Faruk Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 Ok. I'm definetly going to buy laptop next month and try to go softsynth. I'm looking forward to carry only laptop and two controllers for a gig and I want to explore this area of creativity. My main dillema is audio interface. What I figured out for my self is that I dont want USB interface. Firewire and cardbus sound like (at least) faster, but more expensive sollution. Am I right? For now I'm considering Motu 828mkII and RME's Multiface or RPM. Do you guys have some advice/suggestions, because I'm really lost in all those price/feature issues . Oh, and RME Multiface is about tops (even going a bit over) my budget . Thanks in advance Fat But Fast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed A. Posted May 1, 2004 Share Posted May 1, 2004 What you mention for interfaces is overkill for running software synths on a laptop. I use one of the new Powerbooks and just going from the built-in audio out jack (24bit 44.1k) sounds excellent. In OS X, the latency from the audio out jack is almost non-existent, something like 3-5 ms in many cases. It would be different if you're going to use microphones to record live, then something like a MOTU 828mkII would make sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksoper Posted May 1, 2004 Share Posted May 1, 2004 Don't neglect the Echo Audio Layla Laptop (cardbus) or their incredible and affordable Indigo IO. I use both for my laptop-based studio, the Layla for home and the Indigo for sessions and live performance. k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faruk Posted May 1, 2004 Author Share Posted May 1, 2004 Thanks for the advice. The thing is I would like to record with this interface sometimes. I'll chek Layla laptop, but here in Sarajevo I will have to buy interface blind (through the catalog or internet) so I would want to be very shure about my choice. I would be thankfull for some more input. Faruk Fat But Fast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faruk Posted May 2, 2004 Author Share Posted May 2, 2004 Well, I would really like to hear some more opinions on this. Until now I've narowed my chice to one of RMEs or MOTU 828mkII. Faruk Fat But Fast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daBowsa Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 I use the Echo Indigo and a cheap $40 Edirol USB/MIDI interface. These two are small and quick to setup. I also have a MidiMan Quattro which I thought was the answer to my audio/Midi interfacing because it allowed multiple channel outputs and ins for recording...but its just more wires, more wallwarts for power, and another piece of gear that has to be physically placed somewhere. I never need to record at a gig, so I don't miss it and easy setup really pay off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burningbusch Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 I use an RME Cardbus with a Multiface live. Works very well. No problems. I keep the multiface in a rack and then just connect the one cord. I'd recommend it over the MOTU because of converter quality, lower latency, Cardbus vs. firewire. Busch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faruk Posted May 3, 2004 Author Share Posted May 3, 2004 Originally posted by burningbusch: I use an RME Cardbus with a Multiface live. Works very well. No problems. I keep the multiface in a rack and then just connect the one cord. I'd recommend it over the MOTU because of converter quality, lower latency, Cardbus vs. firewire. Busch.I was not aware that RME has better converters. MOTU is a kind of ultimate trade mark in my parts. In fact I liked RME multiface better from the moment I saw the specs. I did not now that cardbus is better then firewire. One last question is do you use only soft synths with Multiface (or you also connect your hardware to it), if so what MIDI patch bay would you recomend along with Multiface, and do you use one or more controlers. I have and idead of connecting one through the RME's MIDI interface and other through the USB and use some VSTi host app and asign different insturments to two controllers. Is this sollution even possible? Faruk Fat But Fast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burningbusch Posted May 4, 2004 Share Posted May 4, 2004 I like Cardbus over Firewire for a couple of reasons. Using Cardbus leaves FW available for hard drives and other things. While you could place everything on FW, separating it out of the various interfaces usually works better and provide better system balance. Cardbus is 32 bits parallel. I'm old school and unless you can give me a compelling reason why I should use a serial interface I prefer parallel as it almost always faster and more efficient. I run the soft synths live using one controller (USB connected) but I certainly could bring another controller in via the Multiface MIDI port. Both would be active and available in a host such as V-Stack. Busch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbobus Posted May 4, 2004 Share Posted May 4, 2004 Cardbus as in PCI or PCMCIA? http://www.bobwijnen.nl Hipness is not a state of mind, it's a fact of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burningbusch Posted May 4, 2004 Share Posted May 4, 2004 PCMCIA Busch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faruk Posted May 4, 2004 Author Share Posted May 4, 2004 Originally posted by burningbusch: I like Cardbus over Firewire for a couple of reasons. Using Cardbus leaves FW available for hard drives and other things. While you could place everything on FW, separating it out of the various interfaces usually works better and provide better system balance. Cardbus is 32 bits parallel. I'm old school and unless you can give me a compelling reason why I should use a serial interface I prefer parallel as it almost always faster and more efficient. I run the soft synths live using one controller (USB connected) but I certainly could bring another controller in via the Multiface MIDI port. Both would be active and available in a host such as V-Stack. Busch.Thanks again for the input. It's cardbus interface then. I sttill have some affection for MOTU on FW though, since I do not plan to use external disks and other FW stuff. Do you think in that regard that FW interface would still be equaly good option compared to cardbus. Do you have any experience with Layla laptop cardbus interface? Faruk Fat But Fast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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