djfinn
I am thinking about putting together a dedicated machine for live performances using AtomixMP3. I've already done a couple of gigs with it in Edinburgh, UK. However, carrying around your only PC tower and 17" monitor is a no fun and a time consuming business.
I'm interested in the possibility of using a laptop with at least 20GB but have noticed in past threads that getting a soundcard for it with two independent outputs looks to be impossible right now, please, correct me if I'm wrong.
The other possibilty is a small cased desktop PC with a cheap LCD display. Inside would be a 40GB hard drive, soundblaster live 256MB RAM and a nice processor. Having a reasonably fast 2D video card would be needed to keep from having any jerky scroll images in the beats window. It might even be possible to get all this set up in a rack mount. I've been researching this but so far haven't come up with any quotes. I know companies like ipk-broadcast.co.uk do nice, cheap alluminium rack mount cases (like £50.) and can add custom slots for CD/soundcard/videocard/power/mouse/keyboard outputs. Ideally you'd want all the outputs and the CD drive, which is neccessary to get the MP3s and software into the thing on the front panel for ease of access, does anyone know if this is possible.
Do you think a floppy drive would be useful, in case the unit hung on booting? The only problem I see with it is there's no way to back the harddrive up . . . or is there, would it be worth adding a CD writer instead of basic CD ROM drive?
Does anyone know if you can just get a rack mount case and slot in your normal internal PC parts: hard drive, motherboard, soundcard etc . . ? Or do you need special components designed for rackmount compatibility. This may sound stupid but I've only used towers before. Basically if anyone has already thought about getting all the neccessary PC components needed to run atomix into a rackmount please tell me what conclusions you came you.
Lets face it a rack mount would be the dog's bollocks, you wouldn't look like a 14yr with his first PC when you turned up at a gig, instead you could just slot your rack into the 19" audio cabinet and lay out an LCD screen, keyboard, mouse and mixer. The rack would be easier to carry about, easy to set up and it would certainly look far more professional.
As far as I can see the cost of such a set up isn't prohibitive. We'd be talking:
rackmount - £80.
cpu cooler - £30.
PIII 733 processor - £140.
40GB HD - £145.
motherboard - £120.
CD writer - £140.
soundblaster live soundcard - £56.
graphics card - £60.
15" LCD monitor - £400.
and you could rip the keyboard and mouse off your present system on gig-night.
So, that'd come to . . . £1080. Phew!!! It certanly would kick a bit of arse though, wouldn't it! Ideas and criticisms please.
Respect to all those creative, ambitious types out there. Just imagine what it must be like to have 50,000 clubbers responding to your every dropped loop and sync'd fade.
Guys, for all those who currently don't have an independent mixer - get one, it makes a shite load of a difference and you can pick one up pretty cheap. I got the Gemini PMX 140 and can now monitor what the mix would sound like before I do it, as well as have high/med/bass eqs and kill switches on eash channel.
Sorry I've been rattling on and its late.
Keep it real,
Finn
I'm interested in the possibility of using a laptop with at least 20GB but have noticed in past threads that getting a soundcard for it with two independent outputs looks to be impossible right now, please, correct me if I'm wrong.
The other possibilty is a small cased desktop PC with a cheap LCD display. Inside would be a 40GB hard drive, soundblaster live 256MB RAM and a nice processor. Having a reasonably fast 2D video card would be needed to keep from having any jerky scroll images in the beats window. It might even be possible to get all this set up in a rack mount. I've been researching this but so far haven't come up with any quotes. I know companies like ipk-broadcast.co.uk do nice, cheap alluminium rack mount cases (like £50.) and can add custom slots for CD/soundcard/videocard/power/mouse/keyboard outputs. Ideally you'd want all the outputs and the CD drive, which is neccessary to get the MP3s and software into the thing on the front panel for ease of access, does anyone know if this is possible.
Do you think a floppy drive would be useful, in case the unit hung on booting? The only problem I see with it is there's no way to back the harddrive up . . . or is there, would it be worth adding a CD writer instead of basic CD ROM drive?
Does anyone know if you can just get a rack mount case and slot in your normal internal PC parts: hard drive, motherboard, soundcard etc . . ? Or do you need special components designed for rackmount compatibility. This may sound stupid but I've only used towers before. Basically if anyone has already thought about getting all the neccessary PC components needed to run atomix into a rackmount please tell me what conclusions you came you.
