Buying a mobile rig.

[teamdresch]

Ok, I've been thinking about getting a laptop to record gigs for local bands.
I want to be able to record 8 tracks to be mixed later through my desk + outboard back in the studio, so I don't need plug-ins or anything like that. What kind of laptop spec. will I need for that kind of work? Also, recommendations on an interface (I'm thinking Firewire is the way to go) that won't break the bank, but still sound good to my Studer-spoilt ears?

[mikedaul]

I'm planning with pretty much the same goals as you ...sans studer Which suggests my setup is a great deal less sluty than yours, but insofar as this is helpful, I'm planning to get a 12" powerbook and pair it with a presonus firepod. I'm going to do other things with the laptop (so I'm willing to pay a bit extra) but the firepod seems like a good balance of price to capability. The other option I was considering is the motu 896hd.

[teamdresch]

The 896 looks good, and there's an 828 used I could get my hands on. What about software? What'll do a good job of getting clean, no-frills audio to disk?

Also, I should've said, but I'm going to go the PC route (I know..)

[mikedaul]

The 828 is just a converter, so you'd need some preamps to go along with it. The firepod comes with cubase se (for both pc and mac), which should be fine for 8 tracks in at a time. For pc only, ntrack is a great freeware multitrack app (liimted to 16bit, 24bit version costs $60ish)

[teamdresch]

Yeah, actually I was put off at first by the 8 pre amps for that price.. how do they sound? Also, there's a used Digi 002 rack that's tempting. I'll probably bring along a few preamps of my own, and take direct outs from venue desks etc. so even two preamps should do me.

[mikedaul]

cool - the 828 might be the ticket for you then. It's 2 pres are supposed to be clean and quiet. rme converters get a lot of good feedback around these parts, but you'll have to connect via a pcmcia card into the laptop. metric halo is another mobile converter company with lots of good feedback.

As for the firepod pres - the thing's not out yet, but I'm hoping they will be at least serviceable. the 896hd pres are supposed to be plenty decent, but at almost twice the cost I'm not sure it will be worth it. But I'm just speculating here

** edit: I had not seen that rme fireface before - looks interesting...http://www.rme-audio.com/english/firewire/ff800.htm

[henryrobinett]

I use the Metric Halo units. 2882+dsp and the ULN-2. Work great with my AlBook 15" G4. The pres in the 2882 are nice and transparent sounding but for use with sensitive mics or distance micing they aren't really gonna cut it. Their ULN2 has very nice a=very haigh gain pres but its only two channels. In combination they're killer. Great converters too! Better than the 828 for sure.

[teamdresch]

Yeah, the metric halo seems the nicest of the bunch.. I'll have to hope a used one comes my way soon

[sonare]

If budget allows, look at <http://www.sequoiadigital.com> The location rig is a huge leap beyond everything mentioned with the possible exception fo the Metric Halo rig.

Rich

[mikedaul]

If you want to go the rack-mount pc route, you could build it yourself and have a much better system than the sequoia for much less $$ (just my opinion)...

[teamdresch]

Well, the Dell laptop is ordered, ruling out the Metric Halo ...

So, it's pretty much down to Presonus Firepod €750, or 002 Rack €1250. I've been thinking it's about time I learned protools, although I'm still wondering if it's worth the extra €€€.

[sonare]

Originally posted by mikedaul
If you want to go the rack-mount pc route, you could build it yourself and have a much better system than the sequoia for much less $$ (just my opinion)...

Since you seem pretty knowledgeable on this, I am curious how many rackmount rigs you have built, and in what specific ways they were superior to Sequoia? What software did you use?

Rich

[mikedaul]

Since you seem pretty knowledgeable on this, I am curious how many rackmount rigs you have built, and in what specific ways they were superior to Sequoia? What software did you use?

I've only built one actual rackmount recording rig and it's a bit slow by today's standards, but my point is that pc equipment is cheaper now than it has ever been. You can put together a smoking fast dual opteron rig with 2 gig's of ram and half a terabyte of storage for around $2500. There's really nothing in the consumer computing world right now that can hang with that system. You could easily spend twice that amount on converters so I won't get into that.

The sequoia site doesn't mention specifics about their system, so it's hard to compare point by point. I do like lynx converters though, fwiw. Basically (as I understand it) this is just another outfit that will build a custom pc for you. That's great if you don't mind paying a premium and don't feel comfortable putting together a pc. But, if you are a gearslut, I imagine you have all kinds of tweaking skills (and building a pc is NOT hard at all) so why pay someone else to have all the fun for you?

As for software, I really like nuendo/cubase sx, but they all really get the same thing done; it's more about which user interface and work process you prefer.

[sonare]

Originally posted by mikedaul


The sequoia site doesn't mention specifics about their system, so it's hard to compare point by point. I do like lynx converters though, fwiw. Basically (as I understand it) this is just another outfit that will build a custom pc for you. That's great if you don't mind paying a premium and don't feel comfortable putting together a pc. But, if you are a gearslut, I imagine you have all kinds of tweaking skills (and building a pc is NOT hard at all) so why pay someone else to have all the fun for you?

As for software, I really like nuendo/cubase sx, but they all really get the same thing done; it's more about which user interface and work process you prefer.

Actually, Sequoia Digital does quite a bit more than just build a box, which you correctly state anyone can do. They have regular contact with the German designers and deliver a system that has no hardware/software conflicts that can put the user in a catch-22 of the hardware folks saying it is a software problem (and vice versa). One huge advantage is that they offer 24/7 support, something that is rare. Further, when you call you talk with a recording engineer that uses the software, not a guy with a manual in his lap that usually troubleshoots consumer software.

Among the "big four" (Sonic, SADiE, Pyramix, Sequoia) few can do all the things that Sequoia does as well as it does-- tracking (as many tracks as your computer can handle), editing (unbeatable crossfade editor with 4-point source/destination), and mastering (linear-phase EQ as an option) along with DDP format-- the mark of a top-line mastering app. It also features POWr noise shaping (dither), a big sonic plus.

As with everything else, you get what you pay for-- I paid a bit more for my system, but I have not regretted it for a second. I know that my downtime is very minimal, and that certainly affects the bottom line of my business.

Rich

[mikedaul]

Well, the Dell laptop is ordered, ruling out the Metric Halo ...

So, it's pretty much down to Presonus Firepod €750, or 002 Rack €1250. I've been thinking it's about time I learned protools, although I'm still wondering if it's worth the extra €€€...

Which Dell did you end up getting? Did you see that the 700m finally came out today? It has everything I want in a laptop except for its crappy integrated video. Oh well...

If you want to make music now, I'd say go for the 002. It's pretty well-received and I don't think it will cause you any grief. The presonus isn't out yet (so far as I know at least) so the jury is still out on its quality (especially in terms of stability of the drivers).

[teamdresch]

I got a 9100. I felt happier going for a P4, and I got my fancy video card and FSB. It won't ever be disconnected from the AC, so a mobile P4 / P-M's power saving features are no use to me. Also, P-M's seem to be a couple of hundred bucks more expensive for comparable systems.

[mikedaul]

excellent No harm in playing some doom 3 on the side right?

[teamdresch]

Man's gotta live.

[mikedaul]

So I finally found a laptop that I'm happy with (and it just arrived today). I got an HP nc6000. It's a little heavier than I'd like, but it's the best balance of size to features to price that I've been able to find (picked it up open-box but new for $1250). It also comes with a 3 year warranty so that's some extra piece of mind. I will have to add firewire via a pcmcia card though...