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Optimize Your Laptop and Go Mobile
They used to say that you can’t take it with you.
But that’s changed.
Today’s laptops have reached a point where you no
longer sacrfice power and speed for portability, and Cakewalk customers
have been asking us “Can I do digital recording and arranging on
my laptop?” Yes you can; and with this month's tech tip we’re
going to walk you through setting up a laptop for digital audio and upgrading
it into a pro-grade studio machine.
The first place to start, as with any computer used for
recording, is by turning off all of the unnecessary programs and utilities
that come preloaded onto most machines today. Start by disabling
or turning off programs like CD burning utilities, anti-virus programs,
data backup software, and networking utilities. Most applications
that are running in the background will place an icon next to the clock
in Windows. Often, right-clicking this icon gives you the option
to disable or close the program.
1. Audio Interfaces
Ultimately, the quality of your recordings is only as
good as your soundcard. The built-in soundcards in laptops are fine
for games or Real Audio clips but the awkward 1/8” inputs and tinny
speakers are often the biggest roadblock for doing quality audio work.
Also, in order to take advantage of real-time effects monitoring and low-latency
soft synths, you’ll want a card with well written (and well supported!)
WDM drivers. These are the new Microsoft standard for audio interfaces
and ensure maximum compatibility with Windows 2000 and XP. Manufacturers
have responded with a wide range of soundcards in a variety of formats
such as Firewire (IEEE1394), USB, and CardBus (PCMCIA).
USB
USB is by far the most common and least expensive format
for audio interfaces. These devices are often powered via the
USB port and are therefore small and light without the need for power
adapters or wall warts. The disadvantage is that most of these
units are limited to 44.1khz/16-bit recording and rarely feature more
than 1 or 2 sets of inputs and outputs. However, they are a great
solution when size and cost are a concern.
Firewire
There are only a few Firewire cards available as of
this writing, most notably being the Mark
of the Unicorn 828 and 896. With a host of analog and digital
I/O and support for WDM drivers, these are fast becoming popular units.
Cardbus PCM CIA
Another solution is a CardBus/PCMCIA device that plugs
into the slot on the side of your laptop. Some units such as the
Digigram VXPocket
features an attached group of cables for hooking up your gear while
units like the Echo
Layla24 and Mona feature rack-mount breakout boxes, replete with ADAT
lightpipe, S/PDIF, and Microphone preamps. Since these last two
units can also connect via a PCI card, they can be used with both your
laptop and desktop computer for maximum versatility.
While Firewire and CardBus units are often larger than
USB devices, they take advantage of increased throughput to offer higher
resolution recording/playback, an increased number of inputs and outputs,
and a more robust interface than USB provides.
2. Hard Disk Space
Next, you’ll need to make sure that you have plenty
of hard disk space. Fortunately most computers these days come with
30Gb+ hard drives, which should give you plenty of storage for all but
the most intense audio projects. You’ll need room for loop
libraries, your software, and of course any tracks you record to the computer.
For the latter, figure on 5 megabytes for every minute of a single channel
audio track. Stereo tracks, for example will eat 10 MB every minute
and recording four tracks of audio will consume 20 MB per minute.
One disadvantage that laptops have is that their hard
drives are typically much slower than an equivalent desktop computer.
In order to keep noise, heat, and power consumption low, manufacturers
have created 2.5” drives that operate at around 4200 RPM compared
to 3.5” IDE drives that typically run at 7200 RPM. This equates
to slower access times and less bandwidth for laptops, which will limit
the number of tracks you can run simultaneously.
External Drives
If you are interested in recording a lot of tracks
or recording at higher than CD quality (44.1 khz/16-bit) then you should
consider using an external drive just for audio. An external drive
will prevent your boot drive from getting cluttered up, will provide
greater performance (more tracks), and will give you the freedom of
moving your projects between several different computers. Several
options are available but Firewire (IEEE1394) has turned out to be the
most practical. There are several companies that make Firewire
drives such as Glyph,
Lacie, and Maxtor.
Other companies such as ADS
Technologies make Firewire enclosures that allow you to use an ordinary
IDE hard drive as a FireWire drive. This is a great way to recycle
an older ATA33 or 66 hard drive from a desktop. As with any drive,
make sure to backup your data regularly to another hard drive or CD
and defragment the drive often to ensure that it is running at maximum
efficiency. Microsoft provides a disk defragmenting utility which
is available under Start | Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Disk
Defragmenter.
3. Tips
Here are some parting tips that can help improve your
laptop experience:
- After adding a soundcard, external hard drive, MIDI
controller, etc, some may question the portability of their system. The
nice thing about external gear is that it can be unplugged and left
at home. If you are arranging a MIDI score on the plane, leave that
hard drive and soundcard behind and likewise doing field recording probably
won’t require a keyboard controller.
- Many users will want a way to input MIDI into their
machine without lugging around a full-size keyboard. Small battery
powered units such as the Midiman Oxygen 8 are beginning to appear in
order to address this very concern. Battery-powered units such
as the Boss DR-202 can also make handy controllers for entering percussion.
- USB and Firewire devices can be picky about the type
of USB/Firewire controller you have. Always check compatibility with
the manufacturer before purchasing.
- Some USB soundcards such as the Edirol UA-5 allow
24-bit recording and feature WDM drivers for low-latency monitoring
and DXi playback.
- On some laptops, the power adapter can create electrical
noise when plugged in. When trying to track down an elusive "hum,"
try running off the battery. When the laptop is plugged in, make sure
not to run any audio cables near the power adapter.
- USB hard drives can be useful for backup but lack
the bandwidth to be used for audio.
- Using a Firewire soundcard AND a Firewire hard drive
can sometimes lead to problems. Using a CardBus based soundcard like
those from Echo
in combination with a Firewire drive seems to be the best combination.
More Tips
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