Jim Roseberry

Another potential issue with RAM and PCIe cards: The connection area (points of contact) are quite small. If the case is moved or "flexes", it can cause those contact points to be "misaligned" just enough to cause issue. On some builds (especially trying to get a 420mm radiator in a mid-tower case), the tolerance can be *super* tight. A single millimeter can mean the difference between something working... or not. ie: RAM with LED lighting can sometimes be too large to install after radiator fans have been mounted. If the RAM is installed first, there's just enough clearance.

Given the lead-up with the bearing-edges not being flat... I thought they were going to sound terrible. The final result (recording) sounds pretty good.

If you want to get excited about an AMD CPU, checkout the Storm Peak 7960x. Cinebench R23 scores are above 50k. Two downsides: Cost: CPU is $1500, motherboard is ~$600, 128GB DDR5 Registered is ~$1200 Heat/Noise: TDP=350w

FWIW, If you benchmark the 14900k, it comes out exactly the same as the 13900ks. Intel shouldn't have called it 14th Gen... but rather "13th Gen refresh" or "13th Gen mk2". The 13900ks in most benchmarks (and running audio), handily bests the 5800X3D and 7950X3D. ie: If you run Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)... the 13900ks scores ~40k The 5800X3D... is nowhere remotely close (less than half at ~14.5k).

Polybrute is also on sale: https://www.proaudiostar.com/arturia-polybrute-analog-polyphonic-synthesizer.html

I'm assuming it'll have the new triple-sensor key-bed. It's a nice improvement over the dual-sensor. The 88-weighted key action is one of my favorites. One of the few weighted keyboards that doesn't get my tendonitis flared up.

It would be nice to have more "traditional" presets. Many instruments (hardware and software) are heavily populated with presets for EDM, House, Dub-Step, Trance, etc. Nothing against those sounds... they're just not what I gravitate toward. I just assume that (most likely) I'll have to program what I need. Even with a more traditional hardware instrument like the Nord Stage 4, I have to program/tweak nearly everything (for live use with the band).

I'm a Rock guy... Picked up Avenger 2 earlier today. Just spent a few minutes tinkering with a stacked 4-voice SAW waveform (single oscillator)... and it was quick/easy to mimic the thick/bright stereo analog sound I use live for Turn Up The Radio, Don't Tell Me You Love Me, Let's Go Crazy, etc. Though it's nothing like a Nord Stage 4, the final result sounded remarkably similar. Edit: Though this sound isn't particularly complex, it's a whole lot easier to achieve in Avenger vs Falcon. I have Falcon 3... but rarely use it.

If you're looking to capture nuance/detail, then there is no debate. TLM is a much better choice. If you're working in a room with less than ideal acoustics... the SM7B will capture far less of the room. This is why so many YouTube videos have folks using SM7B mics. If the singer really belts... the SM7B can be the better choice.

Can you make a single M.2 SSD work? Yes. Is it ideal? Absolutely not. For logistical reasons, you don't want large sample-libraries, audio, or video projects on the boot drive. ie: When you go to back-up the C drive, you don't want HUGE redundant files being included in each backup image file. That makes backup files incredibly large... and takes much longer to create/restore. As Tom pointed out above, it's best to have a drive dedicated to each specific task (OS/Apps, Audio, Samples, etc). If you're wanting maximum disk-streaming polyphony from many large sample-libraries, it's common to use multiple "Samples" drives. We have some TV/Film composer clients who are running 6+ SSDs for disk-streaming sample-libraries. This would be over-kill for more typical singer/songwriter scenarios.

Don't assume that all is well because the drive is new. Some new parts are defective... Benchmark the drive... and you'll have a better grasp on what's happening.

If the D drive is properly functional, it's not a problem to record to it. I'd benchmark the drive... to make sure it's working properly.

I'd definitely go with the Pro version. Not for performance reasons... but because it gives more control. Completely shut down Automatic Updates Group Policy Editor (Shut down Cortana, One Drive, etc)

I run Native Access... and the update doesn't show. ?‍♂️ EDIT: Had to update Native Access. Now the updates are available.

The Friedman IR-X is also excellent. True high-voltage tube preamp (Plexi and BE channels) Simulated power section Cab IR Separate boost for each channel (adjustable gain/level for each) EFX Loop

It's almost exactly the same CPU as the 13900ks. Nearly identical performance/features. Specs on the 14900k: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/236773/intel-core-i9-processor-14900k-36m-cache-up-to-6-00-ghz/specifications.html Specs on the 13900ks: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/232167/intel-core-i913900ks-processor-36m-cache-up-to-6-00-ghz/specifications.html Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing performer... But it's really a slightly refreshed 13900ks. No major architecture change. No major change in TDP. If you're not running a 13th Gen CPU, it makes sense. If you have a 13900k, it's not worth the cost/effort to upgrade (200MHz difference).

On an instrument this deep, lack of multi-threading is a significant limitation.

Or a 14900k... which... is faster than all the above. Only downside is that it needs *substantial* cooling. 14900k is basically a 13900ks (tiny bit lower power-consumption). Really, Intel shouldn't have released it as "14th Gen". Should have been "13th Gen mk2"

I would agree with @bluzdog, the Captures of both Quad Cortex and ToneX sound/respond great. IMO, Captures with included mic'd Cab sound better (a little more lively) than DI Captures run thru an IR.

Hey Max, Give me a call Monday... and we'll re-set the 4.5GHz over-clock.

Hi Max, Download HW Monitor from here: https://www.cpuid.com/downloads/hwmonitor/hwmonitor_1.52.zip Unzip and run the 64Bit version. HW Monitor will show you the exact frequency each core is running. If you see 4500MHz... it's already over-clocked (don't want to push it further). If it's showing 3400MHz, the BIOS has been reset. We can go into the BIOS and re-apply the over-clock.

Love the sound of the OB-X. Like the extended features of this... so I'm going to grab it. Had the OB-X8 for a while... but just couldn't justify the size/cost.

How up-to-date is the display adapter driver?

Any possibility of Malware? Are you getting a "spinner" at unexpected points?

Not trying to be argumentative, but a GTX video card isn't going to increase Cakewalk performance. That's down to the CPU (unless you're using GPU Audio plugins (running on those Cuda cores). ? Max, it's been a minute... but I'm thinking the CPU was already running at 4.5GHz. That's what I have in my electronic paper-work.