Outdoor Recording Studio

[jfrichards]

I have bought and returned four laptops hoping to set up a Reason-based recording studio that can be set up outside. Each one had serious problems. I have decided to get a MacBook instead of a PC. The Zoom U-22 interface does not work easily with PC's, but it does with MacBooks. It's coming in a few days. This is what it'll look like.

[Jackjackdaw]

An extra $1000 on laptop to get a $50 audio interface to work? I mean, get whatever laptop you like, but that seems like a skinny justification, lol.

[luckygreen]

Together with my Reason license I bought a cheap HP 15" laptop (EUR 800 which equals roughly USD 840) with really nice specs for that kind of money. Must have been early summer this year, May or June. I still had some legit Windows licenses, so no money wasted there. It has a decent 8-core, 16-thread AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU, Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti laptop GPU for light gaming (sadly only 4GB VRAM), 16 GB RAM. Had to change the 512 GB NVMe-SSD for a 2TB one to store my samples. Runs perfectly fine with Reason 12 and some older games like Skyrim Special Edition. Even Horizon Zero Dawn with 60 frames if you lower the graphics settings accordlingly.

I'm sorry that you had such a bad luck with your laptop choices. Don't know if a prohibitively expensive Apple product is a wise move though. Maybe you should pay slightly more money for a Windows laptop to get a big jump in quality. However, if an Apple laptop makes you play with Reason outdoors, it might be just what you need.

[jfrichards]

I'm trying to keep my laptop cost down. The first couple I tried were $300, then the last ones were $400 then $500 for the HP. I was a PC guy for 25 years running a newspaper with music on the side, then I tried a Mac for music. 500 songs later, the two Macs in the studio still call my name every morning. I've given cheap PC laptops a try, to no avail. Now to try a cheap Mac, like a 2016 MacBook Pro (16 GB ram and 1 TB SSD) starting at $500. We shall see...

[guitfnky]

honestly, if you're getting a laptop, you're probably better off with a MacBook anyway. it's a known quantity and you know the quality is always on point. a thousand bucks for an M1 or comparable Mac laptop will still consistently outperform a lot of desktop PCs. I've bought a couple of PC laptops with 'high end specs' that have been absolute trash for audio production. on paper they were significantly more capable than anything Apple had out at the time. on paper.

for a desktop though, I'm not sure I'll ever buy Apple again. the Mx chips are really good, but when you can source your own parts, it's much easier to get a super-solid PC than it is rolling the dice on a laptop that's always going to be preconfigured.

[bxbrkrz]

What if... you get an OP-1 Field for all your outdoor activities, and enjoy the simple musical accidents of the moment. Cost is relative to you. You can buy a microwave for a $1000...
Edit: Synthstrom Deluge also.

YOLO.

[luckygreen]

What if... you get an OP-1 Field for all your outdoor activities, and enjoy the simple musical accidents of the moment. Cost is relative to you. You can buy a microwave for a $1000...

YOLO.

EUR 2.000,00 for that kind of device is baffling to me. Seems hugely overpriced. I mean, sure if money is no object and you like the company and giving away, maybe you can consider the money you pay as a donation to the company.

[DaveyG]

Hard to beat an iPad for portable stuff.

[jam-s]

you could also combine the audio interface with the midi controller: https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/irigkeysio (But only if you don't need the input for your guitar and mic at the same time)

[bxbrkrz]

I used to shit on the OP-1 Field, but life taught me it is OK to be happy, if you can afford it.

[robussc]

My only fear with an MBPro from that era is the notorious butterfly keyboard. Good luck!

[Aosta]

Hard to beat an iPad for portable stuff.

Exactly!

Ipad
Nanokey studio
Decent headphones
Zoom/iRig
Korg Gadget/Cubasis + Insane amount of amazing apps

All you need for a portable studio.

[moalla]

Together with my Reason license I bought a cheap HP 15" laptop (EUR 800 which equals roughly USD 840) with really nice specs for that kind of money. Must have been early summer this year, May or June. I still had some legit Windows licenses, so no money wasted there. It has a decent 8-core, 16-thread AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU, Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti laptop GPU for light gaming (sadly only 4GB VRAM), 16 GB RAM. Had to change the 512 GB NVMe-SSD for a 2TB one to store my samples. Runs perfectly fine with Reason 12 and some older games like Skyrim Special Edition. Even Horizon Zero Dawn with 60 frames if you lower the graphics settings

How long you could use your hp victus or wich model you have bought mobile? I‘m also looking to get a new notebook, as upgrade for my t440 i7 Thinkpad what runs 3hours on battery on low-medium CPU usage.

Second question, how performant is your new hip notebook with the latest reason benchmark?

Last question, could I still use this hp device via usb c PD Powerbank?

Nice regards from Frankfurt

[moalla]

Hard to beat an iPad for portable stuff.

Wich kind of iPad Daw (without subscription) you could recommend, I‘m still on a iPad air2, what works quiet nice ass groovebox with the Artiria Spark le controller and software.

Cause it was also my plan to use my iPad ass mobile recording device with my Rme babyface1 with some mono sdc‘s…. But wich app iss still worth the money!?

[bossa]

This photo was once posted on Instagram on the subject!

[Aosta]

Hard to beat an iPad for portable stuff.

Wich kind of iPad Daw (without subscription) you could recommend, I‘m still on a iPad air2, what works quiet nice ass groovebox with the Artiria Spark le controller and software.

