Advice on midi recording on netbook

I am looking for some advice.
I would like to continue doing a bit of recording when I am away from home during the week, on my netbook.
In fact its not that important to be able to do much audio, just being able to edit & record midi would be great. What do I need?
 
I have a Windows 8 netbook and I’ve installed Sonar x2 on it. Do I need any external sound modules etc or can I actually play and record midi sounds internally via software somehow? I have got a mini usb keyboard of course.
 

 
To record midi, you'll need a virtual midi keyboard.  There are some free ones and some cheap ones on the net.  I use Chirp.  It looks like a midi keyboard to Sonar, but you play it with your mouse or PC keyboard.
 
This is not a great way to make music, but ok if you're traveling light and just want to try out some simple stuff.
 
 

Cactus Music
Ya it's made for a iPoo but I will use the docking tray to store guitar picks. 

 
Are you saying this thing can be used as a usb midi keyboard without an ipod or iphone docked ?
 
The documentation seems to imply that one or the other is required, that it 'turns your phone' into a keyboard.
 

Definitely TTS-1 then? Couldn't I use something like Cool Soft Virtual Midi synth, I just tried that and I can't seem to connect to it - it doesn't show up as a soft synth.

If that is an onboard sound chip (it seems it is), many only "support" 16-bit playback. I have found that laptops typically playback (not record) best in either WDM (preferred) or MME driver mode. For work with MIDI recording or playback this can be adequate, but for audio recording is not ideal.
 
If you go to Preferences->Audio->Playback and Recording, if already set to WDM there, go to Preferences->Audio->Driver Settings and click the "Wave Profiler" button at the bottom. If not WDM, can set it in Playback and Recording and the Wave Profiler should start automatically. Check the output of that profile and it may only pass for 16-bit.
 
SONAR should then adjust accordingly, but is always good to double-check the top three Preferences->Audio tabs (on the left). The entry that is most important is Preferences->Audio->Driver Settings->"Audio Driver Bit depth" may need to be at 16. SONAR plays the "middle man" to ensure the digital output of the projects matches the playback mode/driver settings for you (i.e. a 24-bit project will still play this way). You may also need to fiddle with the "Buffer Size" slider to get best latency for what you are doing.

I have never tested the latency for MIDI->VSTi-->Onboard audio out before, so wanted to check this. I have only used the WDM for work that required no tracking (recording) at all, but thought this would be good to "stress test."
 
Here is the setup used: 

1. Shifted SONAR to WDM mode (using the 16-bit out on the onboard Realtek)
2. Input via a Roland A-300 PRO
3. VSTi used was Dimension Pro. I used one of Craig's EB-5 bass samples and started the buffer on the extreme low end (1msec) and bumped it up till it played back correctly.

Result 1 - On my machine, the 8msec buffer point was where it suddenly changed to the expected sound (below this was rather distorted).
 
Result 2 - Same test with SI-Bass as the VSTi could be lowered to 6msec buffer.
 
Result 3 - Same test with TTS-1 as the VSTi was also at the 6msec buffer.
 
I just wanted to throw this out as a data point, since I actually do not use this setup for recording, but these latencies fall into the "tolerable" range. I got some funky transport start/stop sounds doing an actual tracking test (6msec on the TTS-1), but the notes were timed correctly (which is more the MIDI controller and its drivers than the audio out).
 
Back to the OP, John's recommendation of TTS-1 should be feasible with what you have now.

When working with MIDI, a couple things to bear in mind:

1. MIDI is only note data, so generates no audio.
2. For a MIDI track to "sound" it must play though a VSTi (or "soft synth").
3. If a VSTi is inserted, the input can be set to Omni (beware, as this means it will accept ALL MIDI inputs if "echoed"). There are many options to insert a soft synth, a "Simple Instrument Track"  takes MIDI (note) data in and generates audio out... this may be the simplest to start with.
4. The output should be set to the Master buss (is default).

 
In your case, verify the input on the TTS-1 is either set to "Omni" or the instrument channel of you specified that input, and "echo" that track.
 
The TTS-1 is actually capable of playing 16 MIDI channels; but for first time use, this should help.
 
 

so when using a soft synth like tts-1 should i see anything in preferences /midi/devices?
I can 't see anything there at the moment
I have connected a M-Audio keystation midi and it is recording midi (and that does show in preferences/midi /devices) but i'm getting no output. Do I also need to connect an external mixer maybe to get output? I have also got an M-Audio mixer. I thought i'd just hear it via the netbook soundcard.
 
 

I think you missing the one important step and that's all midi tracks   need to output to either a external device or a inserted VST soft synth. Check the output box of your track and set it to the TTs-1