Ou7shined Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 My g/f has been bugging me to come up with ideas for my birthday pressie this year, a] I'm not too bothered and b] I haven't a clue what I could want. So we didn't get very far with it. Tonight, with the big day impending and after overhearing me moaning with a mate on the phone about studio prices, she hits me with "how about a laptop for recording demos etc?". Suddenly I'm interested. I'm more of a PC gaming guy so know zip about laptops (other than how to get hers online).... What hardware would I need and can you suggest some actual models that I could link her to? Budget would be around £500. I'd like to be able to play the odd game on it too. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 I'll be the first to say pre-owned MacBook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 to do decent recording you will need an audio interface, and depending on how many channels you want to record at the same time, it could eat up half your budget. For the money you might be better sticking with a PC and adding some recording gear to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry44 Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 has to be a mac of some description Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted October 19, 2009 Author Share Posted October 19, 2009 Thanks guys. Keep the ideas coming. cheddatom : I'm probably best looking at something portable to take to rehearsals or round to the other guys flats etc. Cheers. Someone's selling a Zoom MRS-1608 on here. Would that be an ok option or would it be too complicated for someone new to more indepth recording? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 yeh that looks like it can record up to 8 tracks simultaneously which would be enough for demos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tait Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 sorry for the thread highjack! why do people recommend macs over pcs for recording? i know the studios at my college all use macs, too. whats the big difference? is it better for me to start a thread of my own? i don't want to highjack the thread. but if its a two word answer, then theres no point in starting a new thread. again, sorry for the highjack! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted October 19, 2009 Author Share Posted October 19, 2009 I'd be interested too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Me too!! I think it's just generally accepted that the best recording set up is a Mac with Pro Tools. Personally I think this is based on the fact that all the famous pro studios have loads of money, and a sense of style, and so they buy macs. Also I think initially pro tools was only available on a mac system? There are plenty of studios out there making money with PCs and Cubase. There's no difference in "quality". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakenewmanbass Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 (edited) I've recorded in studios with ridiculously powerful pc's running cubase and they still have basic functional problems. No such problems with mac and pro tools or logic, they just work and they work well, easy interface, simple intuitive software. I'm not saying cubase is not a good piece of software it's just that you need it to work consistently. The studios I mentioned only used it for midi tracks then hooked it to a LaCie or something like that. I'm sure there are people here who have used pc and cubase with no issues but there'll be more mac users with a 'no woes' story. It's incredibly infuriating to have to re record or re programme work that you've spent hours on. I did an album for a band I work with and had one track with some midi in it we used the keyboard players pc with cubase.... Nightmare glitchville central. We recorded and mixed the audio for the entire album in 2 and 4 days respectively but the midi work took a separate 2 days for one track and it was not pilot error. Edited October 20, 2009 by jakesbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 (edited) [quote name='jakesbass' post='631219' date='Oct 20 2009, 11:35 AM']I'm sure there are people here who have used pc and cubase with no issues but there'll be more mac users with a 'no woes' story.[/quote] There's no factual basis for this statement. Only some anecdotal evidence. I can give you anecdotal evidence to the contrary, none of it matters. Both systems are software running on hardware. They're both capable of exactly the same thing. EDIT: It's pretty shocking that a pro studio wuold have an unstable system no matter what system it is given it's perfectly possible to make any system stable. Edited October 20, 2009 by cheddatom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crez5150 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 This again.......... blimey...... If you can afford it buy a Mac you won't regret it...... if not buy a Windoze machine..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted October 20, 2009 Author Share Posted October 20, 2009 We're looking into MacDaddy's suggestion. Need some ideas for a sound card/interface now. I've been put off the MRS-1608 - unless you have the USB card (which that one doesn't have) then you are pretty much stuffed if you want to transfer you recordings unless you burn everything to CD each time.... + you can't play games on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Do you want to record many mics at the same time, or just a stereo mix? If you're putting everything through the PA and you like the sound of it, you could record the DI out of the mixer straight into the on board sound on your mac book. If you want to record lots of channcels at the same time, you need an interface with that many inputs AND one pre-amp per mic channel. Most external interfaces come with only 2 pre-amps built in. How much change will you have from the mac book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrenleepoole Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 (edited) A Mac, in particular the OS X system, is a very stable and user friendly interface, very robust and generally virus and maintenance free. I'm a graphic designer and use Macs primarily. That said, a well maintained PC designed specifically for audio use, i.e. no internet apps, graphics apps or unnecessary software will do the job very well. Some companies make audio specific PC's with faster hard drives and audio interfaces etc. If you know the PC interface, then stick with what you know. I would look in the back of Sound On Sound or Performance Magazine and see who is offering any audio specific PCs. It will probably cost as much as a Mac, but it will be designed for the job in hand. Edited October 20, 2009 by derrenleepoole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakenewmanbass Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 [quote name='cheddatom' post='631269' date='Oct 20 2009, 12:40 PM']If you want to record lots of channcels at the same time, you need an interface with that many inputs AND one pre-amp per mic channel. Most external interfaces come with only 2 pre-amps built in.