Thoughts on Laptops as Primary

I'm considering doing the same thing and downshifting from custom desktop to a laptop. Question is which one and what spec - the $64,000 question as always.

Jim, I agree. If the laptop as primary works, I will go with a mobile workstation or higher end laptop. If not, I will opt for a less expensive laptop and get a new desktop. Right now both of my current computers are inadequate.

I'll keep my desktop.  I actually "hate" laptops mainly because of their keyboards.  I have a laptop that I use for on-site recordings but that is only for the recordings.  I transfer the projects to my desktop and do everything there.

All I have is a laptop (from ADK, great company, great customer service) and I only have 2 issues: the fan can be noisy, I've run out of USB ports (I know, I know, I can get a USB hub - but I'd rather plug in a USB expansion card into a backplane). Other than those, I've had absolutely no problems running anything.

I've been a laptop only use for getting on five years now.
 
When I want to do stuff in my "studio," which houses my hardware synths and what have you, I hook up to my OCTA-CAPTURE.
 
When I am out and about I take my QUAD-CAPTURE with me and I can set up virtually anywhere, even in my motorhome, which means I can be sat at the side of a lake in the middle on nowhere. Obviously I will be working "in the box" with all my VST instruments and effects.
 
Laptop wasn't cheap... And I have upgraded the SSD's since too, so I must have spent something like £3000 on my system, not including software.
 
Would I go back to a desktop?
 
Answer to that is no... Laptop suits my "limited" needs... I don't intend mic'ing up guitar amps and drum kits any more...

When I was migrating between laptop and desktop I used an external USB HD for projects hooked to an A/B switch so they were all in one place and easily accessible to both systems. But since X2 I've only used laptops. Current gaming laps are far and ahead of what they were even 5 years ago. I came across this one sort of by accident and seems to have everything I'd want in a big clunky desktop including 3 internal HDDs. AND I can take it with me! It even has an onboard SoundBlaster card incase I should ever need to access it.
 
I used to spend time building desktops the way I wanted them. It was fun but also time consuming and a distraction from the ultimate goal of using a DAW. Now I just buy laptops that work for me already made and ready to go. Honestly I've seen no real difference in performance or functionality.
 
What to do with those 3 desktops sitting around with no purpose just getting in the way?!
 
YMMV

laptop here, only issue is number of usb ports (never enough!)

pwalpwal
laptop here, only issue is number of usb ports (never enough!)

Yeah... I forgot about that...
 
I have one USB2 port, which I use exclusive with my Q-C or O-C and a further 3 USB3 ports. If I am sat in my "studio" I have to use a USB hub into which I plug my external computer keyboard and mouse. That leaves a port for my MOTU micro lite and one for my USB controller keyboard.
 
I seem to manage but I do wish that I didn't have to use that hub...

I moved from desktop based for music to "everything music is in the laptop" about 5 years ago. A few upgrades like moving to giant, super-speedy internal SSD drives helped turn it into nirvana.

It is so freeing. I work on music way more now because I can detach from the main studio area and sit elsewhere as I need to and still work on various things musically. I can create stuff, or experiment around, in a coffee shop if I felt like it.

Then of course, plugged in to the main studio area with outboard gear, microphones and monitors I'm back to full studio mode.

I can't imagine not having a laptop as the primary for music production.

I think we have reached the point where current high end hardware in a properly equipped laptop can replace a desktop.
 
But the price point for an effective laptop solution needs to be balanced with the cost/benefit ratio.  This of course, is an individual choice.  I don't think an inexpensive, off the shelf, laptop is likely to be suitable for serious DAW use.
 
The usage case outlined above by lawajava is a good example of the benefits of a totally mobile studio PC!

About 4 years ago I had to make a serious personal decision that involved either fishing or cutting bait
 
I had been locked out of upgrading SONAR for a long time only because my desktop was Win  XP 32 bit . Back then the last version of SONAR I had purchased was 6 PE ...I ran 6 PE until  2013 .
I missed out on Vista  , Win 7 ...SONAR 7 , 8 , X1 , X2 ...
When X3 came out I wanted to re up and get current with Windows and SONAR ...
Having another desktop built for me was out of the question because I didn't have the money and the way I saw it I still had to upgrade my SONAR and pick up a USB Audio device ...
That meant I had to leave at least $400 in my budget to solve that one
 
In 2013 I wound up picking up a brand new  Asus 15 inch i3 lap top w 6 Gigs of ram running Win 8 64 bit H.E. at a real good price ...
To some degree  my little rig is a lower end set up compared to what some folks around here consider to be acceptable . The thing is I run what I have
Once I had a current spec lap top that would run SONAR I picked up X3 and a Focusrite 2i4 ....
That put me squarely back in the Windows / SONAR game which I'm happy about ...
 
