About recording and sound hardware

Setup: Sager NP8760 i7 CPU Q820 1.73Khz 8GB ram

I wonder what other sager owners who have need of doing sound work as might be needed for a videographer in the production of custom DVDs of various events?

Or in general getting around the limited sound capabilities of the Notebook cited above?

Pretty vague I guess, but I find I really cannot record at all on this notebook due to the fact that the only input if from the builtin mic. Recording thru it is very noisy and really not a useful result, say for a voice over of some part of the video.

Or for instance, if I wanted to record something from a video I find on line. If I record the audio on this notebook I find no other way than thru the builtin mic.

If I look at the `sound' entry in Control panel, that is all that is available under the `record' tab.

I'm not sure how my desktops are able to record so much better but they have other devices available. Apparently built into the motherboard.

Hopefully I'm missing some functionality that is available.

If not, then how to provide more sophisticated recording capabilities... something aftermarket and external would be the order I suppose but can anyone coach me as to what might be the tool I need.

I want to be able to record from online or from sources in the environment without having the nasty, noisy interference one gets from the builtin mic which records the noise of the notebook itself all to faithfully.

Also wondered if the slot I see on right side that appears to big for a card reader might afford a way to add better audio capabilty

 

Well, if you want to feed sound into the laptop, you will need a proper soundcard.. I think Clevos do not have a dedicated one, so you'll have to look up "external soundcard" and a microphone to plug into that.

If you wouldn't do any sound input, by the way (just composing from samples/VSTi plugins and such), then you wouldn't need a soundcard (cpu emulation would work perfectly well), but as soon as you think about feeding a signal to the computer, well, them's the brakes.

 

Yep, no matter which laptop you get, you're going to need an external solution for professional quality.

 

I didn't understand your second paragraph above.

When you say `just composing from samples...' you mean from sound sources already on the computer harddrive right. Does composing encompass recording? Is that the same as recording from say a webpage with sound effects or similar?

I didn't follow the part about not needing a sound card and cpu emulation. Can you explain that part a bit more?

I've mentioned that recording from any source... even when the source is on the harddrive appears to only be possible by use of the built in mic.

Are you saying there is some other way to do that with the existing motherboard?

 

Can you suggest one or more?

 

Theres a microphone and line-in jack. Cant you use those to plug in a proper mic?

 

Hmfine. "Composing from samples" - making music/tracks/sound with sounbytes & instrument libraries on the hard disk, yes. It is not the same as recording, and not really related in this case. I was saying, that while you have a sound source on your HDD, and while you're encoding it onto a file on the HDD, the soundcard is more or less irrelevant. When you want to 'capture' sound from a mic/instrument, via a cable leading into your comp, then you need a soundcard. Really.

CPU emulation - if you don't have a dedicated soundcard, then the CPU will be used to act like one, partly. If you have an integrated one in your motherboard, then - still - the CPU will be tasked with processing the sound, though with a lighter load. It's the same as using integrated GPU for gaming.. Results are not good.

Also, recording is not composing. I only mentioned the two to outline where they differ. You want to record, so you must get a soundcard. And for god's sake, NOT WITH THE BUILT-IN MIC! Get a proper one.

Seriously, if you aim to do this on a semi-serious level (e.g. for another person, and not just for yourself), then you really should look into all these things and, well, know the basics of how sound integrates with 'computer'.

TL;DR: 1) Get a real mic, do not use the 'built-in' one. 2) IF that's not good enough, buy an external soundcard.

 

Actually no. If you had said 'decent' rather than 'proper' than I'd say you were right, but professional quality mics need some phantom power and they use an impedance balanced XLR connector:

Spoiler

You can use a simple adapter, but most mics will need a preamp too.
Also while integrated DACs might be pretty good quality on laptops these days, there is no reason the ADCs will be anywhere near as good. Oh, and you can usually only get 1 channel.

That is not entirely true.
People who only use samples which have previously been recorded and mastered extensively on 10 thousand dollar equipment will often have high end professional level soundcards themselves. In fact, it is almost more important. This is because if you're mixing and using effects with near "perfect" audio files already, it is even more difficult to hear where something you did doesn't sound quite right on low end equipment. Whereas if you yourself have recorded the samples then of course there is no reason to get a better sound card than what you recorded with for mixing and mastering (actually there are reasons but only if you are making 'music concrete' which is electronic).

Composing in and of itself however can be done on any notebook, including 1000 year old ones Hildegarde von bingen anyone?

to the OP: Here is what I recommend to get started:
PreSonus
This uses firewire, a raw data interface. You will more often find the same thing for USB, but personally I don't believe they are as good. The disadvantage of firewire is that you have to use an external power adapter. OR you can build a 6 to 4 pin cable where the extra 2 pins are USB power which will work pretty well to an extent.
I bought one of these on Ebay used for 50$. You should be able to find one new or refurbished for about 100$.
Secondly:
Shure Americas | SM57 Instrument Microphone | Instrument Mic, Rugged, Touring
Perfect all purpose professional level mic. These can be found pretty easily under 100$.
If you are recording vocals and an instrument or possibly 2 instruments you may want to get 2 or an sm58 which is more for vocals.

With these 2 things, some cables, drivers, ingenuity, and of course your laptop, you will be able to make some very good quality recordings.
Good luck!

 

Thanks for the detailed response ... very helpful.

And thanks to other posters too. I think I have got it all straight now.

 

I may have spoke too soon when I said I thought I had it in hand now.

After looking at the site above, I was not sure still if that device would be able to provide a way to record something I find online. That is, if I found a site that has sound to be heard with a `listen' link or something.

Reading the features and specs, its just not clear. It appears to revolve more around external sources like instruments or vocalists.

 

I am more than aware of XLR's, we record legal matters all the time. I have hundreds if not thousands of different XLR mics, cables, mixers and hum eliminators in my office but the OP did not mention professional quality. He did say his onboard desktop motherboard works fine.

 

Oh, I guess I have never used a "proper" mic with a 1/8" connection if thats what you mean. To be honest I would be pretty interested in one.
I sort of think 90$ is worth it for an sm57 but I wouldn't if i had a better integrated soundcard and mic like that.