Computer recommendations?

Hi folks!

I'm getting my very own computer, for the first time since my
Commodore-64 in the '80s!

Once again, this will be a gift from Mom and Dad.

I'm thinking laptop.

What would you all recommend?

Making music is pretty much the only thing I want to use it for.

Thanks,
Paul

> I'm getting my very own computer, for the first time
> since my Commodore-64 in the '80s!
>
> Once again, this will be a gift from Mom and Dad.
>
> I'm thinking laptop.
>
> What would you all recommend?
>
> Making music is pretty much the only thing I want to
> use it for.

Hi Paul,

Lots to say here. Maybe it's best taken off-list.

The first decision to make is to decide whether you
want a desktop or a laptop. You'll get a lot more
bang for your buck out of a desktop, but you get
obvious flexibility out of a laptop. I got my first
laptop 4 years ago -- the IBM Thinkpad X20 I'm typing
this on today. It's been great, and I'll never go
back to desktops, but it isn't all roses.

The next decision is platform: Apple, PC, or Mac?
In the music industry, Apple is king. But PCs are
faster per dollar, and faster in the limit. Also
there's much more pirated software available for
PCs than Macs, if that's a consideration (you think
the hardware is expensive!).

The Linux alternative is nice, but there aren't a
lot of pro-level audio apps out there. However,
you won't have the guilt of piracy on your shoulders,
and there are some great little tools that can be
used to get professional results.

Another thing is to think what you'll use it for.
Software synthesis? Score entry? MIDI sequencing?
Audio sequencing? All of the above? Will you want
to use it live on stage?

In PCs, good brands are Dell, IBM, Toshiba, and
Sony. If you get a laptop, your best bet is a
"Pentium M 775" system. With Apple, be sure to
get something with at least one G5 in it. No matter
what you buy, your best spent dollars are on RAM,
up to a gigabyte at least.

-Carl

Carl wrote...

> The Linux alternative is nice, but there aren't a
> lot of pro-level audio apps out there. However,
> you won't have the guilt of piracy on your shoulders,

Umm, well. It *is* possble to run Windows without using pirated software!

Rick

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Erlich" <perlich@a...>
wrote:
> Hi folks!
>
> I'm getting my very own computer, for the first time since my
> Commodore-64 in the '80s!
>
> Once again, this will be a gift from Mom and Dad.
>
> I'm thinking laptop.
>
> What would you all recommend?

What's your parent's price cap? Laptops are expensive. I just got a
GQ desktop for $150, which is a special Fry's has from time to time,
and swapped my old disks and CD-RW into it. I now have a rare triple
boot system (W98, W2K, Linux) in play.

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Erlich" <perlich@a...> wrote:
> Hi folks!
>
> I'm getting my very own computer, for the first time since my
> Commodore-64 in the '80s!
>
> Once again, this will be a gift from Mom and Dad.
>
> I'm thinking laptop.
>
> What would you all recommend?
>
> Making music is pretty much the only thing I want to use it for.
>
> Thanks,
> Paul

The popular Dell brand is frequently cited as something to avoid for
music. I use a Dell laptop at work and it's a bit slow and unstable
despite having a 2 GHz CPU. People seem to think better of Toshiba,
IBM Thinkpad, and Sony VAIO for Windows-based music.

If I felt a need to acquire another laptop (my iBook is too
underpowered), I'd look at the eMachine line, which seems to be
well-regarded. In a recent thread on PC laptop recommendations, the
eMachine brand was recommended over and over again. The highest-end
ones have a 1600MHz system bus - the most expensive model is on sale
for $1649 (w/ rebates) at Best Buy.

For audio interface, MOTU and RME interfaces have a good track record
for Firewire and PCMIA respectively. USB may be adequate, but has
lower real-world bandwidth than Firewire.

JMO,
Paolo

Paul,

{you wrote...}
>I'm thinking laptop. What would you all recommend? Making music is pretty >much the only thing I want to use it for.

My laptop is a couple years old now, and I built a mini-pc (still portable, just not a laptop) custom for music. But I can offer the following:

The Audiophile 24/96 Firewire audio card continues to get good marks, both for sound quality and excellent performance.

As far as the computer itself, I suggest writing Alison Monteith directly, as she had a laptop custom-configured for musis (I believe she uses the above sound card) and has been working with it now for at least a year. Nothing like someone who is doing exactly what you want to do to be of help.

The only other thing is whether or not you want to get an Apple. I've never owned one, but I have recently given serious thought to one. The only downside is the smaller amount of music software, but what is there is quality, and outside of micro stuff you'll find all very solid applications. A composer/sound designer from NY that I worked with here in San Diego for the Old Globe Theatre had *everything* on it: Pro Tools, all his samples, etc. When what went down at a recording studio in 8 hours got thrown out by the director, he created an entire score on the laptop, including using the perc I recorded at the session.

