purchasing advice: MSI or dp

[AJS Music]

Hi all,

I realise that these are two completely different apps, but I am after some opinions to help me make up my mind.

Here's the scenario:

• dp (upgrade price from my old copy of Performer) is close enough to the same price as MSI for me.
  My current computer is a TiPB 550MHz with 512MB of RAM.
  I own Live v.4 and do like it.
  I also have the Arturia Minimoog v plug in and that really makes this computer sluggish.
  I also own some outboard synths that I intend to trigger via MIDI.

In lieu of the upcoming MacIntel switch I would like to know which piece of software you think will save me from having to fork out a bunch of money again. I figure I will keep this laptop until the MacIntels come out - maybe even a while longer.

Since MSI is a cross platform plug-in do you think it will cost again when it is released for the MacIntels?

What about dp - if I spend the big dollars now, am I also destined to spend the big $ again when it is released as a fat binary?

I like Live (so, yes I already own a sequencer) - but I also cut my teeth on dp at Uni and want to get back into using it again. However, I keep thinking that audio samples of an orchestra won't be rendered useless when I move to a new Mac, but my version of dp might.

On the other hand, maybe the samples in MSI will be too taxing on my ageing PB. If this is the case, then perhaps I'm better off spending the money on dp and recording MIDI tracks and the odd vocal or instrumental solo.

Is my thinking flawed? Do you have any pointers?

TIA,
Anthony.

[AJS Music]

*BUMP*

Surely some wise counsel can be found on these boards?

I'd like to order soon - because I hope to receive the goods before Christmas (in China). What do you think?

Sequence again with dp on my Ti550MHz PB or try and incorporate MSI into some Live tracks hoping that it does not cripple the PB in the process?

Hopefully some folks have experience with these apps on low-end systems like mine and can offer some informed opinions.

Cheers.

[zerosin]

Go with DP. It will always work unless you switch to a new machine. I have 3.x running on an OS 9 Beige G3 and geuss what? It still works. DP can be ported for the x86 any who, it may take longer than some apps since it has a lot of Velocity Engine code, but don't doubt that it will be done. If they don't port it, buy the last rev G5 and that'll keep you going for a few years.

[AJS Music]

Thanks zerosin - I really appreciate you taking the time to answer.

Do you have any idea how my lowly Ti550MHZ PB will be able to handle dp? Admittedly, I'd be just as happy with MIDI and being able to record just a couple of tracks as audio via the Traveler. (I'm only just getting back into it - last time I used Performer 4.x was back in the early 90s ... accordingly, I have never done any audio recording on the Mac before!)

My PB has 512MB of RAM and a 20GB HD. I also have an external Maxtor 250GB HD connected via Firewire. Should I up the RAM and replace the internal HD to something in the 7200 rpm range - or is what I currently own enough to handle what I think I'd like to do with dp?

Thanks again.

[dimensiondk]

Thanks zerosin - I really appreciate you taking the time to answer.

Do you have any idea how my lowly Ti550MHZ PB will be able to handle dp? Admittedly, I'd be just as happy with MIDI and being able to record just a couple of tracks as audio via the Traveler. (I'm only just getting back into it - last time I used Performer 4.x was back in the early 90s ... accordingly, I have never done any audio recording on the Mac before!)

My PB has 512MB of RAM and a 20GB HD. I also have an external Maxtor 250GB HD connected via Firewire. Should I up the RAM and replace the internal HD to something in the 7200 rpm range - or is what I currently own enough to handle what I think I'd like to do with dp?

Thanks again.

I think (though not certain) the 550MHz version of the TiBook still had the notoriously dodgy firewire controller from the earlier TiBooks. If so, you will need a fast 7200rpm internal drive, partitioned, with the outside (fastest) partition reserved for audio. You can still dump stuff off to your FW drive after you are finished the session.
More RAM never hurts either.
You might not get much performance if you are trying to keep DP and Live rewired. 550MHz is plenty for even the most exotic MIDI recording, but doesnt leave much room for VI's or fancy timestretching algorithms...
Dave