Jim Roseberry

Agreed. No matter when/what you buy, there's always something better/faster/etc... around the corner. I just got a 2020 Explorer. I'm sure the 2021 model will be (slightly) improved. 😄

I said this the last go around with AMD... and it's certainly relevant for the upcoming Ryzen 4000 series. AMD needs to get their clock-speed significantly higher. AMD is killing it on multi-threaded performance... but the trade-off is (currently) poor ultra low latency performance. If I'm spending $1000-$2000 on a CPU (3990x is close to $4000), I don't want to choose between multi-threaded and single-core performance. I want the CPU to excel at both. Threadripper has TDP of 280w. That means aggressive cooling (noise)... and little (read none) over-clocking headroom. AMD will need to get TDP down... while getting clock-speed significantly up. It won't happen without significant architecture changes.

I would agree with most of what I've read above. The new Intel i9 10900k is a great DAW CPU 10 Cores 20 Processing Threads 5.3GHz clock-speed TDP = 125w (it'll run quiet with quality air-cooling) It's a great balance of multi-threaded performance, ultra low latency audio performance (super high clock-speed), cost, and quiet.

Hi Michael, It's a slight improvement vs. the prior generation socket-2066 i9 9980xe. Cost is about half that of the 9980xe. The 10980xe will be popular with folks who are more "hard-core" composers. With 18 cores, the 10980xe will be good for heavily multi-threaded scenarios (large scale projects). The advantage vs. Threadripper will be better performance at smallest ASIO buffer sizes (because higher clock-speed). Threadripper is amazing at heavily multi-threaded scenarios (video rendering)... but its Achilles-Heel is trying to work at extremely low latency. ie: Say you have a Presonus Quantum... which lets you work at 96k using a 32-sample ASIO buffer size. That translates to 1ms (measured) total round-trip latency. Working at such low latency is not something that lends itself to being heavily multi-threaded (spread across multiple cores). This is where clock-speed is critical. The 10980xe is a more "balanced" choice than Threadripper. You've got good multi-threaded performance... AND... good ultra low latency performance. The new 10900k (socket-1200) is turning up the heat on all the above. 10 cores 20 processing threads 5.3GHz clock-speed Runs quiet with quality air-cooling

I wouldn't use anything less than a 1000w power-supply.

i9 10980xe is Intel's latest 18-core socket-2066 CPU We've waited a ****long**** time for these things to actually be available. We have them... as do others.

Are you looking for solid-body or hollow-body? If hollow-body: Gibson ES-335 or ES-339 (smaller body) as mentioned by Tom @DeeringAmps PRS Hollow-Body II If solid body: PRS McCarty 594 Gibson Custom Les Paul R9 Suhr Modern Pro If this is a one-and-done type scenario, I'd go for a top-tier instrument. I'm a big PRS fan. I love the attention to detail, the sound, and playability. The McCarty 594 has 58/15LT (low turn) pickups... and lots of nuance. You can get the McCarty 592 is single or dual cut. Pattern Vintage neck is similar (but not identical) to a R9 (has a slight V shape). Weight is typically 7.5-8 pounds. You can find the McCarty 594 with solid-body or hollow-body. If you're wanting a top-tier Les Paul, it doesn't get much better than a Gibson Custom R9. I had one not too long ago. Weight was somewhere between 8.5 to 9 pounds. Neck is a little thicker than a 60s... but not baseball-bat. All the things people love about a Les Paul (fat neck pickup tone, classic "Rock" bridge humbucker tone). I sold my R9 only because I have several PRS guitars that can get very similar sounds with (to me) better ergonomics. That R9 was the best Les Paul I've owned. The Suhr Modern Pro is John Suhr's take on a "Super Strat". I like Suhr guitars for the same reason as PRS (attention to detail, consistency, sound, playability). The Modern Pro is often viewed as an "80s Rock" guitar (and it does that well), but it's capable of far more. The HSH pickup configuration can cover a lot of ground. If you're in a place where it's not a financial burden, Gibson Custom or PRS Private Stock are jaw-dropping instruments. You're getting the best... of the best. Some people will tell you there's no quality difference between a PRS USA "Core" model... and a "Private Stock". I've had the chance to compare many Core models side-by-side with numerous Private Stock. In almost every comparison, the Private Stock guitar just had a little something extra. Same with Gibson Custom... Set-neck guitars are going to have less "snap" on the attack (vs. bolt-on neck). Scale-length will also affect tone and playability. If you want to keep the cost down, check-out the new PRS SE Hollow-Body Piezo. These are new... and go for ~$1500.

