Equipment:
- Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop, 5 years old (1.6 GHz Intel dual core, 1 GB RAM; on-board sound chip HDA Intel with SigmaTel STAC9200 - that's similar to the chip a MacBook Pro has), runs Windows XP SP3 as well as Arch Linux
- Asus EeePC R101 netbook, 1 year old (1.6 GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1 GB RAM; on-board sound chip HDA Intel with Realtek ALC269VB), runs Windows XP SP3 as well as Arch Linux
- 49-key Alesis Q49 midi controller keyboard with non-weighted, velocity-sensitive keys
- Tascam US122MKII ext. USB soundcard or equivalent (to be acquired if it's needed)
- Grado SR125 headphones
I apologize for asking this rank newbie question.
I'd like to play medieval and renaissance organ literature (without the pedal part) on a simple virtual organ setup at home, consisting of an inexpensive midi controller keyboard directly hooked up via USB midi to either one of two computers with on-board Intel sound chips, and listen to this with good headphones. Presumably I would have to do this in Windows rather than Linux. Only live playback would be needed for now, no recording or composing/editing but I wouldn't want to run into distracting audio latency (>20 msec?).
Could I use Hauptwerk (Free Edition?) as the software for this and purchase one of their simple virtual organs? Does such a setup make any sense, in terms of playability? Two things concern me: a. Are these systems underpowered for Hauptwerk? b. Will there be problems with audio latency? Will I have to use an external USB soundcard such as the Tascam US122MKII to avoid latency problems? How would this all be hooked up, e.g. in terms of providing power to card and controller through USB? And is the Alesis keyboard usable for organ playing?
Are there alternative ways to accomplish the same thing, i.e. play simple old organ pieces and improvise on a simple old, nice sounding virtual organ at home, without spending $$$? And without having to resort to inexpensive Casio or Yamaha keyboards with their limited choice of pipe organ tones. If Hauptwerk isn't suitable, could I use Ableton Live Lite or Mixcraft 5 or Cubase LE4 for this in Windows XP or Rosegarden in Linux, with the above equipment?
- Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop, 5 years old (1.6 GHz Intel dual core, 1 GB RAM; on-board sound chip HDA Intel with SigmaTel STAC9200 - that's similar to the chip a MacBook Pro has), runs Windows XP SP3 as well as Arch Linux
- Asus EeePC R101 netbook, 1 year old (1.6 GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1 GB RAM; on-board sound chip HDA Intel with Realtek ALC269VB), runs Windows XP SP3 as well as Arch Linux
- 49-key Alesis Q49 midi controller keyboard with non-weighted, velocity-sensitive keys
- Tascam US122MKII ext. USB soundcard or equivalent (to be acquired if it's needed)
- Grado SR125 headphones
I apologize for asking this rank newbie question.
I'd like to play medieval and renaissance organ literature (without the pedal part) on a simple virtual organ setup at home, consisting of an inexpensive midi controller keyboard directly hooked up via USB midi to either one of two computers with on-board Intel sound chips, and listen to this with good headphones. Presumably I would have to do this in Windows rather than Linux. Only live playback would be needed for now, no recording or composing/editing but I wouldn't want to run into distracting audio latency (>20 msec?).
Could I use Hauptwerk (Free Edition?) as the software for this and purchase one of their simple virtual organs? Does such a setup make any sense, in terms of playability? Two things concern me: a. Are these systems underpowered for Hauptwerk? b. Will there be problems with audio latency? Will I have to use an external USB soundcard such as the Tascam US122MKII to avoid latency problems? How would this all be hooked up, e.g. in terms of providing power to card and controller through USB? And is the Alesis keyboard usable for organ playing?
Are there alternative ways to accomplish the same thing, i.e. play simple old organ pieces and improvise on a simple old, nice sounding virtual organ at home, without spending $$$? And without having to resort to inexpensive Casio or Yamaha keyboards with their limited choice of pipe organ tones. If Hauptwerk isn't suitable, could I use Ableton Live Lite or Mixcraft 5 or Cubase LE4 for this in Windows XP or Rosegarden in Linux, with the above equipment?