Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Playing live with a laptop

Options
  • 15-02-2006 8:43pm
    #1
    nobodythere
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,349 ✭✭✭


    I was wondering about playing at practice with a laptop. Basically we're strapped for cash right now so until we can afford to toy around with real hardware synths we're gonna take the software approach. I basically have a MIDI-USB device connected up to my PC.

    I was wondering if there's any way to just connect this through a series of VST plugins and just put the output into the output of my soundcard. I know this is possible with Fruity loops but that's awfully bogged down performance wise and my comp isn't great (1.1ghz duron, 256mb RAM). The best latency I can get with that (and this is playing one single note) is about 13ms, which is unacceptable in live situations as it sounds really frickin outta time.

    Is it my software, comp hardware or lack of pro soundcard? Is there any sort of barebones software that isn't as buffed up as FL. Besides it's only the demo I have so I can't save presets, diddly arh :mad:


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    Anima
    Registered Users Posts: 3,945 ✭✭✭Anima


    Latency pretty much depends on the drivers. What (if any) ASIO drivers are you using? Try asio4all or kx drivers (if you have a soundblaster type card), they can bring the latency down a fair bit even on crappy machines. If thats not enough then you'll just have to get a proper sound card like an m-audio one or something. They've like 2-4 ms latency. Softsynths are still gonna hammer the crap out of your 1.1 ghz though, you'll probably have to sacrifice quality for polyphony.

    Where abouts in town do you play as a matter of interest? I'd be interested in hearing ye :)


  • Options
    #3
    nobodythere
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,349 ✭✭✭nobodythere


    We play out the country in Claregalway (no we're not the sawdoctors :p). It's just a band that I used to be in called Drive By Confusion getting back together just to do a recording because I think it'd be a pity to let a band just die without having any proper record of what you've accomplished. Which I hope to make as cheap as possible anyway.

    Much thanks for the advice, I'm actually just using the default drivers, whichever ones FL picked up. Meh it's not just 1.1ghz, it's 1.1ghz with a 64kb L2 cache compared to 2mb modern processors.

    I just wanted to toy around with synths and stuff, I find it a hard thing to get solid information on, but I got a big book for christmas that I'm eager to get stuck into


  • Options
    #4
    Anima
    Registered Users Posts: 3,945 ✭✭✭Anima


    Just get ASIO4ALL so, it should do you for a while. Stay clear of Sytrius if you have it with FL. Its very cpu intensive.


Advertisement