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laptop and home studio

Lukin_ozLukin_oz Posts: 257
edited February 2004 in Musicians and Gearheads
My work is giving me an option for a laptop... anyways I was thinking how fast a computer do you need to run recording programs and what programs would people recommend to use... Im looking for something well priced too... its not gunna be a full blown studio thing just something for me to play with and do good demos on.... any ideas?
Those who dance are called insane by those who dont hear the music
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    mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Bumfuq, MT Posts: 6,395
    Well, my first recommendation involves RAM: Get at least 256k, and 516k is much better. Recording programs use a lot of RAM and clock-time, but any new computer is running adequate processor speed and front-bus. All you need is something with 1GHz processor or better (Mac is lower, like 600 MHz). Windows XP uses about 120 MB of RAM just by itself, so that's why you'll want a little extra.

    If you're just looking for demo work, a USB connection will be fine, but Firewire will give you the ability to do more, so if you have that option, I recommend it.

    As far as software, I'd recommend ProTools LE... but there are many good programs out there. Cakewalk and Sound Forge are two worth mentioning. But if you got something like this:

    http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=040215224142150131025144718223/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/240469/

    It has ProTools included, and with USB connectivity, it's pretty versatile.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
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    trappedinmyradiotrappedinmyradio Posts: 1,189
    yeah what he said - i would get 512 megs of RAM or more if you can - if they're buying and you can let them know what you require for "work" get as high as you can on everything - and yes firewire -

    if you're going to try to go with protools - i would get a MAC because they are just so much better suited for such things -
    I'll dig a tunnel
    from my window to yours
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    Lukin_ozLukin_oz Posts: 257
    I notice that the Mbox has limited inputs... how would one record drums... does protools have good drum sounds that I could put in myself? That way I could record all the bass vocal guitar tracks using the inputs but use the prorgram to do drums
    Those who dance are called insane by those who dont hear the music
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    mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Bumfuq, MT Posts: 6,395
    Originally posted by Lukin_oz
    I notice that the Mbox has limited inputs... how would one record drums... does protools have good drum sounds that I could put in myself? That way I could record all the bass vocal guitar tracks using the inputs but use the prorgram to do drums

    ProTools is just a multi-track recording program, no programming, sequencing, drum loops, etc. There are other programs that do that sorta stuff, and you can import the tracks... but I don't know of a single program that does both.

    The MBox isn't a great interface for doing multiple tracks... but you're limited on bandwidth with USB, I think four analog tracks are the most you can do. The MBox sacrifices some of the input for some output, so...

    There are a lot of USB-capable interfaces.

    For large number of tracks (like, say, a 10-input drum kit) you'd need like a DigiDesign Digi 001 or 002. Even then, the Digi 001 only has two mic pre's, and the Digi 002 only has four. But they have analog line inputs, and lightpipe digital inputs, so you can use a small mixer or an outboard preamp set to add to your input capability. I think you can take 16 ins with the 001, and 20 with the 002. But for these systems, you'd need Firewire on the computer.

    Last note: While ProTools on a Mac is far superior for pro work, it doesn't sound like you want to start a pro studio with this, so you'd be fine on a PC. And with ProTools LE, PC is more than fine. If you wanted to get the pro version of ProTools, then a Mac would be a definite recommendation from me. I just recorded an indie-folk record on a PC-version of ProTools LE, and it worked great (despite an aging front-bus, and lack of RAM).
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
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    stepuptotheMikestepuptotheMike Posts: 3
    Just a couple of things to keep in mind when using laptops to record....

    While laptops have made tremendous strides in the past couple of years to come more on par with their desktop equivilents, two of the major areas that still don't quite cut it are:

    1. Hard drives: Laptop hard drives have much lower spindle speeds and density levels then you find on most all desktop machines. While laptop hard drives will work, they will slow you down when working with your sound files. Opening, saving, applying effects will all take a speed hit. Uncompressed audio files get quite large.

    2. Sound cards: Playback quality ain't so good. You are also limited to 1 1/8" input. A desktop computer is most likely going to have only 1 input on it as well, but the playback quality in most cases(certainly not all) is a bit better.

    The problem with the USB or Firewire external devices is that they are usually pretty limited on inputs unless you are willing to bust out the big coin. For the typical 2 input external device, you are looking at ~$350-$400.

    What might be a better (well at least cheaper) solution would be to get a mixing board with however many channels that you desire and then plug that into the PC. If you wanted to be able to remix on the PC, then you would have to record each instrument individually to it's own track and then sync it all up on the PC. While it would require more time than being able to record 8 individual tracks symultaneously, it would be a lot cheaper and require less PC hardware.

    Just some thoughts.
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