good recording laptop?

[narfness]

Hey all. I'm going to make a switch from recording with my moms desktop to recording on a laptop. I'm just tired of doing it in the living room and would rather do it in my room or even at my friends house or wherever i would want to. (in the bathroom would be fun . but anyway, my budget is around 900 bucks. I'm looking for a used laptop cuz those are always alot cheaper than new ones. What laptop would be enough power and have a nice enough sound card w/ wdm drivers. I can buy more ram and a bigger Hard Drive later if i have to if it is to much for the whole package. I've been looking at the thinkpad 600E with the 600mhz pIII, anyone know some cheap prices? thanx for the help.

 

[jake-owa]

Don't plan on getting a good recording laptop combo for that little.

Go with an all-in-one DAW like the Korg or Yamaha ones for the portability.

A decent laptop will eat that budget right up and the recording interface will cost almost as much....not to mention software.

The stock audio card just will not cut the audible mustard.

 

[crosstudio]

jake-owa is right.

my laptop setup is pretty good. i initially purchased an M-Audio Duo but sold it on ebay because the drivers were horrible.

I've now got the Tascam US-428 and a Dell Inspiron 8100 (1.2ghz with 512mb RAM).

The US-428 was around $400 i think, so unless you had already figured in the expense of getting a better soundcard than what comes in the laptop, you've got to save a little while longer.

but it will be worth it.

 

[Chris Shaeffer]

Narfness,

Well, at that price you're looking at buying the best d@mn used laptop you can find. Go for the fastest processor and FASTEST harddrive (5400rpm for laptops.) Make sure it has USB, at the very least, and preferably firewire as well.

Don't bother with a sound interface on that budget. Laptop interfaces are fairly pricey no matter which way you go, so stick with your laptop soundcard until you can't stand it any longer. Unfortunately, that probably won't be long as most laptop convertors are pretty bad and they have only mono inputs.

There is no such thing as a cheap used laptop, unless you are looking at WAY outdated hardware. I have a PIII 800mHz and its already showing its age. That 600 you are thinking of will probably give you 12 to 16 tracks at the most, and even then without many effects.

Software: at that budget, go with n-track. www.fasoft.com. The best way to go- unless you already have software on your other computer that you are going to move over.

I love laptop recording, but it ain't cheap and upgrading is painful.

Take care,
Chris