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Hey Beloved folks, Howdy. Hope every one here is doing well. As y'all know, I have been asking lots of questions in terms of what laptop to purchase for music production seeing that I have been for a long time, a windows/ Pc user and my software includes stuff like Cubase SX3, Finale 2007, Band in a box 2008 megapak, power tracks pron audio 12, and Sonar 4. Well, after much much research online, reading, and also speaking to a myriad of musicians who have home studios and also taking into consideration all the wonderful feed back, advice, recommendations, and food for thought that y'all have given me here in this forum, I have finally decided what Laptop I will soon purchase. Guess what folks? I am going Mac, namely a brand new Apple White MacBook Notebook Computer with 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, 160GB Hard Drive, and 13" Widescreen Display - from SWEETWATER. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MB213Wh/$899.00 ain't bad. The price has dropped. hmmmmmmmmmm !!! I will purchase 2 extra giggs of Ram from OTHER WORLD COMPUTING (OWC) and install it myself so this new mac laptop will have 4 giggs of Ram. Ofcourse, I'll decide on a good fire wire interface (Motu, Presonus, Apogee). I still have my Dell Latitude 610 that has 2 giggs of ram and a 250 gigg hard drive single core so I will do windows stuff on the Dell Laptop which is hooked up with my Lexicon Omega interface and then I'll do Mac stuff (the heavy stuff) such as ABLETON SUITE and possibly Digital performer on the Mac laptop. I'll at least have both worlds in this scenario..............HECK YEAAH !!! And then of-course, I can install windows on the Mac if I want to using Boot Camp etc. So just wanted to give y'all an update. Hit me back y'all with some feed back. That's the way I am gonna go on right at this juncture. Hit me back with some comments y'all.
Jacobins
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Rather you than me. I wouldn't go near a Mac (other than the maestro on this forum that is)
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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If we had known that you were willing to spend $300-$400 more than you originally stated, we might have made different recommendations. You seem to be aware that you will be dividing your work between two platforms. However, you still will not be getting the most out of your Windows-only applications (BIAB, Real Band). I believe Cubase will run on either a PC or Mac.
In any case, we wish you the best with your choice. In a completely unrelated forum, it has been said that "PCs are for hobbyists and Macs are for professionals." I think there is some merit to that. Please let us know how it works out for you.
R.
"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
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Whenever I see my muso buddies with their Mac laptops, I often do hear the siren song of "It just works". Lately I'm dealing with an issue where I can't get my windows mobile 6.1 phone to sync with my XP SP3 PC. Seems it's a well known issue with this combination. Folks with iPhones, though their wireless service is dodgy, aren't having the same issues and man there are some cool music apps for the iPhone.
Garageband is a killer application when I've seen it in use. Simple and powerful with quite a usable set of plugins (the guitar amp sims and effects are really pretty good). If your white $900 Mac came with the iHome package which has Garageband, you have made a pretty good investment for lappy usability with a great music application to boot.
What are you going to use for an interface? That's where you might get nailed on price. There are some interfaces you can use in both platforms.
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Quote:
"PCs are for hobbyists and Macs are for professionals."
Haven't you got that the wrong way round, Richard?
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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Interesting comments....good luck... ...if I had a hammer... Nope, I mean, money... I'd love to get another Mac My little MacPowerbook paperweight with four megs of real ram sits forlornly on my secretary-fold-down-desktop waiting for my to type in some more prose or poetry... Alas... Windoze and BIAB/RB have stolen my heart, and whatever creativity that still remains in this (also) old, decaying body. Oh, toil and trouble... I hope you don't have a bit of trouble with that sleek baby!! Just be careful...tell anyone who is thinking of an Atom- powered "NETBOOK", to check out the hub-bub about that crazy scene! http://osxdaily.com/2009/10/31/hackintos...atom-processor/  
Yamaha...Motif ES-8, Motif Rack, CS6X
Korg...Karma,Triton Classic, PA-80, M-1+
AkaiSampler-S5000, Roland.. X5080 Rack/G-1000 Arranger
Various Guitars/Basses Amps Pedals Rec.Equip.
