# Where Should I Store My Sample Libraries ?



## GingerMaestro

Hi

I'm about to invest in my first few big Libraries. I will be running Logic ProX on my MacbookPro. Where should I store the Libraries ? On the computer Flash Hard Drive Which is currently 50% Full, or on an external hard drive ? If on an external, is it quick to access the libraries and do they play with out a delay ? Also could anyone recommend a good Hard Drive witH thunderbolt (USBC) connector. I currently have lacie rugged drives, but will need a new one for all of this. Sorry if these are basic questions from a novice. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks


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## Jeremy Gillam

You'll definitely be best off having them on an SSD. I'd suggest using any quality external SSD that connects via USB three or faster. The advantage to going with in external drive in your case is that if you add libraries as you go, you don't have to worry about running out of storage as quickly as you might using the internal SSD, and you can keep all of your third party samples in one place.


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## GingerMaestro

Thanks Jeremy, Appreciate it. And as a side question, should I have an additional hard drive for recordings ? (ie Vocals, Live Instruments etc) So the computer isn't trying to access the "sample library drive" at the same time as recording/or reading the " Recording drive" ? Thanks very much


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## Jeremy Gillam

I think that used to be the recommendation with spinning hard drives, but I've never had any issues with running everything from one drive since switching to SSDs. I think you'll be fine saving your Logic sessions to your internal SSD and recording any live instruments to that.


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## GingerMaestro

Does anyone have experience running sample libraries from a regular lacie rugged drive (ie not SSD) I have just reformatted my 1TB drive to free up some space, so I,m hoping to use this for my new libraries for the moment. Will this be fast enough ? Thank you


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## Desire Inspires

I’d be happy to let you store 1TB of libraries on my SSD. Free of charge too!


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## dflood

GingerMaestro said:


> Does anyone have experience running sample libraries from a regular lacie rugged drive (ie not SSD) I have just reformatted my 1TB drive to free up some space, so I,m hoping to use this for my new libraries for the moment. Will this be fast enough ? Thank you


I have a 2013 iMac with 32gb memory and a 1 TB internal SSD. For samples, I use a Thunderbolt 2 connected 8 TB Western Digital 'My Book' formatted as Raid 1, (so 4 TB actual capacity). Surprisingly, most libraries run just fine from the external spinning drive - once they load. I also have a 'Sample Libraries - Local Copies' folder on the internal SSD for any libraries that give me problems. I'm waiting for the price of big SSD drives drop a bit more, and the problem with my current setup is that Thunderbolt 2 is a bit of a unicorn when it comes to external drives now.


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## jbuhler

dflood said:


> I'm waiting for the price of big SSD drives drop a bit more, and the problem with my current setup is that Thunderbolt 2 is a bit of a unicorn when it comes to external drives now.


Fortunately, SSDs work fine streaming samples with USB3. There are still a number of TB2 bays available if you want to connect a large set of drives. And there are TB2 docks available if you need to increase the number of USB3 ports available.


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## GingerMaestro

So this is probably another stupid question, but, does the computer only load up the samples you are using from the hard drive into the internal memory for whatever the piece is you are working on. i.e. only the sounds you require. I only have 16GB Memory in my macbook pro. Is this enough or will I need more, say if i'm working on an orchestral piece. Thanks everyone, very helpful..


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## Zero&One

GingerMaestro said:


> Is this enough or will I need more, say if i'm working on an orchestral piece. Thanks everyone, very helpful..



Memory, you can never have too much like storage. But I would wait until you start recording to see what/where you get bottlenecks before you throw money at it. Sample libraries need your money more 
I've got Logic on an SSD, with samples spread across 2 x 3TB HDD 7200 drives and I don't get much hassle. I'm eventually adding an SSD sample drive that hosts my frequent libs, but until I know the main one's I'll wait. Get Logic fired up and make some noises!


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## GingerMaestro

I think I'm about to buy a 2TB Samsung Internal SATA III SSD Drive with an Orico Drive Enclosure to use as an "External" SSD HArd Drive hooked up to My Macbook Pro via USBC to store samples> Has anyone had experience with this particular type of set up ? Having done my research, this seems the most cost effective way to by a SSD Drive ? Thanks for any Insight..


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## thevisi0nary

I am an evangelist for ssd's, regarding sample libraries I would never go back to an HDD. If you use an external SSD with an enclosure it will be fine if you are running over thunderbolt or usb 3.1. Both of those actually exceed what some sata connections can actually deliver as far as transfer speed.


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## Audio Chris

GingerMaestro said:


> I think I'm about to buy a 2TB Samsung Internal SATA III SSD Drive with an Orico Drive Enclosure to use as an "External" SSD HArd Drive hooked up to My Macbook Pro via USBC to store samples> Has anyone had experience with this particular type of set up ? Having done my research, this seems the most cost effective way to by a SSD Drive ? Thanks for any Insight..



I’m sure you’re probably already sorted with your SSD but just in case.
I have a similar set up to the one you’re describing. Although I’m using a Samsung 1Tb T5 which has the option of either connecting via USB 3.1 or Lightning Bolt. 
It can easily manage my Kontakt Libraries, although I had to reformat the Samsung from EXFat to Mac OS Extended as Kontakt struggles with that format and the disk % kept spiking.


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## eriksan007

GingerMaestro said:


> I think I'm about to buy a 2TB Samsung Internal SATA III SSD Drive with an Orico Drive Enclosure to use as an "External" SSD HArd Drive hooked up to My Macbook Pro via USBC to store samples> Has anyone had experience with this particular type of set up ? Having done my research, this seems the most cost effective way to by a SSD Drive ? Thanks for any Insight..



If you're going to use an enclosure/SSD docking station over USB, make sure it supports UASP as it allows for faster speeds. I have an USB3.1 enclosure and a drive docking station that does this.


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