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Need opinions on an interface for playing live with laptop


musicbysterling

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Apple hasn't been putting TI chips in their Macbooks for a few years now, I think.

I have a 17" Macbook Pro, the one with both Firewire 400 and Firewire 800 connectors. Any idea about this one?

I'm also curious about the current and previous generation Mac Minis.

I'd be more tempted by the new Air if it had Firewire.

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You can do that. I use the headphone out all the time, because I don't always use my FW interface. It might be a bit wobbly for onstage use though.

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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A few people are asking what FireWire chipset your MacBook has. On a Linux box, this would be a simple 'lspci' command, but OS X seems not to have that, so the only way I could figure out to check is this:

 

Shut down your computer. Start it up, and press and hold command+S right away to invoke single-user mode. Look for the FireWire hardware in the verbose list it will print out during its single-user startup process.

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I'll second the motion for MOTU Ultralite. Found mine on Fleabay for under $300 in perfect condition... Matched it up with a MOTU MicroLite MIDI interface, and bolted together they fill one rack space.

 

Since February of this year my live rig has been 2 old favorite keyboards (Ensoniq KS32 and Korg Wavestation) -- used solely as MIDI controllers; a Macbook Pro, and a 2-space shallow rack case with the MOTU units and power conditioner. It all fits easily in a Honda Accord and so far it's been rock solid.

 

Since it no longer matters what keyboards I use to drive it, I also keep some old keyboards at home for practice (when I want to leave my regular ones on the band trailer). Then all I bring home are the laptop and the rack case!

 

I carry a 2nd Macbook Pro as backup and also sometimes use it to record the band from the FOH mixer.

 

Only complaint so far has nothing to do with the MOTU -- it's the Firewire port on the MBP -- it's kinda loose and if I bump the cable much, I can lose the connection.

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