mabala
I'm planning on performing live with atomix and a laptop. what kind of equiptment do I need?
- What kind of laptop do I need ? (Speed, Ram, etc)
- What kind of sound card?
- What kind of CdRom?
- Any other equiptment?
Any other suggestions, advice, etc?
Any guidlines for configuring the system?
Though I'm sure these questions have been answered here before, I would appreciate any help!
Thanks!
Mabala
- What kind of laptop do I need ? (Speed, Ram, etc)
- What kind of sound card?
- What kind of CdRom?
- Any other equiptment?
Any other suggestions, advice, etc?
Any guidlines for configuring the system?
Though I'm sure these questions have been answered here before, I would appreciate any help!
Thanks!
Mabala
geposted Mon 06 May 02 @ 4:40 pm
Redman247
I will attempt to answer *some* of your questons for I am still a fairly new user to this software myself.
MY personal recommendation would be for a minimum on the laptop:
500mhz processor (For having several instances open at once of the program)
At least 128MB ram (With at least double that for the Swap file)
and a 30-40 GB HD,
CDROM is really not too important, as I personally would not use the laptops CDROM during a gig, I would rip it all to MP3 and have it on the HD before hand.
As far as the souncard goes thier really is not too much (if Any) high/Mid end audio cards for laptops. And most of the times its a "You get what they give you" thing.
Although there is 2 other ways to remedy this (But I haven't tried it yet) A USB Sound card, or a PCMCIA type II card.
Oh and for the laptop I would look at finding a harden shell case for it, for as you have noticed most DJ equipment is supposed to be made for rough handling, a naked laptop in a party, is a naked laptop at its own funeral. ;)
V
MY personal recommendation would be for a minimum on the laptop:
500mhz processor (For having several instances open at once of the program)
At least 128MB ram (With at least double that for the Swap file)
and a 30-40 GB HD,
CDROM is really not too important, as I personally would not use the laptops CDROM during a gig, I would rip it all to MP3 and have it on the HD before hand.
As far as the souncard goes thier really is not too much (if Any) high/Mid end audio cards for laptops. And most of the times its a "You get what they give you" thing.
Although there is 2 other ways to remedy this (But I haven't tried it yet) A USB Sound card, or a PCMCIA type II card.
Oh and for the laptop I would look at finding a harden shell case for it, for as you have noticed most DJ equipment is supposed to be made for rough handling, a naked laptop in a party, is a naked laptop at its own funeral. ;)
V
geposted Mon 06 May 02 @ 5:02 pm
Homeboy
Well welcome to Atomix first of all. I will help you with setting up for live DJ'ing. I DJ every weekend with Atomic so I guess I will just tell you what I use and you can go from there.
Laptop: Acer Travelmate 200T PII, 192mb ram, onboard soundcard (which I am sure could use some updating but it does the trick) The processor is 457 in the specs so I think its a 450mhz.
The cd-rom is nothing special, If you are purchasing a newer laptop all cd-roms will be supported.
I reccomend using an external mixer, I have found this to be a great advantage. I also reccomend assigning most of the Atomix features to an external keyboard, this is much easier than using the laptop keyboard and I also use an external optical mouse.
As for sound I think you should get what you can afford to purchase. I have a small system that I can do weddings and small parties with but I rent when I do dances and Proms.
I personally use the single soundcard with the external mixer option which allows for 2 seperate channels from 1 soundcard.
Thats about it. Any other questions feel free to post.
DJ Homeboy
Laptop: Acer Travelmate 200T PII, 192mb ram, onboard soundcard (which I am sure could use some updating but it does the trick) The processor is 457 in the specs so I think its a 450mhz.
The cd-rom is nothing special, If you are purchasing a newer laptop all cd-roms will be supported.
I reccomend using an external mixer, I have found this to be a great advantage. I also reccomend assigning most of the Atomix features to an external keyboard, this is much easier than using the laptop keyboard and I also use an external optical mouse.
As for sound I think you should get what you can afford to purchase. I have a small system that I can do weddings and small parties with but I rent when I do dances and Proms.