These days I'm running SPlat lifetime plus a number of other DAW's that also get a lot of Air Time in the real world .
I pretty much consider myself to be a Lap top only user these days ...2 Win 10 lap tops and an older Macbook ...
 
Most of my song projects rarely exceed 45 tracks and both my Win lap tops can pull that off easy most of the time.
My preference is to generally work inside the box and I like my personal space to be wide open and not cluttered ...
 
Working w a lap top suites me perfectly for that personal preference  ...
FWIW, a good deal of my time is still spent on learning how to use all the new features and plugs that have been added along the way ...
What that means is a lot of the times I'm not even pushing my lap top at all because it takes a lot of personal time and commitment to learn some of the deeper functions of what can be done inside the box
I was locked out of that type of learning for years and I feel it is much better to have the means to educate myself using a placeholder lap top as opposed to waiting around until I have the money to drop on a class act computer.
 
 
PS I would love to drop some serious coin and have Jim build me a lap top computer ...some day I hope ..
 
 

Sanderxpander
All the Mac users are looking at this thread and wondering what the fuss is about - Macbooks have been excellent DAWs for years. Even the somewhat underpowered ones run stable, just with fewer plugins at the same time.

 
+1000 ,  that is very true ....I feel very lucky to have that base already covered 
 
all the best ,
 
Kenny

Sanderxpander

Pragi
Working with a desktop in the studio ( see specs in my signature)
and a laptop (HP probook 6450 b) as a mobile device I can say
that the videomonitor of a laptop is to small and uncomfortable imo,
but a  good laptop with a external video monitor woukd do the job for
me.
On the other hand :
Ther is 1  hd and 2ssds in my desktop which keep this system
since 4,5 years very powerdul.I don´t think that it has to be renewed
within the next 2 years , don´t know if a laptop is so resistant.
A desktop also means to be able to change components easy.
regards

My laptop fits 2 M2 drives and two regular 2.5" drives internally. That's disregarding the eSata, Thunderbolt and USB3 ports it also has for external storage. It also has a 17" full HD screen, a HDMI port and two display ports. So as Jim alluded to in his very first post, there's a huge difference between off the shelf "multimedia" laptops or higher end custom builds. I would never want to rely on a generic multimedia laptop as my sole computer. With the custom build I have now, I found myself surprised that I really don't need a desktop anymore. I have one but it just sits there. It's enough of a pain to keep one system up and running with hundreds of plugins and pieces of software, let alone two. Plus it has a faster CPU than my desktop (i7 6700 vs i7 3xxx something) at the moment.

@ Sander, 
sure a good laptop can handle nowadays running a DAW like Sonar,
never negated that.
 
I think it depends  on the needs of a musician, which
choice is the best:
For me the best  custom build laptop wouldn´t fit , cause 
I don´t record or arrange in a restaurant or places like that at all.
When recording not at home
I  have to carry  guitars fx devices aso to the studio so that a laptop
would make it  exhausting .
Like to have a stational desktop in my external recording room and 
a second one at home .
And like you said , it´s enough work to keep one system 
up to date (my external recording desktop has a basic configuration -
the good old Sonar 8.5 only ).Runs perfect for recording uses .
The small laptop is rarely used ,no need.
But that´s me.
regards 
 
 
 
 

Good point , if I would see 5 or more differnt places to record aso,
a laptop is a must, even with a touchpad.
 
A good laptop is still more  expensiv as a desktop.
But anyhow , in arround 2 years I will be thinking
about bying a laptop or desktop - don´t know how much bucks 
a decent laptop will cost then .
Laptops aso are  the future of this technology and will be more 
cost effevtive the next years, but (mobile) I would miss my two 24 " screens.........
 
regards
 

Sander , 
thanks cause it´s 
good  to know the price of a decent laptop.
Was curious about it .