Laptop DJing

Message

Nando · #301 Post by **Nando** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 12:07 am

About to buckle and get me a laptop.

I haven't read all 21 pages, but I'm guessing from the last page that Dell's aren't all that for DJing?!?

Any brand recommendations? I saw a Toshiba for a decent price. HP? Sony (although they seem pretty expensive in comparison?)

Mr Awesomer · #302 Post by **Mr Awesomer** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 10:53 am

No, from reading the last page you should have gathered that, in most places, the electrical wiring sucks.

Nando · #303 Post by **Nando** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 11:03 am

OK, so any brand recommendations? Anyone satisfied with their HPs, Toshibas, Sony Viaos, etc...

Nate Dogg · #304 Post by **Nate Dogg** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 11:36 am

I have been very satisifed with my Sony Vaio

Mr Awesomer · #305 Post by **Mr Awesomer** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 11:49 am

If I were in the market I'd probably get the Inspirion 700m

Nice and small yet full featured. Seems to be the best bang for the buck especially if you order when Dell's having just the right sale.

Shanabanana · #306 Post by **Shanabanana** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 12:02 pm

I have a Dell Inspiron 700m, and so does John Dyer. 4lb, incredibly clear screen for its size, has all ports on the side or front (nice for changing things out without having to dig around behind the computer), and cheap for what it is. I highly recommend it.

ScottieK · #307 Post by **ScottieK** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 12:32 pm

Shanabanana wrote:I have a Dell Inspiron 700m, and so does John Dyer. 4lb, incredibly clear screen for its size, has all ports on the side or front (nice for changing things out without having to dig around behind the computer), and cheap for what it is. I highly recommend it.

I heard the battery life on it is terrible though. 2 hours or something to t hat effect.

Swifty · #308 Post by **Swifty** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 12:34 pm

ScottieK wrote:I heard the battery life on it is terrible though. 2 hours or something to t hat effect.

I've got the Inspiron 1100, the battery life is about three hours, which isn't bad.

Also - there is absolutely no reason you shouldn't have your laptop plugged in while you're DJing.

Swifty · #309 Post by **Swifty** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 12:36 pm

Swifty wrote:John, I've got the same exact laptop but I've got a Sound Blaster MP3+ external sound card. I will be taking it on its maiden DJ voyage tomorrow night, I will let you know if I experience any of the problems you have.

No major problems last night, and I didn't notice buzzing of any kind.

However, the receiver I have to use at this venue is total crap and sometimes only feeds the left channel. Is there a way to switch from stereo output to mono output using Winamp or the OS? There's no switch on my sound card.

Mr Awesomer · #310 Post by **Mr Awesomer** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 12:50 pm

ScottieK wrote:
Shanabanana wrote:I have a Dell Inspiron 700m
I heard the battery life on it is terrible though. 2 hours or something to t hat effect.

The cnet review states the following:

"Because the Inspiron 700m's battery lasts only about 2.5 hours, get the optional eight-cell battery pack to power this machine for about 5 hours."

It's only a $60 option, and that 5 hours is a trip from LA to NYC. Damn good battery life if you ask me. Probably adds a little weight though.

Mr Awesomer · #311 Post by **Mr Awesomer** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 1:00 pm

I just configured the following setup for just $1,387. I can't believe how cheap laptops are getting!

Inspirion 700m
Pentium M Processor 745 (1.80GHz/400MHz FSB)
Windows XP Home
12.1-in WXGA Widescreen Display
512MB DDR SDRAM (a minimum for DJing in my opinion)
80 GB Hard Drive
8x CD/DVD burner +/- RW
Internal Wireless 802.11 b/g
8-cell Battery (the 5 hour one)

Shanabanana · #312 Post by **Shanabanana** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 3:18 pm

ScottieK wrote:I heard the battery life on it is terrible though. 2 hours or something to t hat effect.

I get about 2.5 hours out of it. You can buy the extended battery, but I never use it where I can't plug it in for long enough to care.

Shanabanana · #313 Post by **Shanabanana** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 3:20 pm

GuruReuben wrote:I just configured the following setup for just $1,387. I can't believe how cheap laptops are getting!

Inspirion 700m
Pentium M Processor 745 (1.80GHz/400MHz FSB)
Windows XP Home
12.1-in WXGA Widescreen Display
512MB DDR SDRAM (a minimum for DJing in my opinion)
80 GB Hard Drive
8x CD/DVD burner +/- RW
Internal Wireless 802.11 b/g
8-cell Battery (the 5 hour one)

You could probably get it for cheaper. I priced the same setup (minus longer-life battery) for <$1100 in December. Of course, it was a month after I paid $1200...

Nate Dogg · #314 Post by **Nate Dogg** » Sun Mar 13, 2005 11:18 pm

New Question

I use an External Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2NX Soundcard when doing my laptop DJ thing. I need to buy a microphone that I can plug into the soundcard.

I have a PC microphone, but it sucks. It is a $10 Plantronics model.

There seems to be a variety of microphone connector types out there. Are there adapters that convert some of these standard connector types to be compatable with with my Audigy soundcard input (mini)?
http://www.soundblaster.com/products/au ... /specs.asp

Also, while I am on the subject, any microphone suggestions. I need somethat is good for speaking, I don't plan on using it for any other purpose (singing, etc..).

I have a wedding to DJ on Saturday, so I would like to get this resolved by then.

Thanks, sorry if this is covered somewhere on another thread.

Nathan

Nate Dogg · #315 Post by **Nate Dogg** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 12:49 am

I am experimenting with a WinAmp plug in called Dynamic Library.

http://www.winamp.com/plugins/details.php?id=144458

So far, it is looking pretty good. It solves one of the few drawbacks I have had with WinAmp. Namely, the ability to search on Comments in the MP3 Tag. For some reason, I have never been able to get it to work (perhaps it was the way I updated my tags?, who knows). In any case, this new plug-in, allows me to do the searches I always wanted to.

Ex: I add the text "slowtrio", "130-140BPM", or some other shorthand notation to the comments.

I can come up with a whole system of code words to embed in the comments that I can search on when DJing.

The plug-in itself has lots of other cool function,
This is the description from the author:

"The Dynamic Library is an attempt for those (like me) who don't really like the Media Library. Of course it can also be used as a complement to that plugin as Dynamic Library implements ability to totally mirror a tree structure on your harddisk and dynamically updates the library to mirror its contents fully."