Product Reviews

[Adam Ogden]

Hey guys-

Do you have a piece of gear that you think someone else might find useful?
Do you have that secret weapon that everyone needs to know about?
Did you just get a piece of gear, and would like to share your findings?

Let's start a Product Review thread, maybe people who are looking to buy equipment can reference this thread before they make a purchase. Here are the rules:

-You must put the Product as your reply Title, ex. "Shure SM58", or "Presonus ACP88".
-You must give a short description of the gear, it's purpose, etc.
-Despite the fact most of us stand by our gear...you must FARILY give the Pros AND Cons of the unit.
-Put the street price on the unit, just for reference.

Let's see if we can start helping each other out. I'd love to see a good range of gear....Consoles, Wireless Gear, Outboard Processors, Speakers, DI's, etc.

[dtpuga]

Pilot Precise V5 Extra Fine Rolling Ball Pen - on da street... less than a buck

Ok, seriously...

I do sound, video, graphics, and everything else that plugs in in my church. We use about 20 computers total and I am interacting with them constantly. I think the best thing to happen to computers in a LONG time is:

Apple OS X
Single User $129
5 Users $199

I know that you can't run it without the Apple hardware really but the point is that this software is friggin amazing. I'll list the two main cons I see first:
Con 1: Not as wide a range of selection for software titles as there is with Windows. (This is QUICKLY changing with the rise of Intel-Macs.)
Con 2: Steep initial investment because Apple computers are needed to run it, so you can't simply upgrade your crusty Windows box to it.

Now the Pros:
Pro 1: Stability! Don't get me wrong, I can wreck a Mac in a heartbeat, bring it to its shiny metal knees. But even then, it makes sense. When I try to run 17 apps at once, my G5 tower NOR my MacBook Pro are pleased. That aside, general operation is very smooth, stable, and easy to navigate. As of this day I have been on the Mac platform for about 2.5 years, I am on my 3rd Mac personally and have about 10 others at work that I maintain, I have NEVER had one crash unexplainably. Mac's don't 'blue screen' on you, they 'kernel panic' and give you a nice white on black message saying thay you did something naughty. Anyway, I have never had this happen to me. I HAVE had individual apps bomb out that have forced me to restart a few times hear and there and ONE app that has actually hung the system up before but that is it. I would say that 95% or more of the issues I have encountered have been software related and not system related.

Our church admin made the switch about a year ago. After one week on his MacBook he came into the office and said. I am sold. We are now fazing out all our Windows boxes for all our staff. Stability and lack of maintenance on Macs was a huge initial factor in that.

Pro 2: Security These things are built tough. You can't access them on the network without granted access. You either have to be enabled from within or know the password. If you don't it appears as a dead link. Internet wise these things are rock solid. Again, I have used ALOT of these on the web over the past few years. I we have never installed any kind of internet security and have never acquired or transmitted any viruses that we are aware of. There are people out there making anti-virus software and things like that for OS X but it jsut really isn't needed.

Pro 3: Ease of Operation OS X and the software made to run on it just make sense. It is very easy to move from app to app, project to project, screen to screen using expose and many other features built it. System preferences are much easier to maintain and adjust. There is NO REGISTRY to maintain, edit OR corrupt. The closest thing to that in OS X is 'preferences' or ".plist" files that contain information for all the various apps you use. If something gets screwy, just delete that app's .plist and next time you open it, it makes a new one.

Pro 4: Brute Force These things can handle HEAVY workloads. I first jumped to the Apple camp when I started my own business and wanted to move into the Final Cut family. Large files and projects are handled smoothly EVEN when minimum requirements are barely met. My old windows box would drag to a snails pace with even ONE big app running, like Premier Pro, even with specs far exceeding the requirements.

Pro 5: Bang for Buck It is a myth that Mac's cost more. The cheapest Mac may in fact cost more than the cheapest PC, but there is no comparison between the two. Across the board if you BUY a Mac and a PC for the same money, the Mac is going to do FAR more for you for a far longer time. Don't forget resale value either. Check eBay for Powerbook G4 listings. People are still paying big bucks for used laptops that are 2 generations behind on processors and 2 years out of production. Apple computers hold value.

I could go on and get more and more specific, but who wants to listen to me that long anyway. Those are the big 5 pros.

I know some of you readers are Mac haters. I was one too. What can i say, once you go Mac you never go back. I remember having had mine for only 1 day and telling my wife that I was almost angry with myself for waiting so long to get one. And I also had to eat some humble pie when I realized that most of my Mac-bashing had just been false. I know there are former mac users who have had bad experiences. But as for me and St. Simons Community Church, we believe.

Feel free to email me any questions you have about Apple, OS X, and switching.

Travis

[Adam Ogden]

Ok, so I am a big fan of making things look and feel intentional in the booth. Rack mountable gear that isn't in a rack, makes me cringe. Using a coffee mug as a pen holder makes me queezy...having your iPod laying on top of the console with the cable running to the back of the console.....that's the final straw. Even though it works fine, it just doesn't scream excellence to me.

SO, I found this little item one day....it's not really new, but I think it's great. Raxxess, one of the leading manufacturers of Rack equipment has produced the iRDS-1, rack mounting iPod dock. You mount it into a single space of your rack, and make the connections in the back (it includes an 1/8" audio jack to send to your console, and a USB jack to sync to your local computer, if applicable). Then, when you want to use your iPod, slide out the little try, and stick your iPod (it works with any model...Video, mini, nano, etc) on it. It keeps it out fo the way, but still in view, so you have easy access to it.

I am using it in our Student Ministries room, and they love it. For $120, it's a pretty cheap investment, and it cleans up your booth. Just keep in mind that your iPod will cover up the controls of the unit above it. I recommend it for sure.

http://www.avsuperstore.com/images/Productimages/irds-1.jpg

[dtpuga]

Adam,

I gotta admit. I can't believe that it is worth $120 to rackmount an iPod. I have seen it in action, and I did think it was a neat piece of gear though... until I heard the price.

Normally we use on of the iMacs in our booths, a laptop, and occasionally an iPod for pre/post service music and then like. We do let the iPod 'just sit there' on the counter or wherever. It does get moved, bumped, and/or dropped OCCASIONALLY, so I see the value of a mounted home for it. I just wish it weren't so expensive for such a small piece.

Travis