About our Computers

Because Oremus has only two members, they use many high tech digital tools for their recordings. That is how they achieve four to six part harmony in their songs. Their use of computers has evolved as the band has grown.

Up until (and including) the recording of Your Face, Oremus used a Dell Inspiron 4100 laptop running Windows XP Pro. They first attempted to record Your Face using Windows Sound Recorder, RealPlayer and Windows Movie Maker. When they realized that those tools were not adequate, they switched to an open-source (free) project called Audacity. Audacity allows Oremus to record several tracks over each other, for example, Tom singing, Chris singing, and a keyboard part.

In early 2004, they built a custom Linux workstation specially for recording. They chose to run the Linux operating system because it is free and very configurable. The workstation has a small form factor case for portability. It runs a brand of linux made by RedHat called Fedora Core 2. It runs Audacity, Ardour (a package similar to Audacity, but with more features), and several other software packages. These are all available from Stanford University's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA).

In the summer of 2004, Tom got an HP pavilion zv5000 laptop that he uses for webmatering this site. Chris also sold his Dell laptop and built himself a workstation designed for studio quality recording.

Midsummer 2005, Oremus received a large loan from a sponsor to buy recording and performance equipment. Oremus now has a 12-channel mixer, two performance-quality mics, one studio-quality mic, and a speaker system suitable for small (less than 500 people) audiences.

Oremus continues to slowly expand. New equipment purchases include a small (4-channel) mixer for recoring, and some items for easy equipment portablilty at performances, etc.

Here are the specifications for the Oremus computers:

HP Pavilion zv5000
3.4GHz Intel Pentium 4 proccessor
1024MB RAM
80GB hard drive
SoundMAX Integrated Audio sound card	
Windows XP
Audacity

Chris' Linux workstation
3.0GHz Intel Pentium 4 Socket LGA775 proccessor
1024MB RAM
160GB (SATA) and 40GB (IDE) dual hard drives
ASUS P5GD2-X Motherboard
BFG Tech nVidia GeForce 6600GT-OC Video card
JustPC GaZelle case with silencing modifications
M-Audio Audiophile 24/96 studio quality sound card
Gentoo Linux
Audacity
Ardour

Oremus' Linux workstation
1.66GHz AMD Athlon XP Processor
512MB RAM
40GB hard drive
ASUS Micro-ATX motherboard
SoundBlaster 16 Audio Card
nVidia GeForce MX4000 Video card
Enlight small form factor case
RedHat Fedora Core 2 Linux
Audacity
Ardour
Rosegarden
SWAMI: MIDI sequencing / MIDI instrument software

BIG thanks and front row seats to Josh Leach for computer support.