Minimum requirements for recording

[Tom-sawyer]

I am saving money to get into self-recording, both for self-improvement and writing.

What are the minimum system requirements for recording with a laptop? I plan on using my Pod Xt live to record directly, as I have heard it's the cheapest option.

Edit: can anyone recommend a good laptop?

[bwv1013]

a good rule of thumb is to double the "minimum" requirements recommended by whatever hardware/software you plan to use. for example, if the podxt has a minimum requirement of 512 megs of ram, having a gig on your machine is a good idea. think of it as "headroom" in the digital sense. processor speed isn't as crucial unless you're working with huge projects, any new computer will have you covered in that respect. the machines i use are in the 2ghz processor range (not bleeding edge by any stretch) with 2 gigs of ram and they work quite well for everything i've done.

as for laptops, what operating system do you plan to use?

[DocBop]

Best to start by researching and deciding on what software you want to use. From that you can get the system requirements. Recording requires lots of RAM so I wouldn't get less than 2GB. Laptop drives are typically slower than desktop boxes so get a 7200 RPM hard drive if you can.

[musicelectronix]

www.tweakheadz.com

and this is the guide: http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

This website should be sticky..

[hunta]

It depends on what platform you're going with. If it's a Mac, make sure you do your research on the Agere firewire issue. I believe this has been resolved but it's always good to make absolutely sure you're getting a TI firewire chip. Anything else is likely to cause problems or not work at all.

If you're getting a PC laptop, I strongly recommend ADK. I have one of their 1Q-SR models that I use with a Focusrite Pro/26 and Cubase and it works great. I also do video editing with Vegas, works great as well. They're a little pricier than getting a Dell or HP or whatever but they are guaranteed to work with your audio gear. They'll even install the drivers and software and everything (minus serials of course) if you tell them what you've got. And they offer XP which is huge. Avoid Vista at all costs.

[tZer]

Originally Posted by Tom-sawyer

I am saving money to get into self-recording, both for self-improvement and writing.

What are the minimum system requirements for recording with a laptop? I plan on using my Pod Xt live to record directly, as I have heard it's the cheapest option.

Edit: can anyone recommend a good laptop?

So far, what's been said is fine. I just wanted to share with you the setup I have to show that you may be surprised at how little you actually need.

I have an older model Toshiba Satellite laptop running Windows XP Home edition that, until very recently (last month) had only a measly 512mb of RAM. Stock soundcard - nothing spectacular about it at all. It also has a 1.4gHz processor - so by most standards, this is a VERY under powered machine.

I am running Sonar Producer Edition v. 6 (a killer piece of software, IMO). With that remarkably under-powered machine, I was able to not only record myself with NO problems at all, but I was also able to create multitrack recordings that in some cases exceeded 20 separate tracks of 44.1 audio as well as some soft synths and midi tracks.

I was also able to recored every single rehearsal of my band with not lock-ups, hang-ups or anything-ups. I have a nice little microphone preamp by Church Audio and a pair of tiny stealth mics that did an amazing job capturing live rehearsals. As long as it sounded good in the room it sounded good on 'tape'.

For my own use, I'd use my POD and got really great results with my bass tracks. For the bands use, I was able to use software effects, EQ's etc... to 'improve' on single track recordings as well as lay in more tracks if I wanted.

I got our process to the point where I'd have the band play together and lay down 'bed' or rhythm tracks (no vocals, no solos) then each player would use that bed track to lay down solos, vocals, any additional parts. Again - all on this very wimpy machine.

Don't get me wrong - I am not advocating under-powered machines, but I am saying that you may be surprised at how much you can do with very little machine.

I recently upgraded the RAM (why not? it's cheap!) so that tiny laptop that served me so well for the last few years now works even better!

Continuing along the theme of "You'd be surprised what you can do" - I also have an older desktop (a Dell Dimension 82XX) with only 512mb RAM and a 2.4gHz processor. I installed a Delta 1010LT (10 in, 10 out) and was able to record my band with each instrument getting it's own track - the drums getting 3 tracks. So I was able to get 8 simultaneous and separate tracks at a time - Never had a failure.

I recently assembled a new workstation that is a dedicated DAW with a Delta 1010LT, 2 gig of RAM, a very fast, dual core processor - the works - so having a powerful machine does have it's advantages!