Unsure of what Mac to buy for Music Production

[MetalAndy]

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Hello everyone, first post on this forum. But I've been lurking here a while.

I'm on the cusp of deciding on a new Mac for music production, I'm a Logic Pro user mainly, but I dabble with Protools, Reaper and Ableton however, performance on those DAWs isn't as much as a priority for me as it is with Logic. Currently running a 2019 13" i5 but I've been hearing the performance gains for the production software I run are pretty big.

When I record live instruments, I try to avoid software as much as possible and try to use hardware, so amps, preamps and DI's. I do use Bias FX and Le-Pou plugins which don't take up much CPU usage, but I'm moving towards Waves and other 3rd party plugins as I feel like I've outgrown the stock Logic Pro ones, I've been hearing about running them as Rosetta but I'm not sure what that means, can someone translate for me?

However, since the introduction of the M1 chips it's all gotten more complex in what I should be looking for, as it feels like Apple have made their product line based around what works best for the end user as opposed to the specs. Which is great, but it leaves me with a tad more confusion about it.

I've ruled out the Mac mini almost, it looks great as a base product but I would need to buy a new monitor and such, which crosses over into MacBook Air territory, which I've heard doesn't have a fan. When running things like Final Cut/Logic/intensive programs, does it get hot? I'm not running ridiculous number of tracks/plugins but I don't want to overspend on a product if a MacBook Air would suit me fine,

Mark Paynes' video on this isn't showing me much of a difference between a stock air and a MacBook M1 Pro with 16GB of ram, but I want to get something that fits my needs most.

Also, how much does an upgrade in RAM help?

What do you guys think on this?

MacBook Air, or do I go for something a bit beefier.

Many thanks:

Andy

 

[hobowankenobi]

Not a music guy....but a few thoughts to start:

• No new Macs have upgradeable RAM (baring a few exceptions).
• M1 Macs run much cooler overall, no comparison to any previous Intel Macs.
• Running cooler means much less (often none) fan noise.
• M1 Macs use memory more efficiently...so many folks are getting by with less than Intel Macs for similar work loads.


Back in the middle of September I replaced nearly 40 lab computers in a university setting for art students with M1 iMacs, and zero heat or noise issues while using Adobe CC applications. Very impressive so far, running circles around the previous i5 iMacs.

More RAM only helps with a workload that uses all the existing RAM. It sounds obvious, but often users think "more is better", but that is only true when you run out. I have watched users with 8GB M1 Macs (including my wife's work MBP) run them hard, with everything open, and no visible lag. The ability for the M1 Macs to function well with less RAM is pretty unexpected.

Having said that, it is important to have some idea of the RAM needs in your work flow. If you see folks running a similar workflow (apps, number of tracks, etc), you can get a good idea of their RAM usage.

 

[MetalAndy]

Not a music guy....but a few thoughts to start:

• No new Macs have upgradeable RAM (baring a few exceptions).
• M1 Macs run much cooler overall, no comparison to any previous Intel Macs.
• Running cooler means much less (often none) fan noise.
• M1 Macs use memory more efficiently...so many folks are getting by with less than Intel Macs for similar work loads.

Interesting points!

Yeah, the ram issue is a thing that I'm not sure about, because I always lamented the lack of Ram on my 2018, but judging from the bench marks I've seen it's less of an issue, I'm not sure it's worth the extra cost, but I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it!

I didn't know that about the memory usage, I'll do some digging into that. I'm working on a project right now (20-30 tracks), with a lot of Opera tabs open and it's not breaking a sweat, however all the plugins I'm using are stock, so if I can get a lighter workload, it would really help. Even if it's not gonna give me anything noticeable back I guess.

 

[hobowankenobi]

Oh, and why do you need to replace your monitor if you go mini?

 

[MetalAndy]

Oh, and why do you need to replace your monitor if you go mini?

Just because of living accommodations, I found a monitor would completely take up 90% of space on my desk, so I haven't got one at present

 

[hobowankenobi]

Interesting points!

