Laptop live performance question...

[cybergrinder]

Hello everyone, new to the board.

I'm getting a new laptop soon for live performance. I'm going to be performing by myself, playing guitar and a hardware synthesizer both with loops. I'm going to run a DAW (Ableton Live) for a drums and bass (until I get a bassist) lined directly into PA for this. I'm looking at some drumming programs like Battery or Drumkit from Hell.

My question is that I've heard to achieve better sound quality I'm going to need an outboard sound module and a MIDI translator box. Do I need these? What do they do? I've never used a computer for performance, just recording/sequencing. One of my friends band does this and the drums sounded great. Thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions.

[Dysanfel]

Originally Posted by cybergrinder

Hello everyone, new to the board.

I'm getting a new laptop soon for live performance. I'm going to be performing by myself, playing guitar and a hardware synthesizer both with loops. I'm going to run a DAW (Ableton Live) for a drums and bass (until I get a bassist) lined directly into PA for this. I'm looking at some drumming programs like Battery or Drumkit from Hell.

My question is that I've heard to achieve better sound quality I'm going to need an outboard sound module and a MIDI translator box. Do I need these? What do they do? I've never used a computer for performance, just recording/sequencing. One of my friends band does this and the drums sounded great. Thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions.

Yes, buy a professional audio interface. If the interface does not have XLR balanced outs you may want to consider buying some direct boxes just in case your soundman does not have any extras laying around.

Why would you need a MIDI interface? Are you triggering hardware synths?

[phas3d]

Do you already own the laptop or are you going to buy it?

[cybergrinder]

Originally Posted by Dysanfel

Yes, buy a professional audio interface. If the interface does not have XLR balanced outs you may want to consider buying some direct boxes just in case your soundman does not have any extras laying around.

Why would you need a MIDI interface? Are you triggering hardware synths?

So it is best to line out to a PA from an audio interface. But I thought an interface is for sound going into the computer, for better recording quality. So I line out from the laptop-->interface-->PA?

Someone also told me to get an rack mixer. But I don't even know how I would tweak individual parts of the drums with that. The drums are going to be sequenced as a track.

I have a hardware synth that I might use.

[cybergrinder]

Originally Posted by phas3d

Do you already own the laptop or are you going to buy it?

The laptop I have is old and slow, so I'm going to get a new one. What would you recommend?

[phas3d]

Originally Posted by cybergrinder

The laptop I have is old and slow, so I'm going to get a new one. What would you recommend?

I would suggest a Macbook Pro with Logic Studio. I know it might seem too much, but bear with me. You intend to perform live. And a laptop is supposed to make your life easy. Right?
This why i suggest this:

Apple - Logic Studio - MainStage 2

Along with this for control:

Apogee Electronics > Products > GiO

It's just a way to keep it simple...

[cybergrinder]

Yeah I'll definitely have to save up, as I was looking at Apple and Lenovo. I really want a Macbook Pro though.

But, if I didn't get the Mac, what would be the best besides those two that could do that job?

[phas3d]

I've stayed away from PC's for some years now. So I'm not the best person to advise you on that.
I know that Mainstage has been used a lot from Herbie Hancock to Ramstein and Nine Inch Nails. It's supposed to work well. It's not good if something screws up in front of thousands of people.
I myself am a long time Logic user and have nothing to say but good about it. Logic can also work in rewire with Live if you wish so.
Good luck

[PaPi61]

Originally Posted by phas3d

I've stayed away from PC's for some years now.

So, you're not really comparing a new mac to a new PC, you're comparing a new mac to the pc you used years ago (if that is even true.) Which means you're not qualified to establish that a mac is actually a better solution.

Considering what a MBP costs and that a similarly-performing PC would cost 1/2 or even 1/3 and would feature a much more stable and much better supported 64-bit OS, it's really a no brainer, especially for a person concerned with the budget.

[RasCricket]

Originally Posted by PaPi61

So, you're not really comparing a new mac to a new PC, you're comparing a new mac to the pc you used years ago (if that is even true.) Which means you're not qualified to establish that a mac is actually a better solution.

Considering what a MBP costs and that a similarly-performing PC would cost 1/2 or even 1/3 and would feature a much more stable and much better supported 64-bit OS, it's really a no brainer, especially for a person concerned with the budget.

Dude, you cant help the ill-informed or the multitudes of Mac people who think that theyre more talented or closer to being professional because they use a Mac. You cant help them.

They were sold to a marketing scheme a LONG time ago. You cant help them to think logically. Theyre long gone....

[norbury brook]

see my new post about the HP envy 15 :D


By the way you can use the onboard sound, just make or buy a decent mini jack to two jacks cable and plug them into the D.I boxes for the PA system.I've run this way along with the MD/keys for don't forget the Lyrics TV show absolutely no problems at all.

