I Want...
4/19/2006
A new computer. For live music performance.
For ages, I've been considering getting a laptop for their 'ease of use' and portability. However, I've recently been questioning my motivations for doing so. Do I want a dedicated music machine, or do I want something I can haul around to coffeeshops for a bit of web surfing and emailing in my evening hours? Do I even GET evening hours, especially if I'm doing what I really WANT to do? And do I need such a powerful machine for simply dorking around at a wifi coffeeshop?
Granted, I can't afford any of this right now. But I've learned to know what I want. When the money presents itself from whatever universal portal it appears from, I will have more ambition to take it and use it. 'Build it, and they will come!'
RACK:
I want a rack and a rackmount case. No more of this hauling the home PC around. I want to be able to unplug two or three things, put the cover on, and shove the entire kit into the back of the car without having to do it piecemeal. A rack would also protect the gear.
SKB R12 Rack
CASE:
The Circotech RM-4170 looks nice. Reminds me a bit of a Dell PowerEdge case (the little grill holes on the drivebay covers). Compared to most other rackmount cases, this one seems to have enough fans to get the cooling job done, too. And the price ain't too shabby. They also make a nice keyboard tray, but it's $150+ and I can probably find a better deal elsewhere.
INNARDS:
I don't want bleeding edge, but I do want cutting-edge. I suppose it doesn't really do any good to detail the inside of the machine until the time comes to actually buy it. I do know that I want at least 2-3 megs of ram and a HUGE drive, maybe a couple of striped drives or something. A full RAID5 array would be cool, but way too expensive for me. Dual procs, most likely.
KEYBOARD TRAY/MONITER:
THIS would be cool, but it's WAYYY out of my budget.
So there you go. My dream performance setup. I can see myself hauling this up onto the stage, a rack with my PC, power amp, mixer and FX processor, then connecting my trigger finger, midi controller and a couple of mics. Such a small and compact yet POWERFUL way to perform. This would give me the energy to be my own roadie for life. LOL
posted by Edward Svengali @ Wednesday, April 19, 2006,