Lets face it a rack mount would be the dog's bollocks, you wouldn't look like a 14yr with his first PC when you turned up at a gig, instead you could just slot your rack into the 19" audio cabinet and lay out an LCD screen, keyboard, mouse and mixer. The rack would be easier to carry about, easy to set up and it would certainly look far more professional.
As far as I can see the cost of such a set up isn't prohibitive. We'd be talking:
rackmount - £80.
cpu cooler - £30.
PIII 733 processor - £140.
40GB HD - £145.
motherboard - £120.
CD writer - £140.
soundblaster live soundcard - £56.
graphics card - £60.
15" LCD monitor - £400.
and you could rip the keyboard and mouse off your present system on gig-night.
So, that'd come to . . . £1080. Phew!!! It certanly would kick a bit of arse though, wouldn't it! Ideas and criticisms please.
Respect to all those creative, ambitious types out there. Just imagine what it must be like to have 50,000 clubbers responding to your every dropped loop and sync'd fade.
Guys, for all those who currently don't have an independent mixer - get one, it makes a shite load of a difference and you can pick one up pretty cheap. I got the Gemini PMX 140 and can now monitor what the mix would sound like before I do it, as well as have high/med/bass eqs and kill switches on eash channel.
Sorry I've been rattling on and its late.
Keep it real,
Finn
Posté Wed 28 Mar 01 @ 2:26 am
atomix_xalex
i use a sony VAIO laptop with a Roland UA30 USB sound module and a 30 gig firewire external hardrive... running into an external mixer w/ a dual numark CD and 1 turtable.and i bloody luv it
many reasons
the sony is only a 333 p2 but the hardware is solid, i have an 800 p3 gateway which always skips when i load a track into the opposite channel in atomix and i have twice as much ram in the P3. you'll save money on ram.
try to buy a used VAIO or an older model, you pay for the new P3 chip in the newer models but you don't need it for this.
The ROland USB and Firewire is key because of the plugs,,, they are big and solid and won't break which my headphone jack did on the VAIO .
now, the i'm playing the USB as mono but if you use the headphone jack you can have stereo on both channels. the only problem with this is.....
the headphone jack uses a 16bit DAD converter and the Roland is a 24bit DAD converter.
I love the ROland because of i'm now getting 24bit studio sound from my laptop but in mono.
independent mono channels though. in big clubs mono doesn't matter because the other speaker is so damn far away,, mono in clubs is sometimes better!!
I usually only carry the laptop, roland, fireiwre and mixer and it's still pretty small.
hope this helps dude, it's a bit more money but laptops have solid 2d cards already (no 3d so you won't be playing games) but it's an investment for sure.
xalex
many reasons
the sony is only a 333 p2 but the hardware is solid, i have an 800 p3 gateway which always skips when i load a track into the opposite channel in atomix and i have twice as much ram in the P3. you'll save money on ram.
try to buy a used VAIO or an older model, you pay for the new P3 chip in the newer models but you don't need it for this.
The ROland USB and Firewire is key because of the plugs,,, they are big and solid and won't break which my headphone jack did on the VAIO .
now, the i'm playing the USB as mono but if you use the headphone jack you can have stereo on both channels. the only problem with this is.....
the headphone jack uses a 16bit DAD converter and the Roland is a 24bit DAD converter.
I love the ROland because of i'm now getting 24bit studio sound from my laptop but in mono.
independent mono channels though. in big clubs mono doesn't matter because the other speaker is so damn far away,, mono in clubs is sometimes better!!
I usually only carry the laptop, roland, fireiwre and mixer and it's still pretty small.
hope this helps dude, it's a bit more money but laptops have solid 2d cards already (no 3d so you won't be playing games) but it's an investment for sure.
xalex
Posté Wed 28 Mar 01 @ 6:22 am
OK,
Thanks for that, so the USB Roland thingy takes two independent outputs through it right, does this audio info. come through the usb connection of from the audio out and headphone out jacks of the VAIO?
I need to be sure that the mixer I'll be using is getting the two independent mono/stereo audio inputs from ATOMIXMP3 decks 1 and 2 in two different leads from the Roland. Is this the case?
If so, this would be the dog's bollocks, big stylee.
djfinn
Thanks for that, so the USB Roland thingy takes two independent outputs through it right, does this audio info. come through the usb connection of from the audio out and headphone out jacks of the VAIO?
