Going to Japan, Need computer skills.

[trodden]

I?m not great with computers.. Even though I use one to record music.. Its cheaper than tape and I like the editing options.. So when it comes to purchasing computer stuff, hardware, software, anything.. I?m a little.. err VERY lost.

My current issue. The band I play in is possibly touring Japan in May or June of next year. We are so totally stoked, have wanted to tour there for a long time now.. I myself, have never left this country so its going to be crazy awesome. Most of my bandmates will be just bringing their guitars and pedals over. We?ll be touring with another Japanese band who will provide gear to use. HOWEVER, me and the other keyboard player are kinda stuck since we depend on the sounds we?ve made/use in our instruments. She?ll lug around two of her keys, if she cannot rent/find the same models over there.. Me however, all of my sounds are not presets and most are stored on a hard drive for an older Emu e-iv sampler, or stored in a Korg MS2000. My live set up includes the EMU sampler, the MS2000, a boss dr. sampler, a cd player and/or ipod (for long samples/textures/segues/noise), alesis bitrman, alesis wedge, spx90 (all for real time effects manipulation) all routed to a Mackie 1202. Along with that, two floor toms mounted in front of me to bang out like mad... The drums will be provided since the other bands have aux percussionists as well.. HOWEVER, I REALLY DON?T WANT TO BE LUGGING TWO HUGE AWKWARD ANVIL CASES AROUND JAPAN!, especially since the second week there will be just vacationing, and using public transit and crashing where we can (afford?). Plus its going to be expensive to ship or fly the gear over there.. Basically a pain in the ass all around.

SO! I?m going to have to do what I said I?d never do... and laptop it on stage. Somehow throw my whole rig into a laptop. Hopefully get a very flexible controller keyboard with all kinds of knobs, pads, keys and options so I can pull it off and not look like I?m checking my email on stage, cause that is just not rock and roll. With a laptop and a controller, throw it in a large pack back, and tour Japan. Plus its an excuse to buy a laptop.. Which would be nice to be mobile and not stuck at either work, or down in the basement whenever I need to do some computering.

The problem being... I know nothing about this kind of stuff. Nothing about laptops, besides they?re expensive, nothing about midi/USB controllers, and nothing about the software to use? Ableton Live? Logic?

So my questions...

First, laptops. My only KNOWN requirement is that its got to be a Mac. I don?t want to debate this.. Sorry, got to be a Mac. I want to spend LESS than $500 if possible, but will go up to $700 if I have to.. The idea, cheaper is better. I don?t know how fast it needs to be, how much memory it needs, what kind of soundcard... that is the other stuff I need some guidance on..

Second, software. I need something that I can run the whole thing with a controller keyboard if possible. Something that a dingus like me can figure out and program. I need to run long samples, short samples, chromatic samples and it needs to be easy to switch between program material from song to song. The software has to act like my emu sampler, my cd player/ipod (running continuous textures that are not time specific) as well as being able to trigger time specific audio material at the same time. Its easy for me to plug a bunch of stuff in with cables into a mixing board, layout the samples to be triggered with which keys, mix in the synth when needed, hit play on the cd player/ipod when needed, cue up next track on that, etc... I just don?t know JACK about this in the computer world. CAN IT BE DONE?????

The idea being, to have no mixer.. Just a laptop with some sort of converter or something with a stereo out and a controller that allows me to perform.

I AM A COMPLETE NOOB TO COMPUTER STUFF, I WILL ASK MANY MANY DUMB QUESTIONS AND NOT UNDERSTAND SOME THINGS.. Please have patience.. I?ve got 10 months to figure it out I guess, but would like to start getting it together no later than January.

I appreciate you reading this whole damn post. It?s a bit much,.. But so is the scared, insecure, lost feeling I have in my brain about this whole switch over.. But, to leave this country to rock out for people somewhere else is totally freakin? awesome.

[rollmottle]

ableton live is what you'll need. everything you describe can be done in live.

as far as a $500 lappie...you're not going to find anything new and Mac for that price. i wouldn't trust my live rig to a used, probably slower, older laptop (and i haven't). especially if you're running long material like you describe the ipod and CD player handling, you're going to want a robust CPU and hard-drive. you'll want something with plenty of RAM (2gb i would recommend) and a 7200RPM hard drive. as far as processors go, i would get as fast as you can afford.

you will probably also need a firewire soundcard of some sort to get the audio off your computer and into your mixer. i've used an RME Multiface live numerous times (in Japan no less) and it is rock solid. it has 8 outs so i can send a kick drum separately to the mixer, or pads, or whatever i want separately out to my external mixer.

as much as i cringed at the thought of even considering it, let alone actually buying it, i used a Behringer BFC2000 fader controller to control Live. this was about a year and a half ago and there are a SHIT-TON more controllers out that are probably not as bulky. it did work flawlessly though and it is extremely simple to assign MIDI controller values in Live. it's USB too so if you don't buy a soundcard with MIDI I/O, you can just plug it into one of the USB ports on your comp and be set.

hope any of that helps...let me know if you have more specific questions.

and if this makes you feel any better, i had 1 month to learn Live, figure out how to arrange my songs live, get a controller rig, etc. before my first live performance. you're in pretty good shape.

