Topic: Laptop Rig. Opinions Please..

[RJPass]

Ive got a few local band shows coming up in the LA area and i got a laptop, and a friend of mine has heard my MiniDisc recordings of some of the bands ive taped and he says they're real good, and wants me to tape his bands stuff.  I agreed, but i honestly dont want to just walk in with my stealth rig.  I want to bring in a good rig, a laptop rig.

In which case, im trying to get suggestions as to what type of PreAmp/Mic's would be suitable for the job.  Im well aware that schoeps is the best out there, but i dont have much money.  I need reliable mic's affordable, but not too stingy on the price either.   Im willing to spend if i'll get the results im looking for which is clear and audible music  =)

What do you guys think of this "rig" put together by Sound Professionals with a "special price".

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/category.cgi?category=9015&item=SP-BUNDLE-CR&type=store

Can i do better than that?  I got a Compaq Presario 1.8ghz AMD Athalon with about 256mb's of memory.  Runs real good and fast and is enough to run the rig.  Im just concerned with mic's and PreAmp.  Stands and cables are included in that rig too.  I hear a lot of people bashing tascam for some reason, and that's why i decided to ask on here.

Please Help!
RJPass

[Chanher]

not too bad of a deal considering you're getting a bunch of extras, but those mics would shine much more in a studio setting. definitely don't pay 499 for that, if you go that route make them honor the 399 price.

If you're using a laptop possible preamps include the  edirol ua-5, the m-audio duo, and the usbpre (little pricier).  the ua-5 has seen much more use from tapers than the duo. but either one would allow you to use usb to interface to your laptop, a huge plus.

pair one of those with some superlux's, oktava's, or akg c1000's, and you have yourself a rig.  I chose the oktava's because I love the low end, but the superlux's have been very popular because of the extra's that come with them.

[Craig T]

My "bargain" laptop rig would have to be the ADK A51TL> Oade w/p-mod ua5> laptop.  Its a bit more $$ at approx $1300, but it will make top notch recordings and the multi-pattern TL's will give more mic placement options.  In comparison to the Neumann TLM170>V3>VxPocket at almost $5000, it really is a "bargain", IMO.

[twoodruff]

My "bargain" laptop rig would have to be the ADK A51TL> Oade w/p-mod ua5> laptop.  Its a bit more $$ at approx $1300, but it will make top notch recordings and the multi-pattern TL's will give more mic placement options.  In comparison to the Neumann TLM170>V3>VxPocket at almost $5000, it really is a "bargain", IMO.

second, was about to suggest the TL's myself, they wont leave you wanting "more"

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

Don't go cheaper than this. If you do, you'll upgrade to it, so why not skip the cheaper setups and just do it!

Guitar Center Oktava MC012s ($150) > Bogen Light Stand ($50) /  Clamp ($15) / T-Bar ($30) > "Cheapo" Mic cables ($50) > Oade Digi-Mod Edirol UA5 ($300) > Laptop

If you're sure you're not going to want to record to anything but the laptop you can get a stock UA5 to save a few bucks. I think it's nice to have the option to run the UA5 into a MD or JB3 only. Sometimes (usually) I don't feel like lugging the laptop around.

I don't think you can beat that for less than $600.

Anyway, thats what I run and I'm pretty happy. I think my next step is to send the UA5 back to Oade to get one of the pre-amp mods, then I'm getting TL's. After that, who knows.

MIKE B

[RJPass]

Oki doki.  seems everyone here is a fan of the Oade edirol ua5 and the mod.  I guess i'll just get that, and i'll figure out mic's later.  I need to start piecing this together rather slowly because i dont got the money just yet.  

Keep the suggestions comin though.  I appreciate all the input!

[Chanher]

+fyi, there are three seperate mods for the ua-5:

digi-mod: allows the ua-5 to run standalone, or in other words when it's not hooked up to a computer via usb.  like mentioned above, if you are strictly using your laptop, there's no need for the digimod. keep in mind you may want the mod later if you move away from computer-based recording. oade sells digimod ua-5's for $295. if you have reasonable sodering skills there are clear instructions on how to do the mod yourself, so you really could pick up a ua-5 off ebay for very cheap and mod it yourself.

warm mod: oade sells for $500, the digimod is included in this package. doug oade replaces the analog circuitry with high quality parts to produce "warm" and what I would call a very pleasing sound. this is what I have.

presence mod: sells for $550, same thing as above but the analog replacement produces a more upfront "presence" sound if you will.

you can buy a digimod from oade and send it back for the upgrades later. oade will not, however, mod a ua-5 not purchased from them.

I wish I had a laptop for my ua-5, I'd love to be able to run 24/96 or 24/48.

[Sean Gallemore]

I recommend getting the phantom power mod for your mics.  This will eliminate any bass distorting issues.  Second, get hyper caps (if you don't already have em) for shitty indoor venues.  I can't believe how good those hypers sound.  Third, I'm with everyone else on the UA-5 boat.  It is the easiest, cheapest way to get a quality digital converter for a laptop.

[Kindguy]

I liked the Warm UA-5 > TL's combo. Every new tape I hear with the TL's I like them better & better.