Netbooks, Mobile Recording, and Cost Savings

It's insane. Technology is getting smaller everyday, which is incredible for mobile musicians everywhere. Grab a laptop, a USB interface, and your instrument. Out the door you go, with nothing more than your 1 bag. Nice.

I thought that I'd share my setup with you.

Netbook

Recently, I picked up an Acer Aspire One AOA150 Netbook in seashell white. With an 8.9" widescreen, 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, 3 USB ports, and Headphone/VGA outs, this little thing rips. It's footprint is about the size of a small book.

Interface

I chose to snag an M-Audio Black Box. It's a guitar amp modeler, USB interface which is compatible with ProTool M-Powered, and has a host of ins and outs, including 1/4" guitar-in, and XLR in. No phantom power. It was an old model, but brand new. I instantly upgraded the firmware on it, as per http://www.m-audio.com/. This gave me a ton more amp models, FX, etc.

Software

ProTools (Digidesign, Avid Technologies) is the standard everywhere. Studios large and small are using it. I'll admit; for the longest time, I was using Sonar 4/7 Producer Editions. I still use it. But, to keep up with other studios, and to have distance sessions possible, ProTools was the answer. Since my interface supports M-Powered, I grabbed a copy of that flavor of ProTools. The slick part is that I can work with people who have other flavors of ProTools such as LE and HD. They can open my session files, and vice versa. Slick business! See more: http://www.digidesign.com

Headphones

I opted for the Skullcandy in-ear "Ink'd" earbuds. Dude. For between $10-$15, you can't go wrong. With the frequency response that they give me, I'd say they'd rival my Shure E2s (I have two pairs and love them, btw.)

Do It

I installed the necessary drivers for my Black Box on the netbook, then installed ProTools. Bingo. Mobile rig. I can record guitars, vocals, work with drum loops, and even record various instruments using the mic input on the interface. It sets up in 2 minutes, and there's hardly any cords. The headphones give me and everyone else around me some privacy, and there's minimal sound leaks into a microphone. Keep in mind, this isn't for recording a full-length album, but more or less to have a way to roughly track some ideas, and then have a usable file format which can translate into your main studio, or others' for that matter. It keeps you motivated and that's what matters.

Now, tell us about your mobile rigs! We're all ears. ;)