laptop just died :( now the question is mac or pc? to use w/axe and for recordings

Dutch,

I'm currently looking at the DAWbook from V Music Pro
It's Dutch, highly configurable and upgradeable and it's MacOsx read. but for obvious reasons they can't give any active or passive support for this.
They seem to know their stuff. I sent them a couple of e-mails and each time got a detailed and very long explanation.
I'm also working with reaper and would like something that supports Firewire.
but since Firewire is very hard to find on any laptop, especially Firewire 800, Thunderbolt might be the way to go since there are Thunderbolt to Firewire adaptors available.
And the V Music Pro DAWbook has that.
I don't like the closed ecosystem of Apple either. that and the exuberant prices they charge for upgrades.
Otherwise I would've given it a try a long time ago.
 
MisterE said:
What maintanance?
I turn it on
I turn it off
No maintenance

My friend who is an avid Mac user, couldn't find a file he downloaded 6 times on his mac.
It turns out he had 6 copies of it.
User friendly???
Click to expand...

Same here.. as far as maintenance goes, I have 2 tools installed (Diskeeper and tune up utilities) that takes care of this in the background using free resources (no fiddling here!), runs like on day one. As far as pricing goes, if I spend the same money on a PC as I would have to for a Mac then performance wise any difference will be pretty much zero to none. As far as security/stability goes, if you can’t change anything or do anything outside of the box, then of course it’s safer and more stable but also less flexible and restricted. I’m on win 7 64x and I would say it’s the most stable windows yet (win 8 just sucks completely, don’t know what rode them to produce that crap!).

Upgrading PC vs. Mac…hmmm…not even worth commenting on that one, pretty much stuck with what you got on the Mac side and when there is a possibility then only at bloated Apple prices.

IMHO Mac (Apple) is a hyped status symbol, haven’t found anything that I can’t do on my PC which I would need a Mac for.
 
MisterE said:
Dutch,

I'm currently looking at the DAWbook from V Music Pro
It's Dutch, highly configurable and upgradeable and it's MacOsx read. but for obvious reasons they can't give any active or passive support for this.
They seem to know their stuff. I sent them a couple of e-mails and each time got a detailed and very long explanation.
I'm also working with reaper and would like something that supports Firewire.
but since Firewire is very hard to find on any laptop, especially Firewire 800, Thunderbolt might be the way to go since there are Thunderbolt to Firewire adaptors available.
And the V Music Pro DAWbook has that.
I don't like the closed ecosystem of Apple either. that and the exuberant prices they charge for upgrades.
Otherwise I would've given it a try a long time ago.
Click to expand...
I looked at it. Like the multicolor keyboard. I do think its a bit on the thick side. I'd be OK with just one Hdd and one mSata ssd slot and no optical drive since I hardly ever use it nowadays. Could get a USB3 outboard just in case. That could keep it much slimmer. I'd like an ISP display, they say it's very nice. Retina is a bit overkill. Can hardly see pixels on my current 1690 res display, I think HD will be plenty on my eyesight. Getting harder to focus close up after 43...
BTO.eu makes nice custom laptops too, some slimmer and even some cheaper that still have FireWire. Don't know about OSX compatibility. Then again, I could just get me a new USB3 sound card, the old one is written off by now.

I am curious about the touchscreen stuff in win8. I don't see me reaching for my screen often since I prop it up pretty high, but the above mentioned tale about our keyboard player was not made up. Had to fight some impulses like that myself. I think it's the way things are going and within a year or so macs will probably have touch screens too. Getting a non-touch screen now might have us behind.

There are these SAC mixing systems which are PC-based (I think winXP) and use only ADA converters for hardware. They are remote controllable, you can attach a router and mix from everywhere, almost unlimited in tracks and effects count and flexibility. Pretty affordable too. Some have these 40" touchscreens attached so they can mix like real mixing boards. Looks awesome. Those screens are still expensive, but who knows how fast that will drop. Led TVs have dropped in price at an astounding speed. So have smart TVs. Touch screen is just the next thing.
 
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This escalated quickly. I feel like in that scene from anchorman.

It seems as if the person asking the question really was looking for a home computer for music. I own both, and there is no doubt that my Mac is better for recording music. I use my other laptop for work because everything at work is built on the windows platform. The Windows Platform is completely unstable and is good for one thing. Employing IT people to fix it.
 