[trodden]

ableton live is what you'll need. everything you describe can be done in live.

as far as a $500 lappie...you're not going to find anything new and Mac for that price. i wouldn't trust my live rig to a used, probably slower, older laptop (and i haven't). especially if you're running long material like you describe the ipod and CD player handling, you're going to want a robust CPU and hard-drive. you'll want something with plenty of RAM (2gb i would recommend) and a 7200RPM hard drive. as far as processors go, i would get as fast as you can afford.

you will probably also need a firewire soundcard of some sort to get the audio off your computer and into your mixer. i've used an RME Multiface live numerous times (in Japan no less) and it is rock solid. it has 8 outs so i can send a kick drum separately to the mixer, or pads, or whatever separately out to my tactile mixer.

as much as i cringed at the thought of even considering it, let alone actually buying it, i used a Behringer BFC2000 fader controller to control Live. this was about a year and a half ago and there are a SHIT-TON more controllers out that are probably not as bulky. it did work flawlessly though and it is extremely simple to assign MIDI controller values in Live. it's USB too so if you don't buy a soundcard with MIDI I/O, you can just plug it into one of the USB ports on your comp and be set.

hope any of that helps...let me know if you have more specific questions.

Thank you, this is great information. I hope you don't mind if throughout the course of this journey, i pick your brain hella.

yeah, i was thinking in the USED Mac department. the new macbooks are awesome, but i can't do it money wise.. I'm hoping to run into someone selling an older ibook or something that used it for audio applications as well and i could trust them with selling me a used product.

I've used Mac's for audio use since i started using pro tools 7 years ago. Before that, it was tape. Mac = FUN! audio! PC= not fun, day job. Silly I know, but thats the one way i'm able to go from my day job in front of a PC all day and spend further hours in my studio, behind another computer.. its a change of ways...

again, appreciate your knowledge.

Ableton you say can do what i want, that is a good start.

[rollmottle]

no worries...happy to help.

pretty sure you can download a full version of Live that expires in 30 days. do the built-in tutorial. it's a superb overview of the program and will get you up and running in literally 5 minutes. the manual is also very well-written and answers the questions that invariably arise as you understand the program's power and want to do more complicated things.

[Veej007]

if that's really your budget, i'd just use what you have.

Low End Mac has one 400 mHz titanium g4 powerbook for under $500, and everything else at that price point is a g3 ibook or worse -- that is, ca. 2002-2003 or so. be prepared to run five year old audio software if you do it. in other words, certainly not a current version of ableton live that has all the features you want...

that said, i used a g3 ibook for audio work in a vaguely professional context a few times about a year ago -- but certainly not for live shows, that's for damn sure..

[trodden]

if that's really your budget, i'd just use what you have...

so ship 2-3 large flight cases of hardware over there, then somehow lug it around? since i'm using gear from the states, i need to find the right voltage adapters as well. are there storage places where i can keep this amount of gear safe when the tour is over or do i ship it back? not trying to be a jerk, but is all this better than running five year old software when i can find a used Mac in my budget that is only 3 years old?

i've got some time on this.. I need to streamline. help me streamline... cause $1500 spent on a new set up will be better than spending that on getting my stuff over there unless people have ideas on how to get my stuff over there for cheap. [/list]

[C_R_J]

2 things -

1. ableton live is fuckin awesome, and i use it for everything.

2. if you are set on a mac, your are going to be disappointed unless you spend a good chunk of change.

i will gladly help you figure out live if you really need someone to give you a crash course. i love that program. its soo easy to use.

why not buy something fancy, use it for tour, and sell computer when you get back? thats one idea.

email me if you like

christopherronaldjohnson@gmail.com

[C_R_J]

seattle eh? you know a chap named chris duryee? bass player? he used to live here in nebraska. good guy. was in a band called automaton adventure series.....

