Ableton Forum

So ive finally decided to ditch the PC's. Getting pretty sick of all of the B.s. Time for a Mac

Now im 100% new to macs and have no clue where to start, i definetly cannot afford one brand new although i would love a new one. So i need all you mac nerds to help me out.. Which is THE optimal mac for me to buy?

Obviously i know what im looking for:
Speed
RAM
Memory

But what else? Theres soo many models of macs, especially when buying used. Any suggestions?

All depends on what you need to do.
Now and for the next 10 days it's a good moment to buy because the new generation
of Macbook pro is out and you can get 100 Euros discount on the previous models,
especially the MacBook Pro 13" where the difference between new and old models
is negligible. You can also look at the refurbished section of the Apple Store.
Sometimes there are good buys to do there.
Now all models are offered with 4GB RAM and bigger drives.
However I can do what I need with a 2006 Macbook C2D with 2.0GHz CPU and 2GB RAM.
Now the equivalent (white Macbook) machine has a 2.26 CPU and 250 GB HDD with 2GB RAM.
You can expand this to 4GB RM with 90 Euros but you get no FW Port and only two USB ports.
As said before now the previous MacBook Pro 13" sells at 1049 Euros in the stores
and with max 90 Euros (buy RAM from other vendors, not Apple is cheaper)
you can have 4GB. However the new 13" now has 250 GB, 4GB and a 2.4 Ghz CPU for 1149. Memory might be an issue with many Plug Ins and Samples,
however I can play EIC Piano on the Macbook without issues. I make projects
with many Live instruments and FX and Session Drums, EIC2 Piano but never over
16 tracks (Session Drums counts as 1).

Describe what you do so that others (and I) can help you more.

Hope this helps,
- Pasha

Don't hate on Windows...


p.s. This is the first time I've ever heard anyone say, "there are too many Macs to choose from."

Pasha wrote:All depends on what you need to do.
Now and for the next 10 days it's a good moment to buy because the new generation
of Macbook pro is out and you can get 100 Euros discount on the previous models,
especially the MacBook Pro 13" where the difference between new and old models
is negligible. You can also look at the refurbished section of the Apple Store.
Sometimes there are good buys to do there.
Now all models are offered with 4GB RAM and bigger drives.
However I can do what I need with a 2006 Macbook C2D with 2.0GHz CPU and 2GB RAM.
Now the equivalent (white Macbook) machine has a 2.26 CPU and 250 GB HDD with 2GB RAM.
You can expand this to 4GB RM with 90 Euros but you get no FW Port and only two USB ports.
As said before now the previous MacBook Pro 13" sells at 1049 Euros in the stores
and with max 90 Euros (buy RAM from other vendors, not Apple is cheaper)
you can have 4GB. However the new 13" now has 250 GB, 4GB and a 2.4 Ghz CPU for 1149. Memory might be an issue with many Plug Ins and Samples,
however I can play EIC Piano on the Macbook without issues. I make projects
with many Live instruments and FX and Session Drums, EIC2 Piano but never over
16 tracks (Session Drums counts as 1).

Describe what you do so that others (and I) can help you more.

Hope this helps,
- Pasha

Apologies, Heres what i need to do:

I need to have something that i can put into my home studio setting and work with tracking bands, working with lots of MIDI and audio in this case i would have an external HD doing most of the work, but none the less the computer needs to compute fast enough..

Then that same computer needs to be able to get out on the road and actually played as an instrument i.e running my loops off live as well as playing a few VST's in realtime (pianos, synths).

I know i cant get the best of both worlds but something close at least.

shuutobi wrote:Don't hate on Windows...


p.s. This is the first time I've ever heard anyone say, "there are too many Macs to choose from."

I have like 5 pcs in this house, the two that are mine give me problems almost 24/7 and there b.s problems that are literrally not even worth my time investigating. Im not hating, ive been with pc all my life, but given the opportunity...a mac is necessary and will be the go to OS from now on.

I dunno im on craigslist trying to find a macbook and ivee seen more combinations of macs then i even know exist.