Yeah, the ram issue is a thing that I'm not sure about, because I always lamented the lack of Ram on my 2018, but judging from the bench marks I've seen it's less of an issue, I'm not sure it's worth the extra cost, but I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it!

I didn't know that about the memory usage, I'll do some digging into that. I'm working on a project right now (20-30 tracks), with a lot of Opera tabs open and it's not breaking a sweat, however all the plugins I'm using are stock, so if I can get a lighter workload, it would really help. Even if it's not gonna give me anything noticeable back I guess.

Tons of debates and threads about RAM and M1 Macs. Careful going down that rabbit hole.

 

[MetalAndy]

Tons of debates and threads about RAM and M1 Macs. Careful going down that rabbit hole.

I know nothing about this stuff, where's a good place to start doing some reading?

 

[hobowankenobi]

M1 overview at MacWorld
Logic on M1 video
8 or 16GB for Logic video

 

[Fishrrman]

The MOST IMPORTANT consideration is to know that the hardware and software you currently have WILL STILL WORK with the new hardware and new OS. This seems to be a particularly contentious issue with music production folks.

Having said that, I don't think the m1 CPU is gonna be powerful enough for you, nor the 16gb limitations that come with the m1.

I'd hold out until the larger-screen iMac (with the m1pro and m1max CPUs) is released early next year.

Or... perhaps the m1pro Mini (also as-yet unreleased).

You'll probably want 32gb of RAM. The newer CPUs will handle that.

If I had to buy something RIGHT NOW, I'd be looking at the 2020 27" iMac.
The 2021 MacBook Pros with the m1pro/m1max CPUs might work, but I don't see running audio production (in a studio situation) on a laptop...

 

[hobowankenobi]

...And I am in the opposite camp. I would not buy an Intel Mac now, and would not have even a year ago. M1 runs circles around i5 Macs, and more:

iMac (27-inch Retina Early 2019) - Intel Core i5-8500 @ 3.0 GHz (6 cores): 4822
MacBook Pro (16-inch Late 2019 - Intel Core i9-9980HK @ 2.4 GHz (8 cores): 6822
MacBook Air (Late 2020) - Apple M1 @ 3.2 GHz (8 cores): 7405

As for Music production on the M1, the youtube guy I linked to has excellent M1 points, and surprisingly, the comment section is actually useful with plenty of Music production insight. I saw nothing there with M1 users regretting their new Macs due to performance limitations...including some getting by with 8GB when they used to use 32GB or more.

 

[MetalAndy]

...And I am in the opposite camp. I would not buy an Intel Mac now, and would not have even a year ago. M1 runs circles around i5 Macs, and more:

iMac (27-inch Retina Early 2019) - Intel Core i5-8500 @ 3.0 GHz (6 cores): 4822
MacBook Pro (16-inch Late 2019 - Intel Core i9-9980HK @ 2.4 GHz (8 cores): 6822
MacBook Air (Late 2020) - Apple M1 @ 3.2 GHz (8 cores): 7405

As for Music production on the M1, the youtube guy I linked to has excellent M1 points, and surprisingly, the comment section is actually useful with plenty of Music production insight. I saw nothing there with M1 users regretting their new Macs due to performance limitations...including some getting by with 8GB when they used to use 32GB or more.

Yeah, if I was predominantly a Pro Tools user, I'd really consider an Intel, I've had nothing but problems on their PC side of things with that software so wanted to keep it Mac based.


In terms of hardware, all my stuff goes through an interface, which is class compliant anyway, so I don't think I'd have any issues there,

I was thinking about a tricked out Air with 16GB and a 1TB drive, but it gets suspiciously close to the MBP 14 even with an education discount and this one doesn't have a fan, so I'm not sure on it.

A lot of the tech YouTubers I've seen cue up a bunch of empty midi tracks and play them, which isn't really that helpful.

 

[MetalAndy]

Just picked up a refurbished one on Ebay. The entire total is coming up to way less than a MBA with the spec I was going for (with hub and monitor) at that price, I would have been silly not to do so.

 

[hobowankenobi]

Nice. Would be good to hear your review, once set up for your workflow.