Laptop for Gigs

[doricvision]

I saw two Guys recently at the Nigg Bay Club Eddie, and they had their entire show on Ipods, but I guess I'm with you on the eyesight thing
Bigmike

[themidiguy]

Try the 'Merish Plus' midi file and mp3 backing track player. I'm using one in my trio and its the best backing track player Ive had. I got mine from hit trax. their website is hittrax.com.au/hardwaredetails.asp?id=131

TMG

[doricvision]

very impressive TMG but looks quite expensive too
Bigmike

[weeo]

It is impressive,but far too expensive for me.

[shyamwestwind]

Oh my gosh ........... cant afford to even look at one !!!!!!!!! Good product, though !!

[JohnG]

Hi Guys and Gals (as Jimmy used to say),

Remember to play back MIDI you don't need the latest bells and whistles laptop. I use an old AJP one with Windows 2000 pro on it. I can't remember the processor a Pentium 4 I suspect and just 256 MB RAM. It has 1 USB 1.1 socket on it which connects to a Yamaha UW500 interface. I can connect all sorts of bits of gear to that in various ways and it can record a stereo wav back to the laptop at the same time. So far, as they say, so good.

To weeo, one program that I was put on to by someone in this forum some years back is one called Razor Lame. It provides a windows front end to the very highly regarded, but not so easy to use, converter called LAME. You can set the quality level within the program of the output mp3 files. It will do batch conversions.

As a general rule it's better to record directly to a wav file, then convert that to mp3, than to record to minidisc (already compressed) convert back to wav, then convert to mp3. This multiple conversion process does lead to a loss of audio quality, albeit slight.

When recording the initial audio file it's a good idea to keep the level a bit below 0 dB. The process of conversion can boost the highest level signals sometimes and make them go into digital clipping. Keeping them at -3dB max will prevent this.

Any use?
JohnG.

[weeo]

Many Thanks John,for ,as ever, a great piece of advice.
I did think about using the laptop to play midifiles through a sound module ( not converted to mp3),but as i'm trying to move less equipment,i thought it would be easier to record the file to mp3 and plug direct into PA.
I know the sound quality will not be so good,but i'm willing to put up with that.
If i understand you correctly,the programme you mention, Razor Lame, would take the unconverted midifile and change to mp3 direct to laptop.
This sounds like what i'm looking for, so i'll check it out and let you know how i get on.

Many thanks

Eddie

[JohnG]

Hi Weeo,

No,No. Razor Lame takes a wav file and converts it to mp3.
Do you want something that converts MIDI to wav first?
I must admit, I always do it as a two stage process.
I like to check the wav file first and maybe adjust its level a bit before conversion.
If I don't put the file through my Yamaha boxes then I use a simple utility called Midi2Wav recorder which uses a soundfont file (of which there are many out there) to do the rendering. It also has an mp3 mechanism built in so that you can go straight to mp3 from MIDI but I don't use that part of it. I found it at www.midi2wav.com.

Hope that clarifies things?
JohnG.

[weeo]

Thanks John.
At the moment ,i put midifiles thro a roland jv1080 straight to minidisc.
Instead of putting them on to minidisc,i'd like to put them straight
to laptop.
main reason being , i like the sounds from the roland.
What i'm trying to find out is : what do i need to play from laptop to PA?
Do i need another sound card ?
I believe i need something for the ground loop as well.
I appreciate all your help
Regards
Eddie

[frank]

Mar 8, 2011 21:01:37 GMT weeo said:

Thanks John.
At the moment ,i put midifiles thro a roland jv1080 straight to minidisc.
Instead of putting them on to minidisc,i'd like to put them straight
to laptop.
main reason being , i like the sounds from the roland.
What i'm trying to find out is : what do i need to play from laptop to PA?
Do i need another sound card ?
I believe i need something for the ground loop as well.

Regards
Eddie

www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.php?ProductId=495
Manual shows connections to PA.
USB-Midi interface from laptop -module.Driver download here
drivers.softpedia.com/progDownload/Roland-JV-1010-Sound-Driver-Download-19382.html
Dont worry about grounding unless it hums when using laptop transformer.
Your sequencer programme should include this in its play back device menue.
Sorry to butt in

[weeo]

Thanks for your input Frank,but i'm trying to put everything on to laptop at home so i don't have to take the roland with me.
so i need to convert sounds from the roland straight to mp3 on laptop.Then put the laptop through the PA.
Hope i'm making sense here.

Regards
Eddie

[levi2]

look for a usb audio interface then link it up with the roland to the pc use some recording software and save a mp3 if you have loads of space on laptop save as wav

[frank]

Okay I thought you wanted it to play your midi files sorry.

[JohnG]

So, two points,

The problem of earth loops may be alleviated by using a double insulated power supply for the laptop. These use just the two wires (live and neutral) for the mains supply, and have no connected earth. Using a UK style mains plug it can be noticed that the earth pin is solid plastic. It is not expensive to buy such an (often called) 'universal power supply'. I got mine via ebay. The actual box should have a logo with a rectangle within a rectangle to show it's double insulated. This both protects the user and makes sure that the laptop is not earthed.

Do NOT disconnect the earth lead of your existing power supply to achieve the same end. If a fault occurs you could end up electrocuting yourself!

Using a USB AD/DA converter just means another box on the end of a lead to get in the way / have problems with etc. At least it does in my view. It should certainly work okay and is a good solution for home use, but IMHO not for gigging.

An easier solution may be to get a PCMCIA (cardbus) card if your laptop has such a port, most do. I have a little card called an 'Echo Indigo io' card that just plugs into this slot and leaves a tiny box with a pair of 1/8" sockets showing. One socket is input the other output. The quality is much improved over the onboard audio and a pair of leads with a pair of plugs on one end and a 1/8" plug on the other seems to do the trick for me. Not the ultimate perhaps but not too bad at all.

There are two different standards for these ports so make sure you get the correct version.

And, as usual, it's just my 2d worth.
JohnG.

[weeo]

Thanks very much again John for your valued advice.
So, am i correct in saying i need an audio interface to improve the sound from laptop?
Either with a usb connection or with a PCMCIA .?

many thanks also to Frank and Levi