Laptop Recording

  • Thread starter Thread starter gwayms
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gwayms

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I just bought a HP zt3000 laptop and now I need to figure out how to record on it.
Are there any free or cheap recording programs to use?
And what hardware do I need to plug in guitar/mic on a laptop?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
What are the system specs? Nobody can make recommendations if we don't know what ports you have.
 
Oh sorry, forgot about that:

Xp home edition
1.5 Centrino
AC '97, Sound Blaster Pro
512 ram
60 gb hard drive
 
i would recommend a mobilepre usb by maudio since you're using a laptop. like the title suggests, it hooks up via usb and you can either hook your guitar cord directly into it or use an xlr mic (such as sm57 by shure). i actually have one that i'm thinking about selling that is basically in new condition

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_id/103189

that's what a new one is like, i'd probably part with it for $125 since it was very lightly used. but whatever route you choose, i'm sure you'd be happy with it (i want another maudio card, the delta 1010lt, so i'm happy with how maudio products work). there are other usb and firewire options you can look into as well. this is the best bet if you're an amateur and just jam by yourself at home. good luck
 
The maudio one looks easy enough, but I'm not sure how the one for the pc slot works. Maybe im just not seeing it right, but how do you plug in or how does it work.
Also on the maudio I have read some things about using usb's. Some people saying they were slow or something like that. Not sure Im just learing this stuff.
 
gwayms said:
The maudio one looks easy enough, but I'm not sure how the one for the pc slot works. Maybe im just not seeing it right, but how do you plug in or how does it work.
Also on the maudio I have read some things about using usb's. Some people saying they were slow or something like that. Not sure Im just learing this stuff.
Click to expand...
The PCMCIA card uses two stereo 1/8" jacks (like headphone jacks) for 2 channels of input and 2 channels of output. For your purposes, USB would probably be ok. Once you get into more channels though, you should switch to looking at Firewire options and ditching USB.
 
gwayms said:
The maudio one looks easy enough, but I'm not sure how the one for the pc slot works. Maybe im just not seeing it right, but how do you plug in or how does it work.
Also on the maudio I have read some things about using usb's. Some people saying they were slow or something like that. Not sure Im just learing this stuff.
Click to expand...

usb suits me just fine. as long as you have a usb 2 port (which you probably do if the laptop is fairly new) then its fast enough. the usb card is better (i think) for the purposes of recording because you can plug in xlr mics or use 1/4" line in.
 
philpereira said:
usb suits me just fine. as long as you have a usb 2 port (which you probably do if the laptop is fairly new) then its fast enough. the usb card is better (i think) for the purposes of recording because you can plug in xlr mics or use 1/4" line in.
Click to expand...

There are still few USB 2 audio interfaces out there. Just having a laptop with USB 2 will make no difference whatsoever.

Buying a soundcard based on the type of input is not a good idea. You're better off with a Firewire interface and a separate mic preamp.
 
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