We decided to add an important note in advance, as the questions in the
mailing list about crashing VST's and sync-problems drive us crazy from time to time (just
like the owners of the programs, we guess:-). Which problems are general and which are
system specific? Which questions should we put in this section? Let's make some remarks in
advance, so you can sit down and do some meditating about your own system.
- Soundsoftware (like Cubase VST) is very demanding on the computer system.
Crashing of Cubase is 'normal': even a 3.5 version on an Atari did that frequently. The
program has to perform graphical, midi- and audio tasks. Also the program (and it's
competitors) is probably written with the Intel processor in mind, as a standard so to
say, not taking into account other processor brands. So take into consideration:
- How 'heavy' is your system? Enough processor speed? Enough memory? Fast access time to
hard disk? Things like that.
- Is the processor cooling OK?
- Do you have other programs open while using your sound software?
- Windows 95/98 is advertised as 'multitasking'. We always learned that's not really the
case. It's merely 'task-switching'.
- Do you have another brand of processor than Intel? You might have a small
compatibility problem.
- What's the nature of your songs? Very up-tempo? We tried it once with Cubase VST: record
a very simple midi song with a tempo of 160bpm and a nicely 'filled' rhythm-pattern.
Record another track with one long note and impressive pitchbends. Your complete system
will go down on his knees the moment you play it (this was on a Pentium 166 MMx with 64MB
memory, oldfashioned already, but even with a Pentium III the problem still exists...).
- If you are realistic, the above should lead to the conclusion that in fact you need a
separate computer for your EWS and your soundsoftware. But we know: money, money, money...
- About the sync-problem(s): that's a very frequently discussed issue. Therefore we
collected some contributions to the email list an put them on a special page to preserve
them for future generations. This page is called The
SyncTank.
- If you use different 'brands' of sound software, you can expect that they don't always
cooperate which each other the way you want.
- We decided not to enter the discussions about S/N-ratio (Signal/Noise) and the AD/DA
converter of the EWS. Before buying an EWS you should ask yourself: which standard do I
take for my own sound products? Does the EWS meet that standard? Are you also that
critical about the specifications of your other sound equipment? In our opinion you should
first check the capabilities of your sound monitoring system (your speakers). It should
not 'color' the sound (like most people appreciate a 'warm' sound). On the contrary: it
should produce a very 'straight' sound, otherwise you will never be able to judge the real
soundquality of samples for instance.
In our opinion the same goes for the AD/DA converters (Analog to Digital/Digital to
Analog). Some users recently performed a kind of test. Very informative for other users.
But what if the AD/DA 'colors' the sound just the way you like it? Technically speaking
that would be wrong. It always stays a matter of taste. Compare the sound of the cd's you
have in your rack: a nice song can be completely spoiled by the different taste of the
producer.
Enough meditating. But maybe this makes you look before you leap into the email list
:-) |
