The DijonStock Digital Home Recording Support Forum

Hi guys... I am new here and don't know whether this is the right place to post this topic...
I am looking to purchase a new laptop for music software/recording only. Can any of you guys give me some tips on which route to go... I have a budget of up to £600-700... would rather keep it low end though... so probs would rather dish out £500 mark and spend the rest on software...
Any suggestions appreciated... Thanx John

Myself, I would look for a used AW2400.
But any of the earlier AW series of recorders, AW1600, AW16G, or the AW 4416 would be a good starting point.

Not sure of British price points though. You find these units on eBay.

While there are computer-based recordist about these parts, you have landed in forum of users who are largely dedicated to stand-alone hardware, with built in hardrives and real knobs and faders. These machines are not subject to latency issues, do not get corrupted with viruses, and have robust build and circuitry.

Much good music has been made on these machines. Stick around and you will meet very helpful people - willing to converse and advise on recording theory and technique, which is much the same from platform to platform, no matter what route you choose.

as for laptops - people with macs seem to like them alot. Beyond that, any laptop can access ebay in search of an AW unit.

Glad you dropped in - we will see what the others say.

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Byron

Hi John, I use a Asus laptop which is a quad core with an i5 processor and 8 gig of ram, runs as smooth as silk, never had a click or pop or anything untoward for 2 years with everyday use, for your budget your well within what I paid for mine.
I have to add that one of the worst things for having conflicts in audio recording is the internet, so I make sure mine is used for the purpose of recording only. There are optimisation set ups for all versions of windows here.

http://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/art ... s-updated/

On the software side there are a loads out there, free and paid, personally I use Presonus Sudio One and Pro Tools but it`s down to your workflow and what works for you, and there are ones that you can download and use for 30 days or so for free, and when the time is up you get the option to buy.
Hope this helps a little.

T.

_________________
https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac1

https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac

http://www.soundcloud.com/t-mac-12

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmCjAzN ... ture=watch

https://www.reverbnation.com/tmac

Thanx guys for your help... I find the Daws a bit daunting the learning curve is steep.

I would like to stick to a PC but as you say using internet is certainly not what I want on a pc solely for recording, so do not wanna start downloading anything to be totally honest. I was looking at an Apple mac with pro tools 9 ...but have never used an Apple. My only real recording has been with Cubase, Cool Edit Pro, Wavelab and FruityLoops ... I have a version of Reason here on this PC but the latency is horrendous and this PC I am using is running on 4 gig of ram and is only 3 years old... it is now really bugging me out!

Thanx Again

hello there,
i will chime in and say a dedicated apple for "recording only" is a great investment but you still need some kind of interface/preamp/mixer device for multiple track recording ...

i see you listed an aw4416 as your platform ....
why would you want to go with anything else ... ? (asked the guy with 2 aw4416's...)
the aw4416 is portable, powerful and can produce music from ideas to finished cds remarkably well ...

of course, your actual milage may vary ....

4 gig of ram is fine, what interface are you using to record into your software? the latency on even the cheapest interfaces is minimal, it`s really down to how your set up.
When I said no internet on a recording pc, I actually meant at the same time of using it, I switch it on when I`ve finished recording for updates etc.
The learning curve on the Yamaha daws can seem steep but it`s really nothing like as bad as you think, trust me we`ve all been there, besides this forum is the best place on the net to get the help you need.
Good luck.

T.

_________________
https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac1

https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac

http://www.soundcloud.com/t-mac-12

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmCjAzN ... ture=watch

https://www.reverbnation.com/tmac

All my gear goes through a motu midi express xt which is usb'ed to the PC. I only record individual tracks as it is a personal studio... I am a bit of a novice where wiring my gear up is concerned.
I have a few keyboards which go through a spirit folio mixer all my midi's go to the motu's inputs...
For years though I have had latency issues recording into Cubase and it was not because of driver problems.

I know more about nuclear physics than midi, I`m sure someone will come along and be able to help you on that, but I`ve read the reviews on your Motu and by all accounts it is a great interface and has sub second latency, it certainly puts mine to shame.
I can`t really comment on Cubase not having used it, but it must just be a setting somewhere that`s giving you the problems, I think (I may be wrong) CDA on the forum may be the one that can help you, frustrating I know but you have to have these annoying times to appreciate the good times, it`s the law !!
I`ll keep an eye on your post to see how you get on.
Good luck.

T.

_________________
https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac1

https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac

http://www.soundcloud.com/t-mac-12

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmCjAzN ... ture=watch

https://www.reverbnation.com/tmac

Hi there. The way I avoid latency problems with computers is to not use them at all for music lol. However, I am more than happy to try to help with non-computer MIDI issues.

You can get nasty delays depending on how you configure your MIDI gear - all those INS OUTS and THRUS can be a real headache at times.

Thanks,

CDA.

That's a bit like my personal approach. For post processing, computers are fine obviously.

Welcome to the forum A&E.

