Macbook

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Steve Tarak

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Jan 12, 2011
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I'm making a jump from my self contained DAW recording rig to computer based. For those of you recording live shows, is the Macbook pro the best choice for multitrack recording, playback and mixdown or can I also find a comparable PC? It seems the Mac is the standard and that I'd save only a few hundred dollars for a PC to do the same. Need reliability long term.

appreciate your feedback

Steve
 
Re: Macbook

I havent done much recording yet, but other performance has been very good thus far, I dont have the pro (but i wish i did) and my macbook has taken a beating an still functions perfectly. Ive had HP and Dell laptops in the past and they all seemed to start falling apart after about a year of light use. Ive had my mac book for 2 years. Its been accidentally flung across the street, dropped of speaker stacks, dropped off the couch a few times, bumped around in the backpack without a case and just all around tortured. Its the aluminum bodied one, its got dents on ever corner but still manages to look presentable and function 100%. In terms of durability and longevity you cant beat it without getting a toughbook or something.
 
Re: Macbook

Choice of computer should be determined by choice of software. Among the DAWs that have both Mac & PC versions, usually one version is user-reported to be superior to the other. You might want to inquire on the PSW Recording forums.
 
Re: Macbook

My $.02: I agree with Tim and with that in mind I would certainly get a MacBook Pro and run either Pro Tools 9 or Digital Performer on it. I've had every Mac laptop ever made and many PC laptops. In my opinion the Mac stuff is much harder to break, more reliable, much easier to get running (and keep running) and just all-around cooler. Digital Performer is rock solid and very capable, as is the inustry standard Pro Tools. With PT 9 you can now use any interface you want and that's worth it right there.
 
Re: Macbook

The few hundred you may save on a PC will be quickly eaten away in dealing with Windows and it's problems. Don't even think of running Windows without antivirus software installed. If you buy good quality PC laptops, they will be in the same price range as a Mac. Yes, you can buy dirt cheap PCs and replace them every year or two, or you get a Mac and they can really last.

We do service work on both Macs and PCs and see far more problems with PCs due to crappy hardware builds. Things falling apart, or power connectors broken off, or just overall cheap.

If you absolutely need to run Windows, the great thing is that Apple hardware will be able to run it just fine. Both systems in one hardware purchase. Rock on.
 
Re: Macbook

Hey Steve... I have gone through it all over the years. . .

-Started with a pile of ADAT machines and a BRC remote.... that got old quickly.

-Built an Audio Only PC to run Nuendo... had a MOTU PCI based 2402Mk3 for i/o and loved it, but it was a Windows 2000 NT OS and I eventually had to move on. That rig was rock solid (when it got up and running), but was in a HUGE tower that I spent a fair amount of time building myself and tweaking..and by todays standards really wouldn't be impressive at all.

-Had an Alesis HD24 for a while, and while this was super rock solid for live recordings... the back end work to get the files out of the proprietary system was just killing me. I had mine prior to the availability of the Firewire card (actually bought the Demo model off my Alesis Rep at the time)... and the SLOW transfer rate was just murdering me.

I now have the system that I have really always wanted... and I find myself enjoying doing more recordings now that it is so much easier to deal with. My current setup is as follows. . .

-2008 Macbook Pro 15" 2.4G Core 2 Duo w/ 4GB ram & a 500GB HD onboard.
-2010 Mac Mini with similar specs and an even bigger HD.
-1.5 TB External Firewire HD.
-For i/o I am using the MOTU 896mk3 (decent enough pre's onboard & 16ch of light-pipe i/o for expansion)
-Mackie HUI (recent addition) which stays at home for back end mixing.

I run Logic Pro 9 for everything, and could not be happier really. On the mini, I do use Audacity a fair bit as it is much lighter to run on the computer and I can have Studio Manager up and running at the same time on the Mini when I'm recording a live gig.

The biggest advantage of the Apple platform for me is that it all just works... I sometimes take it all, sometimes just certain pieces... plug it in and it all just works. I cannot say how big of a difference this is from the Audio PC that I had before that was just so damned temper mental to deal with when you would start unhooking things and moving them to and from a live gig. I transfer files between the two macs for editing and have never once had an instance where something went screwy. I know the MOTU stuff isn't loved by everyone, but I have somehow become comfortable with their software over the years, and for the money, they do a really solid job for me.

Sorry for the long post... I hope some of that was helpful to you.
 