I need to be sure that the mixer I'll be using is getting the two independent mono/stereo audio inputs from ATOMIXMP3 decks 1 and 2 in two different leads from the Roland. Is this the case?
If so, this would be the dog's bollocks, big stylee.
djfinn
Posté Wed 28 Mar 01 @ 4:28 pm
Miguel Sanchez
I am also very interested with the idea of making an independant machine from a laptop. Problem is the 3D soundcard....thats basically all thats stoping me. I know there are many other tricks you can use to get both output and monitor channels out the atomix but woudnt it be great if there was a 3D soundcard for a laptop and all you would have to lug around is that and a set of headphones, mouse and a few other connectors and plugs. Now I may be wrong and there may be one out there. If anybody knows about any manufacturer that produces 3D soundcards for laptops please post them up with maybe a quote or a website if one is found.
Peace (8-P)
Miguel Sanchez
Peace (8-P)
Miguel Sanchez
Posté Wed 28 Mar 01 @ 8:09 pm
DJ Corpse
I'm also looking into building a rack-mounted PC with an LCD flatpanel monitor. I was at the Cebit fair the other day. There were quite some rack-cases available over there, but I haven't seem them around yet - seems to be more for professional systems and hence more expensive. Any reference to an online store where these can be purchased is welcome.
BUT, I would like to go one step further and get rid of the keyboard alltogether. To be able to accomplish that, Atomix needs to have shortkeys assigned to all vital mix functions and seperated for each deck (currently only to the active deck). Technically getting rid of the keyboard is possible with existing (not very expensive) hardware components. I could then replace it by a 19" control panel (Denon-alike) built-in with the reast of my gear.
So I'm waiting for the 1.2 release to see whether that requirement will be fulfilled before switching to "spend-mode" ;-)
But as the Atomix Team switched to "silent mode" it seems I'll just have to be patient to find out.
DJ Corpse
BUT, I would like to go one step further and get rid of the keyboard alltogether. To be able to accomplish that, Atomix needs to have shortkeys assigned to all vital mix functions and seperated for each deck (currently only to the active deck). Technically getting rid of the keyboard is possible with existing (not very expensive) hardware components. I could then replace it by a 19" control panel (Denon-alike) built-in with the reast of my gear.
So I'm waiting for the 1.2 release to see whether that requirement will be fulfilled before switching to "spend-mode" ;-)
But as the Atomix Team switched to "silent mode" it seems I'll just have to be patient to find out.
DJ Corpse
Posté Wed 28 Mar 01 @ 10:58 pm
djfinn
Thanks for all that. I'm thinking more now about going down the laptop route. I've been fishing around quite a bit and checking out prices. The problem seems to be getting 2 separate outputs from a laptop soundcard. This Roland UA30 device seems to do the trick quite adequately from what I gather (£199.). Another option seems to be the EMKAY USB Audio Adaptor (http://users.pandora.be/pps.office1/hardware.htm for $69. or even the stereo-link.com ($199.) wich turns a USB output into an extra audio in/out). If anyone's tried these with the atomixmp3 software can you please get back to me?
Also, if you check out the visiosonic pages (http://www.visiosonic.com/pcdj_pro_hardware/mobilemix.asp) they're offering a custom laptop with a ???SoundBlaster Live! Value Sound Card??? included, I assumer that's integrated. Well how the %#@$ did they do that?
There's another UK audio laptop specialist that are experts in this kinda business, I'm going to email them about it.
I'm desparate to find a solution now,
Finn
Posté Thu 29 Mar 01 @ 8:10 pm
This really is not a huge task. The EASYEST way to do it is simply buy a half decent laptop that comes with the sb live mobile version, im not sure if this in onboard the motherboard or not (I cannot be assed to check www.soundblaster.com =O)
Laptop : p3 400, 128 ram, 20 gig hd and this sb live mobile, external mouse and headphones is all you really need to get going.
the sb live comes with front and rear out puts so the two independant soundcard issue is solved.
more than enough proc/ram power to control atomix and room for tons of mp3s.
Also go for win98 se for the OS as win2k is a bit unstable with audio apps and the quality isnt as nice.
You may also want to do a ghost image or ur harddrive with norton ghost on gig night just in case one goes down for whatever reason you have the backup to plug in =O)
Also think about using an external mixer with atomix, it makes a load of difference =O)
Laptop : p3 400, 128 ram, 20 gig hd and this sb live mobile, external mouse and headphones is all you really need to get going.
the sb live comes with front and rear out puts so the two independant soundcard issue is solved.
more than enough proc/ram power to control atomix and room for tons of mp3s.