Plus, BIAB 2015 and Sonar Platinum 2015 Upgrade from Cakewalk's Sonar X-3
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Quote:
Quote:
"PCs are for hobbyists and Macs are for professionals."
Haven't you got that the wrong way round, Richard?
No.
Perhaps the confusion arises around the term "professional." What, exactly, is the profession to which I refer.
I've said the thing about PCs myself. I'm no huge fan of Macs, long story, but they work. PC users have forums so they can work out the fiddly bits--which turn out to be just about everything.
The disadvantage of Macs is limited choices and high prices. The advantage is that an eight-year-old can take one out of the box and be running in a few minutes. Wanna network a Mac? Plug it into the network. Then get to work doing what you bought the thing for.
The advantage of PCs is lots of choices and low prices. The disadvantage is evidenced by every tech question asked here and on thousands of other fora. Wanna network a PC? Go to school and learn how. Unless you use a PC for plain-vanilla business apps--and sometimes not then--you're on your own. A hobbyist, Q.E.D. But I can see the ambiguity. You almost have to become a professional IT person to run a PC. I'd just rather spend my time draining the swamp rather than fighting off alligators.
*ducks*
R.
Last edited by Ryszard; 11/02/09 10:41 AM.
"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
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no mac for me thanks.
an i7 pc will blow the doors off anything right now at the price point from my testing.
i'll be glad to debate (in a friendly way..) why i consider pc a better buy.
easy service and pricing being one of many aspects.
i dont want to wait for a machine to be fixed at apple care n my studio is down thus.
costco right now is selling a quad i7 with 12 gigs ram for 900 buks.
the other aspect is more and more processor cores are coming down the pipe..
and ive a feeling that people who shelled out large for dual core macs are gonna be
rather poopped when their machines they paid often big money for cant be upgraded
so they have to rebuy.
you can slap a cheap quad phenom plus mainboard in a pc for 250 buks.
Last edited by manning1; 11/02/09 11:07 AM.
retired puter engr....powertracks on amd......NICE !
"what is the black art of audio engineering ?"
my silly songs...motagator.com/bmanning
see my tips in the tips section.
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Hi Jah,
Yes, I've been using PC's and Mac's since version 1 of BIAB for Atari.
Bottom line is that the Mac OS is just built for multimedia, PC OS's are mostly for buisness apps. Now, I can get BIAB to work on my PC's, the problems are many, latency, crashes, driver conflicts, the PC midi clock issues, etc.
When I use the Mac, "IT JUST WORKS"! Playback is stunning, with none of the "hickups" of the pc. Sure, plenty of users here use PC's only when using BIAB, and in some cases you can get it to work right. But Core Midi/Audio on the Mac are made for music applications without Latency or hassle.
One caveat>On the new White Macbook, there is NO firewire or PCMCIA slot. Which means you won't be able to use a Firewire interface with it. I recommend you spend just a little more for the 13' Macbook pro.
Also>Logic 9 is so far ahead of any other sequencing/Digital recording software, it's not funny. I've used Pro Tools, Cubase and Sonar for years, Logic is just SICK. Here is a lowcost high output package>
13' Macbook pro, Snow leopard, 4GB ram (Spring for the Solid State HD!)
Apogee One or Duet Interface
Logic 9, BIAB and Kontakt 4.
With that, you can make totally pro results in your bedroom, I do it all the time!!
Ed
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(Nothing like doing Pro things in your bedroom...if you're young enuff!! Mac gonna be starting with a "clean" Slate...if you get my tip-off!! Me hears that that new Apple 27" Pro screen with burner and sd slot in the cover is..... "SO NICE TO COME HOME TO" (do I hear a GDaddy Ditty comin' round here..) A 27incher Mac would be so nice to come home to....it'd be so nice by the fire.... Playin' a sweet lullaby, and the moon up high, Might be all... that you could de-sire! Under stars built like a blue ray Under an August Moon Shining up High... (or Kentucky Moon for that matter) It'd be so nice just like Par-a-dise... To come home to........ and love! Love that tune....and I'd love 27 inches too, of course!! 
