Laptop and Sonar Issues...

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MadStrum!

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I'm planning to get a laptop and am wondering whether I can still use the midi channel 10 for drum loop programming as I have always been doing on the laptop.... will the drums sound worse than the drums on my desktop(sb live)? (coz my desktop is a celery 433 and it sucks when multi-tracking)

I've heard that the Extigy isn't good for recording because it's USB - is this true? Guess it explains why there is a iEEE 1394 slot on the Audigy and none on the Extigy...

Pier.
 
i've got a dell inspiron 8100 (1.2ghz/512mb/40gb) with an ESS sound card.

i have not done midi per se, but i have done dxi (roland vsc) and it works great. if i'm on the road or something, i use the dxi then when i get back home i connect my laptop to the home network and pull the folder (sonar 2) over to my desktop. then i convert the synth sounds from GS to my roland xv-3080, and the drum sounds by my ensoniq asr-x pro, and add the analog stuff.

now, i've got the m-audio duo USB so i can record audio on my laptop as well. only drawback is that it only allows 16 bit recording. so i'm going to get the digigram VxPocket pcmcia card which will do 24bit.
 
If you get the Extigy you will be pleasantly surprised.

The specs are much better than you SB Live, and USB is very quick. I have a ThinkPad and the Extigy, and it rocks.

And it IS 24 bit.

There is certainly no reason why you shouldnt be able to continue with drums on MIDI 10 - The General MIDI standard.

Rock on.

BM :D
 
If you get the Extigy you will be pleasantly surprised.

The specs are much better than you SB Live, and USB is very quick. I have a ThinkPad and the Extigy, and it rocks.

And it IS 24 bit.

Rock on.

BM :D
 
BiBleman wrote:P

The specs are much better than you SB Live, and USB is very quick
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the present USB version1.0 is not fast enough for multi audio inputs, its a 12Mbps device, so that is why there have been some anti-USB posts around. Do a search on this site and read the background. But version 2.0 is coming which will have 40 times faster speed i.e. 480 Mbps.

Seems like the Extigy may be good enough for a single audio input @24 bit. Is it a full duplex 24 bit performance? Cos the Audigy isn't.
 
I am not sure if it is full duplex 24. Probably not, as it shared specs wtih the Audigy. It is just the external version.

As for multiple inputs, not a problem at present. As I find the need to do that, I am sure I will have to move to a card that costs more than $150. :D

Thanks.

BM :)
 
Re: BiBleman wrote:P

Paul881 said:


Unfortunately, the present USB version1.0 is not fast enough for multi audio inputs, its a 12Mbps device, so that is why there have been some anti-USB posts around. Do a search on this site and read the background. But version 2.0 is coming which will have 40 times faster speed i.e. 480 Mbps.

Click to expand...
Version 2.0 as in there will be a Extigy 2.0?
If I put the line-in from a mixer which has two or three mics stuck to it to the Extigy, is it considered multi audio inputs?

thanks.

Pier.
 
USB specification version 2.0, not the soundcard, although in a couple of years time there will probably be a extigy version to cope with the new USB spec.

You can have as many ins as you like to a mixer, what counts as a multi channel input is the number of simultaneous ins from the mixer. Because the more seperate ins you have, the more bandwidth you need on the USB.
 
So, if I get a notebook with integrated sound , will it be able to play those midi drum loops sounds? Will they sound inferior to a notebook with a sound card that has a wavetable?

Thanks.

Pier.
 
I will stand corrected, but I am not aware of any laptop that has a decent sound card integrated - even if you are just rating them on a consumer scale - much less on a professional or Home Rec scale.
 
So Bibleman, you're saying that if I need to do recording , I've gotta to get a Extigy?

Pier.
 
There are certainly better cards than the Extigy out there, but for the money (about $150 retail), you can't beat it. Just one input, unfortunately, but very clean (100db S/N ratio).

I can't imagine a stock card internal a laptop coming close.

It also has a nice breakout box design - MIDI ports, Digital outs, Dolby 5.1, etc. A nice piece of equipment.

Good luck whatever you do.
 
There is no way an internal laptop integrated soundcard is going to sound even close to an extigy. And an Extigy isn't regarded as semi-pro gear in comparison to others, like the midiman duo. But for the $$$$'s, its a neat enough solution.
 
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