Still possible with a laptop?
 

I have a Dell Inspiron 4100 Laptop that I was hoping to use when filming live bands, I was planning on running the audio straight from the mixer into the laptop's Line-In and recording it was Audition...I've now discovered that the laptop doesnt have a line-in, rather just a mic-in...Is it still possible to record with this method?

You'll be better off with an external USB audio interface or you can get a good PC card interface like this one

http://echoaudio.com/Products/CardBu...goIO/index.php

The built-in motherboard sound "cards" of laptops (and most desktops, for that matter) are usually marginal.

Well, what I actually need is some type of CHEAP device in which I can run in a Line-In signal, record and then copy the recording to my PC.

Any ideas?

$199 US is pretty inexpensive for a quality interface

I'm on quite a tight budget at the moment :D As in spectacularly tight.

This is about the best deal I know of. M-audio is a good company that caters to the low-end, high quality audio market.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Transit-main.html

$99US (no idea what that will be in South Africa...) is about the lowest price I've seen for a stereo, USB, bus powered interface.

While I have used and liked other m-audio interfaces I haven't used this one. The company has a good rep... but I can't be any more specific about this particular piece.

Take care,
Chris

I know the feeling - as a friend of mine once said, if they was selling steamships for a nickle, all I could do is stand on the dock and say "My ain't that a bargain!" Still, making room in the budget for quality gear usually works out cheapest in the long run. Those of us working on a shoestring can't afford "bargains." Save money by eliminating un-needed frills, not cutting quality. The M-Audio units Chris mentioned looks good - haven't used one but they do have a good reputation. One thing to be a little careful of is USB devices sometimes have trouble keeping up with the flow of data. USB2 usually has no problems but USB1 sometime experienced dropouts. I don't know which that device is nor what is on the Inspiron notebook so you might want to investigate it. Another good way to go is a firewire audio interface and firewire card but that's going to get up into the $500 or so US$

You might look for an Indigo from Echo. I use one a lot. Runs around 120.00 new, but there might be some used on Ebay or something.

if you can still find the creative labs MP3+, model # SB0270 i'd check that out. bought mine some time ago for $39. An external USB device, it has line in/out on RCA, optical digital i/o, and mic and headphones on 1/8". sounds good, works well...

I have used the M-audio transit to transfer live and pre-recorded audio with good results. I think the usb interface has its limitations (compared with firewire) but this device works as promised with no surprises.

Totally support that suggestion! The indigo io is top-notch, really good quality for input and output and not expensive.

Don't try to cut corners at the acquisition stage - you'll regret it later.

I'm also considering recording audio with my laptop, not the camera.

My Powerbook has an optical line in, happily. Would I still need a USB or Firewire interface?

You would need some sort of interface - the optical in would be for a digital signal and so you need something outboard that would convert the analog audio into digital and send it to the laptop via optical instead of either USB or Firewire. Of the three options, finding an interface with optical might be more difficult and/or expensive thanb the other two options you have.

You might look at the Griffin iMic.

http://www.griffintechnology.com/pro...mic2/index.php

I's about as cheap as it gets and does stereo at line and mic levels.

Well, I just did some tests with my Laptop...A lead from my PC line-out to my Laptop's Mic-In (I've heard some people say that that the mic-in on a laptop automatically adapts to Line-In when the situation arises) and recorded an MP3. The quality is suprisingly good, I had the Mic-in level set in between the bottom and first notch and there was no clipping whatsoever. Should I still invest in an iMic, or will this method suffice?

http://www.zastore.co.za/index.php?l...Bcat_id%5D=VCB Says it will only work with a Mac.