SOUND ON SOUND
Encouraging results are achieved from testing a new laptop equipped with an Intel Pentium-M processor. Could it become the centre of the PC user's ideal mobile setup?
The beauty of PCs is that they are highly upgradeable. Swapping out your old motherboard for a new one, for example, is a feasible prospect for increasing performance without buying a whole new machine. If you're considering the process, though, there's a lot to bear in mind...
INTA Audio's music workstation boasts some of the latest PC technology, including hyperthreading, dual-channel DDR400 memory and Serial ATA, making it one of the fastest systems around.
Many laptop PCs that bear a specific brand name are not in fact manufactured by the company in question — and that includes some specialist music PCs. But does this really matter to the musician?
Until now, if you wanted multi-channel or high-resolution audio I/O in a hot-swappable external interface, Firewire was the only way to go. Edirol's UA1000 offers an alternative, using the Hi-Speed USB 2.0 protocol that is standard on nearly all new PCs.
PC paper specifications can vary so much that it's hard to know how one PC compares to another in terms of its performance with real-word audio apps. Hence the need for tests designed just for music PCs...
Creative Labs have updated their popular Audigy 2 soundcard, improving its audio performance and adding new features.
Native Instruments' flagship modular software synth has now reached version 4, dispensing with the dongle copy-protection that bothered v3 owners, adding many user-friendly features and allowing even greater scope for personalising your patches.
The attractions of making and recording music on a laptop computer are obvious, but choosinga laptop can involve you in performance compromises and compatibility problems. Here's what you need to consider if you are thinking of going mobile.
Filters are at the heart of many of the weirder sequencer plug-ins, so here we check out what each one has to offer, and how you can obtain weird and wonderful sounds for your mixes.