I was running reaper as my VSTI host on windows(bootcamp MBP), he was running main stage on OSX, i was running at 64 samples he couldn't get below 256, his mac was also a lot newer and more powerful than mine. Mine's not even a Core2 duo just a coreduo, he was on a 2.4 core2duo 8 gigs ram.


MC

[J_O_P]

You can look at ADK Pro Audio.

[phas3d]

I've used Mainstage below 256 buffer. Unlike what most people think latency is not just about pure CPU power. Audio interface hardware and drivers are a big part of the equation here.
Mainstage has performed and continues to do so before thousands of people. It's very good solution that let's you use your exact songs presets sounds, along with backing track and live looping. You can also personalize your display environment so that you only see parameters that you'll using live and not the dozens present that you won't.
Good luck

[phas3d]

Originally Posted by norbury brook

Mine's not even a Core2 duo just a coreduo, he was on a 2.4 core2duo 8 gigs ram.


MC

That's a 3 year old MBP. And I doubt he was even using 10.6. New I5 MBP is much much faster than that. There is no way you can compare the two. I also bet he wasn't using Mainstage 2 either.

[norbury brook]

of course but my points to the OP are;

1:You don't need an expensive audio interface for live work.
2;Windows is a perfectly good OS to run a live DAW on.


As I said TV shows that cost $1000 of dollars per minute are as mission critical as it comes and on board sound and windows were used without any problems in the case of the show I was working on.

MC

[api2500]

I'm with phas3d and if you can afford and if you were looking at one anyway, get a MBP (The magenetic power cord has saved me roughly a million times both at home and on stage...). If not, do try spend as much as you can realistically afford. You do pay for what you get.

Make sure it's got a reliable Firewire port if your interface is working via Firewire. Make sure the USB ports are both USB High Speed (2.0) not USB Full Speed Hubs (1.1). Make sure you interface is rock rock solid (look at the RME Fireface and you'll see what I mean).

Keep the RAM high and the CPU high so that you can set really low Buffer Settings.

Make sure it's not a netbook and therefore made out of last Christmas's wrapping paper, and if you can get a hard case or an aluminum suitcase it'll prevent knocks in your gig bag or the back of the van.

Consider an external Hard Drive for Sample streaming and maybe see if you can fix your old laptop so that you have some kind of contingency plan when your laptop poos itself.

If your looking to get Battery don't worry about getting Hardware for better sound quality. Concentrate on the drumming and the sounds.

What kind of venue will you be doing? Will they have their own PA system?

Other than that. Good Luck!

[muziekschuur]

I'd get two active speakers (the ones with plastics.... their light and nice). Get some padded covers for them too.

Get a Phonic helix 24 universal
The Helix has USB2 and firewire to connect to the Dell Laptop.

Get a Dell laptop

Get Sonar 8.5 SE

The proper cabling

A 6" high 19" rack enclosure with top hat. So the Phonic can be mounted in there and some extra efx underneath. (an extra Lexicon reverb and two compressors).

A drawer in the rack so the laptop can be put in there with some cloth around it or some foam.

And if you have enough dough some in ear monitoring and wireless cabling for the guitar. & a charger for batteries.

[Bill@WelcomeHome]

I recently bought two laptops. The MSI was fantastic. I stripped all the junk out of it with revo uninstaller and started from scratch, and it just sings. The Hp/Compaq is a POS and I would not recommend it to anyone, not even for email.
The MSI was under $700 and would make a great live performance machine.

Dell and most of the other low budget machines that you see around are usually filled with crap which slows down the performance. You can usually get the driver disk, the OS disk, and reformat the hard drive to take all that junk out. There are less extreme answers, but this one usually saves time in the long run. Your needs appear simple, so I would expect most any computer will handle them once you eliminate the crapware and all the phone-home junk and all the junk that runs in the background that doesn't need to be running. So I figure that any machine on sale at Walmart or Best Buy will do what you need, just don't buy the very cheapest one out there, make ssure that you have some memory and a reasonably fast processor.


Any DAW will do what you have descirbed that you need, even the entry level versions of Samplitude, Cubase, Sonar.

I would suggest something like EZ Drummer or AD.

It would be nice to have a good interface with options rather than try to use the on-board sound card. Most major manufacturers like Tascam, MAudio etc make an entry level model that usually sells for less than $200 and can be found used for around $125. Besides having a full compliment of ins and outs, these interfaces usually come with the DAW software included, so you can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.


To get to the PA you need whatever the output cables are from the interface, to a DI. Usually the PA guy will supply the DI. Usually the DI will expect to see an unbalanced 1/4", either line or instrument level.

The reason why you want to go through a DI is so that you can isolate yourself electrically from the PA, and so that you can break the ground connection between your computer and the PA.