BIAB, RB and PT are very forgiving as to laptop choice and these kind of music making programs.

That said, I wouldn't recommend the bottom-end stuff, nor the top-end $$$ stuff.

Plenty of folks around here are VERY satisfied with the LENOVO laptop line, BTW.

Our own Bob "Notes" Norton recently posted his experiences with them and their support, having recently gotten superb support and warranty repair for one of his road laptops that he's had for years. Lenovo.

As for burning CDs to sell on the gig, been there, done that and here's my advice:

*Don't even try to use a home consumer CD burner to make CD copies for sale to your audience.

It is slow.

It is unreliable. -- The CD will likely not play on different players and that makes the audience -- your customers -- angry, and can create problems for you that you just don't need.

Artwork is always problematic with home burned CDs. -- Paper stickon labels are pretty, but all too soon come unglued and jam somebody's CD player. Don't. Bother.

***Instead, use your home burner only to make your CD Master Copy and a backup or two. Then send that Master Copy off to a CD publisher. These days that has become a cottage industry, websearching should bring up literally hundreds of them. The last service I used for getting CDs to sell on the gigs was available thru Musician's Friend website. Good prices, Good quality and I could order -- and re-order to keep in stock with little trouble. They publish the whole situation, the packages offered, the fees and the artwork stuff. Check it out. These will be Redbook Spec CDs, pretty much the same as you would buy in a CD store, they play on just about every player made, the artwork looks pro and you can -- and should -- even get a album specific barcode imprinted at the same time.

Don't forget the Copyright Office. If in the US of A, the process has never been easier due to the new website. All questions answered there, in the new FAQs.

http://www.copyright.gov/

Bookmark it now.

If you are making a CD of all cover songs, go for a "mechanical copyright" of the entire album, about $40 covers the one-shot. Then you visit the Harry Fox agency website to take care of the royalties situation, which has never been easier also. You simply keep track of your sales over time and then send in a very small fee to Harry Fox licensing and they take charge of distributing to the copyright owners. There. Is. Nothing. Like. Being. Entirely. Legal.

Ten bucks each, it is amazing some nights when somebody wants to buy all 6 or all 10 available. Happens often, actually. This is a tourist town, may have something to do with it. But also some locals who just want to support musician. Good people.

My only problem is that the wifey sets up the table and sells the CDs while I'm up onstage slaving away behind the keyboards.

And she keeps the munny....


--Mac

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