Ableton Forum

I'm looking for suggestions for a lightweight laptop or tabletty-device to run Ableton Live.
( Mac user at present but would be happy with a Windows solution etc. )

Basically planning to use it with a portable MIDI keyboard as a keyboard instrument for live performance - songs rather than dance music.

REQUIREMENTS :
Lightweight - so I can sling it in my backpack
Small footprint for use in sometimes confined areas
Inexpensive - so there's not a constant worry about damaging it - say max £600 / $600
( Edit : but ideally looking for around £300-£400 )
Decent battery life and reliable hardware
Decent storage - at least 500 GB SSD, so I can duplicate my Ableton setup from my production machine (although I could compromise on this and use a pared-down setup)

DON'T NEED :
Large screen
Superduper screen resolution / quality
Loads of processing power - won't be using it for large scale production work
To do much else with it - it would be pretty much for this application alone

Should add I would definitely consider buying a used model for this application, like an older Surface Pro etc.

Any suggestions much appreciated.

Any recent MacBook Air.

Tarekith wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 16, 2022 3:38 pm

Any recent MacBook Air.

They seem to start at around £1000 for a 250GB model.

I guess I might get a 5-year old one inside my price range, but ideally I'm looking for something a bit more basic?

Edit: Now that I check, used Airs do seem to go for quite reasonable prices. Plus there would be less learning curve with a Mac.

How recent a model would you recommend? I'm not really familiar with the range at all...

Check the apple refurb store for even more discounts. Any of the M1 Airs would be more than good enough for what you want IMVHO.