Jim Roseberry

If you have two WA73 channel-strips, you already have what you seek. 😉 IMO, The WA73 EQ is superior to those you're contemplating.

FWIW, My DAWs are all connected to the Internet... and most run 24/7. Never a problem... First, make sure you have proper backup. Next, make sure you're running Win10x64 Pro... so you can fully disable all automatic updates. Not a fan of any 3rd-party AV application on any high-performance machine...

We were playing a large private party last night. Great time, great setup, right near the pool and hot-tub Ladies dancing in bathing suits. One had a cover-up top where it looked like nothing was underneath. Distracting to say the least. Tried to avoid looking that direction. Hazards of playing gigs at 55. 🤪

In short, you could use something like ASIO4ALL to create an "aggregate" audio device. That said, I wouldn't bother. The two audio interfaces will be running on separate digital clocks... meaning audio between the two interfaces will drift apart over time (due to minute differences between the two digital clocks).

Fame in-and-of itself doesn't bring happiness. I'm sure it's the same for extreme wealth. I know with some of our "Industry" clients, they face the same day-to-day issues/challenges/stress. Just on a larger scale...

With the 5950x and 12900k/s (current gen 16+ core CPUs), heat is more of an issue. Temp increases under load are more dramatic... requiring more robust cooling. You can certainly build a quiet 5950x or 12900k/s based machine, it's just more complicated. If trying to keep the build a bit more simple, the 12700k is a great choice.

Sure... as great as advanced sample libraries can be, they're still a "snap-shot" of the real thing. Witness frowns/groans that often accompany playing Sax samples. 🤪 Physical Modeling has the potential to sound more realistic (especially in dynamic changing/evolving facets). Both are bound by current techniques and available DSP resources. When Physical Modeling offers an experience close to 100% , (just like a real violin/sax/etc) it'll take many hours to learn to play it musically. That will truly be "VAST" synthesis.

Threadripper offers great multi-threaded performance, but has two achilles' heels. Poor ultra low latency performance (due to CPU architecture) Super high TDP of 280w (there is no quiet Threadripper build - unless you allow thermal-throttling) Ryzen 5xxx series is where AMD greatly improved low-latency performance. When the 5950x was released, it leap-frogged the 10900k in both single-core and multi-core performance. I tested the 5950x for a long while to get a configuration I was comfortable with for clients. With current AMD and Intel 16+ core CPUs, thermal fluctuations (under load) are more extreme than with the 10900k (10th gen i9). It takes more robust cooling... and (if you're wanting a near silent machine), it takes more radical settings in the BIOS. 5950x requires more radical BIOS settings than the 12900k. Otherwise, you'll hear constant ramping up/down of fans. The 11th Gen Intel i9 11900k was actually a couple steps backward (for DAW purposes). Low latency performance wasn't as good as the 10900k (due to CPU architecture changes) Overall performance wasn't as good as the 10900k The 11900k wasn't well received... for any high-performance application (gaming, video, audio, etc). With AMD clearly performance leader (both single-core and multi-core), Intel had to release something significant... and do it sooner than originally planned. Intel released the 12th gen 12900k. Totally new CPU architecture (8 "performance" and 8 "efficient" core, 24 processing threads, 5.2GHz max turbo frequency) The 12900k bests the 5950x in both single-core and multi-core performance. Intel's 12900k manufacturing yield has been good. Thus, the latest 12900ks was released (same CPU as the 12900k... but max turbo frequency is 5.5GHz). The 12900ks is currently the fastest CPU (for DAW purposes). If you're talking a "Gaming" machine, the single most important factor is clock-speed. If you're working a "hybrid" scenario (low latency audio and video editing), the 12900k/s and 5950x are both great options. If you're doing loads of video rendering (and can live with significant noise), Threadripper is a great choice. I tend to favor Intel CPUs (as long as performance is equal-to or greater-than AMD). It's more rare today than a decade ago, but you can bump into an odd scenario where a particular application/plugin isn't well optimized for AMD. ie: Celestion's Speaker Mix Pro was not well optimized for AMD CPUs. Performed significantly better on Intel CPUs (at ultra low latency). This isn't AMD's fault/responsibility, but it is something you may encounter.

Some of the figures from above are humorous... but way off base. I sent a 9+k machine out a few weeks back... and margin was not 2k. Turnabout is fair play. So, what do "Monkey" and "Carl" do for a living... and what do they get paid? Of course, it will be easy for me to say their services are not worth it... and both are overpaid. I could certainly do it myself for a lot less. Total waste of money. I think you're grossly over-paid... and I'll tell you what I think you should make. Sound ridiculous? It is...

If you, your gaming buddies, and PC-Part-Picker know it all: What Z590 BIOS settings are needed for a Thunderbolt audio interface to play clean? What BIOS settings are needed for a RME AES-32 audio interface to not cause high-pitch noise when using Reaper? If you have no clue, you probably aren't the guy to be giving DAW advice. I'm such an overcharging ******** that the CTO of Cakewalk uses a machine I built to compile CbB. Know-it-all... who knows-it-not

Holy bad advice, batman. Win10 x64 Pro licenses that are sold for $20... are not usually legit. Legit OEM copies typically sell for $150. A High-School "gamer" doesn't know the first thing about building/configuring a DAW. Let's say you have a 10900k based machine... and you're running a Thunderbolt audio interface. Tell me which BIOS parameters need to be tweaked (and to what settings) for audio to play clean? Do those same settings apply to a 12th gen 12900k? I can buy guitar parts and assemble a guitar for much less than a US PRS or Suhr. At the end of that assembly, the guitar will function. Will it play like a PRS or Suhr? No way. Does that make PRS or Suhr grossly overpriced? Only if you don't value the quality and attention to detail.

