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Laptop FAQ???

i'm trying to get educated on what's out there, because i considering picking one up (my first time doing this).

know any sites?

i guess my main conserns are regarding my ability to modify, or swap stuff out. like bigger HD, soundcard, etc.

i want something that i can use w/my current dsl connex. but something that i can use for recording mixes, use FS, and probably hook up to my other mixer and use it as a recording/mastering device in a studio set up.

Get one with a lot of memory and with a powerful processor. My laptop has nethier, which makes using VST software really slow.
The problem I've run into with making music on computers is that most sound card's can't handle the kind of amplitude you need to make good quailty music. Especially with recording from outboard devices/instruments like keyboards, synths, guitars etc.
My advice is find a nice laptop with lots of memory/processor power, then get a really nice sound card for it. Make sure that the soundcard at least has one of those big analog jacks AND left-right audio inputs/outputs, the more of these the better. Also check to make sure it has full range frequency response, it's really hard to get good sub-bass otherwise. Most soundcards only have those little mini in/out put plugs which will make your recordings sound terrible, please take my word for it.
Laptops are great for playing out at parties, I always bring mine with the turntables. Good luck, hope this helps a little.
-Alex

The type of plug on a soundcard does not affect audio quality. Having said that most of the higher end cards tend to use RCA or 1/4 plugs because they are more standard in the audio world.

I'm personally getting an apple powerbook and a m-audio firewire 410 pretty soon i think

check http://www.notebookforums.com/

they even have a relevant forum section - audio/video editting - but it's not really just about editting.

check out i think... the alienware laptops. they're big, they're hella expensive, but i think it's the only laptop out there that you can swap out with new shit. maybe i'm wrong

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Originally posted by Omega_Blue check out i think... the alienware laptops. they're big, they're hella expensive, but i think it's the only laptop out there that you can swap out with new shit. maybe i'm wrong

most laptops you can swap out the hard disk, ram, and optical drives.

quote:

Originally posted by Nic The type of plug on a soundcard does not affect audio quality. Having said that most of the higher end cards tend to use RCA or 1/4 plugs because they are more standard in the audio world. I'm personally getting an apple powerbook and a m-audio firewire 410 pretty soon i think

you mean like this???

hehe, mine! sorry but i like to show off my equip.

and the type of jacks do impact your sound quality but its usually minimal and depends on your source. the more surface area that your connections have the better. most of us use an RCA output to record our mixes, so a 1/8" doesnt decrease sound quality too badly, but going from XLR or 1/4" to 1/8" does cause a slightly noticeable difference depending on how accute your hearing is to those things.

quote:

Originally posted by Vero and the type of jacks do impact your sound quality but its usually minimal and depends on your source. the more surface area that your connections have the better. most of us use an RCA output to record our mixes, so a 1/8" doesnt decrease sound quality too badly, but going from XLR or 1/4" to 1/8" does cause a slightly noticeable difference depending on how accute your hearing is to those things.

nice equipment! i was thining of getting a nuo4 beacuse my dxm06 is crapping out on me. How is your mixer though, i bet its out of my price range!

I dont believe that the type of jacks will impact the sound quality, for a start RCA cables have about the same amount of contact area as 1/8th plugs for the signal (RCA plus have more contact area for the ground).

XLR uses a different method to carry the signal than RCA's and 1/8th plugs, because of the way the signal is carried it has excellent protection against interferance (perhaps this is the reason you can tell the differance??). Often 1/4 plugs also use this balanced connection, not always though.

Having more contact area will reduce the impedence of the overall connection yes, but not enough to be noticible. You could say the same thing about wire, its better to have a 1m connection between devices than a 2m connection. will you be able to tell the differance? i doubt it very much! The impedence of the connection should be far lower than the impedence of the source and destination, so low it should be negligible. If its not negligable then you have some very crappy cables/connections!

Of course i dont have a lot of practical evidence to back this up, only what i know from my electrical engineering degree. So feel free to disagree, i'm always up for discussion on electrical/electronic topics!

when it comes to laptops there's pretty much one option in my mind:

I use a laptop in my setup. runs traktor for samples and loops or runs sound forge when im recording

go for anything around 1.5gig+ (higher cache=better. so a 1.5gig with 512k cache is slower than say a 1.3gig with 1mb cache).. a Centrino or P4 Mobile.. Dont get an AMD. They run hotter and use more power so drain the battery quicker, 512mb ram is bare minimum but is ok for general tasks. 256mb ram is too little so avoid, and a 40gb hdd. Then get an ext firewire hdd since they are cheaper than laptop drives. Also if possible find a laptop which takes normal desktop ddr and not laptop ddr again since its cheaper to upgrade.

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/NBrange.html?NEP

was thinking of getting one of these for my first laptop, i use Traktor 2.6 alot and my old computer has alot of problems

quote:

Originally posted by Ryarni http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/NBrange.html?NEP was thinking of getting one of these for my first laptop, i use Traktor 2.6 alot and my old computer has alot of problems

what kind of problems?

quote:

Originally posted by Nic what kind of problems?

I just mean in general like because its older, its really slow when you have a few applications open.

thanks for the help guys. i have a much better idea of what to look for, and what's out there.

quote:

Originally posted by Nic nice equipment! i was thining of getting a nuo4 beacuse my dxm06 is crapping out on me. How is your mixer though, i bet its out of my price range!

probably not, i picked up the pcv275 for 299 and the rotary kit for another 200. overall, its a solid piece of gear and im very happy with it. much better than my rm3s was. i dont know if vestax is still making them, but there are plenty of them out there.

quote:

Originally posted by punjabi when it comes to laptops there's pretty much one option in my mind:

i concur. Apple is good. and they're mostly used in professional audio

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