(from "Video Systems" magazine, June 1, 2001)

Today's aspiring audio post professional can put together a powerful, high-quality studio at a fraction of yesterday's cost.

In the last Audio Tracks [March 2001, page 126] we began looking at ways the aspiring audio post professional can put together a high-quality facility without breaking the bank. Like Pro Tools, the most popular (and expensive) digital audio workstation that mounts on a personal computer, E-Mu's Paris uses both the host-based processor and PCI cards to handle the application's DSP requirements.

The growing speed and power of off-the-shelf computers - Macintosh, PC, and their clones - has made it possible to run multiple tracks of audio, complete with equalization and added effects, in a fully professional audio post environment without relying on any cards to help handle the computing load that audio requires. Still, hardware is needed that will let the computer pass digital audio from a variety of formats and also convert analog signals into digital form. One of the most popular pieces used to handle these tasks is the Mark of the Unicorn (MOTU) 2408mkII.

Because of its low cost and multiple connections, including 24 channels of both ADAT lightpipe and Tascam TDIF, the 2408 stunned the music industry.

Exactly how does the 2408, which costs less than $1,000, transform your computer into a digital audio workstation? And what ancillary hardware and software will you need to begin booking sessions? And, most importantly, what will you need to spend to get up and running if you choose to build your studio around the 2408?

MOTU is one of the most well established software companies in the music business. For more than a decade its sequencing package, Performer, has been consistently rated at the top of the pile. Performer gradually evolved into Digital Performer, a software application that combines MIDI sequencing with digital audio recording features. When Digital Performer was originally released, it relied on third-party I/O hardware to get audio into the computer. In 1998, MOTU made the strategically important decision to release an I/O card of its own.

Three years ago computer speed maxed at 200MHz to 233MHz, which wasn't enough horsepower to effectively deliver on the promise of recording platforms, like the one based on the closed MOTU model (Digital Performer and a 2408), since a minimum of 16 tracks with EQ and DSP are necessary in a professional environment. However, as CPUs running at 400MHz and beyond become a reality, the recording and post industries began looking at these kinds of setups more closely.

Jim Cooper, marketing manager of MOTU, lays out the company's long term thinking: "About five years ago, MOTU realized that in a few years, personal computers would be fast enough to handle all of this recording and realtime processing right out of the box, without any extra DSP cards or accelerated hard drives. So we went 'native' with Digital Performer and the MOTU 2408. By relying on the speed of the computer, the MOTU 2408 handles very high-quality audio I/O, while Digital Performer handles all of the mixing and processing." Cooper claims that just as with the Apple G4 Power Mac, MOTU's native approach has truly arrived, with enough power to handle recording, editing, arranging, mixing, processing, and mastering large multitrack projects entirely inside the computer.

You'd expect a company spokesman to give a strong sales pitch. But how do working professionals who use these tools feel about the 2408/Digital Performer approach to audio post? Gary Lionelli, Rochester, N.Y., currently scores Cartoon Network's My Freaky Family and has two upcoming feature films. Lionelli discusses how he got his break and how a project studio setup serves his needs. "I got my first film scoring assignment on a recommendation from Lyn Benjamin, who was with ASCAP at the time. It was low budget and direct-to-video, but I was learning," he says. "Soon after, I sent a demo to Hanna-Barbera." Lionelli says that although the company called him for an interview, he assumed they were uninterested because they didn't respond for weeks. Deciding it was because he had no music for animation on his demo, he rented an old Roadrunner cartoon, rescored a two-minute scene with samplers, took it in to them, and two weeks later ended up getting a series to score.

Lionelli does most of his scoring in his project studio, which centers around a 2408 running on a Macintosh G4/500MHz computer. He uses two inexpensive Yamaha 03D mixing boards for monitoring and patching audio sources. He points out that reducing the number of manufacturers involved helps to minimize potential conflicts. "There's much to be gained from having the audio hardware and software components under one developer's roof, and avoiding some of the problems that are unavoidable when two companies, such as MOTU and Digidesign, try to synchronize their products," he says.

