Mixing music on the macbook pro...

Hey, I am a musician and one of the reasons I am looking into getting a mac is so I can have the best available software to record my music.

Is say a new macbook pro with 4 gigs of ram sufficient to do the job here? I am looking to make professional (as good as possible) recordings and mix it all etc. I am concerned about latency, speed, sound quality etc. Do i even need to worry about the sound card in a mac as I do my PC?

Thanks for any help/experience you might have!

Also....what is the best mac based software suite for this? I am looking for features and ease of use.

 

Absolutely; you might want to look at a USB or Firewire based Audio Interface though (M-Audio for examples make some good ones). I've heard some great things about the Apogee Duet too: http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/duet.php

As far as software, ProTools is of course a major standard.

Apple's own Logic Studio (Logic Pro specifically) is excellent, and would also be worth looking at:

http://www.apple.com/logicstudio/

 

4 gigs of ram will be more than sufficient. what Memmory usage are you using with your computer now? i think 2 gigs might be enough.. isn't 4GB still too expensive? IMO, try the 2GB first; then if its not enough, try to get 3rd party RAM from newegg, or the likes... if you still need the 4GB.

i'm not sure on this but from what i know; you need soundcard to connect your equipment, in this case an external one (like the one from M-Audio)... the latency, speed, sound quality, etc. will depends on the external soundcard you're using. mac operating system is great for any creative work.

i think the software you're after is "logic studio" from apple.

edit: tck... took too long to write

 

there are always lots of variables, the type of music you will be recording is the number 1 thing here.

I use Logic Studio and absolutely love it, I have experience using ProTools as well but will always choose Logic Pro. Logic Studio will give you everything you need software wise.

a MacBook Pro with the right software, hardware and talent, is easily enough to produce pro level music/recordings.

definitely upgrade to 4gbs, but do it yourself, it is very easy to upgrade and it is about as cheap as it is going to get right now. if you upgrade yourself you will pay about $60-70 for 4gb, if you get 4gb from apple, you will pay about $700. Logic studio, can use a large amount of RAM, so the more the better, especially when using many many tracks and multiple software instruments.

 

are you sure you want to use logic???

fl studio is better in every way... and you can save your money by not overpaying for a mac, when you can get the same specs in a pc for half the money

 

Can you elaborate on how FL Studio is better in every way than Logic Studio?

 

sure... i've used both.. and it's no comparison. fl studio is easier to learn, it has a better built in sound processor, better and faster support for vst's and DXi's. Much better midi support, free updates and new versions for life (with the download version). the default plugins in the producer edition and the xxl version are much more capable than anything logic comes with.. i could go on. but just check the specs yourself.. www.flstudio.com

 

I could agree with you about FL Studio being easier to learn, but can you back up the rest of that? FL Studio has a better built in sound processor? Better MIDI support? Default plugins are more capable than anything Logic comes with?

I'll admit I'm not an expert myself on this, but I've worked with enough people who do use Logic professionally (as well as Cubase, ProTools, etc.) that this is one of the first times I've heard some of these claims about FL Studio.

What is it that makes FL Studio's sound processor better than Logic's? What makes it's MIDI support better? How are its default plugins more capable than what Logic comes with?

Also, what specifically is your experience with Logic, including Logic 8? You mentioned you've used both, but since you also "can't stand Macs", I'm curious about just how much you've really used it.

 

I don't have a lot of experience with FL Studio (I have used it) but with Logic Studio being only $499, it is kind of hard to beat for everything thing that is included. You get so much content with Logic.

the bottom line is, everyone has a preference, I personally prefer Logic Studio mainly due to an interface that is much better than the rest in my opinion, as well as some very unique apps that are bundled with it.

"I CAN'T STAND FUJITSU'S OR MAC'S!! BLEGH!!!!"