Hi Adam, I've reloaded my main studio DAW... and don't currently have EuCon installed. I don't recall having either issue you mention above. I remember it was a bit tedious (at first) getting everything configured... as EuCon isn't directly supported. I had no issues setting up transport control, undo/redo, arming tracks for record, and other common things I'd want from a remote.

Beware of Win10 Pro copies that are ridiculously cheap. The codes are often pirated. BTW, This can even happen with what looks like a fully legit copy. You can purchase a copy of Win10 off Amazon/etc... that comes in a fully "legit" package (MS disc/code/seal)... and find out the install key has been pirated. Even though the package is legit, it's useless. If you call MS, you'll be told it's not their problem... contact the seller. If it sounds too good to be true... it usually is

Hi Adam, Where have all the years gone??? 😉 It's good to see long-time Cakewalk users using/enjoying CbB. Of recent, I've learned to be somewhat of a home-body. Miss playing out... but (on the flip side) the break has been nice. Hope you and yours are safe/well! Hope the Bakers are all safe/well!

There will never be high demand for "vintage" (old) CPUs. I don't know if I'd agree that Intel is overpriced. Overpriced compared to what? I paid less for a i9-9900k than I did for a P2-266 ~23 years. AMD is great in some areas (heavily multi-threaded applications)... and weak in others (extremely low latency audio). The new 10900k is $600... and all 10 cores will run locked at 5300MHz... and it'll do so running quietly with quality air-cooling. You won't get all-core clock-speed anywhere close to that with AMD (or socket 2066 Intel for that matter). TDP for the 10900k is 125w That's about the top end for a quiet air-cooled machine. Threadripper has TDP of 280w... and (if you use PCIe 4.0 to get crazy fast M.2 Ultra SSD speeds), you've got an active-cooled chipset (tiny high-RPM fan). With TDP of 280w and active-cooled chipset, there's no such thing as a quiet Threadripper build (unless you allow it to thermal-throttle - which defeats the whole point).

FWIW, The 10900k is pretty nice. 10 cores all locked at 5.3GHz is a formidable machine. It's slightly louder than the 9900k (which is extremely quiet with all 8 cores all running at 5GHz). Given the two extra cores... and higher clock-speed... this is what you'd expect. If you compare the 10700x vs. the 9900k, that's where I'd take the 9900k. Lower TDP (95w vs 125w)... and essentially the same number of cores/clock-speed.

10900k will run slightly hotter than the 10700k... and is (under heavy load)... right about the limit of what you'd want with air-cooling. ie: The 10900k's that we've tested/used have been able to run all 10 cores locked at 5.3GHz. That's about the limit of quality air-cooling. 😉 Assuming you also want the machine to run quiet (not like a vacuum cleaner)...

If you're after a pretty fast ultra-quiet machine, it's (still) hard to beat the 9900k.

BTW, You can configure the 10900k (using TDP-down) to achieve TDP of 95w. Of course, that means slower clock-speed.

You can run a 10900k with quality/large air-cooling. It's right about the limit of those coolers. You can't run a 10980xe (under load) with quality/large air-cooling (gets too hot under heavy loads). There's no way you can run Threadripper 3970x with large/quality air-cooling. Well... you can... but the CPU will thermal-throttle (defeating the whole purpose)

10th gen Intel Comet Lake CPUs: TDP = 125w 9th gen Intel Coffee Lake CPUs: TDP = 95w Socket-2066 Intel Cascade Lake CPUs: TDP = 165w AMD Ryzen-9 CPUs: TDP = 105w AMD Threadripper CPUs: TDP = 280w If you go AMD, it sure isn't going to help with TDP. This is partly why there's essentially no OC headroom on modern AMD CPUs.

The K1 does have 8-Bit piano samples. They sound terrible... 😁 Never could get a decent acoustic piano sound out of it.

The "All-Notes-Off" message used to drive me crazy. 🤪

Presonus started by making audio hardware. Portastudio???

Haven't had any time to use it...

Simple plugin at that (no installer just the VST plugin dll)

This isn't a sample library, it's a full on plugin.

Had a K1 and a K5m... and later a K4. Made extensive use of all three. K5 had some amazing horn sounds. K4 had 16Bit samples... and filter (in the vein of Korg's M1 but scaled back cost).

FWIW, I wasn't trying to give a detailed comparison between ultra-low latency performance... just show that Cubase and Studio One weren't using the same audio engine. IME, If running Helix Native under circumstances I mentioned above (96k using a 32-sample ASIO buffer size), Studio One out-performs CbB. To put things into perspective: DP10 is one of the worst performers at ultra low latency Cubase 10.5 is slightly better than DP10 CbB is slightly better than Cubase Reaper is better than CbB At higher ASIO buffer sizes, performance differences tend to be less dramatic. Reaper is overall the most CPU efficient PC DAW application.