[/quote] Tom, quick diversion from the main question re your post above. I've just got a presonus firestudio project as my interface. The manufacturer claim that the pre amps on each of the 8 ins are good enough in their own right. I also own a focusright octopre from a previous incarnation of my studio (AW HD recorder for sale btw) would you hook the focusright into the presonus and have 2 sets of preamps? or would you rely on the presonus alone? I'd appreciate your thoughts on this (this is before it gets to my overpriced mac ) Sorry for the hijack but it did come up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 To be honest i've not got enough experience with the different pre-amps. It's what sounds best to your ears. I would imagine that the firestudio has pretty good pre-amps in, and that any extention to your interface would also include it's own pre-amps, so your stand-alone octopre is rendered redundant. Sell it to me for £10!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnasher1993 Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 If you're going to be using a laptop you need a good spec. Alot of software won't run well on a laptop. Ideally, you want a big hard drive (2 if possible), as much RAM as you can get, 7200rpm drive speed (rather than 5400rpm of most laptops), less than 5ms seek speed. Obviously, alot of those things are only important if you'll be mixing lots of tracks and running several VSTs etc. Also, alot of people will suggest that the computer that you use for recording should be for just that, i.e. no games or other software. It all depends on how serious you are... As for an interface, if you want lots of tracks you'll need something like the Tascam US-1641. If you're going to be multi tracking everything, then 1-4 channel(s) will be just fine. Have a look at the Lexicon series (Alpha and Omega) or the M-audio fast track line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archetype Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 *Cracks knuckles* This is where my years of Computer support come in handy (Despite working in PC World I do know the products ) Along with recording. In the Windows/mac Debate, Mac is much more stable and reliable for any creative application even with the new Windows 7. I can agree a lot more people have issues with PC than Macs as they just seem to be designed for this whole idea of creativity. Lots of the advice here is pretty good but it really comes down to what your recording. If its a few tracks then you can run it off the internal hard drive despite what people will say, May be a bit slower but it can be done. If you are doing a few tracks (probably more than 8) I would go for an external hard drive. Going for a laptop with a 7200rpm drive will cost more. and one with 2 is even more! Spec wise, Dual Core Processor(AMD or Intel will be fine) and plenty of memory is probably the most important. After that just make sure its got all the USB ports you need too. Its also worth considering which interface your going to use BEFORE you buy the laptop. most laptops on the high street now do NOT come with firewire ports for example. A fantastic place for help with the interface is [url="http://www.recordingreview.com/soundcard/soundcard_wizard.php"]this lovely site.[/url] It gives you the options based on your input to help you find the best interface, very handy for anyone in my opinion! One last point, You might be best looking into the high street stores who will be getting rid of Windows vista based systems thanks to the new Windows 7. As when a new system comes out some software might not be fully compatible yet so may cause some slow starts till its sorted. Any Vista machine from the high street should get a "free" upgrade to 7 (so long as you pay £20 postage) but would help ensure compatibility from the get go. Apart from that have fun Gordon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Cheers Gordo. More food for thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted October 29, 2009 Author Share Posted October 29, 2009 An [b]"Apple G4 running Prologic 7 with separate 'Glyph' drive" [/b] has come up on here - £400. What do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crez5150 Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Sounds good..... as long as you have the front end..... I still have a G4 (400mhz) that I use for Audio.... they're good machines... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_bass Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 In the Mac v.s PC argument. I have to say +1 to a mac. In a word 'Reliability'. I am head of ICT at a secondary school and we use a mixture of mac and PC's on or network. I use both every day. We have a recording studio running pro tools on a G4 powermac quite nicely at work - I believe that some of the effects are run outboard to save on processor time. Having spent plenty of time on both, my choice has to be a mac for at home. For recording at home, I use a mac mini (2ghz core 2, 4gig ram, 750gig external drive) which does the job nicely. I run an m-audio fast track audio interface (although I wish I had spent more and got one with 4 or 8 inputs. I use garageband as it came with the mac, but the plan is to upgrade to logic at some point. I know you can do the same on a PC, but it comes down to using a system that I can trust won't fail at a crucial time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Well the only time my recording set up has been down was 2 weeks ago when the PSU blew. I was absolutely sh*tting myself as I hadn't backed up in a couple of days and I literally saw a flash and some smoke coming out of my PC. Luckily it was just the PSU and I fixed it with £20 and 20 minutes. Would it have been that simple with a mac? Or would their magical indestructable PSUs never blow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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