Hi All!
I'm faced with a real problem. I use a Yamaha PSR 2100 and an IBM laptop with which I have cut 2 albums and rocked many a gigs. I'm looking for a faster laptop but when I look at the latest machines I can find perhaps 1 out of 50 machines having a "line-in" jack to conect my keyboard to. If I buy a laptop without a line-in jack, how can I still record music. I was thinking about the soundblaster external usb sound card. Will the USB on the 2100 help in any way. PLease HELP!!!

If I understand correctly the 2100 USB can transfer files to/from 2100 and midi. I don't believe it would transfer audio...

Does those new laptops have mic-input? If there is, that is one way but probably mono.. Ask the dealer. They should know.

Certainly a USB soundcard would do the trick.

However, what sort of laptop are you looking at? If you are looking at "ultraportables" then sound i/o may well go out of the door. At the "desktop replacement" end of the market you usually get full audio i/o capabilities.

You would just need an external interface, such as the Tascam US 122 or the like there are many that will do this via USB. You can then record audio or midi to the laptop, no problem. There are also firewire externals like presonus too.
Terry

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jam on,
Terry http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html

HI!
Im actually having an interest in the Compaq NX 7000 which is a desktop replacement type notebook. Pretty good specs. Only the Line-In is missing. I was thinking about the Creative Soundblaster digital music 16-Bit external USB thingy which has line-in, line-out, SPDIF etc etc...anyone have any idea about this gadget?

Sunster,

Without a line-in, there is no way to directly record pure audio sounds. The USB is more than adequate for recording midis, but to get the same sound you're hearing from the keyboard's speakers, you'll need a sound card with a line-in.

Gary

This unit is just now released by toshiba and is a Satellite P25 series-S609.
I set out to buy the 509 series and found that the first S609 just arrived in San Jose on January 8th, a week ago.
The specs are just awesome. You can check them out at: http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/content/product/pdf_files/detailed_specs/satellite_P25-S609.pdf
This has the 17 inch monotor also.
The price is a tad steep at 2799.00 but it does seem justified to me in looking at specs and prices of all the top end laptops
Bebop

In the "for what it's worth" department, last september I decided to replace my Compaq P3@700 laptop so I went looking. I decided I would get a Toshiba with a P4@3.02 gig cpu speed and a 16" screen. I got it home and very quickly decided it was NOT a first class machine because the keybed was springy (it would bounce up and down while I typed on it) and the power brick (located in the middle of the power cord) got REALLY hot. I took it back 5 days later and got a Sony VAIO FRV27 which has a P4@2.66 gig (and interestingly enough it is faster at doing things than the Toshiba) and also has a 1X DVD -RW burner (and 16X CD burner all in one). I got a gig of ram and really like this laptop. I know Terry said he has one and next time will get a Dell, but I will probably get another Sony VAIO but that is at least another 3 years away (actually I won't replace this one until it no longer does what I need to do, regardless of how long that is). BTW, I got it from Circuit City as a close out because Sony had just introduced it's succesor, the FRV28 (the only difference is a speed of 2.8 gig instead of 2.66); I paid $1370 for it.

Tom

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Bigger is not always better