Jim Roseberry

Read the fine print.  😉

"According to a leaked product slide shared to Chinese social media, the Ryzen Threadripper 3990X is expected to be a 280 watt processor with 288MB of total cache. Interestingly, that’s the same TDP as AMD’s 24-core and 32-core Threadripper chips, despite having twice the core count.

That probably means the individual CPU cores will run at lower clock speeds. But the sheer number of cores could help… VFX pros, I guess. Most users would probably be hard-pressed to find tasks that require more than 32-cores… but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before developers come up with applications that can leverage all the resources of AMD’s new high-end processors."

Low clock-speed (regardless of the number of cores) makes this chip less desirable for DAW purposes.

@OP:

If you're going to be recording long-term, I'd suggest getting a dedicated audio interface... and using normal (not USB) microphones.

• A quality audio interface with proper ASIO drivers makes the whole process more rock-solid
• You can achieve far lower round-trip latency

Using separate audio interfaces (each on separate digital clocks) can cause timing differences.

USB mics are fine for PodCasts... or communication; they're not particularly good for traditional recording.

Happy Birthday!!

10 minutes ago, Bapu said:

where it is 50% less in RAM & CPU

Are you sure the project/settings are exactly the same?

In particular, it doesn't make logical sense that RAM use is 50% less.

Having the same CPU and Chipset (alone) does not mean equal performance.

The issue with most off-the-shelf laptops (and desktops for that matter) is that they don't expose BIOS parameters necessary to achieve low/consistent DPC Latency.

The lower the latency you want to run (smaller ASIO buffer size), the more critical it is to have low/consistent DPC Latency.

I'd avoid a laptop... unless you absolutely need the portability for travel.

A custom desktop has none of the limitations/issues... and is less expensive for significantly higher performance.

You can get custom laptops that run a Desktop CPU, but they're expensive ($2500+).

How well multi-client audio works is also down to your audio interface driver.

You might want to see if there's a recent update for it...

I opened the Fender to see if anything was loose (no fan in this chassis).

I tightened all screws.

I'm guessing it's the metal cage around the 6L6 power tubes (as the resonance sounds metallic).

BTW, the Revival Drive sounds great when run directly into the Effects-Return (straight into the power-amp).

Nice "Plexi" type sound/feel.  Wish there was just a smidge more gain on tap.

Running a boost pedal in front of it works ok.  Haven't settled on that yet.

5 hours ago, Grem said:

I went many years without using any pedals at all, and when I did use them it was only a few. (only a Ibanez Flange and Analog Delay). However, today I got pedals out the wazoo!!  That's another rabbit hole!!

Haven't tried the Mesa pedals.  I'll check those out.

I'm not bonding (yet) with the Revival Drive.  I'm somewhat surprised by that.

Also not caring much for the EP Booster and OCD.

Like the Keeley Katana Mini (for clean boost).

Like the (plain old) Tube Screamer in front of the JCM800 (makes things a little more "crunchy")

Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue is going back.  Something in the back of the chassis is resonating (almost sounds like a phone ring at times).

I got the Email this morning.

I was actually interested... until I saw the price.

@ The OP

If you're putting a full project together (multiple songs).

I'd hold off on the fade-outs (until the "mastering" stage).

That's a great tip to get a smooth Cosine (S Curve) fade in CbB!

Rig Player in TH-U would be a whole lot more exciting (IMO) if you could create your own rigs (Profiles).

On 10/19/2019 at 6:01 PM, Grem said:

You would have to talk to someone who has a "Profiling" amp to really get the idea of it. 

But from what I have gathered a amp such as Kemper takes a pic of you rig from start to finish and gives you that exact sound. If it's an impulse file Idk. But a guy like @Jim Roseberry has that kind of amp and swears by it. Maybe he will come in and give some info from a user.

True Profiling is much more involved than simple "tone matching" which is using FFT filter to match frequency response.

In the case of the Kemper Profiling Amp, it runs a series of different "test tones" thru a fully mic'd guitar amp/cab... which it uses to learn the distortion characteristics, dynamic response, etc.  Kemper excels at capturing preamp based distortion.  Where it can fall short is capturing power-amp distortion.

I've been fortunate (or crazy 🤪) to own all the top modelers (have compared many side-by-side.

The Kemper, Axe-FX III, Helix, HeadRush, and GT-1000 are all capable of good to great sounds.