Re: Macbook

Steve Milner said:
Hey Steve... I have gone through it all over the years. . .

Sorry for the long post... I hope some of that was helpful to you.
Click to expand...

Steve, it was helpful to me!
I have 2 of the ADAT cards in my LS9 and record to an HD24 these days. You are right, the pain is moving the audio to a DAW for mixdown. I use PT8 LE at the moment along with Audacity to help me move the files via HD24tools.
I want to replace the recorder with something to more easily access the files in PT. Oh, the Pro Tools runs on a Win 7 64 machine with some networked servers for mass storage. So, I am not looking for a new solution for the mixdown, just the recording. I suspect that today it is not hard to move files between a Mac and a PC so perhaps that isn't an issue?
Longer term I am thinking of replacing the MY cards with Dante cards so a small computer to record at the gig with sounds like a good idea. I would like to be able to play the recording back through the mixed after the gig too.
The issues I guess I have are that to use Pro Tools with Dante I need PT9, a not small expense and I don't know what other DAWs will work with Dante. I guess I am not too worried (should I be?) about doing the post on my studio machine as most recording software will give me WAV files?

Ok, enough rambling... suggestions?
 
Re: Macbook

I'm certainly leaning toward the Mac. I'll need the reliability and robust build. This will be used in live situations, for my own personal recordings, and for studio recording. I am new to the mac os but have always been impressed when I've seen their products.
 
Re: Macbook

Rob Spence said:
I suspect that today it is not hard to move files between a Mac and a PC so perhaps that isn't an issue?

Longer term I am thinking of replacing the MY cards with Dante cards so a small computer to record at the gig with sounds like a good idea. I would like to be able to play the recording back through the mixed after the gig too.
The issues I guess I have are that to use Pro Tools with Dante I need PT9, a not small expense and I don't know what other DAWs will work with Dante. I guess I am not too worried (should I be?) about doing the post on my studio machine as most recording software will give me WAV files?

Ok, enough rambling... suggestions?
Click to expand...
As far as I can remember, ProTools 6 and later can easily share files between Mac and PC. Earlier versions used old resource fork objects and were more difficult to move around.

Broadcast WAV files are ubiquitous and include timecode information, so they will sync up when you move them between systems. If you can record in that format, every reasonable DAW should be able to easily import them. Obviously mix settings, plugin settings, etc. are harder to move between systems without committing them (bouncing to disk), but the raw audio isn't a problem.
 
Re: Macbook

Do yourself a favor and go to your local Apple store and put the new Quad-Core MacBook Pro thru it's paces. I loaded a 64 track session in Logic Pro 9 with a ton of plugins and softsynths Not a hiccup... The machine screams...

And guess what I getting for my brithday in three weeks lol

Peace
Rob
 
Re: Macbook

Steve Tarak said:
I'm certainly leaning toward the Mac. I'll need the reliability and robust build. This will be used in live situations, for my own personal recordings, and for studio recording. I am new to the mac os but have always been impressed when I've seen their products.
Click to expand...
By day I'm an IT guy. Virtually every dollar I've made in my life has come from supporting PCs and Microsoft software (haven't made it "big" yet as an international pop star :roll:).

I have owned 2 Macs - a MacPro I bought in 2002 as a Protools/Final Cut rig, and a MacBookPro 2009, which is now my main computer. The whole Mac vs. PC thing came into focus for me when I made the following observation - software updates really pissed me off when using my Mac. With PCs, they're inevitable, and constant. I have just accepted the reality that there's a lot of maintenance, and let them roll off my back. When they come up on my Mac I'm frustrated, because I have the expectation that I power up and get immediately to work.

Steve Jobs' success has come from his ability to say "No" to stuff. That has paid off in a platform where the hardware is almost universally better than the competition (a few low-end products and certain gamer expectiations compared to custom gaming rigs excepted), and the smaller universe means that things are easier to test for compatibility, and generally work without screwing around. See the recent StudioLive thread as an example of this.

Can you do great work on PCs? Yes. Windows 7 has been far better than any previous MS operating system - the stability gap has closed considerably. I still am a Mac guy when I can be, because I have felt the difference, both in hardware quality and in software quality.

