How To Optimize Your DAW With An External Hard Drive

[@HomeTracks]

Are you using a dual drive setup with your DAW?

[@chrislashelle9961]

I was wondering your thoughts about my set up for pro tools 12. I have a G Drive with USB 3 SSD 500GB and a Fusion drive on iMac 2015 late. Im getting back into pro tools because I rage quite 4 years ago when my (new at the time)computer didn't work with pro tools very well and would freeze up and error message me all the time. Im hoping this will help and I also reinstalled everything. Any words of wisdom here? plus thank you for the video

[@Byronic19134]

Yes i got a small 256gb internal ssd no i actually spread it out between an externall and i use a high speed sd card for extra space for sample packs

[@reedmohammed40]

You probably dont give a shit but does any of you know of a way to log back into an instagram account?? I somehow lost my password. I love any assistance you can give me.

[@reedmohammed40]

@Ryder Ahmir thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site through google and Im waiting for the hacking stuff now. I see it takes a while so I will get back to you later with my results.

[@reedmohammed40]

@Ryder Ahmir It worked and I finally got access to my account again. I am so happy:D Thank you so much you saved my ass !

[@noahstorm]

Great video! Just a few notes. If you are a heavy vst user (most people are nowadays) audio files are not what takes the most space in a project or on a computer drive... it’s the plugins that will eat up all your spce, some libraries are as heavy as 50-60GB, and this can become a real issue. However, while they take so much space, the strain on the hard drive from plugins is much less than that of audio drives, since plugins are loaded into the ram for fast and low latency access. They tend to be much more cpu hungry than audio files but also much less taxing on the hd since they are read only once at the time of launch and once copied on the ram, they barely use the hard drive at all. But since space is a major issue, having plugins installed on external drives can save ton of money and time. I know that in ideal world, having your plugins in the internal drive would be a better choice because it will mean also faster load times, but when you have 3+ tb of plugins, the inly real solution is to put those too in the external drive. Keep up with the good stuff!!

[@KentQuickstad]

Damn people have 3TB of plugins?? I like to keep all the plugins on my internal SSD as you said.

[@pottproject]

Please differentiate between vst and vsti

[@HomeTracks]

thanks for watching.

[@apiago3078]

i don't know what i'm doing

[@bibleentries]

fr aha

[@amirseifert7470]

@@bibleentries i can relate

[@TheSilverConductor]

Wow! alot to take uh :-) Going from Old School to New School is something else but it is the way of the music world now ;-)

[@foxeguitar8020]

It takes time man. I started using Logic 9 back in 2009 /2010. It's now 2022 and I'm still learning new things about production all the time. Just take it one step at a time. Start at something simple like setting up your equipment properly and setting up tracks. Then learn how to apply things like Effects to your tracks in order to add different layers of sound and to mix your tracks. If you run into an issue Google it or go search forum or a discord channel that focuses on music production and ask away. Eventually you will be flying though production.

[@HarleyBob957]

Thanks for the info..Just bought a new Mac and a new external drive for my S1 Wilkes

[@UntimelyDeath]

Please can you show use the physical connection process?

[@MultiBri]

extremely helpful, Thank you

[@DaveWestGuitar]

Using PT11 for 10+ years with a powered hub and audio recording data stores to external drive USB 3.0 via the powered hub.Interface direct to Mac.

[@ElQuinnMcClarty]

Thanks. Will do right now!!!

[@jesse154]

@HomeTracks If the reasoning behind using an external drive for audio is because of the physical writing arm on the magnetic hard drive, does that mean that if using an SSD for the system files and audio, this is not a consideration at all?

[@MetalDetailer]

Someone please help me understand. If I get an external 3.0 or higher what kind should I get? I see different types like SSD and HDD (which of the two is most ideal?)And should I use it only for audio files saved from the DAW? Or should I use it for my VST plug-ins? And when I load up my daw I can load the VSTs from the external? Sorry if it’s a dumb question I’m still new with all of this.

