External Sound Card for Laptops

[shyamwestwind]

Hi Everyne
Please let me know the brand names of good external Sound cards I can use with my Laptop.I hear there are good ones that can play back midi files and sound as good as being played back on keyboards.
With just one S900 with me, do feel a little nervous taking on gigs this season with me on my keyboards and my guitarist. A good back up of my files on my laptop will help me breathe easy.
Any advice will be welcome and if you know what the prices are, they
ll help me decide too.
Thanks

[frank]

What I would suggest is a sound module from Yamaha with the same sounds and addresses that your S900 uses.This would save you a lot of mucking around.
Check with Yamaha on their web site.

[shyamwestwind]

Thanks Frank ..I didnt think of THAT . Will check on that angle

[frank]

I had a change of module from Roland-Yamaha. All files had to be remixed,some instument changes and re balanced. It took ages to do and you can't realy tell if its right untill you play live with the volume cranked up.
Never trust a mix under headphones.
For the extra expence it saves a lot of hastles,and having sets of files for both.
Good luck.
Frank

[levi2]

true i use a yamaha mu50 sound module and any new midifiles i used to remix in the house then when we got time we hired a hall for rehearsals and played back the files at gigging volume and the mix was all to pot so now if we gonna learn new song i mix the midi in a hall at gigging volume even changing sound modules makes a difference like frank sez i had a yamaha tg100 and when i got the yamaha mu50 i had to remix as some patches were louder/quieter than others

[JohnG]

Hi Shyam,

If it's a MIDI module you want then as well as the MU50, look for the MU80, MU90, MU100 and the MU128. As the numbers go up, so do the number of available voices, and polyphony and so on. I think the 50 was 32 note polyphony (correct me please owners) the 100 was 64, as I recall, and the 128 was 128 note. I think I've got the manual for the 100 and definitely for the 128 in pdf form if you're interested. Of course coming up to date you could look for a Motif rack mount, but expect to pay around 500 pounds for an ES 2nd hand, nearer 1000 for an XS model.

The MU128 will sound nearer to the S900 than the MU50, which is pretty long in the tooth by now. Even the MU128 came out as long ago as 1999 as I recall.

In the last ten years huge leaps have been made in sampled sound quality, and, of course, the cost of RAM has dropped through the floor, meaning much better (more realistic) samples can be stored. For an up to date module, the Roland SonicCell is probably the best on the market today, IMHO, but if you are using any SysEx commands for your Yamaha kit they will all/most likely need to changed to Roland commands.

Certainly these kind of modules are what many people use for gigging, but the advice about editing is a well made point. I actually have 2 x MU128s which are surplus to requirements now, but I imagine the cost of postage and import duty would make them prohibitively expensive to send to India, Shyam. Their current 2nd hand value is around 250 pounds.

Just a few ideas,
JohnG.

[shyamwestwind]

Thank you guys, but I think I'll opt out of choosing modules - a bit complicated and pretty cost;y too. At that price, I could pick up a used keyboard to keep as standby !!. The Creative Audigy External sound card is very reasonable and I think I'll go in for that to serve as my emergency back up if something should happen to my keyboard while at a gig.
Thank you JohnG, for the offer. Its tempting but it'll be beyond my reach.

[frank]

Shyam,maybe you can get your ex band member in Melbourne to get you one.Bound to be cheaper than where you are.
I am pretty sure you can get a sound card from Yamaha. One of my friends in N.Z got one, many moons ago, that had the same voices and controller implementation as a TG.100.
Contact Yamaha and see if there is anything around. I am sure that with all the countries represented here we can find a good deal for you.

[frank]

shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_nkw=yamaha+sound+card&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=
Yamaha chips and sound cards.

[JohnG]

One small problem, Frank, Shyam talked about using it with a laptop, so it has to be an external box, or a PCMCIA or similar card. An ISA or PCI card won't do I think!

JohnG.

[frank]

Right [doh!]
I think he is gonna make a lot of extra work for himself by not going the Yamaha sound module way.
Not sure how his taxation system works but it is a work related expense.

[levi2]

most of the sound modules now on ebay are from hong kong i fancied ordering one but i ordered some sony pro duo mem cards from hong kong and it took a month to deliver. but i sent a sony psp and nintendo ds to grankids in new zealand from uk and only took 6 days

[JohnG]

Hi All,

Here in Europe it's necessary to think of adding VAT to the price, on top of what you pay for the module. I learnt this the hard way. It depends on the value of the item. I think where I live low value (20 Euro?) items go through with no trouble, but after that you have to collect them from customs, pay a customs fee and then add VAT. Here it's another 19%.

I bought an MU1000 from Japan. It took a week and a half and had a tracking number so I could follow its progress. The customs demanded copies of the transaction details from eBay and PayPal so they could check the price paid. So posting with a very low stated value on the box cuts no ice any more. They are wise to that one.

Another 19% on top of roughly 250 quid was a definite "ouch" factor in my case. I think twice about buying anything from abroad now.

You need to think too about the mains voltage in the country you're buying from. Sometimes it's the American standard 110 volts 60Hz. Then you can throw away the wall wart that comes with it and cough up another 15 quid for a high power mains adapter that's often needed for one of these modules. Another ouch!

So take care.
JohnG.
With burnt fingers!

[shyamwestwind]

Thanks for all the inputs and advice friends, but I think I got cold feet !! I dont think I'm about to go for any modules now as I have enough in my hands now. Laptops are not really things I like cos I love my desktop PC and I love my "mouse" Old habits die hard, dont they ? !!!!!
I'm going to stick to the beaten path and get myself a used PSR 3000 and I know I'll be confortable and safe. I'll put in a 128 mb smart card and store all I need to see me thro any stick situations.
Good idea, guys ?