Imac or Macbook

[spencer]

looks like im going for the macbook, ordering sunday or monday...

However I have a question before I do buy, and the people I ask can't give me an answer...

Will a mac book with
1. 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2. 2-3GB memory
3. 120GB hard drive

be able to handle recording 16 multiple tracks at once?

 

[saxnbass]

RAM is more important than CPU when it comes to handling multi-track recording. But overall, yes, a 2.14 with 2GB RAM should do fine.

It also depends some on the program and how it handles and process each track while it's being recorded.

 

[spencer]

Thats next... Finding a program that can record mulitple tracks at once useing firewire, however I think the board Im getting comes with one.. But I would also like to do editing ect..

 

[saxnbass]

Budget? That's a major point.
I'd suggest Logic (either Express or Pro, depending on your needs and budget). Pro Tools isn't bad either, if Logic doesn't meet your needs/budget, look into Pro Tools.

 

[spencer]

I know someone who owns logic, aside from being illegal is there anyway I can load it onto my computer to use? You know without paying..

 

[saxnbass]

If you have a Power PC Mac, there was a trial available, but it didn't work on the Intel macs (the trial). Other than that, just finding someone who has it and asking them if you can use it a bit. Or go to an Apple store and see if they have it on one of their display models so you can take a look at it.

 

[MrMusashi]

logic pro is ilok protected and thus not cracked... if you want it you gonna have to buy it
or borrow your friends usb key and return it when done

edit: my apologies.. its a xs key, not an ilok

MrM

 

[spencer]

Well I know Im getting a macbook, probably ordering tonight.. Not sure if I should cough up the extra cash for the macbook pro. I love how people make me think alot is really a little.. Stupid marketing.. I remember a 100gb hard drive was HUGE now people say its not enough.. And I fall for it. Only reason Im considering the pro is because 1 it has a better grapics card incase I ever do video editing [which I could just do on an Imac, and it is metal. After hearing so many people say their macbooks cracked however I think this was an issue with a certian batch..

Anyways now im looking for a input device and a program to use..

Im looking at either the Alesis MultiMix 16 FireWire 16-Channel Analog Mixer for 399.00 or two prosonus firepod things. People say the Mixer can't compare to the firepod, but I mean how big of a diffrence are we talking? Its got to be better than recording straight to a cd with basicly no eq control and it being very hard to mix useing headphones while they play live..

I can get the Firepods for around 300 new -220 used.
but im on a budget, im going to have to see if my church can help me out on something since it really will only be used for them anyways.

And I really can't afford a 1000$ program to record with.. thats rediculous. I just need something that can handle 16 tracks at once..

 

[saxnbass]

Here is my scoop on the MacBook Pro.... I prefer my MacBook. If you want extra protection, get Speck's casing (it's a durable plastic that snaps right on the MacBook. I've had my MacBook for close to a year and used it for everything all the time. It has quite a bit of scratches, but no cracks. I bought Speck's case yesterday and wondered where it was earlier, I would have bought it sooner had I known about it, it's great. Also, HDD space.... get an external, really.

I have a M-Audio Firewire 410 interface, I think it's quite good. Only down side is that you are not supposed to hot plug Firewire. So if you absolutely want to be able to hot plug, you'll want a USB, otherwise I'd get a firewire.

Logic Express will let you do 12 channels. That's not quite 16, but close. It's $300. You wouldn't happen to be a student or have a son/daughter that's a student, would you? If you do, you can get Logic Pro for $500, but can't buy the upgrades later on, so you'd be stuck with that version.
The Apple Store (U.S.) - Logic Pro 7.2 Academic


You can also check out Steinberg's Cubase 4, it's $800. Or Cubase 4 Studio for $400, if it does what you need.
Lastly, there is Digidesign's Pro Tools for $250. You'd have to look through them and see which ones do what you want and decide which one you want.


So those are a few options. Feel free to IM me about it if you want, all my IM info is on my profile.

