small computer?

[cantthinkofname]

i'm ready to download reaper and try to record something but i want to keep anything related to recording on a separate computer. i can only afford a small one, but i'm wondering do you think one of those mini's could handle it, if its only used for recording? i mean the mini minis

 

[Dogbreath]

Not that I'm a pooter guru but what about just buyin a separate hard drive?
Would that work?
Like I said, no guru here but am curious due to the fact my standalone will die someday and I'll have to suck it up and go compooter.
??

 

[cantthinkofname]

i thought about that, but can viruses and other online crapholes get access to it through the computer? i usually end up having to buy a new computer every year because of stuff like that

 

[TeyshaBlue]

i'm ready to download reaper and try to record something but i want to keep anything related to recording on a separate computer. i can only afford a small one, but i'm wondering do you think one of those mini's could handle it, if its only used for recording? i mean the mini minis

I just picked up 3 netbooks to give as Christmas presents. I was thinking the same thing. I don't see why not...as long as you have a decent amount of ram and the hd isn't too slow.
Reaper would be the perfect package to run on one due to it's small footprint and it's easy on the cpu.

I did crack one of the ones I bought open....that thing friggin flies! 1.6 gig atom processor, 160 gig hd, 1 gig ddr...XP home....should run it just fine.

 

[Dogbreath]

I'm not sure but I don't think so.
I've also read that a bunch of people have a separate computer for music anyway. One that never goes online.

So I dunno. I'll be lookin to see what the knowledgeable folks here say too.

 

[Dogbreath]

And TeyshaDude comes thru.

(i'm not worthy)

 

[cantthinkofname]

I just picked up 3 netbooks to give as Christmas presents. I was thinking the same thing. I don't see why not...as long as you have a decent amount of ram and the hd isn't too slow.
Reaper would be the perfect package to run on one due to it's small footprint and it's easy on the cpu.

I did crack one of the ones I bought open....that thing friggin flies! 1.6 gig atom processor, 160 gig hd, 1 gig ddr...XP home....should run it just fine.

thanks that took a weight off. i think i'll try one & thanks dogbreath, i should try to get an extra drive to hook up to the mini for back up too

 

[TeyshaBlue]

thanks that took a weight off. i think i'll try one

The only caveat is the hd speed. The netbooks I bought, ASUS eeepc HA1005, hd speed is 5400 rpm. That's supposed to be on the slow side for recording. However, my recording laptop also runs at that speed and I've had exactly zero issues with it while recording up to 8 tracks simultaneously.

 

[cantthinkofname]

The only caveat is the hd speed. The netbooks I bought, ASUS eeepc HA1005, hd speed is 5400 rpm. That's supposed to be on the slow side for recording. However, my recording laptop also runs at that speed and I've had exactly zero issues with it while recording up to 8 tracks simultaneously.

huh, well i should be ok then and your recordings sound really good so thanks again

 

[kcearl]

If its just audio you are recording pretty much any of the smaller ones will do (they are nearly all on Atom 1.6 processors)...I also recommend an interface like the behriger UCA202 to record through if this is on a budget...I have one on my laptop...cost me around $30 and works fine


I know that the disc drive speed is meant to matter bit I haven't seen any adverse effects using a slower one...if you can run at 11msec, or below, latency you'll be fine

 

[Dogbreath]

I know that the disc drive speed is meant to matter bit I haven't seen any adverse effects using a slower one...if you can run at 11msec, or below, latency you'll be fine

And it's this latency I keep hearing about that I don't understand.
A buddy of mine runs a bunch of plugs and was talkin about matchin this piece and that piece or else his latency was terrible.

I get that it's a delayed type of thing but are there settings or something you match up or does it all depend on a shit load of factors....computer speed, type of plug in etc.

 

[kcearl]

And it's this latency I keep hearing about that I don't understand.
A buddy of mine runs a bunch of plugs and was talkin about matchin this piece and that piece or else his latency was terrible.