[@paulreyes3529]

Best option is to have your 1) main Os drive for the application files of everything. 2) either an internal 7200 rpm drive for your wav , samples, recording etc. 3) external SSD (Samsungs t7 is great priced right now) or at least a 7200 rpm external drive with a 3.0 and above connection for your Vst data (libraries, sounds patches etc). Oh and hopefully a great spec computer at least 32gb. But that depends on your workflow . I use a lot of spitfire so have 64gb ram, i7

[@MetalDetailer]

@@paulreyes3529 thank you!

[@KIEAN]

Hey! Awesome video but I have one question. Okay would it be fine (like would it run smoothly” if I just keep my sound libraries (sample packs and VSTS) on my laptop disk and have my project files on an external hard drive? Cuz I don’t think I would want to spend for another hard drive you know? But if I need to, then I would, but that’s just my question. Thank you!

[@roanmartintech6451]

Such a great video, could not have been better. Thank you so much!

[@franciscocatarro3341]

will a 1tb external ssd be able to handle all plugins, vsts and audio files? while keeping the internal drive focused on the os and daw

[@prodmanolo]

I'm not sure if you can run plugins of an external drive

[@HarleyBob957]

vst's and plugins stay on the internal drive while your soundsets,sessions and loops go on the external drive.

[@gum3602]

@@HarleyBob957 only thing with that is if you get a new laptop or something you gotta redownload all your plugins, i would say put your plugins on an external ssd, aswell as samples and projects if u have the space

[@averynb1218]

Thank you so much for this. Sorry for this confused question--when you say "audio files" do you mean just the sound libraries, or also the whole project file? Thanks.

[@HomeTracks]

thanks for watching. i mean the audio files that make up the project.

[@gonzalogomez8508]

@@HomeTracks are my thunderbolt 2 usable for external drives?

[@mikewhiteman23]

Great, thanks well delivered

[@HomeTracks]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MadeByJayden]

i went down the crazies rabbit hole on youtube, ion even make music 😂

[@888Winkler]

What do you mean with audio files? Loop audio from the DAW? Sample Libraries from plugins? I was thinking of getting a 1Tb ssd to put my sample libraries and VST/ Plugins on there. Basically only thing on the internal ssd will be the Windows OS and the DAW. I'm not sure how to go about getting the VST's and plugins on the external SSD since they are installed on the internal one already.

[@HomeTracks]

project files... WAV files.. actual audio files associated with project in your DAW

[@MrELMEMORIAS]

Hi there. Will a THunderbult external SSD help the DAW freezing of Logic? My Imac is 3.4Ghz Quad core i5 with 8GB RAM. I bought already an external SSD disk whit my session files but it didn't help a lot, maybe because is just regular USB...? Thank's for your help

[@donpiper5041]

Are you on Mac M1 or intel?

[@joshuaongenae6642]

How do you install your plug-ins/virtual instruments on your SSD? My Mac tells me it requires MacOS on the drive, so my SSD won't fit...

[@antoniocoelhorj]

i have the same problem

[@HarleyBob957]

You keep your VST's and plugins on your MacOS and put your session files, soundsets and loops on the external drive.

[@almas7123]

@@HarleyBob957 what’s a session file? I’m learning here

[@HarleyBob957]

@AI Complaint The session file is your song file..session = song

[@almas7123]

@@HarleyBob957 Thank you

[@yogibarrios]

would you recommend using the external hardrive for plugins at all? Thanks for the video!

[@phinn9823]

From what I have looked into I would keep the plugins themselves on the internal hard drive and stuff like sample libraries, etc on the external. Currently waiting on a new computer to come in and I'm just not looking forward to transferring everything haha

[@LyeraTech2000]

great info but I need specific to my application I have the trashcan mac and I'm using Reason 10.0 trying to set up a dedicated drive for all my sounds plug-ins and music projects.

[@HomeTracks]

i would start with the Reason manual.

[@cnotebeats8061]

Would I then set up my DAW? And how? I see only a option to store some files. Not many DAW's are optimised to take advantage of a two-ore-more hdd/ssd set ups.. Please can u info us on how to mangage this? Manufacturers really make it hard for regular people to regulate this. For eg storage space. English is not my natural language thank you man

[@volitionmaximus4906]

You say that it's ideal to use an HDD for external. But what about using an SSD for both internal and external?