Yamaha...Motif ES-8, Motif Rack, CS6X
Korg...Karma,Triton Classic, PA-80, M-1+
AkaiSampler-S5000, Roland.. X5080 Rack/G-1000 Arranger
Various Guitars/Basses Amps Pedals Rec.Equip.
Plus, BIAB 2015 and Sonar Platinum 2015 Upgrade from Cakewalk's Sonar X-3
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Quote:
Love that tune....and I'd love 27 inches too, of course!!
27 inches of what??  
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
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mac vs pc.
in a lighthearted comic vein.
my viewpoint..lol.
a friend of mine says if you get a mac from the best part of town...
you also get the best looking women too in the high falutin nightspots.
the problem is it costs a lot buying drinks so a hot looking woman will give you a second glance.
another downside is some mates/acquaintenances might try n steal em from you.
or be tempted anyway.
(so be careful who you tell that you have one.
not a good idea to show a hot woman off sometimes.)
hot looking women can sometimes be high maintenance ,
like scullys n 2 inch multitraks.
and your hot looking woman will likely get annoyed if an mbp goes wrong
and she has to wait to do her vocals while you send her out in the limo
and wait at applecare while the mbp is being fixed.
and she wont be impressed when you ask her to get a job for a bit...
so you can add more and more expensive memory and a hard drive internal upgrade
so garageband can load faster with all her vocal n instrument traks.....
and she wont be impressed when the multiple core mac she bought you for xmas ,
has been replaced by something newer n better n faster, and so now she has to take yet another job,
so she can buy you a new machine for your birthday.
new quad core imacs are out..tho..i must say..they look nice.
or you can go to the other side of town, down by the traks.
the Pretty Crafty side of town.
(where youll find lots of available deep discount options...so many in fact you get a mind buzz.)
n get a woman with a different set of issues.
if you pick the right one, she can be a sterling performer.
but you gotta be carefull getting the right personality traits
in the first place n mebe do a trial run living together to see
how compatible you are, as well as assessing how well she gets on
with your existing treasure trove of goodies.
if you get the right one, she can be honest n true for years.
(like mine.)
but if your lackadaisical in your choice of personality traits,
your life might get rather difficult.
but be carefull letting her visit lots of your mates
who work at various sites.
cos she might be tempted, n get something, if you havent chosen wisely.
n let her roam willy nilly.
so best bet is not to let her visit any sites in the first place.
she might also develope a problem or mebe nag you
if you dont buy her the occasional bunch of flowers and give her a tune up.
plus you gotta be carefull feeding her lots of goodies without assessing
the impact on her health , cos she might hiccup on the wrong one.
all over your nice new shirt.
whichever way you go, in summary, there are problems to consider.
no perfect solution.
and...whichever way you go, in the end, youll prolly get seduced
by the new model that comes out, and youll put your old model
into retirement, and look sadly at your bank account.
and youll wonder why your bank manager is always smiling
when he gives you a loan for the nth time, and is always gazeing fondly at
the porsche sitting outside his window.
yep...you helped buy it.
ah but "i'm a gear junkie", i hear you say.
i was born to be seduced...lol.
there is just no winning this game whichever route you take....lol.
__________________
retired puter engr....powertracks on amd......NICE !
"what is the black art of audio engineering ?"
my silly songs...motagator.com/bmanning
see my tips in the tips section.
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There is a third option - find a rich woman who is getting on a bit and doesn't think much of the men in her life or her country and who values an educated English gentleman!  Or... Take Jimmy Soul's advice: If you wanna be happy
For the rest of your life,
Never make a pretty woman your wife,
So from my personal point of view,
Get an ugly girl to marry you.
A pretty woman makes her husband look small
And very often causes his downfall.
As soon as he marries her
Then she starts to do
The things that will break his heart.
But if you make an ugly woman your wife,
You'll be happy for the rest of your life,
An ugly woman cooks her meals on time,
She'll always give you peace of mind.
Don't let your friends say
You have no taste,
Go ahead and marry anyway,
Though her face is ugly,
Her eyes don't match,
Take it from me she's a better catch.
Say man.
Hey baby.
Saw your wife the other day.
Yeah?
Yeah, she's ugly.
Yeah, she's ugly but she sure can cook.
Yeah?. Okay.
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
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