garageCube

[rigsby]

Hi,

I'm in the process of choosing my set-up for taking my music back on the road. I'm really leaning towards Modul8 right now, but I wondered if anyone could help with a couple of queries regarding set-up?

I'm on a budget, and I'm undecided about buying 2x 13" MBPs and running Modul8 on one machine and Ableton on the other. This way I can use audio input for modul8 fairly easily and MIDI clock (and controller data) will be sent via MIDI cable for each machine or via ethernet. I kind of like the idea of having a machine dedicated to each task. I also want to feed the audio from the VJ machine into Ableton so I can apply audio fx to video clips that have audio parts to them. However, I can't afford to splash out any more than 2 13" models.

My other alternative is to use 1 15" model with the i7 chip and 512MB GeForce card. Is anybody running this 1 machine set-up with Ableton, and if so, is it easy (and reliable) enough to use SoundFlower for audio routing and to control Modul8 via MIDI from Ableton and another dedicated controller (MPD24 is looking likely). I should say, I'll be using the APC40 and the M-Audio Fast Track Pro Interface.

I don't intend to have tonnes of instruments and fx in Ableton - it'll be more clip launching, but with the odd synth and the usual fx such as reverb, filters and delays. However, one thing I'd love to keep functional is the routing of the audio from video clips into Ableton, so I can apply audio fx. Is this still possible on the one machine, especially given that I also want Modul8 to use the audio analysis tool from the Ableton output?

I know the graphics improvement with the i7 model will be significant, but would this matter too much working at 640x480 resolution? Also, is the i7 chip enough of a boost over Core2Duo to make it easy to use both on the one machine.

Also, the plus point of having 2 lesser laptops is if one breaks down, I can still perform some kind of show.

Sorry to be so long-winded with this, but I thought I would try to give as much info as possible.

Any thoughts on this conundrum?

[gmint]

That is a tough one. Personally, I use Modul8 and Traktor on my 15" 2.53 MBP at the same time and I've never had any problem--as long as the content that's running in Modul8 is relatively simple (1-2 layers, few if any effects). Even though Modul8 is very efficient, video simply takes a lot of horsepower.

Although I really don't have any way to tell if what you want to do will perform properly or not, my gut tells me that unless you're doing really simple stuff, you're not going to get the results you're hoping for on one machine. Maybe you will if it's REALLY simple, but you're talking about using audio analysis in Modul8 which I think gets into the range of more complex.

The bottom line is, I don't think you're ever going to know until you try. There are just too many variables at work to determine whether your setup is going to perform to your specifications to make an informed decision without real world testing.

[anomad]

. hard to say, until you jump in and try to get everything running on one system.

. i was in a similar position as you, and ended up getting a mac mini instead of another macbook - which has been perfect for running audio (digital performer 6 in my case, but i'm moving towards ableton)

. i'm able to start the mini on one of the vj screens - then configure it to ad hoc w/the laptop so i can remote desktop into it, then disconnect the monitor and go from there - and the mini can fit on a single RU shelf!



-james
(a nomad. )