Breaking in to the scoring-for-picture business is tough. Producers will often use aspiring composers who lack a high-gloss reel because budgets are tight and they can only afford a MIDI score executed at a project studio with synthesizers and samplers. As Lionelli's reputation and reel grew, he got the opportunity that most composers long for - to go outside the studio to record string and brass sections. Generally, the product of these sessions is brought back inhouse and mixed, along with his MIDI performances, by Lionelli.

"Sometimes the composer can actually be his or her own worst enemy in terms of convincing a film producer to use an orchestra, or to even create a hybrid orchestra/synthesizer score," he says. "You have to try really hard and do a good job on the synthesizer mock-up, and when they hear it they often say, 'Hey, this sounds great - we don't need to hire an orchestra.'"

Like most project studios, Lionelli's room has limited space and is not set up to track many live players. So on those occasions where he's been allowed to work with other musicians at an outside facility, Lionelli uses his MOTU 2408mkII to transfer guide and click tracks to a DA88 tape, which he brings to the outside facility. After tracking musicians to these tapes, he transfers their performances back into Digital Performer, blends them with his electronic parts, and mixes.

Budgets are critical to the one-man operations that Lionelli typifies. Elias Associates is a different story. Started by composer Jonathan Elias and his business partner/brother Scott back in the 1980s, Elias Associates has been one of the most successful advertising music companies in the industry for more than a decade, with production offices on both coasts.

Mark Fergesen, studio technology manager at Elias' West Coast facility, designs and builds all of the company's studio systems. "This encompasses everything from hardware and software design to construction details, like where we should put the CD player for the best ergonomic flow," he says.

While able to afford any combination of hardware and software on the market, several years ago Elias Associates moved from Pro Tools to a Digital Performer/2408 package similar to the one Lionelli uses. For interchangeability purposes, all Elias composers working on both coasts use identical systems that also employ QuickTime movies running on Mac computers. Like Lionelli, Fergeson figured that purchasing an integrated package from a single company would minimize the number of crashes.

"We used to use PT hardware with MOTU Performer and then Digital Performer software," says Fergeson. "We experienced many instabilities with our systems and I reasoned that an entirely MOTU system or Digidesign system should crash less. At that time Pro Tools software had very basic MIDI implementation and no 'punch-on-the-fly' audio recording. Since our focus is presenting the final product within strict deadlines, I pursued the new MOTU 2408."

Fergesen also feels that computers gain speed more quickly than stand-alone hardware - another reason for going with the Mac-based MOTU model.

"If we had pursued Digidesign hardware, I would be on two upgrade paths," he says. "In addition to having to buy new computers constantly, I would have to pay for the Digidesign upgrades too. Often the Digidesign upgrades cost more than an entirely new computer. For these reasons I decided on MOTU."

Elias composers use Yamaha O2R consoles - the more expensive big brother to the O3Ds that Lionelli has integrated into his studio. This combination reduces the load on the processor (mostly NewerTech GE updates for the Mac), which run Miro DC-20 video cards in addition to the hardware and software required for the MOTU package.

One final important point is latency. Latency used to be a major problem, one that affected monitoring during recording. Both Fergesen and Lionelli report that the current, faster generation of computers is able to route live material with no audible latency problems.

So, how much are you, the aspiring composer for audio postproduction, going to have to spend to get on board? There are variables, of course, but the basics are pretty firm. A 2408mkII core system - all you'll need to get started - costs $995. Digital Performer will set you back about $395. If you've already got a computer to run it on and QuickTime video, your next choice involves a mixer. You can start by using Digital Performer's onboard mixing and see how that works, simply porting an analog to mix-out a pair of speakers.

Eventually, though, you'll probably want to add on a small digital console. Depending on your needs, you'll spend between $1,000 and $10,000 on one of these consoles. But remember - you can integrate equipment as your career develops.

A decade ago, building a project studio with power, like the one based on the MOTU model we've described, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. For a fraction of the cost, today's audio post professional can put together a room with more powerful tools than ever before.

Gary Eskow currently is producing an album of his chamber music at Sony Studios in Manhattan. He writes frequently on audio-related subjects and can be reached at scribeny@aol.com.