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manning1 #3953 01/04/10 11:20 AM
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tips...051.
more on plug ins.
a situation..
so over the last few years youve downloaded lots of plug ins.
some came as naked dll's and some with fancy installer schemes.
and possibly registration and other schemes.
as a result people sometimes loose track of where their plug ins are
on their system. you might have 100 different plug ins scattered
around various foldrs etc etc and under different company names.
but your lost possibly as to where all the plug ins reside.

firstly step back for awhile.
and assess your go to plug ins.
what ive started to do is keep an inventory in a notepad file
of locations where plug ins reside.
thus if i find a new one i am gaga over i make sure i install it
to my desktop plug ins folder....
i talked about earlier.

but what about all the plug ins previously scattered
around ones system ??
how do i find out their locations ??
particularly on a system that a person might be useing not just for
song creation but also lots of other biz and family apps ??

windows search to the rescue.
in win search enter *.dll.
wait for search to complete.
cos its gonna list a ton of dll's.
not just plug in ones.

when win search is complete you will then be able to see
where the dll's are and in which dir's and folders etc etc.
A BIG NOTE. dont delete anything.
cos lots of the dll's listed are used by the win OS itself.
you will need to go down the dll list and then make notes
in your notepad plug in inventory list.
in summary dont just willy nilly start deleting dll files.
cos you might be deleting an important one.

also a note....lets say you find in your list the
"uber vintage 1953 tube emulation " dll that you had forgotten about
but you wish to transfer it to the plug ins folder i mentioned
earlier so you can use it... you might not be able to.
cos it might use a detailed installer/deinstaller/registration/
protection scheme.
you will have to assess this yourself
cos i cant cover every plug in known to man.
possibly youll have to use it from its existing location.
or go thru the hassle of uninstalling and then reinstalling
to the plug ins folder i talked bout earlier.
it depends on the plug in. if its a detailed install/register/deinstall
process it might be best to contact the creator.
worst case win dll search could bring up its location so you
can at least nail down where its located so you can use it.


retired puter engr....powertracks on amd......NICE !
"what is the black art of audio engineering ?"
my silly songs...motagator.com/bmanning
see my tips in the tips section.
manning1 #3954 01/04/10 11:48 AM
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
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tips...052.
so you cant afford an i7.
whats a cheaper solution ??

well imho i7 right now is king.
a great processor.
and i predict this is the start of big moves by intel.
if your well off i say go for it.
lots of ram and two hi performance drives 7200 rpm with
32 mb cache in each. use one drive for OS
and one for tracking.

but lets say your leery on spending big money on a new system..
and anyhoo prolly a i7 mk2 will come out so your worried that
what you buy today might be replaced by something better tomorrow..
(note ..i have no inside info..just my gut telling me the i7 is the start
of a new era in computing.)
whaddya do ?? whats the strategy ??
this is sorta the predicament i'm in as of jan 2010.
i would love an i7 ...but its the total cost to my wallet.
so i'm leery.

heres an alternative to check out.
no its not an i7. but if your crafty you prolly
can get a hell of a lot done with it.
unless you go crazy on huge numbers plug ins on traks
that consume lots of processor n memory resources.

the deal right now is i feel the amd 620 quad processor.
read about it here...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819103706
99 buks.

in summary if your thinking bout a new system you might want to think
about one with this processor in for those on a budget.
remember 8 and prolly 16 and more cores are coming prolly in the next few years.
this might just tide you over and save up your buks for when
8 or 16 core processors are cheap.
as always try n run tests on any system before buying if you can.
to assess its performance for you.
another alternative is amd quad phenom or intel i5.


retired puter engr....powertracks on amd......NICE !
"what is the black art of audio engineering ?"
my silly songs...motagator.com/bmanning
see my tips in the tips section.
manning1 #3955 01/24/10 06:16 AM
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
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tips...053
useing powertraks with reaper.
i'm aware that some users use both.
so heres a couple of interesting tips.
1. powertraks plug ins can be used in reaper.
cos reaper supports dx plug ins.
and can be used with reapers own plug ins.
so you can combine things.
i like the ptraks dx plug ins cos they are low resource useage.
in reaper prefs simply scan for dx plug ins.
2. powertraks has lots of usefull midi features
that might be usefull for midi in reaper.
for example...if you notice powertraks has a feature to generate
a quik drum trak plus also a drum grid editor.
so if you want a quik midi drum trak.
use powertraks to do a quikie midi one.
then export as mid and import into reaper.
then in reaper plug in something like drumcore free to the
reap midi trak imported from powertraks for realist sounding live drums.
3. useing pg vinyl dx plug in.
altho supposedly this is for vinyl records theres nothing
to stop you useing it in reaper as a plug in on an audio trak thats
problematic , maybe for example a rough piece of music
you recorded from casstte dek.
the pg help docs have info on its useage.
might be usefull in cleaning up a bad cassette or other recording.
lastly if your recording vocs in reaper for example , try this.
make a folder trak, and various child traks for different vocal traks.
load powertraks echo/chorus plug in on the folder trak,
and record your vocs NOT on the folder trak but on the child traks.
experiment with different settings on the pg echo/chorus in conjunction with
other reaper plug ins.
now repeat with pg reverb and see what you get.
lots to discover tween useing the pg plug ins and reapers built in plug ins.


retired puter engr....powertracks on amd......NICE !
"what is the black art of audio engineering ?"
my silly songs...motagator.com/bmanning
see my tips in the tips section.
manning1 #3956 03/23/10 04:26 PM
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,992
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tips...054.
couple of things to check out.
1.hard drives.
in the past ive been a heavy proponent for budget of useing
32 mb cache 7200 rpm drives for dedicated recording daw work.
cos they are cheap at 70 buks, and ive seen lots of people encounter problems with
small cache hard drives, ..eg 2 n 8 mb.
plus there is a small price diff tween 32 n 16 mb cache drives.
i notice now there are 64mb cache drives available.
eg 84 buks.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5659779&CatId=2459
not had a chance to try em.
i'm sure we will see more.
2. cheap speakers.
my old pair of minimuses by the shack went blinkety bloo.
had em a looong time.
ive used lots of fancy hi end studio monitors in the past..but being on pension
unaffordeable to me now.
plus got various medical bills.
so ive been looking around for replacements for the shaks.

whether these will last i dunno.
worst case i'll use em to listen to mp3 player tunes.
they are a brand called edifier R1200.
power is built in. just hook em up to out
of sound device. i got em for 50 buks.
frankly i was a bit surprised when i hooked em up.
been listening to various hit cd's n my own stuff..
n for 50 buks i cant complain.
as to whether others will like em, or if they will last ..i dunno.
but for someone with a guerrilla no money recording set up.
possibly check em out.
whether they will last like the shaks for years..i dunno.
but i dont care at this price..lol.
heres a fuller review.
http://www.modsynergy.com/review170.html


retired puter engr....powertracks on amd......NICE !
"what is the black art of audio engineering ?"
my silly songs...motagator.com/bmanning
see my tips in the tips section.
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