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IMHO Mac (Apple) is a hyped status symbol, haven’t found anything that I can’t do on my PC which I would need a Mac for.[/QUOTE]

I've heard this same argument from line 6 users. I agree that Mac is an extremely well marketed product, but I have never met a musician that switches back after owning one.
 
You know that "sound" a Mercedes makes when you close the door? Yes, well a Hyundai also a make "sound" when you close the door.

Just because you can do everything on either platform is hardly relevant when you're looking for opinion which on to get. Which one is going to be easier, less painful, faster and more enjoyable to work with? For most people that's going to be a Mac with a wide, wide, wide margin. Almost everyone that I've introduced macs to have wondered what took them so long. The ones that went back was geeks that cared about things like what graphics card is in the computer, and wanting to change. If you just want to get the job done, you are much more likely to be happier with a Mac.
 
Severed said:
I like options and having full control, it's the reason I bought an Axe FX II and the reason I'll never buy a Mac, and not trying to cause a fight but most people with compatability problems seem to be using Mac. A PC with same specs costs only 2/3rd the price of a Mac. Saying a Mac lasts longer is just nonsense, if you don't manage the health of your computer it's not the fault of the hardware/software, and given the same specs one is not going to last longer. These are just my opinions
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100% agree. Great post...
 
The never ending debate...

I partially read through most of the thread and have this to say as a die hard Mac user.

It really depends. If you're super comfortable on a PC and know the software you really want, get a PC. It also depends what you want to do with your music.

I'm a home hobbyist and record for my own pleasure and use Garageband, which will likely be all I will ever need for me in a DAW. No fanct bells and whistles. I plug in the Axe Fx II via USB and off I go. I use EZDrummer and I can do anything I want. I also have a Bass I use through the Axe Fx II and a small keyboard for MIDI through GarageBand and I'm good.

We just got a PC laptop for the kids (cheaper in case they break it) and I HATE Windows 8. So much flash and just so cumbersome.

Do you have a friend who uses a Mac for recording music? If so, I highly recommend you play a bit on his or hers. Then decide.

It's not a slam dunk either way. It depends what you want, and how comfortable you are with either platform.
 
The never ending debate...

I partially read through most of the thread and have this to say as a die hard Mac user.

It really depends. If you're super comfortable on a PC and know the software you really want, get a PC. It also depends what you want to do with your music.

I'm a home hobbyist and record for my own pleasure and use Garageband, which will likely be all I will ever need for me in a DAW. No fancy bells and whistles. I plug in the Axe Fx II via USB and off I go. I use EZDrummer and I can do anything I want. I also have a Bass I use through the Axe Fx II and a small keyboard for MIDI through GarageBand and I'm good.

We just got a PC laptop for the kids (cheaper in case they break it) and I HATE Windows 8. So much flash and just so cumbersome.

Do you have a friend who uses a Mac for recording music? If so, I highly recommend you play a bit on his or hers. Then decide.

It's not a slam dunk either way. It depends what you want, and how comfortable you are with either platform.
 
Solarfire said:
IMHO Mac (Apple) is a hyped status symbol, haven’t found anything that I can’t do on my PC which I would need a Mac for.
Click to expand...

It became a hyped product because of the iPhone and all the kiddies who needed one because they thought it was cool (which it isn't - it's just another way to work, nothing more). I'm on mac and Emagic Notator Logic since 1994 (SE/30), since the "uncool" days...so what?

There is a lot of bs going here....sorry...
 
For a laptop, I've yet to see a PC laptop that has the same quality trackpad and the same integration with the OS as OSX + Apple hardware does. Displayport support is also nice for those of us with really high res displays.

OSX is easier to use for audio because you just have one set of audio drivers and don't have to deal with ASIO vs WDM etc.

DAW software on both Windows and OSX is pretty much the same with some exclusives for each.

OSX in general has higher quality 3rd party apps - they have more uniform basic functionality, they fit the OS look better visually, the user experience is generally easier too.

PS. I currently own no Apple products (sold the mobile ones prior to iOS 7 release, don't need a laptop right now). My desktop PC runs both Windows 7 and OSX (Hackintosh).
 
A computer is a hell of a lot more than its hardware, let's not forget that. Sure you're paying twice as much for pretty much the same specs. But again, that doesn't mean the experience will be the same.

