Laptop/desktop for recording my music?

D

daddyorca

New member
I've been looking to record music.

I'm a guitarist and have pretty much all of the gear that I need. I use a scarlett 2i4 to record my guitar directly plugged in. I have a decent pair of monitors to hear the audio. I plan on using reaper as my DAW to start and bias FX for my amp sims.

The thing is, my current desktop is on its way out so I can't really record on here. Now, I am a bit on a budget to be honest. Realistically I can spare a good 600 or so for a laptop or desktop, but honestly I don't want to spend that amount right now as I have bills and other things to pay for.

I have a small samsung laptop that I use for school/youtube videos. I was planning on buying either a laptop or desktop and use it pretty much solely for recording my music and mixing etc. Just to get my songs recorded and edited properly.

My question is..exactly how good of a laptop/desktop do I need? Looking around a bit on bestbuy I see laptops for around 200. I do plan on getting a new desktop later on when I have more money to spend to use for everything. But for now I really just want to get to recording. I have all my gear ready minus a laptop. would something that's 200 suffice? How good of a laptop/desktop do I need to have my scarlett 2i4 connected with direct guitar plugin. Reaper running with Bias FX as my plugin. connected to M-audio studio speakers and possibly other plugins like superior drummer running.

I'm anxious to start
 
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Desktop will always get you more for the money. Think about it, a screen included in a small package...

That being said, you should think about future needs also. Many pre-built models do not have ability for expansion of ram or PCIe cards. You can lock yourself in to a system that can not be upgraded.

I would suggest building a PC that has ability to upgrade.

I would also suggest using the 'Enter' key to form paragraphs. Really hard to read your post...

I just edited it for readability. Is that a word? lol
 
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jimmys69 said:
Desktop will always get you more for the money. Think about it, a screen included in a small package...

That being said, you should think about future needs also. Many pre-built models do not have ability for expansion of ram or PCIe cards. You can lock yourself in to a system that can not be upgraded.

I would suggest building a PC that has ability to upgrade.

I would also suggest using the 'Enter' key to form paragraphs. Really hard to read your post...

I just edited it for readability. Is that a word? lol
Click to expand...

Thanks for the edit. I see. I've kinda been thinking that for the money I'd be better off getting a desktop of equal value. I'm going to try looking into building something for now. Sounds like a good idea to expand on it as I go
 
Hey,
The main things dictating the kind of power you need are intended number of tracks in your session, number of virtual instruments, and number of sample libraries.

Simultaneous I/O would be another but your interface is keeping that low.


If you plan to use a lot of virtual instruments and plugins then CPU+Ram are a big deal.
If you're heavy on the sample libraries then those are important but SSD storage for your libraries might be a big deal.

Generally speaking, CPU processing power is way less concerning these days for simple home studios because more or less any midrange i5 machine is going to be capable of an awful lot.

If you want to record 3-4 tracks of acoustic instruments and use a few eqs and a reverb, the computer your neighbour is throwing out will probably do just fine. ;)

Personally I'd avoid a laptop because they're built to compromise.
Lower power mobile CPUs and GPUs, often slower hard drives (although that's phasing out), less convenient additional storage.
Again, though, if your requirements are simple it can certainly be done. I did use a laptop as my main setup for many years and, to be fair, it took quite a lot to outgrow it.
 
You are kind of painted into a USB corner. With older boxes, I can use my PCI ECHO cards under Linux, or put a mixer in front of the on-board sound card. The computer I'm at now is single core, and my notebook is a old mobile duo. This single core might be unbearable, but it's manageable under Linux with 16-tracks.

People were digitally recording guitar in the '80s : )
 
I would like to add my voice to the "get a desktop" call.

A couple 0f years ago I built an Asus based machine with an AMD Black 3G six core processor and it has 6G of ram (Win 7 HP is limited to 16G BTW) and I would say that PC would handle virtually anything a solo home recordist would throw at it. I chose the Asus MOBO because...

I needed at least 2 PCI slots for 2 M-A 2496 cards (it has 3 plus PCIe which carries a USB 3.0 3 port card, V handy for my external Seagate USB 3.0 backup drive) .

You already have a monitor* and keyboard so why "dilute" your money by buying them again in a lappy?

*You can pick up monitors dirt cheap at charity shops or an FSTv . I bought a stonking JVC 24" telly for grandson for £20, his X box looks great through an HDMI lead!

Dave.
 
I have a 2012 HP Notebook (laptop) with 8GB RAM and i3 at 2.4 gHz. I run my DAW, 6 instances of Amplitube, Superior Drummer as a VST, and tons of EQ, compressors, reverbs, delays, etc... and there is a point where the music will start to distort and pop. My processing speed isn't enough for having a few dozen plug-ins and vst's running. Then, I have to bounce tracks out to get rid of the effects taking up power. This machine cost $600 in 2013.

If you can find a laptop with i5 and more RAM, I'd get that. For me, my singing area is in a different part of the house than my mixing area. So I need to take the laptop with me when it's time for vocals. Desktop would keep me singing in a crappy sounding bedroom.

Do you need to take the interface and laptop to other rooms at all?
 
Yes but Andy,.. Neither you nor the OP would need even that i3 laptop to record one mic at 24 bits in another room. We had (till son sat on it!) an HP Compag a few years ago. 850 MEGA Hz 1/2 G ram and that would run a Fast track pro AI, 2 tracks, 24 bits, 44.1kHz for as long as the 20G hard drive lasted. XP of course. You need very little horsepower or ram to grab a few tracks.

So, OP can still spend out on his biggy and use any old clunker for "location" work! (BTW Andy, you can have a very, very long mic lead you know?)

Dave.
 
Your setup obviously works for you but you can screen share multi-platform, for what it's worth.
In a lot of cases you can even control the desktop from your phone. :) Might be useful....might not.
 
andrushkiwt said:
...and then I would h ave to run up two flights of stairs, on the other side of the house, to hit record. lol. no thanks!
Click to expand...

No need to run, hit record and stroll round the gaff and sing. The dead front end is easily deleted. Anyway, you still don't need much computer for a vox pop.

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
No need to run, hit record and stroll round the gaff and sing. The dead front end is easily deleted. Anyway, you still don't need much computer for a vox pop.

Dave.
Click to expand...

Dave, I appreciate the advice, but I'm not the OP. :) I'm quite happy with my setup. Just need a touch more processing power. i3 isn't as good. Now, monitors are something I truly need along with a good room to track and record in. :guitar:
 
RAM, all the RAM you can afford and yes, processor speed. For multi tracks and plugin fx recording isn't the issue it's the playback of all the tracks.
 
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