Home Recording via laptop

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SitC

New member
Hello all, no doubt asked before but if you wouldn't mind indulging me!!

I have:

Laptop (basic soundcard that came with the computer)
Sonar
Instruments & Amps
Shure SM57 & SM58 mics

I'm looking to record (obv!) onto Sonar and wonder what the best way to go about this would be?

Mic'd instruments into a mixing desk and then linked to the laptop?

Mic'd instruments straight into a usb interface?

Other?

Any advice/tips would be really, really appreciated.
 
valem said:
Do you have a firewire port?

Specs on the laptop will help too.
Click to expand...

Apologies. No firewire port, just USB2.0.

HP laptop has a 2Ghz dual core intel processor. 1GB Ram and has both XP and Vista partitions.

Video card and soundcard are the basic ones the laptop came with.
 
Moble recording without firewire is tough at best. You don't have the option to change out your soundcard in a lappy, nor do you have the option to put in IEEE ports. Until USB 3.0 starts to kick off in newer models of laptops, your standard USB 2.0 is going to have severe latency problems. You could always flip for an independant multitrack recorder, and then plug in your recorded files to your software, and do some form of "mixdown" on there. I am in no way an expert, but from my previous experience, using a laptop, no matter how fast it is, is bad when you only have USB to work with. (I know there are USB interfaces you can use but I never found one that I liked).
 
If budget is a concern for you then I suggest you pick up an inexpensive USB audio interface. Look into some of the Line 6 toneport options. I don't own, but have used them multiple times and they do a pretty good job.

I myself am getting by with a Lexicon Omega for the time being until my new PC build this summer. At that point I will be using firewire hardware.

My Omega does the job for the most part. The fact that I picked it up new for $125 helps too.

Edit: I also suggest kicking up your RAM to around 2 gigs.
 
There are plenty of USB interfaces that would do the job. All depends on what you want to rcord, how many simultaneous tracks, and what kind of projects you end up working with.
I have a Fast Track Pro and it works fine for 2 track recording.
Sorry, but the poster referring to "severe latency problems" is just wrong.
I like, many others, have no latency problems. All depends on what and how you record...
 
While you can usually 'get away with' a USB interface, it certainly shouldn't be your first choice. Its widely accepted that Firewire is much more suited for audio applications due to its different architecture.

Maybe you could get a PCMCIA or Expresscard Firewire card?
 
Thanks to everyone for the replies.

Re. the usb interfaces. I would probably want to record a maximum of 3 tracks at a time (3 mics for a very basic drum kit). Then I would just record the bass, guitars etc using the drums as a guide.

Any reasonable (say sub £200) interfaces anyone can recommend for this?

Also, is it as simple as; mic up amp/drum kit, plug mic into interface, connect interface to usb, open up Sonar and then I'm away?

Thanks.
 
mattr said:
M-audio Fast Track Ultra?
Click to expand...

That looks like the exact kind of thing I'm looking for.

1 question - Does using this interface make my sub-standard laptop soundcard irrelevent in the recording process? Does the interface do all of the work?

Thanks.
 
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