Hi all,

My wife is a musician, and wants a notebook computer.

We are probably going to buy a Tascam 8 Track HDD recorder which can then transfer via USB for burning to CD.

As I am not a muso at all, but am aware of the MIDI controller keyboard, and some of the apple software like Logic Pro and Express, and also Garage Band.

I know this is fairly ambiguous, but can anyone advise whether or not a new iBook 14" would cut it as a musicians PC. The only other things it will be used for is Office apps, iTunes and Internet.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Mike

The iBooks don't have a line in, so you would need a usb gizmo like an iMic to plug an instrument into it, which could be annoying if you are planning to use the iBook as a 'notepad' for impromptu recordings of ideas as well as for full on multitrack recording.

Also, the video card, I believe, does not support dual display, so plugging in an external screen only mirrors what is on the iBook screen, and so doesn't give much more screen space. I find that having, for example, two screens side by side is very useful when editing tracks, as you can see the whole time-line, so you may find an iBook screen limited.

For both the above issues, a Power Book will be just that little bit more flexible (line-in and dual display). The processor should be up to the task unless you are planning on crunching umpteen tracks at the same time (Apple suggest a G4 will suffice for Logic but recommend dual G4 or G5). I have no personal experience of using Logic on an iBook.

Though the screen spanning hack can be applied to solve this problem

If you're willing to potentially void your warranty, that is.

I had screen spanning, no warranty issues.

I use a 1.33GHz 14" iBook for recording, I use a Tascam US-428 and record all four tracks simultaneously into CuBase for OS X.

The CPU is just ticking over 10%, no glitches, no issues. Though I don't use any effects, VTS plugins, etc. So that is another matter.

The slow iBook HDD keeps up very well. I've not had one issue. My band is thinking of producing a CD later down the track, we feel that the quality is just as good as anything else out there.

pipsqeek

i use a usb line in that i got with my logitec mic headphones, it works great, i plug my 4 ch mixer and run dual condensers and the sound is just as good as any unmastered demo.