Dual laptop people!?

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 9:18 pm

So I'm finally upgrading my laptop, but rather than delegating my trusty old Thinkpad to email-duty it will serve a purpose in my live rig... just haven't figured out what.

I know I won't be doing the classic "two laptops and a mixer" with a Live set on each computer, but there could be some fun things going on with maxMSP on one, and Live/Reaktor on the other?

Any good/crazy/retarded ideas for me to try out? I'm all ears

peeddrroo · Post by **peeddrroo** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 10:05 pm

Machinate wrote:there could be some fun things going on with maxMSP on one, and Live/Reaktor on the other?

i'd just go Live/Reaktor on both in case Reaktor crashes Live.

just one question though: do you plan to equip them with soundcards with multiple in/outs?
i think all the fun may come from this specific point.

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 10:24 pm

Hey P!

Reaktor doesn't crash live for me. Hasn't done so since upgrading to 5.1 (touch wood!)

Good call regarding soundcards - yes, I do plan to route audio back and forth between the two

But then there's the good old question of which sounds to send through, and from/to which programs...

I have thought of simply using my old laptop as a synth rack (perhaps reaktor standalone with a Max front-end?), running an ADAT line back and forth....oooh, the possibilities are quite staggering, and I'll have some serious computing power to do it.

BTW, so far the specs are:
ThinkPad 15.4", centrino 1.5ghz, 512 ram ->probably with a Motu828 mk1
Vega 14" CoreDuo 2ghz, 2gig ram -> m-audio 410

I will definitely get a "buddy-set" of audio interfaces when the cash is there... but I'm getting the case done first, so it won't be for a long while, I suspect.

Is anyone here running tandem rigs with synths on one and Live on the other?

mikemc · Post by **mikemc** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 10:26 pm

will they both have wifi? if so, try out an adhoc network and use ipMIDI from
http://www.nerds.de/en/ipmidi.html to send midi between them.

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 10:31 pm

most definitely plan on doing that, yes

Instead of using I Pee Midi (snigger) I'm thinking of building a pipeline between two Max applications, so that I can tweak the whole thing... But then again I might just spring for a ready-made solution - hell, I might even use old-skool midi, hehe.

I've had interference problems with wi-fi in the past though, but I wouldn't mind running that 1-meter network cable between the two machines if neccesary.

peeddrroo · Post by **peeddrroo** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 10:52 pm

but then, here comes the good old less is more......

i think i'd use it as an additional synth or sampler.

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 10:56 pm

word. I was also thinking I might use the machine to just run Mobius and some additional effects, and pipe Left/Right straight into the other machine as spdif. Simple, clean and makes great noises.

So I guess now I'm holding out for those people who use that kind of setup in a different way

dancing Ray · Post by **dancing Ray** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 12:26 am

I plan on using my old laptop for live multitrack recording.

I´ll be able to record every channel the three of us are using. Most beautiful music is happening when we improvise and it always is very sad if the recording is spoiled by individual mistakes or slight volume-issues.

Track output will drastically rise.

Machinesworking · Post by **Machinesworking** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 3:32 am

I'm in your boat machinate. Got a macbook pro for peanuts, and I really can't sell the old 1.5 G4 powerbook for anything near what it's worth to me as a second computer. Yeah I know old apple shit goes for a pretty penny most of the time, but this powerbook has a messed up DVD drive, and a nasty stain under the plastic on the LCD at the bottom.... besides the dings and scratches....

Here's my cross platform idea though.

I'm going to use it to run Reactor, and Grid2 a MID controllable VJ application.

I tend to run my set as individual songs in Live Sets, so there's a 3-6 second pause between songs that I could easily fill with Reactor stuff...

I currently run two audio cards with ADAT between a G5 and the powerbook, it works really well, even though I still haven't figured out how to get the 828 mk1 to 100% of the time not decide to jump into 48k and force the RME along with it.... Not a major issue though, takes 5 seconds to resolve....
I'm pretty sure there is a network MIDI app called MIDI over LAN or something for PC? I use the Core MIDI netwerk for MIDI between the two, and it works really well actually.

kooki415 · Post by **kooki415** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 5:27 am

i currently run two macs (g4 powerbook and g4 imac) both with live 4 and max

syncing live on both is no sweat really, and max allows all kinds of crazy back and forth routing.

what i would really suggest though is using one as your sequencer, running live with your loops and midi and such, and use the other solely for max/msp. pipe audio/midi from live over ethernet to max with netsend~ and then use a single soundcard with the max computer. keeping a general direction to the signal flow will keep you from confusion and crazyness later on.

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 5:55 am

ooh, some cool setups there!

Kooki, I just had a quick gander at netsend~ looks like a very, very lean solution! If you have any cross-network patches using it I'd love to have a look.

Cheers.

Michael-SW · Post by **Michael-SW** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 7:36 am

Using the second one for video as mentioned above is a pretty cool idea. Branch out into new media!

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 7:40 am

Visuals. Video and/or lighting. All controlled by Live and synched to your audio.

Set yourself apart from the gazillions of audio-only clones. It's a 21st-century multimedia world!

Machinate · Post by **Machinate** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 7:47 am

Alright Michael and Hambone... I give! hehe.

I have Jitter now, so I will definitely be able to do some insane stuff, just by routing midi in from Live.

... that is, after I get through the tutorials... :gulp:

That Jitter is one difficult piece of software from the looks of it.

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 8:35 am

Forget Jitter... grab a ready-made VJ app. They all work with incoming MIDI - both note-ons/offs and CCs for video effect parameter control. Arkaos VJ is probably the easiest and most flexible if you're coming from a music background and want to "play" the video along with your audio at the same time.

The same Live clips, MIDI sequences and CC curves that control your audio now work with video... instant sync...

Dual laptop people!?

Dual laptop people!?

Re: Dual laptop people!?