Notebook for Live Performance

Abhijeet · #1 11-25-2003, 07:27 AM

I want to buy a notebook for running Propellerheads Reason, Cubase, etc. for live performance. Along with recording samples while on the move.

I also want to attach the M-Audio 33e as the interface. Along with a midi keyboard.

Have you guys been able to find any commercially available Notebooks from the major vendors with sucessful results.

What addon Sound Cards/Mics etc. did you use?

Thanks for all the information!

darren wilson · #2 11-25-2003, 10:07 AM

The keyboard player in my band uses an Apple iBook and runs Reason, Absynth and Ableton Live. We do all our recording and sample preparation on a desktop machine.

Abhijeet · #3 11-25-2003, 02:33 PM

Thanks for the quick response.

I am looking for a windows solution. Any Suggestions?

Soup Kitchen Studios · #4 11-26-2003, 12:29 AM

Is there a reason you need windows? The apple laptops are really incredible. I have a powerbook that I use to run DP4.1 and I can run multiple instances of Atmosphere, Stylus, and Trilogy with no latency plus 20-30 audio tracks.

Otherwise, the Dell laptops are pretty good.

keithb · #5 11-26-2003, 12:35 AM

I agree with SKM. When people ask about laptops, I always recommend Apple (anything running OS X will do)

They're well-built, extremely useable, small, etc. Definately the best buy in the laptop world.

darren wilson · #6 11-26-2003, 12:43 AM

My three-year old PowerBook G3 performs about the same as my new-this-spring Dell Latitude C600 series (forced on me by my employer). And it gets better battery life, runs cooler (less fan noise) and weighs less.

Dell (and just about everyone else) is still years behind Apple in terms of design and build quality. I refer to the Dell as my "craptop". The new iBook G4 machines are fantastic value for the money, and they're pretty rugged machines.

But some people just won't do Mac OS.

Abhijeet · #7 11-26-2003, 08:35 AM

I am looking for a Windows Laptop because there is absolutely no support

for Mac in India. And the softwares are also impossible to find.

Hence I am Struck with Windows.

The main suppliers of Laptops in India are:-
Toshiba
Dell
Compaq
HP

Do you guys have any experience with any of the above systems?
I need to make a decision quickly because my brother is flying down from Boston in 2/3 Weeks and he would get the Laptop along.

Thanks!!

Soup Kitchen Studios · #8 11-26-2003, 08:47 AM

Not to beat a dead horse, but if support is all that detours you, perhaps you just aren't sure where to look?

Apple Store India

Also, Prollerheads will sell their software and ship to India directly from their website.

Hope that helped, if not good luck with your PC search.

GuyCool · #9 11-27-2003, 01:10 PM

Under no circumstances would I recommend Dell.
I bought a laptop specifically for music last year-great spec. on paper but the firewire and usb could not be made to work without audio glitchs/dropouts. I tried many things to deal with the problem, roping in pro music tech folks, but no joy. The Dell people were completely unsympathetic, would not entertain the idea of an exchange or refund.
To add insult to injury, they debited me twice on the deposit, and didn't apologise for their mistake.

I've heard that Sony Vaios are good. For an off the shelf Wintel solution that is what I would go for. Otherwise a tailor-made solution from Red Submarine.

Guy

darren wilson · #10 11-27-2003, 02:25 PM

I hear Alienware makes some kick-ass machines for gaming and digital media. They're probably the best-integrated hardware you'll find, but they're not cheap. They started off building machines pretty much exclusively for gaming, but they've expanded into custom-tailored solutions for digital media authoring, music production, etc., so they'll probably work better than the generic one-size-fits-all machines that the mass-market companies make.

And they look cool.

Jamie · #11 11-28-2003, 06:03 AM

Second Guy's post - stay away from Dell.

My Dimension 4500 has had an Ultra-160 SCSI 2-drive system fitted, memory upgrades, and the transfer rates are still terrible, latency is bad, the motherboards are just cheap, stay away.

hexa-db · #12 11-28-2003, 07:54 AM

Is it worth getting one imported from another country?

There's a few places in the UK that sell specialised PCs/Laptops for music production.
Red Submarine - http://www.sub.co.uk/
Digital Village - http://www.dv247.com
Millenium Music - http://www.millennium-music.biz/

Although I can imagine support might be awkward..

Maybe there's smaller companies in India that do the same thing?

Jamie · #13 11-28-2003, 08:15 AM

Apple Apple Apple.

From what I saw taking a 5-track demo from my Windows-based Cubase SX to a friends OSX based Cubase SL on a basic flatscreen iMac, the difference is phenomenal.

In my opinion now, there is no choice but Apple.

SilverSurfer2 · #14 02-21-2004, 04:45 PM

I use my G4 powerbook for all my recording, whether for studio or for gigs.
Before i got my powerbook, i had a compaq laptop and there were a ton of things i had to configure in order for it to run with logic audio correctly. Even after all that, it wasn't near as stable as my powerbook........i don't know how many times i've had to restart that thing, it really sucked.

I've never looked back since changing to Macs.........