Originally Posted By: MountainSide
Notes, I've read over your responses and had a look at your process for making backing tracks (thanks for all of the detail on your site).

I would be interested to know which model Lenovo laptops you use. Which processors, how much memory, SSD or HD or both?

I find myself stuck on this question as I ponder how to convert my "studio" setup to a "live" nursing home setup.

Jeff

On stage, I use one old 'hand-me-down" Think Pad that runs Win7. --- And for a backup computer, it's an R30 that I put into service as my main stage computer in 2002.

For the final recording, I'm using a T15 (stock) with a 500G SSD and 16G of RAM. I use either PowerTracks Pro Audio or Audacity to record, depending on the song and the effects I think I might want to use. They both have different strong points.

I used to record audio on a ThinkPad L540, but I've dedicated that one to photography. I've had some pictures accepted on Adobe Stock, so it seems like a way to make a hobby pay enough for more photo gear (GAS).

I make my MIDI sequences on a much older ThinkPad. An R61i that runs Windows XP. Why? It runs the oldest (bug free) version of Master Tracks Pro sequencer.

MIDI is very easy on computers, so there is more than enough 'horsepower' in the R61i

Any DAW with a good MIDI sequencer will do, but I really like MTPro. It's very powerful, has great editing functions, and doesn't do Audio, so it's easy to use. Everything is available with one click of the menu bar and one click of the item. No sub and sub-sub menus.

From there I run at least a half dozen external sound modules and a sampler or two through an analog mixer which feeds an Audio-USB interface into the T15.

I mix to 192k mp3 files. When I started this, memory was limited. I did a blind test with a few musicians through my PA set. At 192 there seemed to be only the slightest degradation of the highest frequencies to listeners with trained ears. In a noisy room nobody I know can hear the difference between that and a WAV file.

I still use mp3s. I have over 600 songs. I keep spares of everything on a USB flash drive that isn't packed with the computers. I also upload a copy of every one of my sequences and mp3 files to a secure spot in the cloud. It's just cheap insurance for me.

By using standard USB interfaces with built-in Windows drivers and also by using Windows File Explorer and Windows Media Player to play the mp3 files, I have no fear of any software conflicts, and since 2002, when I went computer I haven't had a single crash.

It's the K.I.S.S. concept.

And I make my living playing one-nighers, which are notoriously hard on gear.

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

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