Congrats.

Hey, well I haven't said or read anything on this thread at all. But sounds like a great choice! Congrats!

quote:

Originally posted by Jazzooo:
Jeez, no one even wants to say congratulations?

Gratz, Doug. I have a MOTU Traveler at my disposal for an indefinite time period and will assume that the Ultra is the lil bro to this unit?

I've never personally used any o/b A/D with my VS, as mostly everything I've been doing lately, has been on other systems, ranging from a VS2400 to RADAR. The pre's are clean,clear and far less cloudy than my VS' pre's with much more headroom.

I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised with this little Traveler. I'm tracking a singer and his acoustic over the next couple of days and might have something to share as long as he's cool with it...Tbrugh and I are also working on something that's quite different for both us and anything I do will all be thru the Traveler, which I'm sure has the same pre's and A/D as the Ultra.

Anyways, these little motu's seem like pretty decent units at first glance (listen.)

"I have a MOTU Traveler at my disposal for an indefinite time period and will assume that the Ultra is the lil bro to this unit?"

I believe so, but my knowledge is about an inch deep on this stuff.

Keep me posted about how you like it--right now, the store is technically a day late on delivering my new 'puter.

So I'm confused Doug. Are you getting the 17" then? You didn't cancel the order to stick with you wife's Intel iMac?

"Are you getting the 17" then? You didn't cancel the order to stick with you wife's Intel iMac?"

Lol--I was never going to use hers, I was going to get my own instead of the MCP. But I'm sticking with the 17" MacBookPro. Didn't want to run the risk that I'd notice diminished performance, though it seems like it would probably have been ok.

I'm ready to go--where's my damn computer? The first thing I'm going to do is download the free trial of Logic Express and check it out. Then I'll either stick with Logic or load DP 5 onto it, the pre-universal binary version. people have done it and gotten it to work ok. Then I'd upgrade from mexico when the UB version is available.

Well good. I think the 17" is a better bet, but don't listen to me.

The pre-binary version of DP5 works? Cool. Either way. I always go simpler rather than complex in terms of learning curves, especu=ially if either will essentially do what I need them to do. Like I opted for Sibelius over Finale. But either would do what I need them to do and do it well.

Oh crap. Now I am offically at a crossroads.

The 17" MacBook Pro that I ordered from a usually reliable music store on May 3rd still has not shown up. I've been given three artificial dates that have come and gone. THere are plenty of people who have ordered and received them (and are ecstatic), but this store obviously did something wrong. I did get a $200 discount for attending an Apple clinic, but that shouldn't have any bearing on the shipping.

The latest info was that it was 'going into mfg' yesterday. In Shaghai. Shipping expedited 'today or tomrrow.' I am leaving the US on 6/5. I do not think I can afford to wait and be disappointed at the last minute. I still have to buy and instal either Logic or DP, set up my MOTU Ultralite and get my shit together for the summer.

So now I am left with a decision: cancel my order and buy the one in stock at an Apple store in SD? The specs are identical with the disappointing exception of the drive: it's a 120 gig 5400 rpm SATA instead of the 100 gig 7200 rpm I'd wanted.

My thinking is that the slower drive will probably suffice for the summer, when I'm just practicing computer recording, editing, and learning my programs. Then in the fall I can get a faster internal drive. All of my audio will be on a separate drive down the road anyway.

That's crossroads #1. I don't think I have much of an option, as I can't trust the first store's word right now. I spoke with Apple and they said there was no way the order should have taken this long--they are routinely turning orders around in 5-7 days right now.

Crossroads #2 still deals with the Logic/DP decision. I'd decided that while either would be fine, DP would be my first choice and Logic would be a close second. However, DP isn't available for universal binary yet and won't be ready till at least the end of June.

The obvious solution is just to go with Logic. The crazy alternative is to buy DP5 and try to load it onto the Intel Mac--some people have done this and it works, although it runs on the slower side. If that's the case, it would enable me to learn over the summer and then I can download the UB upgrade when it comes out.

I know, pretty nutty!

Please don't bother suggesting waiting till I get back in the fall to buy my computer and software--that's not an option. I tlooks like I might not be back here till late Spetember, and the work could start as early as mid October--that's cutting things way too close. I'd rather bite the bullet and get to know Logic over the summer than wait till the last minute and be setting up my computer, learning a program AND being a creative genius at the same time.

Hey Doug,

Are there any other apple stores around (say, LA) that might have a model with the faster hard drive, or is that the stock "store" model? I would think that eventually you'll want the faster drive. I guess you could swap it out later, but that'd be a pain.

I also think trying to load DP now is just courting disaster. If you go that way, I'd have a copy of Logic ready and waiting!

Peace,
Fox

You're right, Fox. I'm going to just buy Logic today. I can always crossgrade later if I want DP.

Well, it's (almost) resolved!

I just ordered Logic, the educational version, for $499 using my wife's student ID. Thank God for Spanish classes! The only drawback is that I won't be able to upgrade when Logic 8 comes out, but seeing as that won't be for quite a while and by then I might hate Logic and already be using DP...I feel good about the decision. It will be here tomorrow.

As for the 'puter...I was just advised by Apple that I can NOT put a different drive into my MacBook Pro without voiding my warranty. That's a drag--it's available from the factory, but not after it leaves the factory. I think I'm going to be stuck with the slower drive, but since I'll have my audio on a separate drive anyway, it should all work out.

Fox, I did call around--the 5400 rpm drive is the stock store version. I spoke with a Logic user in one store who wasn't trying to sell me a computer and he said he couldn't tell any difference between the two drives as long as I didn't store his audio on it.

What the hell--I'm off to buy it right now!

Oh...well if the audio is coming from a separate drive you should be fine. Cool!