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Portable Power
Identifying the advantages
of Laptop computing is simple -portability, portability,
and portability. It seems so alluring to just pick
up a machine the size of a notebook and take everything
with you.
While for many musicians their
instruments, interfaces, and style of work lends
itself to an anchored studio in a bedroom, or maybe
even their very own project studio, in recent years
more and more musicians have plunged into micro-sizing
their setups.
Trying to fit a studio inside
the computer, with a few peripherals around for
input and output of audio and MIDI, has become more
of a reality today with the increased power available
in laptops and the proliferation of USB and Firewire
based devices. Yet, disadvantages that can plague
those looking to build a studio around a laptop
still exist when compared to a desktop system. Let’s
take a look and see what laptops, software, and
hardware systems are capable of turning your setup
into a mobile studio.
Something to Consider
Not to start on a negative note but it’s important to look at some of
the inherent disadvantages that face laptops vs. desktop machines. You’ve
got to know what the limitations are if you want to get around them. Most of
these limitations stem from the same characteristics that make laptops so appealing
-small size and portability.
Hard Drives
Because of the decreased size and issues with heat (since components
are scrunched together in laptops) most laptops utilize 4200 or 5400 rpm drives
as opposed to the 7200rpm drives found in the majority of today’s desktop
computers. As we know, hard disk speed is directly related to the track counts
we can achieve within any given setup. While 4200rpm drives can give you modest
track counts, laptops just can’t run as many tracks as desktop systems.
A couple of things to consider
though are that some laptop manufactures are starting
to increase the capabilities of their internal drives.
For instance, the newest PowerBooks from Apple claim
to achieve 298Mbps transfer rates from their hard
drives. Also, fast, external Firewire drives can
help you increase track count and storage capacity
-but at the expense of adding another device to
the mix.
CPU Speed
It’s a known fact... the CPU’s in laptops are going to be behind
the times compared to their desktop counterparts. This is just one of those
areas a sacrifice will have to be made in exchange for portability.
When I buy a computer I usually
don’t buy the crazy, expensive, newest, fastest
CPU model because a slightly scaled down model can
give you comparable performance at a considerably
smaller price tag. Yet, when it comes to laptops
I suggest springing for the fastest CPU you can
afford. While Apple iBooks based on the G3 processor
can work for audio, having a PowerBooks with a G4
processor will considerably increase your track
count and ability to run plug-ins and softsynths.
Also, some of the latest PowerBooks employ L3 cache
which boosts the overall system performance.
Bus Speed
Another bottleneck for laptop users is that the overall system bus is
usually slower than desktop equivalents. This is changing though. For instance
the newest PowerBooks have a 133MGHz system bus which is better than my not
so old desktop that’s chugging away on a 100MGHz bus. Bus speed is an
important factor to overall performance so make sure you get the fastest possible
whether it’s a PC or Apple laptop.
RAM Capabilities
Most laptops can’t hold as much RAM as Desktop systems, but current models
max out at 1 gig of RAM which is very adequate for working with audio. You
should definitely look into how much RAM any particular laptop can handle -hopefully
it will be in the 1 gig range.
No PCI Slots
PCI based DAW interface cards are the standard for turning analogue instruments
into digital tracks. Of course, these don’t exist for laptops so you’ll
be looking at USB, Firewire, and PCMIA based interfaces.
Battery Life
Battery life is definitely something to pay close attention to if you
plan on doing serious portable recording without any AC around... like recording
a tree off in the forest when no one is around to hear it (except the laptop)
to answer that age old question, “does it make a sound?”. The more
powerful the laptop the more battery life it will drain, and if you start adding
bus powered interfaces you might find that your laptop can’t even record
a CD length performance before the battery is sucked dry.
To give you an idea, the newest
PowerBooks can run 4.5 hours on its Lithium-ion
battery with “normal” usage. You might
not think of it when checking out laptops, but battery
life is an important consideration.
Get to the
Goods
Now let’s get to the fun stuff. You’ve got a laptop and are ready
to build your portable Abbey Road studio. Let’s look at how to get audio
and MIDI into and back out of your portable rig.
How to connect:
Audio
There are three different ways an audio interface can connect to your
laptop: Firewire, USB, and PCMCIA (also called Cardbus). Depending on what
you want your laptop studio to be capable of could determine which one might
be best for you.
Firewire/PCMCIA
If you are thinking multichannel, especially if you’re talking more than
4 tracks, I would suggest looking into either PCMCIA or Firewire interfaces.
USB in its current incarnation just isn’t up to snuff in my opinion for
heavy multichannel recording and playback. The latency for some USB units can
be pretty high too. This could all change once USB 2.0 compatible devices hit
the market. Here’s some Firewire/PCMCIA based devices to check out:
MOTU
828
Presonus
Firestation
RME
Digiface
USB
If you have more modest needs -like a two in two out configuration- USB
interfaces can work out fine. For instance, I can get down to a 10msec latency
recording a single channel with the Edirol UA700 via USB. Also, many interfaces
today (USB, Firewire, and PCMCIA) are incorporating low latency monitoring
either through software or “input monitoring modes” on the interface
itself. Of course, if you plan on trying to monitoring signals through plug-ins
these monitoring solutions might not help. Here’s a couple USB based
solutions:
Edirol
UA700
M-Audio
USB Quattro
True Portability
-Bus Powered Interfaces
Another thing to consider is the concept of true portability. Most of
the devices available today still need an AC power source. Yet, some devices
are capable of powering themselves off of the USB or Firewire bus -making the
entire setup truly portable. This isn’t an easy thing to do though and
usually involves more time and research on the manufacturer’s part to
implement. Another caveat is that when you go bus powered you need to consider
that other devices on that bus could affect the stability of the setup. For
instance, adding on Firewire drives and other peripherals could drain too much
power from the audio interface. The king of bus powered interfaces in my opinion
is Metric Halo’s Firewire based, 8 channel, Mobile I/O.
Metric
Halo Mobile I/O
Ready for the
Portability Plunge
So, has the idea of a laptop got you thinking about the possibilities
of taking your studio with you everywhere you go? Well, it is definitely possible
these days to have a powerful portable system that rivals a desktop studio
of just a few years ago. But what about all those synths, samplers, keyboards,
and mixers you have to carry around. Well, next time we’ll discuss the
new breed of compact MIDI controllers that can let you play soft synths and
give you physical faders and knobs for all those software programs. Also, we’ll
look at some software that lends itself to laptop setups, especially for live
performance.
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