 

i've used logic 6 (and 7) when i first started in music production as a hobby a few years ago... on old macbook that a friend gave me, and for the same reason as use.. that was pretty much all i heard about. then i found fl studio. I just looked at Logic Pro 8.. and Its "new" features are things that fl studio has had in the last 5 versions.. actually made me laugh. any way, A lot more professional producers world wide us fl studio than logic. just look around all the music production sites and see what other people say.

fl studio is better and easier for live recording, live performances, and mixing

it's really up to you, but i suggest researching fl studio a bit more.. i would NEVER go back to logic... ever.

and i'm not sure about logic 8.. but with 6 and 7 you could install it to a usb drive and run it on windows

 

I can't comment on FL Studio or Logic Express/Pro because I've never used either, But I've dabbled a bit with ProTools, and my brother has actually made money with ProTools, and he'll tell you it is powerful software. (And unlike jcovelli, who seems to be here just to trash Macs, he has his name inside of some professional release CDs as the mix/sound engineer).

Unfortunately for the time being, it won't work on Leopard.

But just a quick glance at FL Studio's features doesn't convince me it's better than Logic or Protools.

Edit; Except for it's darker interface. I hate bright colours.

 

in all honesty, the software you use means absolutely nothing, you could use Garage band to produce professional level quality recordings, but it is sometimes very useful to have the advanced features that the higher end programs offer, is in necessary, absolutely not.

some people get so obsessed with feature count, etc. etc. but all it really comes down to is talent.

 

haha.. i do trash macs... but we're not talking about macs.. if i thought logic was better i would say so.. i love itunes(just make use mp3 instead of acc)

 

actually we are talking about Macs, it is probably fairly difficult to think Logic is better if you don't like Macs, and that is completely fine. like I said, the software side of things is really personal preference, as is the hardware.

it doesn't matter who has done what with what hardware or software. what matters is what you can do with it.

I have no reason to make a strong argument for one package or the other (and I don't care to) because I know what works for me, now when it comes to people asking questions and looking for some discussion on what others would recommend, I have no issues with that.

arguing about which software package is better is for people who are missing the whole point, and are more interested in the software itself, than what can be done with it.

 

can just the plain macbook handle mixing music?

 

Yeah it can. The screen is a bit small if you're doing it alot, but the computer itself is more than capable.

 

I dont even own a mac right now, but why are you browsing the mac forum...if your sole purpose is to trash everything mac related? Or do you work for FL?

 

absolutely, you are looking at something with basically the same specs as a MBP, without a dedicated GPU, which doesn't really mean anything when it comes to producing music.

but like most pro Apps, having a larger screen is always a plus.

 

Hi guyz !

As a producer i'm lookin for a laptop to do the job right (i'm usin Sonar Pro 7 on xp!) but the mbp ison my list!!

First the best sequencer is the one you know everything about and can work flawless with !

So no debate ! Logic is very good cause in fact it is well packaged ( instruments , effects ...) but as i never really used it i cannot tell more than whayt i saw when my partners used to work with ..


But the poropse of my post is the following fact :

Now more than ever , mbp is a pc with osx on it : the fact is that of course there's somev positive things (like more power!, for some parts , user upgrable without kiillin ya wallet)
but what's crazy , with the crazy price of the beast , apple just choose for example to disguard Texas Instruments Firewire chipstes to use now Agere chipstets (halfed priced)

The results : impossible to use a firewire soundcard (in my case ba fireface 400 from Rme) on the imacs and mbp 's !!!!!


So have a look on this thread and those who want a laptop for sound should run this (under windows , sorry for othaz) test !

So if there's a mbp user with bootcamp and xp on it , postin the results will be a good thing !

 

heres' the lins sorry i forgot and the previous pst

http://www.rme-audio.de/forum/viewforum.php?id=4

(look at the first and the second thraed)

test to run to check the system latency :

http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml


a good system is graph with only green under 200 (like viao, ibm , hp with tweaks and alienware ....more results to come workin on a data base cause now findin a good laptop for sounds and videos is the sh....)

 

Lol... sorry, just caught up on this post. Funny you mention FL Studio. It's pretty much bargain bin software. Absolute crap for a professional or semi professional. Reason is heads and tails above FL Studio with Logic being even better.

Only decent thing FL Studio does is create loops.

Back on point, Logic is great. Depending on what your doing, you could even get away with Garage Band But I've got friends who do live recording and production work with Logic as one of their main tools. Most prefer Mac over any other PC solution. But check out Sweetwater Music. They have some good gear and great customer service.

Just get yourself a Firewire audio card or Firewire/USB mixer to compliment your setup.