And take your time and make sure you get what you want.

Cheers,
Jon

At 04:59 AM 7/9/2004, you wrote:
> >I'm thinking laptop. What would you all recommend? Making music is > pretty much the only thing I want to use it for.

This just caught my eye...

I'd wait for this fall when PCI-Express laptops will emerge + the new ATI & NVidia mobile graphics cards; more importantly the Axiom or MXM graphics upgradeable standards.. For an audio interface I'm looking at the new RME Firewire 800... Hot stuff... Granted the above will carry a $$ tag and won't hit the mainstream market until next May or so...

As far as acquiring said laptop... I'm going to be looking at getting it directly from the manufacturer.. IE companies like Clevo, etc.

Can't recall if I mentioned that I'll be speaking out at ICMC.. If anyone is going from here I'd be glad to share a room due to expense of travel.

Just spoke at Sun's JavaOne and rocked it.. I think I'll get a full technical session next year.. Some press folks from O'Reilly were there and I'm discussing possibility of speaking at their emerging tech conference & even some book ideas for game programming and audio.

Best,
--Mike

Lead Developer,
Scream: http://audio.egregious.net/scream/
Auriga3D: http://www.auriga3d.org/

>> I'm thinking laptop. What would you all recommend? Making music
>> is pretty much the only thing I want to use it for.
>
>This just caught my eye...
>
>I'd wait for this fall when PCI-Express laptops will emerge + the
>new ATI & NVidia mobile graphics cards; more importantly the
>Axiom or MXM graphics upgradeable standards..

Indeed. Of course, powerful graphics aren't important for
music, and can eat battery like crazy.

The other thing to wait for in the fall is Intel's new (and maybe
even useable!) onboard sound for laptops...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/04/16/intel_hd_audio/

...but wait, it's part of Alviso, which has been pushed back
to '05...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/06/16/intel_centrino_2_delay/

...such is the way of things. Always something better just
around the corner.

>For an audio interface I'm looking at the new RME Firewire 800...
>Hot stuff... Granted the above will carry a $$ tag and
>won't hit the mainstream market until next May or so...

All this audio interface stuff seems backward. It's microphones
and instruments that should be doing the A/D conversion!

I was going to mention that IBM Thinkpads are my choice for
laptops. They're expensive, but you get what you pay for.
But one drawback is, they don't have FireWire. The good news
is, USB 2 audio interfaces should be hitting the market in
earnest later this year. For now, this seems to be the best
choice...

http://edirol.com/products/info/ua1000.html

>Just spoke at Sun's JavaOne and rocked it.. I think I'll get a full
>technical session next year.. Some press folks from O'Reilly were
>there and I'm discussing possibility of speaking at their emerging
>tech conference & even some book ideas for game programming and
audio.
>
>Best,
>--Mike
>
>Lead Developer,
>Scream: http://audio.egregious.net/scream/

Sounds rad!

>Auriga3D: http://www.auriga3d.org/

Freakin' awesome!! Java must not suck, after all... :)

-Carl

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "paolovalladolid" <phv40@h...>

/makemicromusic/topicId_7047.html#7063

wrote:
> --- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Erlich" <perlich@a...>
wrote:
> > Hi folks!
> >
> > I'm getting my very own computer, for the first time since my
> > Commodore-64 in the '80s!
> >
> > Once again, this will be a gift from Mom and Dad.
> >
> > I'm thinking laptop.
> >
> > What would you all recommend?
> >
> > Making music is pretty much the only thing I want to use it for.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Paul
>
> The popular Dell brand is frequently cited as something to avoid for
> music. I use a Dell laptop at work and it's a bit slow and unstable
> despite having a 2 GHz CPU. People seem to think better of Toshiba,
> IBM Thinkpad, and Sony VAIO for Windows-based music.
>
> If I felt a need to acquire another laptop (my iBook is too
> underpowered), I'd look at the eMachine line, which seems to be
> well-regarded. In a recent thread on PC laptop recommendations, the
> eMachine brand was recommended over and over again. The highest-end
> ones have a 1600MHz system bus - the most expensive model is on sale
> for $1649 (w/ rebates) at Best Buy.
>
> For audio interface, MOTU and RME interfaces have a good track
record
> for Firewire and PCMIA respectively. USB may be adequate, but has
> lower real-world bandwidth than Firewire.
>
> JMO,
> Paolo

***The Sony VAIO's are quite ideosyncratic. I use one at "work..."
The "computer guru" hates it, and it requires special, and probably
unnecessary, updates from the web, etc. I don't know if I'd
recommend it... :)

J. Pehrson