[JohnDavisNYC]

I'm going to go against all this 'you need to spend a ton on a mac laptop to run live' stuff.... for ages I was running live on this very 800mhz G3 ibook that i am currently typing on.... a hard drive failure after years of live gigs running 'live' and dropping it a few times took it out of service, but my point is, for almost ANY live gigs, unless you want to have 20 tracks all with reverb plugins, you don't need a ton of power... also, i would almost always run reason at the same time, rewired into live for soft synths, making beats and then resampling them, etc.... reason doesn't sound as good as an ms2000, but it should get you good enough results for live use.... also, for sampling it can be pretty great as well... basically has a virtual wannabe S-6000 in it....

for around 500 it seems like you can get a G4 powerbook that is around 1Ghz.... plenty of power for most live use. I have done live location recordings tracking with my 800mhz ibook... it is suprisingly stable and works great.

anyway... yeah.

john

[rollmottle]

if that's really your budget, i'd just use what you have...

so ship 2-3 large flight cases of hardware over there, then somehow lug it around? since i'm using gear from the states, i need to find the right voltage adapters as well. are there storage places where i can keep this amount of gear safe when the tour is over or do i ship it back? not trying to be a jerk, but is all this better than running five year old software when i can find a used Mac in my budget that is only 3 years old?
[/list]

Japanese power is the same as U.S.

[trodden]

2 things -

1. ableton live is fuckin awesome, and i use it for everything.

2. if you are set on a mac, your are going to be disappointed unless you spend a good chunk of change.

i will gladly help you figure out live if you really need someone to give you a crash course. i love that program. its soo easy to use.

why not buy something fancy, use it for tour, and sell computer when you get back? thats one idea.

email me if you like

christopherronaldjohnson@gmail.com

You are a wonderful person. Thank you. I'm sure i'll be taking you up on your offer in a few months!

[trodden]

seattle eh? you know a chap named chris duryee? bass player? he used to live here in nebraska. good guy. was in a band called automaton adventure series.....

I'm familiar with the band name.. can't say if i know Chris.. but who knows.. i've met a ton of cool people the 7 years i've been here, but drinking alot makes my memory hazy!!

[trodden]

I'm going to go against all this 'you need to spend a ton on a mac laptop to run live' stuff.... for ages I was running live on this very 800mhz G3 ibook that i am currently typing on.... a hard drive failure after years of live gigs running 'live' and dropping it a few times took it out of service, but my point is, for almost ANY live gigs, unless you want to have 20 tracks all with reverb plugins, you don't need a ton of power... also, i would almost always run reason at the same time, rewired into live for soft synths, making beats and then resampling them, etc.... reason doesn't sound as good as an ms2000, but it should get you good enough results for live use.... also, for sampling it can be pretty great as well... basically has a virtual wannabe S-6000 in it....

for around 500 it seems like you can get a G4 powerbook that is around 1Ghz.... plenty of power for most live use. I have done live location recordings tracking with my 800mhz ibook... it is suprisingly stable and works great.

anyway... yeah.

john

thank you. You know, even though i'm completely stupid when it comes to computers... I KNEW that a 2-3 year old mac laptop could pull off what i need to do... figuring, i'm about 5 years behind when it comes to computer stuff so its always a great possibility that people have been doing what i'd like to do for many years already!!

That's pretty awesome that you can use the rewire function with reason and run it along with Live. That could open up a whole new slew of sounds along with sampling the keyboards i already have.

[trodden]

if that's really your budget, i'd just use what you have...

so ship 2-3 large flight cases of hardware over there, then somehow lug it around? since i'm using gear from the states, i need to find the right voltage adapters as well. are there storage places where i can keep this amount of gear safe when the tour is over or do i ship it back? not trying to be a jerk, but is all this better than running five year old software when i can find a used Mac in my budget that is only 3 years old?
[/list]

Japanese power is the same as U.S.

NICE! see, i am completely ignorant of world travels!! no adaptor or anything? same socket design as well? thanks!

[trodden]

seattle eh? you know a chap named chris duryee? bass player? he used to live here in nebraska. good guy. was in a band called automaton adventure series.....

by the way, Lincoln has always been a fun town. I'm originally from Lawrence, KS/ Kansas City area.. been to lincoln to play and hang out many times. Moved to seattle from lawrence 7 years ago with band. Last time we were in lincoln while on tour, 2003, played some place called Nickerbockers or something like that with our friends Wasteoid. Monday night show, PACKED! the crowd started demanding encore and throwing half empty tall boy cans at us until we played another two or three songs... That stuff just doesn't happen out here... somethings are really awesome when it comes to the midwest.. Maybe i shouldn't have a laptop on stage when in the midwest.