cableone.net]
> Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 2:14 AM
> To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
> Subject: Re: Snap, Crackle, Pop - VST Effect & Sound Card Problems
>
>
> Here is my status quo on this issue:  To hell with using the computer
> for
> looping and music performance. I'm so fed up with the troubleshooting,
> installing, uninstalling, tweaking, loading, unloading, configuring,
> re-configuring, testing, rebooting, modifying, etc, etc, ad nauseum that
> I
> could projectile vomit from here to who knows where. I can tolerate only
> so
> much of this nonsense.
>
> I just used system restore to restore my new ThinkPad to the way it was
> when
> I received it out of the box. Thank goodness I had system restore active
> for
> a while before I installed this blasted software and audio hardware.
>
> I removed hundreds of dollars worth of all my audio programs, VST hosts,
> VST
> effects, Echo IO, etc. I'm going to take a break from this bullshit for
> a
> while and get back to playing my instrument with my simple two space
> rack:
> my Looperlative and two Boss VF1s. I'll just let all this software sit
> in
> archive mode for a while, so I can prioritize and get my mind right for
> another experimental festival I'm playing at in a few weeks.
>
> ....I should have spent my money on an evantide or Muse Receptor. I may
> still get the Receptor so that I can take advantage of all my VSTs.
>
> At least my ThinkPad is back to original condition so that I can use
> this
> screamin $2800 machine to check email and surf the web at my local
> coffee
> shops!   :)
>
> Kris
>
>
>