Home recording decisions to make

[Timon]

I kinda have a problem and I hope that you guys can help me out.
When I come back to Germany after the High School Year I'm gonna have a Apple 12" Powerbook (with external monitor, don't worry) and now I want to know what the easiest way would be to record.

It doesn't have to be something professional, I'm not too good anyway.
I've got a Hughes&Kettner Club Reverb if this helps.
I thought of a POD, Hughes&Kettner Tubeman or something like that.
Another option would be this here: http://www.amplitube.com/Main.html?ATLive
I'm kinda worried about bad latency though because the soundcard in the Powerbook isn't the best...

Just tell me what you think the best way would be.

[Soup Kitchen Studios]

I would get a MOTU 828 if you can affoard it. Otherwise look at one of the many USB audio interfaces, M-Audio makes a USB audiophile card and Digidesign has the MBox. I don't think you'll be happy with anything you record with the internal soundcard though.

Amplitube is great and you probably aren't going to have to worry about latency with a 12" PB, but you still have to get a strong clean signal into the PB for Amplitube to process it.

[Timon]

So I would need a better soundcard anyway?
The MOTU 828 is definitely to expensive. And hey, I don't wanna make professional music, it's just for fun and to share some of my music.
You don't think it would be good to put the guitar directly into the input of the soundcard and use ATLive?
The MBox is a bit too expensive too but the Audiophile card looks good. I don't think it would work with a Powerbook though, would it?

[Soup Kitchen Studios]

Yeah, imo, you will need an audio interface, even if you just want to do stuff for yourself for fun. Save the extra money to get a decent interface, it will make all the difference. And yes... Any of the M-Audio USB or firewire interfaces will work with a powerbook.

[Timon]

Now what is the difference between these two?
Audiophile 2496
Mobile Pre USB

This here might be even better than the card version for a Powerbook.

The Mobile Pre USB says that it is an USB bus-powered pre-amp and audio interface but I don't need the pre-amp if I have ATLive, do I?

[Soup Kitchen Studios]

You can't put a PCI card in a PB. You have to get a USB inteface. Any of these will suit your needs:
http://www.m-audio.com/products/m-audio/USBaudio.php

[Timon]

Thx for all the help!
What are those interfaces actually exactly? An interface and a soundcard combined or just an interface? Don't think so because there are interfaces that are much cheaper. (man, I really have no clue about that stuff)

Then there is another question: What program should I use for recording. I thought of Pro Tools LE...

[Soup Kitchen Studios]

You can't use Pro Tools LE without using a MBox, Digi 001, or Digi 002. Btw, You can't use a Digi 001 on a laptop either.

I use Digital Perfomer 4. Your other choices are pretty much Logic or Cubase. There is also PT Free but it will not run in OS X, and I'm pretty sure the 12" PB only boot into X, right? PT Free won't run in classic mode, btw.

[Timon]

I meant Pro Tools Free. But if that doesn't work I have to look for something else.
I just want something free and easy to use. (has to work with Mac OS X)

[Soup Kitchen Studios]

This isn't really a cheap hobby to get into, especially on a mac. You might have better success just picking up a stand alone digital recorder.

[Timon]

But they aren't too cheap either...
What about getting a Podxt and go with the Pod into the soundcard of the Powerbook? Probably bad sound quality and high latency eh?

[Polaris20]

Originally Posted by Timon

Now what is the difference between these two?
Audiophile 2496
Mobile Pre USB

This here might be even better than the card version for a Powerbook.

The Mobile Pre USB says that it is an USB bus-powered pre-amp and audio interface but I don't need the pre-amp if I have ATLive, do I?

The MobilePre is only 16 bit, but has XLRs and phantom power. The USB Audiophile is 24bit, but no XLRs.

Check out the new Tascam US122, it looks like a great lower cost alternative to the MBox, and combines the best properties of the USB Audiophile and MobilePre into one box.

My buddy is buying one, and I'll be trying it out on my Gateway notebook to see if I like it enough to buy it.

[darren wilson]

Let's just clarify some terminology first. A PowerBook doesn't have a "sound card" per se. It has built-in audio hardware on the logic board that powers the headphone/speaker output and the audio-in mini jack. The built-in hardware is limited to 16-bit, and the signal-to-noise ratio is not all that great. And 1/8" minijacks aren't the cleanest for I/O, either.

Your best bet is a FireWire or USB audio interface. Under OS X, you shouldn't have many problems with latency... OS X is a leader with its USB audio capabilities. M-Audio has a good range of products for USB audio and MIDI. I believe they also have a FireWire interface coming out in the next couple of months. Edirol (a division of Roland) also has some products to consider, as does Emagic. I'd tell you specifically which ones i've been looking at, but their site is down at the moment.

Make a list of what you need (1/4" vs. XLR input, S/PDIF digital I/O, MIDI, etc.) and figure out which interfaces will meet your needs, and whether they're compatible with the software you plan on using.

[Timon]

Is XLR for mics?
The Tascam looks interesting!
M-Audio already has a Firewire interface but it's a bit expensive and has a lot of stuff I don't need.
I just want to record my guitar so that's the only input I need.
I don't know what software I want to use so I guess I'm gonna use what ever works with the interface I'll get.

[Timon]

OK, I looked at some stuff.
What is the advantage of something like this? Tascam US-224
You don't need those mixers if you use the computer do you?