Laptop or Notebook Suggestions

Maureen (moe) Egan

Greetings and salutations fellow Talent!

I've been getting closer to the point of needing a laptop computer. I love the idea of having a portable "studio" so I don't miss any VO work on vacations or such. I've read that some have had great success in working from hotel rooms, even from boats!

My problem is I'm suffering from paralysis by analysis....there's too many laptops to choose from

Does anyone currently use a laptop/notebook for voice work and have any suggestions on what works and what doesn't?

Thanks in advance.
much success!
moe Confused

Freddie Molina · Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006, 14:57 (GMT) Post subject:

Hello Maureen,

You are completely right, the market right now is flooded with laptops and choosing a good one might be a little crazy.

Here is what I can recommend (these are for PCs):

-Make sure the processor has a 64 bit structure (Athlon, Turion or any intel with double core) (this is thinking on a windows Vista capable Pc)
- At list one Giga in Ram
- And a fairly good memory HD (100Gigs or more)
- Sound card will depend on what you are planning to use as your recording hardware, if it’s an external card or USB preamp device the card that comes with it is fine
Video card, from 128 and up it’s ok.

If you choose to go the MAC´s route, well they are great and most of the same specifics will apply

Personally I like Gateway (good price) and HP. Check out Bestbuy online, they have a good selection.

Maureen (moe) Egan · Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006, 13:34 (GMT) Post subject:

Thanks Freddie!

I'm printing your response and taking it shopping with me ...seriously I am!

thanks again.
moe

Freddie Molina · Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006, 14:38 (GMT) Post subject:

I have my eye on this one:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8019832&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat103700050036&id=1157067806537

Maureen (moe) Egan · Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006, 14:49 (GMT) Post subject:

Nice!

Okay Freddie...now that I've picked your brain for laptops....What do you suggest for sound cards/mic set up with a laptop? I use a Mia sound card and Shure KSM27s in the home studio. I recently took a class with Pat Fraley and he had a suggestion for a mic that plugged right into lap tops...but he said it was "Audition quality" only.

When I get a laptop, it's coming on vacations with me so I can send back broadcast quality stuff...it killed me last year (first "real" vacation since I started doing voice work full time)...I could have paid for the vacation with the amount of work I passed on!~arg.

Thanks again for all the insight. This forum is excellent - doing just what you all had hoped it would...once again Freddie I get to tell you that V123 Rocks 8>)

moe

Freddie Molina · Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006, 15:08 (GMT) Post subject:

That is the only downside of Laptops, basically only a few upgrades can be done. What I recommend is to use an external sound card (USB preamp type), I like the M Audio ones, but there’s plenty on the market.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrackPro-main.html

Maureen (moe) Egan · Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2006, 16:34 (GMT) Post subject:

Awesome.

Thanks again Freddie (looks like I got my Christmas shopping list all set now!)

moe

Nikki Saco · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Aug 2006 Posts: 465

Moe, I think you're missing the point of a vacation! Wink

Maureen (moe) Egan · Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006, 00:18 (GMT) Post subject:

Guilty as charged... Embarassed

but in my own defense; I LOVE doing voice work. And I do voice work full time...this IS my day job....so the freelancers motto is "Sure I can do that for you!"

if I were working in a factory or stuck in a cube farm somewhere I wouldn't think of work once over a vacation and feel no guilt. But I can crank out at least one good hour of voice work before the rest of the family would be up on vaca, keep myself in the loop, keep my clients happy and still feel productive before heading out into the magic kingdom or to the beach....so why not take advantage of the technology available to do so?

chris reardon · **Voice Talent** Joined: 23 Sep 2005 Posts: 4

Moe, could you please contact me at cprvoice@aol.com? i have a couple of questions that i'd like to run by you without taking up others time. thanks, chris

Stan Davis-Potopa · **Voice Talent** Joined: 15 Jul 2005 Posts: 15

Mo:

I've enjoyed reading this thread. My 2¢ worth:

Computer: MacBookPlus with an external hard drive for audio files. Max out the memory.

Interface: MOTU Traveler. Gives you all the inputs you'll need and is high quality. Bring yer KSMs on holiday with you. That combo gives you a portable studio anywhere.

Software: Audacity is free and works great. Or you can use Garageband that comes bundled with the Mac.

Good luck!

Maureen (moe) Egan · Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2006, 16:43 (GMT) Post subject:

Thanks for your two cents Stan!
I appreciate it.
moe