[@Tsietsithelele]

Hi, well I believe you could do that as well, it's just a matter of whether you can easily afford a 1 or 2 Tb SSD

[@rustic35]

@@Tsietsithelele $150 aud for 1tb quality external ssd isn't very expensive.

[@gastonjabaly]

Would 2 ssd improve the flow better?

[@DaveWestGuitar]

Yes, but all SSD's will eventually suddenly fail because they are flash drives.

[@BlueTransAm83]

I actually wondered the same thing as the post below. Cause my External is faster then my internal. Fast SSD 3.1 USB in. Although I erase most finals after, and tracks. Or they just go to a 3rd basic USB drive if good. I don't like keeping anything on the 2nd drive even. Except what's working on. Still haven't put up anything digital yet. Cause I always want to send it to my crap other PC, and do some vid to it. All past stuff was outboard track stuff, mainly improvised. But yea. I wonder??? Can the effects also come off the External? Its fast as heck.

[@erestube]

No.

[@djschmooveofficial]

How do you recommend to format HDD's and SSD's? I'm a windows 10 user. Thanks!

[@HomeTracks]

use window disk manager

[@mamilyfamily]

Major West ? is that you my boy

[@n-fotrnd1150]

Can you run the actual software off an external ssd or does it have to be installed on the computer

[@erestube]

I've heard apps work best on the main computer drive--sound files and large sample libraries on external drives. Distribute the load.

[@KentQuickstad]

Best to run DAW/plugins off of internal harddrive (especially if it's SSD) and load sound libraries/raw audio files from external.

[@faussesnotes75]

I didn't get what you call audio files. Do you mean the sessions of the project ?

[@HomeTracks]

yes. the actual recordings

[@_LuX_p]

I have sample packs from one folder that contain 54gb of sounds would you put this on the external drive because that’s quite a lot to put into an operating drive especially on mac

[@HomeTracks]

makes sense. thanks for watching

[@glennrichardson1087]

I have a late 2013 mac pro (trash can) I just installed a (2TB SSD OWC) for internal. I have a 2TB external hard drive now. I`m ready to upgrade the external hard drive to 4TB . I have songs in the 2TB HD that I can not afford to lose. I need Step by Step instructions how do I add or replace the 4 TB external HD & the best way to Partition the internal & external drive without losing data & audio. Thanks

[@HomeTracks]

sorry, can't help you.. I don't provide Mac support

[@Asannfv]

Jus install new 1 then clone yur drive ova

[@sergio_slzar]

Useful, thank you

[@HomeTracks]

thanks for watching.

[@mark-ze4en]

is it possible to run my daw(Reaper) from an external SSD T7 1 terabyte drive properly??

[@HomeTracks]

In Windows 10 You should be able to. Properly? Well if it’s connect via Usb3 that might be a bottle neck vs SATA connection

[@producerfuji_official]

Can you mix and record in this hard drive??

[@HomeTracks]

yes. its just storage.

[@producerfuji_official]

@@HomeTracks thank you

[@HomeTracks]

@@producerfuji_official my pleasure. thanks for watching

[@spaced4448]

Excellent video 👍🏼

[@HomeTracks]

thanks for watching.

[@BlackMarketBaby]

No idea why an external drive in particular is being recommended when the drive being external provides no real benefit over an internal drive (other than portability, which wasn't even mentioned and won't be an issue for many people) and comes with quite a major con, namely significantly reduced speeds via the limitations of USB. You know most computers let you have more than one internal hard drive, right? Splitting the workload between two drives isn't a bad idea but there's no reason that second one should be external unless you need to carry it around with you (in which case, splitting up the workload between two drives becomes a terrible idea as you'd likely need to bring the computer with the internal drive with you as well to make use of whatever is on the external drive).

[@HomeTracks]

Great comment

[@drrobotnikmeanbeanma]

Can you put daw on a usb FlashDrive. That way i can plug the FlashDrive in another Pc that doesnt have daw so i can still record to make songs on either Pc ?

[@HarleyBob957]

No

[@HomeTracks]

not recommended

[@pirateshack9315]

it's nice you're telling us WHAT we should do BUT you don't tell us HOW to do it ??? that would be helpful

[@lundsweden]

Who has a harddrive these days?! 😅

[@boimesa8190]

Wth is an audio drive... 😅