Even the tiny Hotone Ampero is capable of pretty good sounds (reverb is its weaker spot).

I had settled on using the Axe-FX III.

Went to the local GC to check-out a used JEM... and played it thru a PRS Archon and 4x12 Blackstar Gus G cab (oversized 4x12 with v30 speakers).

Didn't end up getting the guitar (although it was a fine instrument).  😁

I'd owned an Archon before... and it's a fantastic amp (pristine cleans and distortion that sounds good from light to heavy).

As good as current modeling technology is (and it's fantastic), there's still something more happening with a real tube-amp and cab.

I'm currently going down the rabbit-hole (Archon, Marshall JCM-800, and Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue)... using them with a real 2x12 and the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander.  

The Tube Amp Expander (T.A.E.) is a great option for those who have tube-amps and would like a more convenient way to record them.

The T.A.E. has a 16-position reactive load (can be tailored to the specific amp/cab), attenuation, a built-in 100w SS power-amp, Cab sim (including loading custom IRs), and Compression/EQ/Delay/Reverb from the GT-1000.

The T.A.E. is somewhat like the UA Ox... but (IMO) more flexible.

Also picked up some drive pedals to checkout with the amps (including an Origin Effects "Revival Drive Custom").

Wife thinks I've gone crazy... (heavy antiquated gear)

Maybe I've just turned into a nostalgic old man.

All I know is that I'm having fun... and enjoying the process.

An advanced modeler is a much more practical choice for many folks.

I'd liken the scenario to playing a great sampled-piano vs playing a real grand piano in a great sounding room.

Either will get the job done. 

The first is much more practical for most... the second is the benchmark.

Happy  belated birthday!!

3 hours ago, Michael A.D. said:

I would think that someone who has a Gold or Platinum record would be making much more than the streaming payments. 

Of course, Gold and Platinum are for sales, but still it would seem that streaming should be more lucrative than it is.

This is precisely what's wrong with the "record business".

The art has been devalued to the point where it's just not worth the time/effort/expense for many bands to make records (especially older "nostalgia" acts).

This is also why concert ticket prices have sky-rocketed.  With no real money from record sales, bands rely on ticket sales and merch.

3 hours ago, Mesh said:

Excellent tips Jim and will definitely do this. If there are any other general block setup's/templates there are your go to, would be greatly appreciated if you could share those.

I've also been watching some of Jason Sadites videos and he nicely breaks it down on how he gets setup quickly. ....very interesting how he starts off with putting a compressor at the end (even before getting the amp and cab).   

I'm slammed the next couple of days.  I'll post a link for some templates as soon as I can.

I've got an acoustic simulation (from magnetic pickups) that I've used for a while.  

I've got that and a couple other templates that I use (one using two separate Cab IRs for stereo - which requires slightly more tricky routing to keep each IR on a separate Shark chip)

Guitars and players vary so radically, I don't even mess with included presets.

Start simple:

•  Amp block and a Cab block (IR block and be substituted for the Cab block).

If you use an IR block, try to use a Cab IR that you're already familiar with... as this will help "get your bearings" on the overall tone.

Adjust the Amp block parameters like you would on a real amp.

• Increase/decrease the drive.
• Roll your guitar volume up/down and listen to how the Amp block responds.
• If the Amp block feels too tight, increase the Sag parameter.
• If the Amp block feels too loose, decrease the Sag parameter.

Once you have an Amp block and Cab/IR block that sound decent to your ears, add a Reverb block and dial it to taste.

Sit and play/tweak this for a while.

Note that these devices are simulating a mic'd amplified guitar cabinet, they're not simulating the "amp in the room" sound/experience.

That's an important distinction.

ie: Running any of these guitar processors thru  5-8" studio monitors is not going produce the sensation of a 100-watt half-stack.  That's down to physics...  😉

I like to start with the Amp block (several slots to the right)... as this leaves room to add block/s before the Amp block.

ie:  You might want to use a high-pass filter prior to the Amp block.  If you hear flabby/tubby/loose bottom-end, this will solve that problem.

FWIW, I use a high-pass filter prior to the Amp block... no matter which hardware/software "modeler I'm using (Helix hardware, Helix Native, GT-1000, Axe-FX III, etc).

I've had the fortune of working with all the top-tier guitar processors.  What you learn from using any one of them is directly applicable to all.

