Making music with a netbook?

Hi. I just bought a multitrack recorder(Boss BR600) but I don't like it at all.
So, I'm planning to resell it, and was wondering if a netbook would be good for making music.
What I want to do is:
-Export the tracks from my MPC to the netbbook using Reaper(most of the time I don't have more than 4 to 8 tracks)
-Use a few free VST's who don't use a lot of resources
-Record my bass and a keyboard to the computer
That's it!
Do you think it's possible to do this with a netbook(I guess it also depends of the soundcard that I'll choose)?
Thanks!

I can't comment on all the netbooks, but I've read that they aren't good enough for serious music production. They are only good for portability, emailing, web surfing and using programs that are not processor hogs like MS Office.

Yes I think you're right, I read that too. But since I will only use Reaper and just a few VST's, I think it may work? I saw people on the internet ,with Ableton or Protools... with a netbook saying that it worked well.

225-300 bucks and you can get a desktop non intell g5 2.0 duo with 2-3 gigs of ram.
See poweron.com

What are the specs for your machine?

Any software developer has the minimum system requirements on their sites - check your specs against theirs - and you will be able to make in informed decision.

Other than that - The small screen on a netbook would be enough to put me off.

speed of drive and ram may be problems if you want to track in. but if you resample your beats and import via USB, that shouldn't be an issue.

My Iphone 4 beats my netbook. Don't by that crap!

Thanks everybody.
[quote="MCL"]What are the specs for your machine?
quote]
I can't find it anywhere... But I think I'm gonna wait and buy a better computer. Some people say that it works well with a netbook, but most say that it does'nt work very good.

Hey...

I used to own a netbook and had the same idea. Netbook for portable music studio...

So from experience what I can tell you is this, it is alright for basic work but you will quickly find yourself hitting the boundaries of the CPU. It will be much harder to max out the memory usage (especially if you upgrade to the 2GB max that most have). Still, if you're looking for something ultra-portable and without a high price range you can definitely get some work done here. I found Ableton Live to perform quite admirably (8-10 tracks at a time with minimal effects). Reason is decent and some instruments actually excel here, but the screen was a huge hindrance for working with the rack view. Record at least at the time was completely useless and too much of a CPU hog... leave it. I have also heard that people have had good results with Sonar/Cubase... but take/leave that info... I'd do more research there if that's your interest.

If you're looking for more portability and less that it has to be a netbook, perhaps look into linux systems. There are plenty of ARM/INTEL linux systems and plenty of open source software that you can take advantage of. Heck, an iPad/iTouch are quite competent with their amount of synths/DAWs that can be had now, the workflow is a bit backwards in some respects... but still a lot to love there. Then you've always got the option of something like an Akai MPC 500, which I find great for going out 'in the field' as it were.

Best advice I can give you... don't buy the netbook new if that's the way you want to go. Resale is a bugger, and might as well go used so if you need to dump it you don't take a massive hit.

Thanks for your advices!
Portability isn't a priority at all. I just want something cheap and small, as I don't have many place. If you managed to have 8-10 tracks in Ableton, I guess it can work for me. Reaper doesn't use a lot of resources, much less than Ableton I think.

Is the limitation gonna inspire or just limit? Only you can answer that.

I wouldn't discourage you from trying it, if you consider the fact that people made plenty of good music on much slower computers...

My homies were using a Blue and White Mac G3 with Logic 5, EXS24, ES2, phatmatik, idrum, and an external hard drive for samples and audio (and nothing else) up until about 3-4 years ago. Mind you, I did all the mixing and heavy lifting for them on my system, but the point is, the lack of processing power didn't mean they couldn't make a hot track (or record scratch vocals). I'm just saying...

ghosty wrote:225-300 bucks and you can get a desktop non intell g5 2.0 duo with 2-3 gigs of ram.
See poweron.com

WOAH WTH!!! This is major find straight G5's at half the cost. I wonder is their a warranty on these? You can still get a SquareTrade Warranty as a safety net. Dam nice find.

Yo, if want a good Laptop/ Desktop that will do what you want it to do as far as recording. You seriously need to buy a MacBook or iBook or whatever off eBay or Poweron whatever. Apple products are engineered for design and audio work straight up!

Don't believe me?! There is a documentary out on Apple Mac design and history, you can download it at Netflix. In the film they reveal that most of the people who designed the Apple computers and OS were all music fans, fiends, majors and digital designers. Most were top notch geeks of their field.

So only buy a general consumer run of the mill computer if you get a crazy good deal on something that is going to do exactly what you want with out any questions.

Yes, I know Apple is quite famous for music production.
But I wanna spend money as less as possible, since I don't really want to make computer based music. I prefer making beats in the MPC only, and will only use the computer for mixing,using a few VST's,storing my finished tracks and that's it!
That's why I think I don't need something very expensive

Anyone else find it slightly amusing that a dude called Borat is asking about producing music on a netbook??

Where's b.read with his infinite image collection to suit every occasion when you need him?!

Im wondering the same thing now. I run FL Studio 8. Im debating if I should add a netbook to my portable ION record player/ iPod for making beats on the go? Does anyone have any other portable options? I'll bring whatever I make out and about back to the main "studio"/ my bedroom when Im get home.