Over the years, I’ve owned quite a few “Pro Audio” specific computers as well as budget system’s I’ve either bought or built for myself. I’ve delved into the world of Apple as well as budget PC’s like Dell or HP, as well as built a couple of these on my own. I’ve learned a couple things that I figured I would pass along to the community and hopefully some of this is useful information to you guys in finding your next pro audio rig.
I won’t spend a lot of time talking about my past experiences with each of those as with any audio application, most is opinion and really up to the end user and what their needs are. With musicians, almost everyone’s needs are different, so I’m just going to tell you what works and review the current system that I’ve been running for the past two years.
Two years ago, I heard about this enthusiast shop in Northern Utah (Geekbox Computers) that specialized in custom built Desktops and Laptops. Instead of just selling normal computers, and branding them as “Pro Audio” or “CAD” or “Adobe” machines, they actually used specialized hardware that were designed specifically for what people do in those fields. SO I took the bait and checked it out. After speaking with one of their Pro Audio specialists, I was drawn to their “Collector’s Edition” as I specialize in Symphonic Orchestration, sampling, and massive multi-track recording and this system appeared to be loaded with hardware for that type of workload.
$2399 later (compared to $12k with the last MacPro I purchased), I got it home and unpacked it and the only words I could use to describe my feeling when seeing it hooked up was “….(speechless)….”. First, they use a super quiet case that has precision fans built in Germany for extremely quiet operation. Not only is the case quiet when it’s on, but if you happen to be recording in the same room as the computer, it comes with a full fan controller to disable the fans just while you are tracking so that there is no computer noise in your recordings. They also use a passive cooled heat sink for both the video card and processor so that those don’t generate any noise either.
All of their Pro Audio Masterworks Series machines come with native support with dual monitors, so I was easily able to hook up dual monitors. I actually prefer a large single monitor so I am currently using just a single Samsung t260 (GREAT monitor). My system came loaded with Windows Vista 32-Bit so all I had to do was load Pro Tools and my sample software and I was off to the races. Since the Collector’s Edition comes with two 10,000RPM hard drives in a tandem it only took minutes to get everything loaded and updated. Everything loaded, and I had no problems with compatibility and everything just worked. I was easily able to load my M-Audio Project Mix I/O, Guitar Rig 2 Kontrol, Midiman 2x2, and M-Powered Pro Tools 7.4 with no issues and set my default pair of speakers to use my fire-wire interface.
I fired up Pro Tools and it launched and loaded all of my plugins in record time for me. I loaded up a song I had previously created and had previously run into limits around 36 tracks of audio with about two plugins or sample software per track. It played beautifully on my new Geekbox. I had not had a chance to finish my orchestration nor add all of the instruments I wanted to have because of the limitations of my previous system (MacPro), so I decided to test the limits of my new system. I started tracking and actually got to the point where the song was exactly where I wanted which was right around 68 tracks of audio/virtual instruments. Not a hiccup. To this day I haven’t had any issues with my system; it’s been able to handle all of my audio needs well and without any freezing or crashing. In two years a lot has changed hardware wise, but because I bought current technology at the time and invested a little more in quality, this thing has beasted out every project I’ve thrown at it and I still have never found its limits.
Their artisans (as they call them) were patient with me as I’ve asked tons of questions, asked about hardware I should use, and even blew me away with their knowledge of actual recording techniques, great hardware and software to use with my specific setup and kept me within my budget. An hour with these guys was worth more than spending days talking to people at Musician’s Friend or Guitar Center because when these guys aren’t building these boxes they all seemed to be doing this stuff in their off time.
All in all, this system was well thought out, researched, and tested by people who actually do this every day, and man did that get passed along to my end user customer experience. When you buy cheap, you get cheap and there really is no exception to that rule. As an audio engineer, I can’t afford to have down time because I was too cheap to invest in a quality machine or try to get by with something that “works” but wasn’t actually built for what I do. So if anyone ever asks me who I recommend for a Pro Audio Desktop or Laptop, I will ALWAYS without fail recommend Geekbox Computers, because they gave me more than just an awesome system, they actually backed up what they sold me and didn’t tell me it wasn’t their problem when I needed help. Plus I forgot the coolest part; they never charge me for service. It’s some kind of free contract you get with each system you buy where you never pay for in-shop, phone, or remote desktop support. So I haven’t spent any money on maintenance, which is awesome.
Thanks for reading my review, please email me through my website at:
www.mystictreestudios.com if you have any questions about my setup or rig and PLEASE do yourselves a favor and get a Geekbox for your next rig. You can hit up their website at
www.geekbox.com or 1-888-geekbox, it is so worth it.