Also go for win98 se for the OS as win2k is a bit unstable with audio apps and the quality isnt as nice.
You may also want to do a ghost image or ur harddrive with norton ghost on gig night just in case one goes down for whatever reason you have the backup to plug in =O)
Also think about using an external mixer with atomix, it makes a load of difference =O)
Posté Fri 30 Mar 01 @ 1:49 pm
So the SB Live card for laptops can handle two outputs? Can this be set within Atomix? (Ie, you can set front to 1 channel, and rear to the other) And is the sound quality different, like, do you only get like the front sound or something? I probably dont know what im talking about. However, I think this program is going to take over buying a $1,500 pair of Denon's with a $1,000 mixer to get a good sound. Not to mention how much easier this is to work with. I couldnt see the sense in carrying around a full PC, it's just too big and they arent really meant to be carried around, the cards can lodge out of place and you have too many problems with them. Laptop just makes more sense.
Posté Fri 30 Mar 01 @ 3:25 pm
Becareful about low end USB devices, i almost bought a $60-70 USB device but the harware is cheap (low end 16bit) and you will get a bad sound or at least it will degrade the sound..
The nice thing about the roland is the 24bit digital audio through Roland hardware.
my point being,, if you are using a laptop to play music, invest in the best sound hardware.
i've thought about buying a second Roland UA30 for dual stereo and running it through a usb hub.
i wish they had firewire sound cards...
and don't listen to that crap posted by that twat
has djfinn said "keep it real"
The nice thing about the roland is the 24bit digital audio through Roland hardware.
my point being,, if you are using a laptop to play music, invest in the best sound hardware.
i've thought about buying a second Roland UA30 for dual stereo and running it through a usb hub.
i wish they had firewire sound cards...
and don't listen to that crap posted by that twat
has djfinn said "keep it real"
Posté Sat 31 Mar 01 @ 2:47 am
dj2nv
the sblive has front and rear stereo line outs..
you get fantastic sound quality out of both channels!!
good luck bro
DJ-NERO
you get fantastic sound quality out of both channels!!
good luck bro
DJ-NERO
Posté Sun 01 Apr 01 @ 10:48 am
core
Most laptops have a built-in audio interface.
The problem is there are no pcmcia sound cards available on the market which you can put in as an additional sound card.
Except for:
http://www.digigram.com/products/VXpocket.html
Do you guys think it would work?
The problem is there are no pcmcia sound cards available on the market which you can put in as an additional sound card.
Except for:
http://www.digigram.com/products/VXpocket.html
Do you guys think it would work?
Posté Mon 02 Apr 01 @ 10:42 pm
mama
If you are satisfied with two mono outputs, it should be ok.
mama
mama
Posté Tue 03 Apr 01 @ 7:28 am
whoa, at $600 for the (http://www.digigram.com/products/VXpocket.html) that's a lot of money and the connectors are your typical shite pcmcia stuff. A usb can interface with anything, mac or pc.
Posté Thu 05 Apr 01 @ 11:50 am
if your going that way then go http://www.audiomidi.com/hardware/motu/828/ and do Firewire..
Posté Thu 05 Apr 01 @ 11:52 am
liquidsounddistortion
Hi all, ive been a user of the Atomix software ever since it first came out, so long ago i cant remember the name it used to be called
Anyways i see alot of you wondering about laptop, live use, etc and i would like to share the custom solution i have for you all
I have a computer system that fits inside a 12"x"12.5"x3" thick case. It features an Intel Pentium3 866mhz processor with 133mhz bus, Intel 815E chipset so you can support the ultra fast ata100 Harddrives, It has a standard size IDE 16x10x40 Yamaha CDRW drive that burns cd's in undr 5 minutes, 30gig Harddrive, 256megs of pc133 ram, 2 PCI slots for soundcards, Also has 4 USB ports, and 2 Firewire ports and onboard sound and video, not to mention svideo and tv output. This is all the power of a Desktop in a very portable system
You can slip this and a flatscreen monitor into a case about the size of your record bag and have all the power of a desktop in something not much larger than a laptop. Did i mention this cost about half as much as a laptop and gives you twice the power
Heres what i think the ideal price/performance setup is:
intel p3 866mhz processor
256megs pc133 RAM
30gig Ultra100 HD
12x CDRW drive
Floppy Drive
Your cost $900
of course since i build each one custom, you could select for say... a 700mhz celeron, 128megs ram, 20gig Hd, 56x cdrom drive and the case and it would only run you about $600 or less and on the other side of the coin, I could do a system with 80gig Harddrive, 512megs of RAM, 16x cd burner etc
Ive been building computer systems for audio applications for a few years now and im familar with all soundcards, software and anything else you might have questions about,
so i will work with you and build you a custom solution for your needs
This system is great cuz it gives you so many options in soundcards, It has a nice stereo card built into it already but since you have PCI, USB and Firewire slots, you can select anything you want. although i really like the Echo Darla24, stereo inputs and 8 outputs at 24bit, cost $300 and sounds great. Also has latency of 4ms in cubase vst 5.0
And just as a reference for you all, i had a Dell Inspiron800 800mhz p3 laptop last month. It cost me $2200 for the system, plus $350 for a 12x cdburner and another $600 for a VX pocket 4output soundcard. Thats over $3000 for a system that was scoring less that 50% of what mine does on benchmarks.