Cause it was also my plan to use my iPad ass mobile recording device with my Rme babyface1 with some mono sdc‘s…. But wich app iss still worth the money!?

Korg Gadget for it's devices though the sequencing is downwards (watch some videos) or Cubasis (Cubase) which is a more traditional linear sequencer which has interapp so you can use multiple instruments, effects or run them through Audiobus into Cubasis.
I'm on an air2 and it still runs brilliantly.
Great thing about Gadget is if you get Korg Nanokeys and Nanokontrol you can stick some AAA batteries in them and hook up to Gadget via bluetooth so no wires and they are already mapped to all the instruments.

[DaveyG]

Wich kind of iPad Daw (without subscription) you could recommend, I‘m still on a iPad air2, what works quiet nice ass groovebox with the Artiria Spark le controller and software.

Cause it was also my plan to use my iPad ass mobile recording device with my Rme babyface1 with some mono sdc‘s…. But wich app iss still worth the money!?

Korg Gadget for it's devices though the sequencing is downwards (watch some videos) or Cubasis (Cubase) which is a more traditional linear sequencer which has interapp so you can use multiple instruments, effects or run them through Audiobus into Cubasis.
I'm on an air2 and it still runs brilliantly.
Great thing about Gadget is if you get Korg Nanokeys and Nanokontrol you can stick some AAA batteries in them and hook up to Gadget via bluetooth so no wires and they are already mapped to all the instruments.

Aosta beat me to it but my answer is pretty much the same. Cubasis for a traditional DAW experience (NanoStudio 2 runs it close), Korg Gadget for a whole bunch of brilliant synths and drum machines (different to Reason but somehow has a similar vibe) and Beatmaker 3 for a more MPC type of workflow. Cubasis is usually on sale about this time of year.

Avoid the iMPC stuff - it's really not that great on iPad.

Other fun stuff: Koala Sampler, Samplr, Scaler 2, Playbeat 3. Loopy HD.

And don't overlook GarageBand. It has plenty of limitations but you can get decent results from it regardless.

I've tried a few different controllers and settled on Korg nanoKey Studio:
https://www.korg.com/uk/products/comput ... ey_studio/

It's wireless and it's got a bit of everything. Just don't expect to play it like a piano!

[Jackjackdaw]

I have an iPad with a load of music apps but I don’t find it a substitute for working on a laptop with a mouse and a Korg nano key layed across the trackpad.

[Aosta]

Aosta beat me to it but my answer is pretty much the same. Cubasis for a traditional DAW experience (NanoStudio 2 runs it close), Korg Gadget for a whole bunch of brilliant synths and drum machines (different to Reason but somehow has a similar vibe) and Beatmaker 3 for a more MPC type of workflow. Cubasis is usually on sale about this time of year.

Yes, Gadget has a very 'reasony' feel to it and the great thing is you can use it on other apple devices like iphones, I've even got it on an old ipod though I need a touch pen and a magnifying glass to do anything

[jfrichards]

All my new stuff arrived. After numerous failures in setting it up*, it finally all worked. Now I can try it outside!

* one annoying one was not realizing the USB-C ports on the MacBook were different on the left and right side.

[bxbrkrz]

All my new stuff arrived. After numerous failures in setting it up*, it finally all worked. Now I can try it outside!

* one annoying one was not realizing the USB-C ports on the MacBook were different on the left and right side.

The next image should logically be everything neatly folded in a bag, or two

[moalla]

All my new stuff arrived.

Cool interesting guitar
I’m as well on the final road of a mobile setup for 8channel recordings with friends, for my KFM360 mic ensemble and two U87 clones and three dedicated micpres.

Till this time it was mostly a problem to have energy outside, or the channel number and pre quality was very limitated, but now with this


It’s enough power for 6hours or more aaaaahhhhhh

With the newest midi shit midi thru6 BT from cme, it’s now possible to sync our iPads via Bluetooth with our midi stuff the first time with other gear hopefully easily, that Arturias Spark2 Groovebox will be in time

[EnochLight]

All my new stuff arrived. After numerous failures in setting it up*, it finally all worked. Now I can try it outside!

* one annoying one was not realizing the USB-C ports on the MacBook were different on the left and right side.

Congrats but... not sure why you just didn't pickup an Akai Force or MPC Live 2/One+ instead. Fully self-contained production machines (with plugins!), which would have kept you much more focused on music outside. Laptops are too much of a distraction IMHO.

[joeyluck]

All my new stuff arrived. After numerous failures in setting it up*, it finally all worked. Now I can try it outside!

* one annoying one was not realizing the USB-C ports on the MacBook were different on the left and right side.

Congrats but... not sure why you just didn't pickup an Akai Force or MPC Live 2/One+ instead. Fully self-contained production machines (with plugins!), which would have kept you much more focused on music outside. Laptops are too much of a distraction IMHO.

I'm guessing because the those don't run Reason

"...hoping to set up a Reason-based recording studio that can be set up outside."

[jfrichards]

The next image should logically be everything neatly folded in a bag, or two (bxbrkrz)

Here's the setup so far, showing one bag for the guitar. I have a bag for the table, and a backpack for the laptop, keyboard, and doohickeys. I'm getting a lightweight chair from Ikea also. Too busy with visitors for a few days to take a full photo.