Matt, yes, I built the computer. I've been building my own computers since 1992. The only software that goes on this machine is software that I want to go on the machine. And that includes a few utilities that come with the motherboard.

You wrote, "BIAB is one of the most computer-intensive programs you can buy. It demands much more than SONAR does on my machine, for example."

Huh, I would have thought that Sonar was more intensive, considering its capabilities. But that does explain a lot.

Noel, honestly I don't recall if I've done it yet on this machine, but what I usually do after I've set myself up as admin, is to go into the privileges and make sure every box is checked for both myself and admin. Typically, there's one box that isn't checked. I make sure I have full and complete access, even to the point of being able to access hidden files and directories.

John, point taken. And yes, this is a new SATA drive and it is running in AHCI mode. When you state, " . . . look carefully at the "instrument" selection on the Melodist screen to make sure that a default instrument isn't what is messing you up," I'm not entirely sure what you mean by this. Sometimes I'll go with the default instrument, and sometimes I'll change it to one I prefer. I don't see an option for selecting the "good" midi instruments, though. This is another thing I've run into. Sometimes when I select a different instrument (from the mixer), it doesn't play that instrument and instead continues with the original one. I'll usually do this to select one of the "good" midi instruments instead of the default GM stuff.

One thing I forgot to mention: this machine is my DAW and it's always been my DAW, so I try not to load too much stuff on it that isn't directly related to music production. I'm also a writer, which is why I have Open Office on this machine. My writing is not at all intrusive, though, so I'm not too worried about having word processing software installed on this machine.

Some folks are real purists when it comes to their DAWs. Some won't even have their machines hooked up to the internet. In this day and age, though, I don't think that's practical. BiaB has notified me a few times, when I boot it, that a patch or update is available, which I can then install. I consider this sort of thing to be handy, and one reason why I prefer to have internet access. Also, when/if I get stuck with a piece of music software, it's so much easier to access helpful resources with this machine than having to go grab my laptop, just so I can access these resources.


Last edited by cooltouch; 08/25/17 05:49 AM.
Best,
Michael

My Music:
https://soundcloud.com/michaelmcbroom/albums