laptops are great if you want to do spread sheets on the plane, but as musicans i think what we all really want is a system that is easy to transport to a gig, offers great performance and also is a good value
Email me at LiquidSoundDistortion@hotmail.com with any questions and i will help get you setup with a system thats perfect for your needs and budget
Sorry if anyone is upset that i posted this here, but i think its related to this software and also something alot of users would like to know about
Anyways i see alot of you wondering about laptop, live use, etc and i would like to share the custom solution i have for you all
I have a computer system that fits inside a 12"x"12.5"x3" thick case. It features an Intel Pentium3 866mhz processor with 133mhz bus, Intel 815E chipset so you can support the ultra fast ata100 Harddrives, It has a standard size IDE 16x10x40 Yamaha CDRW drive that burns cd's in undr 5 minutes, 30gig Harddrive, 256megs of pc133 ram, 2 PCI slots for soundcards, Also has 4 USB ports, and 2 Firewire ports and onboard sound and video, not to mention svideo and tv output. This is all the power of a Desktop in a very portable system
You can slip this and a flatscreen monitor into a case about the size of your record bag and have all the power of a desktop in something not much larger than a laptop. Did i mention this cost about half as much as a laptop and gives you twice the power
Heres what i think the ideal price/performance setup is:
intel p3 866mhz processor
256megs pc133 RAM
30gig Ultra100 HD
12x CDRW drive
Floppy Drive
Your cost $900
of course since i build each one custom, you could select for say... a 700mhz celeron, 128megs ram, 20gig Hd, 56x cdrom drive and the case and it would only run you about $600 or less and on the other side of the coin, I could do a system with 80gig Harddrive, 512megs of RAM, 16x cd burner etc
Ive been building computer systems for audio applications for a few years now and im familar with all soundcards, software and anything else you might have questions about,
so i will work with you and build you a custom solution for your needs
This system is great cuz it gives you so many options in soundcards, It has a nice stereo card built into it already but since you have PCI, USB and Firewire slots, you can select anything you want. although i really like the Echo Darla24, stereo inputs and 8 outputs at 24bit, cost $300 and sounds great. Also has latency of 4ms in cubase vst 5.0
And just as a reference for you all, i had a Dell Inspiron800 800mhz p3 laptop last month. It cost me $2200 for the system, plus $350 for a 12x cdburner and another $600 for a VX pocket 4output soundcard. Thats over $3000 for a system that was scoring less that 50% of what mine does on benchmarks.
laptops are great if you want to do spread sheets on the plane, but as musicans i think what we all really want is a system that is easy to transport to a gig, offers great performance and also is a good value
Email me at LiquidSoundDistortion@hotmail.com with any questions and i will help get you setup with a system thats perfect for your needs and budget
Sorry if anyone is upset that i posted this here, but i think its related to this software and also something alot of users would like to know about
Posté Fri 06 Apr 01 @ 10:36 am
atomix_jupiterl
Hi everyone, I just did a search for a rack mountable computer case and this is what I found:
http://www.jenlogix.co.nz/products/rack-360.htm
Apparently they have one that's compatible with ATX motherboards.
hope it helps
JL
http://www.jenlogix.co.nz/products/rack-360.htm
Apparently they have one that's compatible with ATX motherboards.
hope it helps
JL
Posté Sun 29 Apr 01 @ 2:43 am