Questions regarding recording on a laptop

  • Thread starter Thread starter Shaky Tee
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Shaky Tee

Between being and nothing
Hi there!

Hubby and I are going to chuck the working life sometime next year and hit the road. We are planning on buying an RV and living in it for a while. What this means is that we will, more than likely, be chucking our PCs and purchasing laptops. At least, that's what he wants to do.

Anyway, I'm trying to go along, but I can't bring myself to give up my PC, especially after all the money I've invested in my current recording setup. I am especially inlove with my home version of Cakewalk and the ability to use SoundFonts. What I'm considering is finding a laptop that is soundblaster live compatible, or a PCI card that is Soundblaster Live compatible.

If the laptop has a line in, I can just purchase a mic preamp (and get rid of my mixer) and do that. I'm also considering purchasing a Zoom PS-02 Palmtop Digital Recorder and do all of my recording in there, with the inputs coming from the laptop (or my guitar, or whatever).

My question is this:

Has ANYONE here done a full recording on a laptop? And what has been your experience on this been like?

Can soundfonts (or any kind of samples) be used on laptops? If so, how has this worked for you?

Any battery-operated Preamps or effects boxes that I should know about?

Thanks all for any assistance you can provide. :)
 
hmmnn.. i havent done any sort of audio recording on a laptop , but i have done video.. i use a sony f590 laptop with firewire in/out and an external 80 gig firewire hard drive and it works great... the only issue i see is your choice of soundcards... on a laptop your basically gonna get what comes with the laptop , and i have yet to see any external type II or even usb soundcards.. but to make another point , even the high end sony laptops ive used dont have line in inputs... they have line out , mic in , and video out.. but , you can always use the mic in sound quality permitting..

- eddie -
 
Hi
I did a round up of audio interfaces for laptops about a year ago for a magazine. What i found was that the hard drive hit a ceiling at around 24 tracks of audio but otherwise performed very well.
WamiBox PCMCIA card was probably the best interface i used (www.egosys.net), it has mic and instrument preamps plus sounds and midi etc.
On the USB side the Roland UA30 did very well but its just audio and only managed 12 tracks, their UA100 was better with ASIO drivers etc (www.edirol.co.uk)

I have a few more links for laptop stuff on my site:
http://www.pc-music.com

Robin
 
Hey guys,

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Robin, I was doing some research on the 'net, and I did peruse your site in my travels. VERY intriguing stuff. I've been doing some investigating around the internet, and there seems to be an EXTREMELY positive consensus regarding the WamiBox, so I'm more than likely going to go with that (provided it's around when I actually get to buy the thing! :D ).

I'm also considering the Roland U-8, just for it's mixing and effects adding abilities alone! I'll also be able to appease all of my friends who are pushing me toward a Roland HD MultiTrack recorder :D
 
Hi,

I was wondering if you ever found a good modern pcmcia or laptop soundcard that supports soundfonts.

Thanks,
Alan
 
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