Members maarkr Posted August 9, 2014 Members Share Posted August 9, 2014 My 5 yr old Toshiba Satellite 17" laptop may get retired this fall, even tho i've updated it with Win 8 and an SSD. I really want a portable platform to use for audio editing/recording. I'm used to using quality DAWs on my desktop, so I'm curious about any recommendations peep have about a platform. I already own an iPad, so i have that option, but laptops are nice for heavy-duty stuff. I also use the iPad to manage songs and read/play Songbook music, so it may be hard to multitask with it.I looked at ultrabooks on sites, but i wonder if they are sturdy? Netbooks are out since I have an iPad. I do like the heft of my 17" notebook in a way. I have DAW software I can put on a Windows laptop and interface with my desktop DAWs, primarily Sonar X3 and Reaper, and I may upgrade my Reason to ver 8. I may get a separate sound interface too.So, does anyone that uses portable studios have any + or - to each of these platforms? Are ultrabooks too flimsy? And what about touch-screens for Win laptops... are they useful for any audio apps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted August 22, 2014 Members Share Posted August 22, 2014 I use a MacBook and a Presonus Audiobox1818VSL interface and I feel like I am behind the times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted August 22, 2014 Members Share Posted August 22, 2014 I'd ask how many track you need to record at one time when doing remote recording.You can buy a stand alone cheaper then a laptop and interface. The problem with laptops are they only have one internal drive and you have additional latency running an external drive. If you only needed to record 4 tracks those hand held recorders do a pretty good job for live stuff. If you need 8 or 16 channels a stand alone might be the ticket. You can always dump the tracks on your desktop DAW for mixing and fine editing. Something like this Zoom will allow you to record 8 tracks at a time and up to 24 tracks max before you need to start bouncing. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=708412&gclid=CPvDmo79psACFUVo7AodqSkAkg&Q=&is=REG&A=details The other part is, when you track you aren't worried about booting a computer, using a mouse and all that crap. Tracking is as simple as it gets. Afterwards you can connect with a USB and pull the files over to mix. That's when the computer really does make a difference and mixing on the stand alone may not be sufficient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 I use a MacBook and a Presonus Audiobox1818VSL interface and I feel like I am behind the times. Why do you feel like you're behind the times? That seems like a fairly modern and capable mobile rig to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 My 5 yr old Toshiba Satellite 17" laptop may get retired this fall' date=' even tho i've updated it with Win 8 and an SSD. I really want a portable platform to use for audio editing/recording. I'm used to using quality DAWs on my desktop, so I'm curious about any recommendations peep have about a platform. I already own an iPad, so i have that option, but laptops are nice for heavy-duty stuff. I also use the iPad to manage songs and read/play Songbook music, so it may be hard to multitask with it.[/quote'] I know there are a couple of iPad DAW programs, but honestly I wouldn't want to do extensive editing on an iPad. I think a laptop would be better suited for that. I looked at ultrabooks on sites, but i wonder if they are sturdy? Netbooks are out since I have an iPad. I do like the heft of my 17" notebook in a way. And there's something to be said for having more screen real estate too - or at least I feel that way now that I'm a little older and my close distance vision isn't as good as it once was. I have DAW software I can put on a Windows laptop and interface with my desktop DAWs, primarily Sonar X3 and Reaper, and I may upgrade my Reason to ver 8. I may get a separate sound interface too. So, does anyone that uses portable studios have any + or - to each of these platforms? Are ultrabooks too flimsy? And what about touch-screens for Win laptops... are they useful for any audio apps? Sorry, I'm not really up to date on the latest PC laptops; I am currently using a PC for my desktop machine, and a 15" MacBook Pro for my laptop. As far as touchscreens go, I'm not aware of any DAW applications that are designed specifically for them other than the iPad-based ones like Steinberg's Cubasis or Auria from WaveMachine Labs. Slate Digital makes some touchscreen based mixers too. I have not tried using Sonar with a touchscreen PC, but it might be fun to try it. I suppose it would be similar to interacting with an iPad based program. BTW, Reason 8 looks pretty darned cool, and the upgrade price is currently only $129, regardless of which version you're upgrading from. http://www.harmonycentral.com/news/propellerhead-unveils-reason-8-music-production-software Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted August 23, 2014 Members Share Posted August 23, 2014 Why do you feel like you're behind the times? That seems like a fairly modern and capable mobile rig to me. It seems that there are smaller, lighter and faster alternatives these days - recording to RAM instead of HD etc. I'm even considering getting the ADAT interface for my old AW4416 which I still think is the cat's ass although mine has the old SCSI CD recorder so... well you know, to interface with the AudioBox. I still like tracking with the 4416 and, even without the ease of use that a computer has, it is still a powerful editing tool although I do most of that in Reaper now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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