Here's an interesting article on Mac hardware:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/01/microsofts-rahul-sood-says-every-pc-industry-exec-should-use-a/
 
Re: Macbook

Mac all the way. Macbook or Pro version optional. I use an older iBook G4/1.33 to routinely record 14 channels with Logic Pro 8 and with a Motu 828mk11 (8 adat, 6 analog) daisey chained off an external Firewire Drive. The external drive is key...IMO you don't want to record to the drive with your OS. When the session is over I attach the FW drive to my Macbook for edits, but I could edit on the iBook just as well. If I need to do more than 16 channels or at higher bit/sample rates I use the Macbook.

You can get good deals on refurb Macbooks at Apple's web site. Navigate to "STORE" using tabs at top then scroll all the way down the page and on the right you will see "Special Deals." Click Refurbished Mac and find your Macbook/Pro. Here's a direct link:
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_pro?mco=MjEwNTY3ODE
 
Re: Macbook

I have resigned myself to the fact that most people you meet will be PC users, and that's fine as far as it goes. But when it's time to get some work done (especially when the burden of responsibility for maintenance and reliability of the machine is mine alone), it's Mac all the way and has been for years.
 
Re: Macbook

I have a 2009 macbook pro, it does absolutely everything i could ask of it, has flown by its ethernet jack, and had a k12 set on it. It has it's dents and dings but works flawlessly. When it has issues, bring it to apple. The service is second to none. the only piece of advice i give is that applecare is worth it for the extra 2 years or warranty. I have had my entire motherboard, keyboard, top case everything replaced under warranty on a computer that has been through the mill. I'll post a picture of the computer tomorrow and show you what I mean about the damage it can take.
 
Re: Macbook

I miss my 12" powerbook so damn much! It was stolen right before christmas. I had it for about 9 years and took it everywhere. It had been dropped on a slate floor twice, and generally very well abused on an everyday basis. It still worked great until the day it was takenn from me. 9 years. Think about that. How many 9 year old PC's are out there that are still usable. I still recorded on mine using audacity!
 
Re: Macbook

Tim Weaver said:
I miss my 12" powerbook so damn much! It was stolen right before christmas. I had it for about 9 years and took it everywhere. It had been dropped on a slate floor twice, and generally very well abused on an everyday basis. It still worked great until the day it was takenn from me. 9 years. Think about that. How many 9 year old PC's are out there that are still usable. I still recorded on mine using audacity!
Click to expand...

HUGE +1 . . . My first macbook which I picked up when they first went to Intel is still kicking butt. It's a humble and original 13" white macbook... it's beat to hell physically from traveling to every gig with me for years and being carted all over the globe in my backback. It slid off of the top of my FOH console twice over the years and landed hard both times... never missed a beat (literally... it was playing itunes at the time for break music on both occasions).

I've kept my software updated over the years, and it is held together with a fair amount of Gaff Tape now, so I recently retired it from road use and it now lives connected to my big lcd tv. It has Logic on it for mixing and listening at home, still do an occasional bit of Qlab and SM pre-gig work on it, and it kicks butt playing Netflix and Hulu stuff for entertainment (I don't have have cable... 100% online content here). For a computer that I purchased 5 years ago... it is just AWESOME to me that it is still a solid and relevant piece of hardware.

The thing about owning an apple computer for me compared to owning the multitude of other computers I have had... is that after 5 years of owning the little macbook. . . I still LOVE to use the thing. It's silly in our industry especially, to care at all about a given piece of hardware, but like Tim, I would be heartbroken if someone ripped off my little old macbook. That intrepid little macbook went on a lot of cool gigs, trips and generally made my life easier and made me a lot of money over the years... and it never once asked for anything other then a new battery in return.

Some people may hate the apple designs and concepts, but as someone who uses professional grade tech tools daily, I like the fact that when I pick up my laptop, it feels like someone actually gave a shit when they designed it. The advances that apple has made in unibody construction techniques in the past years have proven again and again that these guys REALLY care about the products they offer for sale.

Sorry for the long post... I just got home from a bit of a boring and long gig.
 
Re: Macbook

"The new Windows 7 FireWire driver can sometimes cause problems when streaming audio over FireWire. These problems can range from annoying dropouts all the way to complete (and unexpected) loss of sync"

In studying the PC vs Mac for this, this certainly seals the deal for a mac.
 
Re: Macbook

I never had to gaff mine together, but I did plaster it up with gaff, top and bottom, to protect the aluminum from scratches without getting into the bother of procuring a skin for it. That's how one sells a four-year-old Mac laptop being able to advertise it as having a like-new appearance (after stripping off the tape, of course). Gaffed the back of my iPhone too, and it doesn't slide off dashboards, slanted mixing consoles, etc.
 
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