Newbie Questions

[the1andonly1]

I have a dell laptop with 512mb of ram, but with a crappy soundcard. i was looking to get started up using the computer and cubase. i'm looking to record 4 tracks simultaneously, and was thinking about the tascam u-428. is this any good? also i'm looking to get some mics for recording vocals and piano. can this all be done on about ?900-?1000? thanks in advance

 

[systmovadown]

I have a dell laptop with 512mb of ram, but with a crappy soundcard. i was looking to get started up using the computer and cubase. i'm looking to record 4 tracks simultaneously, and was thinking about the tascam u-428. is this any good? also i'm looking to get some mics for recording vocals and piano. can this all be done on about ?900-?1000? thanks in advance

is ur laptop supposed to be used for mobility crap?
if it doesnt have to be....i suggest buying a pc
with 2.8 ghz or higher
at least 1 gig of ram
and then get a delta 66 with that

dells suck too..
if you want a cheap pc check out
www.cyberpowersystem.com

 

[crankz1]

Don't go with a USB interface .... go Firewire. I do and it works fine on both my main rack-mount DAW in the studio and on my HP laptop for remote location recording.
I use a MOTU 828mkII , a PCMCIA IEEE 1394 Adapter and an external Firewire Drive .
You could opt for a lesser interface such as a MAudio Firewire 1814 .
Whether your laptop has built in Firewire or if you use a PCMCIA card, make sure that it has the Texas Instruments chipset. They seem to be the most reliable.

Post your quest for Mic selections under the Microphone section of the board.

-Ken

systmovadown .....Step away from the Chop Suey and get a handle on your Toxicity or the Aerials are going to get you ....

 

[christiaan]

is ur laptop supposed to be used for mobility crap?
if it doesnt have to be....i suggest buying a pc
with 2.8 ghz or higher
at least 1 gig of ram
and then get a delta 66 with that

dells suck too..
if you want a cheap pc check out
www.cyberpowersystem.com

Now be nice.



The cheapest mobile interface with 4 analog ins worth considering that comes to mind is the Esi Quata Fire 610 (firewire).
http://www.esi-pro.com/viewProduct.php?pid=16&page=1
Sells for around $400,-.

 

[the1andonly1]

thanks alot, i'll try looking around 4 a firewire interface. oh and by the way its true. dell are crap!

 

[minofifa]

i think the high end dell's are pretty nice. My sister just got one and it serves as an excellent family/multipurpose/run-out-of-the-box computer. I find that they are overpriced though and they come with way too many unnecessary programs installed on them. That stuff is cool if you use your computer for a lot of stuff but i would prefer mine to be as bare-bones as possible.