Discussion for Retina MBP Owners: Traktor Library on External HDD VS SDCARD VS TB

[DJZILCH]

hi there guys!
been absent here for awhile due to change in career, recently gained some extra time from work and would like to go back into the whole djing for fun timez (nothing serious - one gig a week at most)

Situation: Retina macbook pro 13 inch, work laptop with 500GB SSD, i try to keep my laptop as clean as possible as i use it for my work mainly (in fact the office paid for it - hehe)

at home i jam with my iMac which is permanently hooked up to my home rig (Traktor S2 MK2), when i play out i use my rMBP with X1 + Audio6 + timecode (Both USB PORTS used up!) - i like to use an external device to store my library so i can jump between both with ease (possible?)

So between these options, what do you guys find the best for stability?

1) SDCARD (256GB) - enough for my entire library - but i question the stability and speed even on the highest spec sd cards? anyone has experience permanently using these to store their dj library?

2) Thunderbolt External HD (1TB - 2TB) - way more expensive and doesnt use any usb port , the thing is im kinda scared of having the thunderbolt as I have no experience with its stability or the tb jack / cable sliding off? i heard the TB ports are a bit more loose?

3) External HDD (USB 3.0) with powered usb hub, this one i dont like so much because having to cary a powered usb hub on top of the external hdd is a bit of a drag (heh)


Let's discuss! Would love to hear your opinion

also anyone using an external hd to store their ENTIRE traktor collection? how do you guys manage it so its "plug and play" as in you can plug between your home desktop imac and your gig laptop and keep all the library and playlists intact?

[Patch]

I'd love to know about using an SD card instead of an external USB Drive.

256GB is more than enough for my library...

[DJZILCH]

I'd love to know about using an SD card instead of an external USB Drive.

256GB is more than enough for my library...

definitely!

a non spinning flash drive (sd card) in theory would be (again - in theory) most stable compared to spinning hard drives in shaky club environment? if anyone is doing this successfully please share your experience here

[TonyRome]

A question I wanted to ask (re: SD card) for a while. Would be curious if it were stable and what speeds work best

[SlvrDragon50]

I have my collection stored on an external HD. Now that I think about it... I really should back it up...

SD cards are plenty stable, and it doesn't require that much speed to read/write MP3 files. Recording videos require WAY more bandwidth.

Just get a class 10 or higher card and you should be alright. The 40-60 ones are pretty good and cheap.

[mostapha]

SD cards are incredibly slow. Will it work? Idk. I use them for my camera and nothing else.

If it were me, I'd probably put an SSD in a TB chassis and tape the cable to the laptop if I were worried about it coming out, but I'd prefer to just upgrade the internal storage if I were able. I think you can put a 480gb drive in the rMBPs, it's just expensive.

[SlvrDragon50]

SSD is complete overkill for music storage and just isn't cost efficient.

[mostapha]

I disagree just because they don't die if they're dropped.

But, then, I don't have any spinning platters anywhere in my home except in my 16TB NAS and think hard drives are not worth putting up with for any purpose except archive storage.

[SlvrDragon50]

:/ I don't think I've ever dropped a hard drive ever. Not really a concern for me.

They make 'shock-proof' hard drives as well if you're really concerned.
http://www.amazon.com/Silicon-Power-.../dp/B00ESUIX4S

Pretty sure they make portable 1-2 TB HDD as well taht don't require an additional power supply.

[TonyRome]

Not very cost efficient, but more about the convenience of not having anything disconnect mid set.