Soundscapemusic wrote:

Pasha wrote:All depends on what you need to do.
Now and for the next 10 days it's a good moment to buy because the new generation
of Macbook pro is out and you can get 100 Euros discount on the previous models,
especially the MacBook Pro 13" where the difference between new and old models
is negligible. You can also look at the refurbished section of the Apple Store.
Sometimes there are good buys to do there.
Now all models are offered with 4GB RAM and bigger drives.
However I can do what I need with a 2006 Macbook C2D with 2.0GHz CPU and 2GB RAM.
Now the equivalent (white Macbook) machine has a 2.26 CPU and 250 GB HDD with 2GB RAM.
You can expand this to 4GB RM with 90 Euros but you get no FW Port and only two USB ports.
As said before now the previous MacBook Pro 13" sells at 1049 Euros in the stores
and with max 90 Euros (buy RAM from other vendors, not Apple is cheaper)
you can have 4GB. However the new 13" now has 250 GB, 4GB and a 2.4 Ghz CPU for 1149. Memory might be an issue with many Plug Ins and Samples,
however I can play EIC Piano on the Macbook without issues. I make projects
with many Live instruments and FX and Session Drums, EIC2 Piano but never over
16 tracks (Session Drums counts as 1).

Describe what you do so that others (and I) can help you more.

Hope this helps,
- Pasha

Apologies, Heres what i need to do:

I need to have something that i can put into my home studio setting and work with tracking bands, working with lots of MIDI and audio in this case i would have an external HD doing most of the work, but none the less the computer needs to compute fast enough..

Then that same computer needs to be able to get out on the road and actually played as an instrument i.e running my loops off live as well as playing a few VST's in realtime (pianos, synths).

I know i cant get the best of both worlds but something close at least.

shuutobi wrote:Don't hate on Windows...


p.s. This is the first time I've ever heard anyone say, "there are too many Macs to choose from."

I have like 5 pcs in this house, the two that are mine give me problems almost 24/7 and there b.s problems that are literrally not even worth my time investigating. Im not hating, ive been with pc all my life, but given the opportunity...a mac is necessary and will be the go to OS from now on.

I dunno im on craigslist trying to find a macbook and ivee seen more combinations of macs then i even know exist.

I got a Macbook just for shits and giggles, but I honestly can't stand OSX.
If you find it suitable, more power to ya.

If you buy second hand, make sure you buy anything with an intel processor (not G5 or lower). You will notice a significant difference. And make sure you know what the previous owner did with it, before you. Because with macbooks, the battery will have a much shorter lifespan when they have been used intensively...
Everything else is really a personal choice.

As Pasha said: it's a good time to step in, right when the new Macbooks are announced.
Keep an eye out on the ebay etc, for people getting rid of their macbook they've only bought last year. You'll find there are a lot of "Macfans" who will sell their Macbook, because they always want the latest version! With the money you save, buy a nice big screen to work on, in your studio.

Good luck!

how much cash you got?

you should be able to make a great rekkerd on a macbook. . but anything nicer than that is nicer.

Soundscapemusic wrote:

Pasha wrote:All depends on what you need to do.
Now and for the next 10 days it's a good moment to buy because the new generation
of Macbook pro is out and you can get 100 Euros discount on the previous models,
especially the MacBook Pro 13" where the difference between new and old models
is negligible. You can also look at the refurbished section of the Apple Store.
Sometimes there are good buys to do there.
Now all models are offered with 4GB RAM and bigger drives.
However I can do what I need with a 2006 Macbook C2D with 2.0GHz CPU and 2GB RAM.
Now the equivalent (white Macbook) machine has a 2.26 CPU and 250 GB HDD with 2GB RAM.
You can expand this to 4GB RM with 90 Euros but you get no FW Port and only two USB ports.
As said before now the previous MacBook Pro 13" sells at 1049 Euros in the stores
and with max 90 Euros (buy RAM from other vendors, not Apple is cheaper)
you can have 4GB. However the new 13" now has 250 GB, 4GB and a 2.4 Ghz CPU for 1149. Memory might be an issue with many Plug Ins and Samples,
however I can play EIC Piano on the Macbook without issues. I make projects
with many Live instruments and FX and Session Drums, EIC2 Piano but never over
16 tracks (Session Drums counts as 1).

