Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Like jj said, do you really need a laptop? You can do things much 
cheaper using a desktop. Plus the there are more options for audio 
cards in desktops than laptops.

And Jay brings up a good point with the Powerbooks.

However, if you insist on a PC laptop, here are some ideas:
Echo Audio (www.echoaudio.com) makes PC Card soundcards that will 
let you record audio into your computer. You also may need/want a 
USB MIDI interface. M-Audio, MOTU, and several others make those.

You can also go with a Firewire audio interface which has audio 
in/out and MIDI right on it. Again, M-Audio (www.m-audio.com) makes 
one, as does MOTU (a bit expensive though). Just make sure you have 
a Firewire interface, also known as a "1394" or "IEEE 1394" port.

I would stay away from the SoundBlaster line, Audigy/Extigy/Nextigy, 
etctigy. Even though their products have come a long way, they still 
have latency (delay) issues.

How does it all work together? Tune in tommorrow as we explore 
making music on your computer! Or you can check out www.prorec.com

Bill

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "bigcleverturnip" 
<bigcleverturnip@h...> wrote:
> Hey,
> I'll start with the obvious - I'm a drummer and for christmas I 
got 
> a Yamaha DTXpress II. I love the machine!
> Anyway, I also play and compose a lot of music, as I play other 
> instruments as well.
> I'm hoping to get a laptop very soon, on which I'll be doing a lot 
> of music composing (using something similar to Cubase or Cakewalk 
> hopefully), but unfortunately, I have no idea how I'd go about 
> connecting my DTXpress II to my computer/soundcard and using it 
for 
> drums in tracks I'd write (presumably MIDI?). I know I really 
should 
> know about this, but I'm afraid I don't! Any help would be very 
> greatly appreciated.
> Also, since I'd be using a laptop for my music creation, I presume 
> I'd need to buy a new soundcard, as laptop soundcards are 
> notoriously poor? What are my options here? Any recommendations? 
> Would it have to be an external card?
> Thank you in advance for any help anyone can offer,
> Ferdie
> PS Please talk as simply as possible to me, I understand little or 
> no technical jargon! Thanks.