The power of the home computer is driving up the possibilities of what we can accomplish in a computer-recording studio. We now have the ability to work with multiple monitors, large data drives, control surfaces, and even our laptops.

Double Monitor Monsters

Let's face it, your computer recording software has a lot of windows to look at. All the multiple views of information are what make computer systems so powerful; no one is complaining. But wouldn't it be nice to have a few of your favorite screens open at all times? All at full size? Get another monitor, or even get three! By adding additional monitors, you'll be able to keep your most-used windows open at all times, greatly enhancing your workflow. You can keep the mixer window open on one screen and the main arrangement window open on another for easy access.

You will need a special video card that allows multiple monitor support, but these video cards are available on the market at a relatively low cost. With the popularity of LCD monitors, you can pick up a second tube monitor for next to nothing, and if you're really feeling generous, grab a third LCD monitor to round out the studio. It's definitely a luxury, but if you spend a great deal of time in your studio working on music staring at a small screen, it's worthwhile.

Bigger Is Better

When it comes to hard drive space, bigger is definitely better. Audio data takes up a lot of disk space. If you opt to record at higher sample rates, such as 24bit/96kHz, your music will take up even more space. Once you fill a drive, you're stuck. Either you have to burn sessions to a CD or delete some of your work. A much better idea is to buy a very large drive. Get the biggest disk you can afford and never worry about running out of room again.

Laptop Studios

Desktop computers were always faster than laptops, usually significantly faster. Audio interfaces mainly used PCI interfaces, and laptops were too small to fit PCI cards. For the longest time, laptops were for convenience, not power, but now they're just as powerful as their counterpart desktop computers. With the audio interface industry adopting Firewire and USB over PCI, laptops are finally able to serve as recording studios. One of the biggest drawbacks to a computer studio has been the lack of portability. Laptops are changing all that. Fully featured multitrack audio studios are showing up in laptops everywhere. If portability and space are a big concern for you, a laptop might be the way to go.

Control Surface

When you mix on a computer, your mouse is the interface to the onscreen virtual buttons and faders. While the mouse might be a blessing for high-resolution editing, many find the mouse cumbersome and limiting when it comes to mixing. Anyone who's used to a mixing board misses the freedom to drag multiple faders in opposing directions and hit multiple buttons at once, none of which a mouse will allow. For those who are looking for a better way to interact with their systems, enter the control surface.

FIGURE 17-1

Control surface

A control surface is a pseudo mixing board designed specifically for a computer recording setup. As you can see in FIGURE 17-1, the surface has faders for volume, mute and solo buttons, and a full transport section for controlling stop, start, and record functions. Moving a fader or pressing a button on the control surface initiates a matching command in the software. Those who are used to old-fashioned mixing will enjoy working this way. It's a much more efficient way to mix. Once you've tried it, you might never go back to the mouse again.