Describe what you do so that others (and I) can help you more.

Hope this helps,
- Pasha

Apologies, Heres what i need to do:

I need to have something that i can put into my home studio setting and work with tracking bands, working with lots of MIDI and audio in this case i would have an external HD doing most of the work, but none the less the computer needs to compute fast enough..

Then that same computer needs to be able to get out on the road and actually played as an instrument i.e running my loops off live as well as playing a few VST's in realtime (pianos, synths).

I know i cant get the best of both worlds but something close at least.

shuutobi wrote:Don't hate on Windows...


p.s. This is the first time I've ever heard anyone say, "there are too many Macs to choose from."

I have like 5 pcs in this house, the two that are mine give me problems almost 24/7 and there b.s problems that are literrally not even worth my time investigating. Im not hating, ive been with pc all my life, but given the opportunity...a mac is necessary and will be the go to OS from now on.

I dunno im on craigslist trying to find a macbook and ivee seen more combinations of macs then i even know exist.

No need to apologize.
The RAM, CPU and BUS are very close to each other.
Simply have in mind that if you want to use several devices
than you need more ports especially a FW port for external drives.
Which audio card you have in mind? FW or USB?

If you're going for a laptop and want decent firewire performance, you pretty much have to go Mac. You still get a proper 6 pin firewire port and the chipset (lsi/agere) is better supported than the ricoh/o2/generic firewire chipsets which are only designed to be cheap and for stuff like digital cameras rather than pro audio gear.

On a desktop, you can always just throw a PCI>Firewire adapter in with a Texas Instruments (preferred performance) chipset so that deficiency isn't happening. But on PC laptops you get a cheap as chips FW chipset (usually integrated with expresscard, SD card and more) and a 4 pin FW port, which requires a 6 pin to 4 pin FW cable and cannot buss power firewire.

If on the other hand, you're going USB2, then PC laptops are usually OK, but the low end consumer type laptops still won't cut it for low latency performance - you have to step up to at least the mid-high end such as Dell's XPS range or equivalent, or look at a bespoke audio laptop manufacturer, such as ADK, Rain, Red Submarine, MusicXPC etc.

HOw much are you looking to spend?

Dont bother with Macbook pro - overpriced and not enough extra features to justtify the price.

For a similar amount of money you could pick up a mac pro (get one level up from entry level)

Or, get a mini if expansion isn't so important.

it'd be helpful if you posted how much you have to spent plus wheter you needed firewire, pcie etc.

There's a couple of macs being sold atm on KVR http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=284420
Might be good for ya!

Hd

Any used/refurb mac with an intel processor will do. Make sure you have at least 2GB Ram (You don't have to buy memory from Apple but a lesson I've learned the hard way is not to buy cheap generic RAM for Macs.)

As far as how much im looking to spend, ill spend whatever i need to as long as its justifiable but im really looking to go as low as i can without skimping out.

My soundcards include a profire 2626 in the studio and in the mobile rig a presonus firebox in which case 6-pin FW is of importance.

tw1nstates wrote:
Dont bother with Macbook pro - overpriced and not enough extra features to justtify the price.

I disagree. This person wants to use this machine as their home studio computer, and as their mobile machine. Buying a Mac Pro or a Mini is bad advice. Regular MacBooks are powerful enough, but I personally don't like the screen size, or the glossyness of the screen. The backlit keys on the MacBook Pros is really handy.

Keep an eye out here:

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/s ... OTY2ODY3Nw

Don't sweat it too much as to which one to buy. You can't really go wrong. Just make sure the one you buy has a FireWire port and at least an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and go for it.

Mimic my setup and you'll be just fine with a mobile studio that rivals some of the best PC desktops to date:


MacBook Pro 2.8 17"(Unibody) 8GB RAM 2x500GB Internal HDD (via MaxUpgrade)