_________________

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Don't judge the coffee by its cup.
The proof of the cheese is in the eating

While on the subject of midi, does anyone know if you have to connect the in and out from a keyboard to midi, or is it ok to just connect the out?




Don`t forget though, the yamaha`s are basically computers

T.

_________________
https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac1

https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac

http://www.soundcloud.com/t-mac-12

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmCjAzN ... ture=watch

https://www.reverbnation.com/tmac

Yes, you can connect just the out if you are using the keyboard as a controller. If you want to use the sounds on the keyboard or sync it if it has a sequencer, you need to connect the in. Depends what you want to do with it.

Ok... so if I want to use the synth software on my pc using my keyboard, all I need is the one cable from the out on the keyboard to the pc, is that right? or do I need to connect the other one coming back?

T.

_________________
https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac1

https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac

http://www.soundcloud.com/t-mac-12

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmCjAzN ... ture=watch

https://www.reverbnation.com/tmac

That's right - one MIDI cable from the MIDI out of the keyboard to the MIDI in on the PC, and I am not up on pc MIDI stuff, but I assume you are using a MIDI interface of some kind and that the MIDI in is on that. You will need to match the MIDI channel on the keyboard to whatever MIDI channel you want to control on the pc.

Ok thanks for that.

T.

_________________
https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac1

https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac

http://www.soundcloud.com/t-mac-12

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmCjAzN ... ture=watch

https://www.reverbnation.com/tmac

Yes, but they are dedicated computers built from dedicated hardware running dedicated software. The operating systems that are used on what we call "computers" (by which we refer to Personal Computers in 99.9% of the time) are not real-time operating systems. Back in the days when the first versions where designed no-one ever thought that those machines were going to be used for real-time operations someday. So, the whole idea behind those operating systems makes it unsuitable for applications like recording, resulting in hickups and latency. And I know, the one-hunderd-times overdimensioned processing power of nowadays computers make up for a lot, but I'm still a stick-to-the-principle kind of guy.

And, yesterday I discovered I prefer Roquefort over Bleu d'Auvergne. Also a matter of principles.

_________________

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Don't judge the coffee by its cup.
The proof of the cheese is in the eating

Optimised laptops using Pro Tools and others are also dedicated computers and are in professional studios all over the world, the desks we use are not, harking back to times of consumer pc`s is being blinkered and silly imo.
I don`t really prefer one over the other, I use both because it suits my workflow, but it just seems everytime something gets mentioned about pc`s there seems to be some kind of phobia, and you can hear the whoa`s about latency, and snap crackle and pop, c`mon no-ones trying to convert anyone, the guy asked for help and said he would like to stick to using a pc, whats wrong with that?

T.

_________________
https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac1

https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac

http://www.soundcloud.com/t-mac-12

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmCjAzN ... ture=watch

https://www.reverbnation.com/tmac

The article you posted about optimization tweeks was an interesting read, and i intend to go through it again with my PC (once i get sorted a boot disc problem, related to a dying HD i thinK)

That said, because of financial contraints or because of personal decisions to dedicate our $ to other gear, many of us still have machines with inadequate RAM resource and slower processing speed. The dedicated recorders, such as the AW machines relieves the stress of dealing with over taxed resources.

IMO it is good for hobbyist such as myself to have both platforms and develop workflow to take best advantage of their capabilities, such as they are.

_________________
Byron

Yes Byron, the link does give some good tweaks and is well worth the read, at least it was for me.
The pc I have is 15 years old and does it`s job nicely, my laptop is a lot more powerful and can handle a mix of 24 tracks with eq/comp/fx with ease.
The latency everyone always mentions does`nt exist for me as I have zero latency, Studio One allows you to set up a cue mix which eliminates it, and when using Pro Tools my pre-amp has zero latency monitoring also. The crackles and stuff I hear people talking about I`ve never heard even on my old pc, but as you know it`s like everything else in recording you have to be set up accordingly, the 900htz whine you got from the AW4416, the lack of usb on the AW16G, the slightly metallic smear I hear on the AW1600 and the AW2400, mics picking up people flushing the toilet, early reflections, vocal popping, squeaks on guitar necks, all massive problems that we can overcome because we set up accordingly, so it goes without saying that you have to do the same for pc`s and laptops.
The music is the most important thing, the desks, the pc`s/laptops, software and everything else are just tools, it makes no difference to me if it`s recorded on a desk, pc or on an aardvark nailed to a tree stump, as long as it get`s recorded.
Enjoy the rest of your day Byron.

T.

_________________
https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac1

https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac

http://www.soundcloud.com/t-mac-12

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmCjAzN ... ture=watch

https://www.reverbnation.com/tmac

The music is the most important thing, the desks, the pc`s/laptops, software and everything else are just tools, it makes no difference to me if it`s recorded on a desk, pc or on an aardvark nailed to a tree stump, as long as it get`s recorded.
Enjoy the rest of your day Byron.

T.[/quote]


and just how would you "mic up" for an aarvark nailed to a tree session ? ....