MacBook or iMac

TD77

TD77

Inspired
Trying to figure out a plan of attack for a home studio setup is daunting on so many levels. Curious to hear thoughts on going the route of a laptop as opposed to a desktop (in particular MacBook or iMac).

I like the idea of having portability with the laptop. And I assume I could hook it up to a larger monitor for at home use. Get the best of both worlds I guess. Just not sure I understand any cons to the MacBook route. I don’t suspect I would have a need to be mobile as much as being home but there are definitely instances where this will be a benefit. Thanks for any input/advice. I’ve been looking at the new Mac mini and this appears to be another potential option.
 
The con is the price :). You pay more for portability. If you never use it outside of your studio, you'd better off with the desktop, especially since the port variety will be better. The bigger question is Intel Mac or M1 Mac. If you can manage it, definitely go for Apple Silicon.
 
A laptop is convenient IF you need to use it outside the studio. But the much larger display of a desktop is a pleasure.

I switched from my laptop to a iMac Pro last year and don’t regret the change. I use my iPad if I need portability and GarageBand if I need to record, then pull the tracks into Logic Pro later.
 
Greg Ferguson said:
A laptop is convenient IF you need to use it outside the studio. But the much larger display of a desktop is a pleasure.

I switched from my laptop to a iMac Pro last year and don’t regret the change. I use my iPad if I need portability and GarageBand if I need to record, then pull the tracks into Logic Pr
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Greg Ferguson said:
A laptop is convenient IF you need to use it outside the studio. But the much larger display of a desktop is a pleasure.

I switched from my laptop to a iMac Pro last year and don’t regret the change. I use my iPad if I need portability and GarageBand if I need to record, then pull the tracks into Logi
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I never thought about using iPad and GarageBand and pulling into logic. I didn’t know you could do that. I have not used logic yet.

My interest in the laptop is solely to be able to take it to track vocals at another location. But if I can do that with an iPad and just take that file that’s a home run.
 
TD77 said:
I never thought about using iPad and GarageBand and pulling into logic. I didn’t know you could do that. I have not used logic yet.

My interest in the laptop is solely to be able to take it to track vocals at another location. But if I can do that with an iPad and just take that file that’s a home run.
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https://support.apple.com/guide/garageband-ipad/share-songs-chs39284d66/ipados

also

https://www.groovypost.com/howto/import-garage-band-ios-file-logic-pro/

and

https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/logic-pro-x-garageband-ios-integration
 
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I went macbook to imac and dont regret it at all. If im recording an instrument elsewhere, it will probably be at a studio.

Going from a 13" to 27" monitor was wild haha.
 
Thanks. After doing a lot more research I think the pros of a desktop outweigh the cons of the MacBook. Last home studio I had was a Roland vs1880. About time I treated myself amd got off my iphone GarageBand.
 
For me, the 27" Desktop is a wonderland of recording into Logic, My outside recordings come from other folks sending me files and once in a while I use iPad to GB, but man I enjoy this machine with my FM3
 
Jumpback said:
For me, the 27" Desktop is a wonderland of recording into Logic, My outside recordings come from other folks sending me files and once in a while I use iPad to GB, but man I enjoy this machine with my FM3
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Thank you! So much talk mow about this M1 and waiting etc. I don’t know. The current iMac is fully supported by everything so there’s no waiting for things to catch up. And as long as it does what I need it to and isn’t obsolete in a few years then I’m not sure I’m going to wait around. I do like the new Mac mini but again, who knows when things will be compatible. Such a pita. Lol
 
TD77 said:
Thank you! So much talk mow about this M1 and waiting etc. I don’t know. The current iMac is fully supported by everything so there’s no waiting for things to catch up. And as long as it does what I need it to and isn’t obsolete in a few years then I’m not sure I’m going to wait around. I do like the new Mac mini but again, who knows when things will be compatible. Such a pita. Lol
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There are some apps that don't work on Apple Silicon, but very few. Rosetta emulation is quite seamless. For most people, everything they need already works fine on Apple Silicon and there's no waiting for compatibility. For $699, the 8 core Mac Mini has comparable performance to an Intel i9. It's a tremendous bargain.
 
Yeah I hear that!
The M1 will be supported for years to come and hear its bloody fast, so jump on that!
I have a 2019 8 Core 27" SSD and feel like its Indestructible and should last me at least 5 more years, got 64 GB Ram: overkill- but yeah chime in when you pull the trigger, GL Bro..
 
I would hold off on buying a Mac, especially if it's an M1 model. There's some videos on YouTube (Louis Rossmann, as well as others) that show that the M1 Macs basically kill your SSD by using it as an extension of your RAM. The amount of reading/writing that would normally take years is now done in a matter of months and from that point your SSD is no longer reliable. Apple solders the SSDs to the motherboards of their devices (instead of using a single screw), so you can't even replace them.
 
There's not a lot of evidence about whether the SSD issue is a big enough problem to worry about. I've had mine for 5 months with barely any movement on the TBW. At a price of only $699, I'm not going to despair if it only lasts 6 years :).
 
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Jumpback said:
Get one like mine, Its a beast and the Ram is configurable to 128 from home easy peasy
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Leaning heavily toward iMac for sure. No issues on that platform. The Mac mini m1, despite what some are saying here....I’m reading of issues with things working. Also issues with the Bluetooth not working among other things. I would prefer the small footprint of the mini (as well as some relative portability with it) but still trying to decide.
 
There have been reports of Bluetooth problems, but those reports are not exclusive to the M1. Intel macs seem to have the same problem.

I frequently switch between using an intel Mac and an M1. It’s a real eye opener to realize how accustomed I’ve become to the sluggish performance of the Intel. It’s hard to see a case being made right now for buying an Intel Mac.
 
GlennO said:
There have been reports of Bluetooth problems, but those reports are not exclusive to the M1. Intel macs seem to have the same problem.

I frequently switch between using an intel Mac and an M1. It’s a real eye opener to realize how accustomed I’ve become to the sluggish performance of the Intel. It’s hard to see a case being made right now for buying an Intel Mac.
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Can I ask what daw you are using on the M1? I’m going to opt for Logic Pro and leaning on an Apollo interface. As this is going to be my first home studio I don’t know if I would notice any sluggishness.
 
I use Logic and Cubase. Logic works especially well on the M1, but the latest Cubase 11 update works fine under Rosetta. I don’t have a UA interface, but I’ve seen reports that the latest Big Sur update works well on the M1.
 
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