I personally use the single soundcard with the external mixer option which allows for 2 seperate channels from 1 soundcard.
Thats about it. Any other questions feel free to post.
DJ Homeboy
geposted Mon 06 May 02 @ 5:02 pm
DJ Rick
Well, it depends on what equipment the club or bar that you will be mixing at has in place. If they have a mixer and amplification, and speakers, you only need the computer, and the proper cables to plug into the line in(s) on the mixer. However, if you are going to be completely self contained, you need a halfway decent computer, I perfer a laptop. Mine is a Sony Vaio amd 800 with 128 ram, and I carry an 80 gig external firewire hard drive. About half the time I use a USB external sound device to provide 2 full stereo channels, but this is really no longer needed since version 2.1 came out. You need a mixer, I use a Numark, it's a decent mixer and has performed well for the last 3 years or so. You need an Amp. There's lots to consider here. Quality, wattage, size, weight, etc... I carry a QSC power lite. It delivers 1600 watts, (800 per channel) and only weighs 18 pounds. You'll also need speakers. Personally I use a pretty nice set of MTX 15" 2-way speakers. These have a very nice full range horn, and the highs are crisp and clean. With the 15" driver, I rarely wish that I had a seperate sub woofer.
That's the stuff you simply must have. Laptop, Mixer, Amp, & Speakers. A few optional items that should be considered would be a power strip. This is a nice strip of electrical outlets that mounts right in the rack, and keeps all the cords under control, and protects your valuable equipment from power surges. You should also consider a rack mountable equalizer. This gives you the ability to shape the music a bit to compensate for room dynamics. Most EQ's will also give you the opportunity to boost the signal a bit before it gets to the amp if you need a little more head room.
Oh yeah, a rack, or console to carry it all in, and a bunch of cables of all different shapes and lenghts, and a decent microphone that plugs into the mixer.
I hope this was helpful, check the posts after this one as everyone else will fill you in on what I may have forgotten.
Good Luck
PS: you also need an amazing music library that people will actually pay to hear.
That's the stuff you simply must have. Laptop, Mixer, Amp, & Speakers. A few optional items that should be considered would be a power strip. This is a nice strip of electrical outlets that mounts right in the rack, and keeps all the cords under control, and protects your valuable equipment from power surges. You should also consider a rack mountable equalizer. This gives you the ability to shape the music a bit to compensate for room dynamics. Most EQ's will also give you the opportunity to boost the signal a bit before it gets to the amp if you need a little more head room.
Oh yeah, a rack, or console to carry it all in, and a bunch of cables of all different shapes and lenghts, and a decent microphone that plugs into the mixer.
I hope this was helpful, check the posts after this one as everyone else will fill you in on what I may have forgotten.
Good Luck
PS: you also need an amazing music library that people will actually pay to hear.
geposted Mon 06 May 02 @ 5:45 pm
mabala
Thanks for all your answers. I have some more questions , though..
- I currently use audiowerk8 (emagic) sound card, and it seems there is a large latency between the waveform dsiplay and the sound played (which also gives trouble with the mixing) - I checked the settings panel, and it says the latency is only about a few milisecs. whats the deal here?
(when I switch to a SB16 card, everthing works fine)
- What soundcards do you advise to buy, so that I have a high SNR, proper sound, and some money left? (I'm planning on using an external USB card)
- Is there a way to control the atomix functions using an external midi keyboard?
Thanks alot !!
Mabala
- I currently use audiowerk8 (emagic) sound card, and it seems there is a large latency between the waveform dsiplay and the sound played (which also gives trouble with the mixing) - I checked the settings panel, and it says the latency is only about a few milisecs. whats the deal here?
(when I switch to a SB16 card, everthing works fine)
- What soundcards do you advise to buy, so that I have a high SNR, proper sound, and some money left? (I'm planning on using an external USB card)
- Is there a way to control the atomix functions using an external midi keyboard?
Thanks alot !!
Mabala
geposted Fri 10 May 02 @ 11:51 pm