I get that it's a delayed type of thing but are there settings or something you match up or does it all depend on a shit load of factors....computer speed, type of plug in etc.

I set it up in the preferences on my DAW....but it depends on what soundcard you are using and your PCs CPU (Ram can effect it a little too)...try and get it down too much and you start hearing clicks and pops..I think less than 11msecs is below what the human ear can detect and around what you would get through a guitar cable anyway

I have never adjusted it because of a plug in though...I wouldnt have though that would've mattered, maybe it does

 

[dintymoore]

A 4 GB hard drive is all you need to record, anything more than that doesn't make any difference. What you do need is tons of RAM - the more the better.

I'm using two Mac's - one I paid $15 for and the other was free, and I record using OS 9 on a 1999 version of Cubase. Yet I insist on a $4K mic and $2.5K mic pre. That's, to me, proper priorities.

I'm working on a tune now that has, so far, 62 tracks and there's no problem.

I would buy any kind of G4 off of Craigslist, I see them for $10 to $150, and put as much RAM as you could in there (I've got 1.5 GB) and save your money for a great mic and mic pre. A computer like that should last you 4- 5 years.

Macs do not have the virus problems of PC's as the banks and government don't use them so they aren't fun targets.

 

[Dogbreath]

I set it up in the preferences on my DAW....but it depends on what soundcard you are using and your PCs CPU (Ram can effect it a little too)...try and get it down too much and you start hearing clicks and pops..I think less than 11msecs is below what the human ear can detect and around what you would get through a guitar cable anyway

I have never adjusted it because of a plug in though...I wouldnt have though that would've mattered, maybe it does

I'm not sure that it DOES matter. The guy I'm talkin about is a great guy but he buys the latest stuff without figurin out the last piece of gear first so I'm not too sure what's goin on.

A 4 GB hard drive is all you need to record, anything more than that doesn't make any difference. What you do need is tons of RAM - the more the better.

I'm using two Mac's - one I paid $15 for and the other was free, and I record using OS 9 on a 1999 version of Cubase. Yet I insist on a $4K mic and $2.5K mic pre. That's, to me, proper priorities.

I'm working on a tune now that has, so far, 62 tracks and there's no problem.

I would buy any kind of G4 off of Craigslist, I see them for $10 to $150, and put as much RAM as you could in there (I've got 1.5 GB) and save your money for a great mic and mic pre. A computer like that should last you 4- 5 years.

Macs do not have the virus problems of PC's as the banks and government don't use them so they aren't fun targets.

DintyDude
Good info man. That helps relieve my paranoia about pooters.

And CantthinkDudette...
sorry about the hijack.

 

[kcearl]

forgot to say canthink if you do buy that behriger UCA202 as a cheap interface it comes with a copy of EnergyXT2.5...Ive installed it to have a look and it has everything you need...a pretty good lil' DAW

 

[purerad]

hey, keep us updated on energy xt ok?
heard alot of mixed reviews, i want to set up a linux recording setup but i'm not had alot of luck with ardour in the past.

there's a mini at musicians friend that has a linux audio station built in and tweaked just for it. might look into that.

 

[kcearl]

I already use something else and just fired this up to see what it was like...apart from a dark GUI (why do so many companies do that?) it all seemed very straightforward..I was recording audio and midi within minutes of installing it...its a tiny program as well (8mb installed) and has a very small cpu footprint which would be ideal for a notebook type PC with limited hardrive and CPU capabilities


my "other" PC is a laptop but its dual core with 4gigs of ram so it can handle pretty much anything or I would use XT as an alternative no probs

 

[Bristol Posse]

I would say yes it *can* be done but you will need to do your research and really check stuff out first.