If you start with Helix Native... and move to the Axe-FX III (or vice-versa), you'll have knowledge/experience that makes using the new processor more productive.

As with a real amp, all of the top-tier guitar processors are capable of good/excellent results (they're all also capable of sounding bad).

The more time/experience you accumulate, the better results you'll achieve with any of the above.

If you're using software based guitar processors, the DI input can make a HUGE difference in quality of results.

Lots of folks complain that Helix Native doesn't sound as good as the hardware version (even though the software algorithms are identical).

Often times, these folks are using a $100 audio interface with a terrible DI.

If you've ever recorded a Fender passive bass with a cheap DI, it can sound extremely weak/anemic (fill in your favorite adjective for bad).

Run that same passive Fender bass thru a quality DI (Neve are some of my favorite)... and the tone is just "there".  

The better your front-end gear, the better Helix Native (or other AmpSim plugin) will sound.

Nearly every time Apple release a major update to OSX, it breaks compatibility with existing audio software (and or hardware).

As with Win10, it's always best to ride the back end of the update wave.  Riding the crest will mean beta-testing (struggle).

Scheps Omni Channel is fantastic.

Even if you just use it for problematic spots, it has all the tools you need to tame squeaks, excessive sibalance, difficult plosives, etc.

Hadn't read thru the entire thread when I posted.  😉

Glad you have it resolved.

On 8/30/2019 at 6:21 PM, tim E said:

I've noticed that when in ASIO mode, I can't adjust the latency, and I'm now getting some "scratchiness" distortion during playback.

Seems that --- One thing... leads to another...

You can adjust the ASIO buffer size... but opening the ASIO Panel or the audio interface's control panel applet.

38 minutes ago, slartabartfast said:

I expect there is some combination of gear snobbery and tax advantage involved here. Why  anyone composing in the box would need 32 channels of conversion is something of a mystery.

It's the clock and fidelity. 

Keep in mind that some of these composers also track instruments (including large drum-kits).

Another thing to keep in mind is that professional composers don't necessarily deliver a final stereo "bounced down" mix.

Depending on the project, they may provide stems or multi-track audio... to be mixed on a large-format console with the rest of the film/dialog/EFX/etc.

Yet another scenario to consider is that these composers sometimes make use of high-end outboard processing (channel-strips, reverb, dynamics, Axe-FX, Kemper, re-amping, etc).   

Those extra inputs/outputs allow far more flexibility in these scenarios.

Just talked to one client yesterday who absolutely loves the sound.

This guy is a rock-star... who now composes for TV/Film.  

He's got both commercial and home studios.  His commercial facility is full of amazing gear and set-up to track high profile players/singers.
 

The old Cakewalk forums had a dedicated "Hardware" forum.

It would be nice if that were implemented here.  😉

3 hours ago, slartabartfast said:

But many of us use an audio interface only to listen to originally digital "audio" generated by softsynths etc. On output I would have thought that the "audio" of however many tracks you are dealing with remained as a digital internal representation until the mixed signal/data is sent to the D/A of the audio interface/card/chipset. In that case, any noise you encounter is generated from/applied to that (usually stereo) mixed digital output at the D/A conversion point and beyond. So that noise is going to be pretty much the same whether you are dealing with a single track or 24 tracks in the digital realm. In any event, that digital sound/data remains pristine regardless of how you hear the output from your sound card on playback/conversion, and it will sound less noisy on less noisy equipment if you play it there.  So for that purpose, the noise floor of your audio interface is not all that critical. 

If used solely to monitor virtual-instruments, the noise-floor of the audio interface will certainly have a much less profound impact.

Ironically, the most popular audio interface with our professional composer clients, the Antelope Orion (due to its high fidelity and excellent clock).

Almost all of our professional composer clients (TV/Film/Games) are using the Orion.

Specs here:  https://en.antelopeaudio.com/products/orion-32-gen-3/

Noise-floor on a dedicated audio interface with external A/D D/A can be very significantly lower than onboard audio.

ie: Realtek isn't going to get anywhere close to average noise-floor of -118dB.

You may not notice a 12dB difference on a single track... but multiply that across 24 tracks of audio... and it's an appreciable difference.

Like pulling a veil of noise off the project...

Even dedicated audio interfaces that have A/D D/A inside the PC rarely achieve noise-floor better than ~104dB (usually closer to -100dB).