I have been looking for a solution to capture audio from several sources, such as 4 or 5 mics. I used to use a Korg D12, which was great, except that it wasn't overly portable. Several people have suggested using a laptop P.C.. This sounds like it might work.

But the problem is the same as with most recording devices, only one, maybe two audio inputs. Are there any laptop sound cards that offer several inputs?

Take a look as some the M-Audio's portable solutions. There are USB2 and Firewire devices that will allow that many inputs and outputs.

I recently played with a setup using the Tascam FW-1884. I thought it was awesome. Tons of ins and outs, 8 mic pres, and automated sliders. The board sounded great, had super low latency and was running on a laptop that just barely whispered.

Like M-Audio's it connects via Firewire. I think it runs about $1200.

I checked out the M-Audio site. I liked the cards, but they had breakout boxes. Is there something similar for laptops? Mind you, this is not a course I have decided on, just checking out my options.

I miss my Korg, but it just didn't cut it for field work. 40 gig HD, 12 channels, several inputs, and a mixer. It just didn't have battery power, which is why I'm considering the laptop. If I were to use the M-Audio interfaces, like the Delta USB 6x6, would I be able to send it to the laptop as 6 channels thru the USB?

And thanks for the help :)

Here is a 4 in 10 out Firewire:
http://www.m-audio.com/products/m-audio/fw410.php

Or USB interfaces:
http://www.m-audio.com/products/m-audio/USBaudio.php

I used a Digigram 4 channel PC card in my laptop for a while before changing to a MotU 828. They are both good.

here's a link to one of the digigram cards (http://www.digigram.com/products/getinfo.htm?prod_key=8700)

Best,
Helen

Thanks Helen, I'll look into those. And welcome to the board :) I looked into the Lynx cards last night, but they were rather pricey. Very pricey, since they don't make cards for laptops, and you would have to buy some sort of adaptor that costs almost as much as the card!