Net books are really designed for staying in touch on the go not for running serious applications that require a lot of powerful processing (such as audio/video creation and editing, hardcore gaming etc)

a 1.6 ghz single core processor is like taking a 15 year step back in time in terms of processor performance (again net books are designed for websurfing and staying in touch not heavy duty processing). That's not to say you can't do your audio stuff, but you are going to need to ensure you are running very lean non CPU intensive applications and plugins or you will have problems very quickly

a 80 - 160GB hard drive is adequate for small home recording projects but tracks rack up the MB pretty quickly and for optimal disc performance you want to try and keep the hard drive less than 50% full. Again it can be done but you may find you are having to do frequent data dumpps to external drives and since netbooks generally only have a couple of USB ports and no Firewire or Cardbus this could be slow going. Again not impossible but maybe laborious. Also the fact that there is no optical drive (CD /DVD burner) in all the netbooks I have looked at would be a pain for me.

Combination of USB only, (relatively) Clunky CPU performance, slower hard drive performance, RAM limited to a GIG (generally speaking) and generally poorly executed BIOS in these types of machine will be more prone to Pops, clicks, freeze ups and latency issues and simultaneous track recording will be limited especially if you are looking at using bit/sample rates of over 16/44.1 than you would expect to see on second hand 5-7 year old desktop.

Again it can be done but it may be a little unstable and frustrating. If you look at the minimum requirements for much of the audio software and audio plugins/VSTi, Usb audio interfaces etc, they usually want a pentium 4 running at 3 ghz or better at minimum. you will be running with about half that power, a small L1 L2 cache very slow Front side bus and comparitively slow RAM. (Again not bashing netbooks, they are superb for the purpose they are designed and marketed for but they are not powerhouse workhorses)

IF you are going to go this route pick and choose your software, Plugins, VSTi and outboard gear very carefully to ensure that everything is as lean and resource light as possible or you *MAY* be disappointed.

If it were my dilema I'd look at a second hand/reconditioned desktop over a netbook

 

[cantthinkofname]

If its just audio you are recording pretty much any of the smaller ones will do (they are nearly all on Atom 1.6 processors)...I also recommend an interface like the behriger UCA202 to record through if this is on a budget...I have one on my laptop...cost me around $30 and works fine


I know that the disc drive speed is meant to matter bit I haven't seen any adverse effects using a slower one...if you can run at 11msec, or below, latency you'll be fine

thanks, i should know more of this by now but i haven't been doing my homework

 

[cantthinkofname]

A 4 GB hard drive is all you need to record, anything more than that doesn't make any difference. What you do need is tons of RAM - the more the better.

I'm using two Mac's - one I paid $15 for and the other was free, and I record using OS 9 on a 1999 version of Cubase. Yet I insist on a $4K mic and $2.5K mic pre. That's, to me, proper priorities.

I'm working on a tune now that has, so far, 62 tracks and there's no problem.

I would buy any kind of G4 off of Craigslist, I see them for $10 to $150, and put as much RAM as you could in there (I've got 1.5 GB) and save your money for a great mic and mic pre. A computer like that should last you 4- 5 years.

Macs do not have the virus problems of PC's as the banks and government don't use them so they aren't fun targets.

thanks that's great because i was just at our local music store and bought 2 mics instead. Each were around $99.

One is a Carioid Studio condenser S72 and on the back it says that its a low profile mic designed for a variety of studio applications. The cardioid pattern, wide frequency response and low distortion thresholod make it perfect for close or ambient applications of acoustic or electric instruments as well as directional drum and cymbal overheads. it is unidirectional and requires phantom power.

The vocal mic is an SHS (whatever that is) model OM-500 'professional' unidirectional dynamic low impedance hi fidelity mic. i also bought one of those foam pop covers for it just incase.

i am still planning on getting a mini because everyone here seems to think it should work just fine and i need the other one for trolling

when i get it i'll try to post how it works. i'm using a smaller laptop right now but i don't want to use that for recording because i've allready had a few problems with it and just want to start fresh

and hopefully i'll be able to upgrade to better mics in the future