I see a lot of "anti-Mac-fanboy" going on here but you guys clearly forget, we went through the exact same thing you did! We said it was absurd to pay twice as much! We said there's no way it would be worth the money! Then we took the plunge... Trust me, it's great. :D
 
Probably the most striking difference between Macs and PCs is in customer satisfaction. In the most recent surveys conducted by both PCWorld and PCMag, readers chose Apple computers over every single brand of PC available. Thats 2 PC mags saying that stuff... So if you were to buy your self a new computer today knowing nothing beforehand and read this, which one would you buy?
 
Solarfire said:
As far as Upgrading PC vs. Mac…hmmm…not even worth commenting on that one, pretty much stuck with what you got on the Mac side and when there is a possibility then only at bloated Apple prices.

IMHO Mac (Apple) is a hyped status symbol, haven’t found anything that I can’t do on my PC which I would need a Mac for.
Click to expand...

Depends on the upgrade. I have replaced my internal 1 TB drive with a 2 TB drive. I added 8 gigs of ram for a total of 16. I added 2 external firewire drives, another usb superdrive, a touchpad, and another 23" monitor... The touch pad and the superdrive were the only proprietary items that were mac (but the usb drive could have been pc as well). The rest were off the shelf PC items. Do you run virus software on your PC? Do you run registry repair software? If so then you are correct, in most cases you don't need a Mac for those...;) Please understand do I have a nice older PC, with a fast i5 processor, 16 gigs of ram and a fairly fast Ti560 video card. I keep it tuned up with the right software 3rd party add ons. I use both platforms for different things. So far my experience is ive found less hassle and errors in using the mac.
 
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If the topic is about simply recording a track, a refurbished year 2000 Pentium4 running windows XP and 4 gigs of ram and USB 2.0 will suffice, add in a m-audio delta1010lt PCI card and you can then multitrack, I have this exact setup and multitrack our band rehearsals recording 10 seperate tracks at once with no issues using Ableton live 8.2.

If the topic is about building a pro studio computer then a laptop is prob not even worth the expense.

I do find it interesting the bias for Mac around here. It's almost like trying to have a discussion about the Axe Fx on the Marshall forums lol
 
Severed said:
If the topic is about building a pro studio computer then a laptop is prob not even worth the expense.

I do find it interesting the bias for Mac around here. It's almost like trying to have a discussion about the Axe Fx on the Marshall forums lol
Click to expand...
The topic from the OP was whether or not the Mac was worth it, or not. It is. To explain the reasons why have offended some here. And it seems the discussion is only biased to those who take offense to that fact. This also seems to happen any time something extraordinary comes out (like the axe fx II) and its compared to others in the same genery. I'm not gonna lie to the guy just because it might offend those with lesser platforms. I mean, we cant all afford a 59 Lespaul but that doent mean we cant play one. No offense intended of course...:D
 
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spikey said:
The topic from the OP was whether or not the Mac was worth it, or not. It is. To explain the reasons why have offended some here. And it seems the discussion is only biased to those who take offense to that fact. I'm not gonna lie to the guy just because it might offense those with lesser platforms. No offense intended of course...:D
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I was just demonstrating that there are other options, and if you are just doing recording, you don't need much, at all.
 
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spikey said:
The reason a Mac lasts longer isn't due to the hardware Severed (in fact I had my Superdrive fail on my mac, under warranty). Its the registry in the PC OS software that causes (among other niceties on the mac) us to turn to a mac. Its not nonsense, its fact.
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Sorry but this is actually nonsense. The registry has not been a problem since Windows 9x days. While registry cleaner software might try to tell you that there is tons of unused crap in it, in reality they can't reliably know if a registry value is not being used. There is no performance benefit from cleaning the registry in modern operating systems (and XP even though that's hardly modern by any measure). It's about the same as repairing permissions on OSX, you might do it for personal comfort rather than any real difference. OSX's equivalent for the registry is its XML-based plist files (which are probably slower to access than the Windows registry though that makes no real difference with today's machines).

The reason why Macs work so well is because they have a well known limited set of hardware and drivers rather than supporting everything you can cram into a PC. That doesn't mean that they are without bugs or won't kernel panic in some situations. If you look at the Hackintosh community (running OSX with non-Apple hardware) you'll quickly see that it's a game of picking the exact right parts or else you'll run into problems.
 
MisterE said:
What maintanance?
I turn it on
I turn it off
No maintenance

My friend who is an avid Mac user, couldn't find a file he downloaded 6 times on his mac.
It turns out he had 6 copies of it.
User friendly???
Click to expand...

He should have used Command+spacebar.
 
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