okayyy...I know I am simplifying this to extremes but Im gonna be pulling in around 4500 dollars this summer which I want to dedictae soley to a laptop based beatmaking station...If possible id like to keep it under 3500 with software and all...is that possible? I looked into a mac powerbookG4...good choice? Id like a quality set up because My friend who is graduating high school this year is going to be starting a studio in which he has asked me to be a partner in...I'm a sophmore in HS...so anyways what kind of laptop should i look into and for software what kind of stuff do u think i would want? ive read a lot about reason and traktion but still not clear...I want to be able to create my own beats and sample here and there...help? :? This includes possible soundcards and interfaces...the most i would input is around 4 mics if that and maybe turntables...am i on the right path or off to some horribly spent money? somebody. teach me lol.
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oh, and also get soundtrack for the mac if you are going to make
oh, and also get soundtrack for the mac if you are going to make beatz- this is the best loop app for macs and it cost $199 and comes with a great library- another thing to considerer as I am thinking about it, the 1.2 GHZ ibook I got for $800 does not have a DVD player, just a CD- this is not an issue with me as i already have a Dual G4 tower for my main rig but it might be with you, as many of the loop libraries nowdays come in DVD format- the next ibook on the sale section I think is like $1099 and it does have DVD- good luck!
Go to the apple store, type sale on search engine- they usually
Go to the apple store, type sale on search engine- they usually have reburbished ibooks, latest models for about $800 + Tx- I got one for remote recording and its great- go to ebay and buy 512 more meg of ram for $75 or a 1GB stick for under $200- either way, you need this- go back to e-bay and get a 250 GB firewire external drive for about $120
Now for software- Digital performer will cost you $500 but you still will need some soft synts, so add another $500- or you coould get apple's logic for $1000 and you are set. Lots of VI's there and they are great- i am a DP man myself but if i had an extra 1k laying around I'd get me a copy of logic. your laptop already comes equiped with garage band, so you can make a lot of your beats there
Now add an interface. Motu's 828 mkii runs about $650 and has 2 built in pres- you could expand this to 20 inputs if you buy more pres-
Total cost: ibook, $850 (including tax), hard drive, memory another $150, software $1000 and interface $650- total $2650- add mics to taste and you are ready to go with a totally pro set up-
Now, this is getting a mac, like you suggested in your post. Im a mac man myself as I've been using DP for 15 years and it does not live in the pc platform. i am sure there are many great set ups as well if you decide to get a pc laptop- but i tell you, those ibooks are great! :D