Just about three (coming up on 30 years) Hard to believe... 🤪

There's also the 12700k 12 cores (8 performance, 4 efficient) 20 processing threads 5GHz max turbo 12900ks is currently the top spot 16 cores (8 performance, 8 efficient) 24 processing threads 5.5GHz max turbo 12900k is one small notch down 16 cores (8 performance, 8 efficient) 24 processing threads 5.2GHz max turbo The 12900ks is basically a 12900k that clocks stable up to 5.5GHz. 12700k runs cooler than the 12900k/12900ks.

😂 I wish that were true.

Also encountered "license not found" recently... and a restart resolved it.

Almost bought Repro... but haven't (yet)... so I haven't compared them side-by-side.

The Pianos are modeled (not a large sample library). As Abacab mentioned, the virtual-analog synths are component/circuit modeled. The Prophet was ok before. Now, it sounds much closer to the Prophet 5. Had a Prophet 10 for a few weeks... and sold it to buy other gear. It's a simple synth with a single mono out and no onboard effects. Limited by today's standards... but it's fantastic within those limitations. Slightly regret selling it... The Arturia version is just good enough to (slightly) quell the G.A.S.

Just updated from 8 to 9... and paid full price. A bit expensive for a 1 version upgrade, but I will say the Prophet was significantly improved. If you don't already have a high-end piano library/plugin, the Steinway piano is pretty decent. The new effects/modulation options are welcome. Looks like development for Pigments is crossing over into the other instruments. Next, I'd like to see the OB-Xa, Matrix 12, Mini, and Modular redone. 😃

FWIW, I think it goes without saying that you need proper tools to make top-tier Profiles/Captures/etc. No different than mic'ing a real amp. Some audio interfaces (ie: Antelope) have built-in "re-amp" capabilities. Most audio interfaces don't. For those that don't, you'll need to grab something like this Radial box (~$250): https://www.radialeng.com/product/x-amp "Holy Grail" amps are different for different users/uses. Brad Paisley, John Patrucci , Joe Bonnamassa, Slash, Steve Vai would likely each have a different idea of perfection. Thus far, I prefer Quad Cortex Captures vs. Kemper Profiles. To my ears, they're more accurate. Quad Cortex can run up to 9 simultaneous Captures (stereo rigs, individual boost/drive pedal captures, etc). GE Labs (Mooer) to my ears isn't as accurate as Kemper/QC. It'll be interesting to see how accurate the IK's Machine Modeling sounds. If it's on-par with the Kemper/QC, it'll be a hit.

Pianoteq is physically modeled... and sound great to my ears. Not sure the technology/techniques are there yet... at least not for all instruments. Physically modeled guitar sounds (that I've heard) sound more like a harpsichord. Thinking of the Kronos

FWIW, No libraries actually slow down a SSD. SATA SSD sustains ~540MB/Sec. PCIe 3.0 M.2 SSDs sustain ~3500MB/Sec PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSDs can sustain up to 7000MB/Sec These speeds don't change as the drive gets full... or because any specific library. Some libraries load faster than others. A sample-playback plugin like Kontakt has to buffer the initial transient of every sample. Otherwise, disk-streaming would be subject to additional latency. If the library has say 40 thousand samples, each of those has to be buffered (the transient) using RAM. IE: Keyscape's C7 Grand loads *really* slow. Put it on a PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD... and it loads... well... "less slow".

If you're looking for a nice Ribbon mic, don't overlook the Royer R10 ($500). I actually prefer it to the R121. R121 has a metric ton of proximity-effect... and the upper mids have a character I'm not overly crazy about. That said, R121 combined with a SM57 is a classic combination. R10 placed about a foot back off the guitar cab speaker (near center with a very slight angle down) results in a great balanced tone. You can add a SM57... but (IMO) it's not absolutely necessary.

Phil was a long time friend and client. Very sad to hear this...

If you can, try to play the 88-key version in person. The action is a bit stiff (more so than Kronos, Montage, Fantom keybeds). Otherwise, it's a great controller. I'd like to see Yamaha, Roland, Korg, etc release a top-notch MIDI controller with the best keybed and controllers available. Something equal to the best workstation keyboards/controllers It would be expensive... but it would last 10-20 years.

I've had a QC for a few months. Wait time from Sweetwater was ~4 months. I use the QC primarily for Captures. To my ears, Captures are more accurate than Kemper Profiles. QC can run up to 9 simultaneous Captures. If you have a collection of amps and drive/boost pedals, QC is the perfect means to "virtualize" them. Neural bit off a lot moving into the hardware realm. They're making progress... but development isn't at the same pace as Fractal. As long as you're getting the QC for what it is (not what was originally promised), you'll likely be happy with it. The Sweetwater Captures are a good place to start. These Captures were made with a mic'd cabinet... so the Cab is "baked-into" the Capture (Amp/Cab in a single block). I've done Captures both DI and with mic'd cabinet. Both sound good... Though not as flexible as DI Captures, (to my ears) Captures with mic'd cabinet sound a bit more lively/responsive. I Captured a Revv Generator 120 mk3 (various mics) and posted them to the Cortex Cloud. Helios, TriAmp, and 20th XTC are ready/waiting to be Captured. I'll get to them as time allows.