 

[phatduckk]

ive never heard of a macbook cracking. wtf do people do with their laptops? LoL

ive never used pro tools but ive heard from friend that they dont use their copy too much cu its too complicated and have since switched the Logic.

i also have a buddy who uses cubase and LOVES it. no clue how many simultanious tracks it can do tho

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

This thread has sparked me into buying some more RAM for my Powerbook G4. Best part, it was £5 on eBay!

 

[phatduckk]

more RAM's always good. but bad RAM does exist!

 

[spencer]

I heard that the mac books were cracking around the palm rest area around where the magnets that keep the book closed are..

Anyways I looked into thoes hard cases. How much thickness do they add to it? I heard that the cases them selfs scratch the laptop... I was looking at a few on ebay....

Agian Im not sure on the technical term for hotplug. What exactly does that mean?

I am a student, so I could get that discount but what do you mean you can't buy upgrades later on? You mean like updates or like add ons? Why would apple do that?

 

[MrMusashi]

i just love those macbook pros.. the titanium shell.. the thin thin thin exterior.. the ultrabright screen. here in .no its expensive though, but if you want the best you buy the pro.. if youre on a budget get the regular macbook and put the extra cash in the software..

protools is dependent on digidesign hardware.. if you need 16 simultaneous tracks youre gonna have to spend some cash anyways, but on protools you have to go with the expensive ones.. i like protools.. when you finish your project you can just load it up in the big hd rigs you find in most studios

whatever software you choose, stick with it, learn it, breathe it, live it
there are good learning dvd's out there

MrM

 

[saxnbass]

The case adds a bit of thickness, but not much. It may scratch a tad when putting it on, but in the long run, it'll be much less than you would get without it.

Hotplugging is when you plug the device in while the computer is turned on, like what you do with your USB devices probably. With Firewires, you are supposed to shutdown the computer when plugging in or unplugging the external device.

You can get the discount, but when they go from say Logic Pro 7 to Logic Pro 8, you'll be stuck with 7. Usually you can pay like $200 or so to go from 7 to 8; if you use the student discount, you can't do that. I don't know why they did that, but they did. That's why I didn't use a student discount when I bought Logic Express.

 

[spencer]

So like even if you wanted to pay the full price to upgrade you couldn't? or what? something is just not makeing sense.

 

[phatduckk]

So like even if you wanted to pay the full price to upgrade you couldn't? or what? something is just not makeing sense.

lots of student price stuff is like this for some reason. its just a fact of life.

if you buy Logic 7 w/ a student discount you CANNOT buy the Logic 8.0 upgrade and turn your Logic 7 install in Logic 8.

However you can buy a full copy (non-upgrade) of Logic 8, delete your Logic 7 install and then install the new version u just purchased

as far as case guards go ... this is something i never upderstood. how badly could your hand scratch up a laptop? when travelling wouldnt u use a padded bag? and at home or whatever its not like i throw the laptop around or toss darts at it.

mine has zero scrathes and i take it from home to work and back daily

 

[saxnbass]

Phatduckk is completely right. That's exactly how it works. If you want to upgrade, you'd have to buy the full non-upgrade version, unless you're still a student, then you can buy the student priced non-upgrade (there are not student priced upgrades anyways, AFAIK).

 

[spencer]

Ok im trying to keep the amount im spending to a minimum, I really don't need the DVD burner and I heard the 2.16 over the 2.0 ghz processor doesn't make a big diffrence. Plus im getting a Imac soon anyways.. This is just to get me by right now and do the basics I will be getting 2Gb ram and an external harddrive. So im trying to just stick to the basics. Anyways if I did need a dvd burner maby for a movie or something, is there anyway I can transfer it via ethernet to my PC [untill I get a mac] and use its dvd burner?

 

[saxnbass]

Yes, you can transfer via Ethernet, but it would take ages. How much extra is the cost for the DVD burner? If you have an external DVD burner, you could use it....or depending on the upgrade cost from Apple for the DVD burner, you might be able to get a basic USB external one cheaper.