My dad is G.A.S.sing for an iMac

CrispyDelicious · #1 09-22-2009, 11:02 AM

My retired father, at age 60, wants to get into home recording. He's played piano since he was a child (is a retired vice principal who taught many a music class in his day) and even takes jazz piano at a local college. His peers and professors have got him hyped on an iMac for home recording. I'm happy he's interested in it, but I know nothing about Macs. He's coming to Toronto this saturday and wants to check out iMacs and if I know him well enough, he will walk away with one (and so will I if I'm lucky - fingers crossed

ahh who am i kidding!). Anyhoo, he's really been convinced a Mac is the way to go, and seeing how much he hates PC's I wouldn't be surprised if he makes the move. Apparently they come bundled with Garageband, he tells me.

With that said, I am concerned that he (and I) may not know what to look for - I understand PC's as much as the next guy, but Macs... not at all. I don't want him getting ripped off, nor do I want him buying something that will be inadequate for his needs. Mac users, tell me about them. Is this a good idea for an old guy to record songs with his piano? What iMac? They have options, 650GB-1TB hard drive, 2 - 8 GB RAM, processors... ugh. I just went through this with my own PC research, and now I have to go through the whole thing again for my old man.

So in a nutshell - old man wants iMac for home recording but doesn't want to struggle with 20 different pieces of software, vst plugins, .dll files, patches, etc etc. he wants one solution - simplicity - good idea? What else - hardware and software will he need upon purchase? What kind of iMac (in terms of processing power and whatnot)? Any help at all will be much appreciated.

E-Beer karma for all who contribute

MakiSupaStar · #2 09-22-2009, 11:11 AM

A basic model iMac will do. Boost the ram. if you're using Garageband it's a ram pig, but a great way to enter into the recording world. A BETTER solution is Logic (if you're gonna go all mac). I know you were recently looking at Ableton Live, this might be something you and him can purchase together. hint. hint. Ableton is surprisingly light regarding it's impact on RAM and processor.

Some other things to consider. Mac Warranty. I normally don't recommend warranty stuff, but Mac's is pretty damn good. Our district requires that we use them for our school and I must say I've been impressed everytime.

Get an External HD. They're cheap and it can save you a ton of grief if your HD crashes.

Other things you guys will need. A good interface and mikes. I would recommend a the Apogee Duet for a good starter interface. Avoid M-Audio stuff. It really only works right with ProTools.

CrispyDelicious · #3 09-22-2009, 11:27 AM

Thanks. The choice of DAW is always something that has bothered me to no end. If you've never used one, how do you know which ones to use? For the most part he would be recording his Yamaha C7 and vocals via microphone. Drum tracks to be written on the computer.

Why would one DAW be better for him than another? The eternal question. I guess the main thing here would be ease of use for someone not current with any computer jargon.

Thanks for the input.

7StringBassist · #4 09-22-2009, 11:28 AM

+1 on a good interface and mics

CrispyDelicious · #5 09-22-2009, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7StringBassist

+1 on a good interface and mics

Yeah, I can imagine the headache involved in properly mic'ing a C7.

LeonD · #6 09-22-2009, 01:01 PM

After having Mac laptops for years, a few months ago I bought my first iMac. It's a great machine.

Buy the hardware just like a PC. What size monitor, hard drive and how much ram? I went with a 24" monitor, 1 Tb hard drive and 4Gb of ram. I'm extremely happy with it.

Start with Garageband (which is free with the computer) till you out grow it. My guess is that will be quite a while.

The only thing you'll need is some type of interface. I've been using either an old Mbox (USB) or Presonus Firebox (firewire). Both work very well.

LeonD

CrispyDelicious · #7 09-22-2009, 01:10 PM

Forgive my ignorance - how easy is it to customize a mac's software? If, say, garageband is not what he settles on, it is easily removeable and replaceable? I'm just so used to PC's and the headaches involved with software.

**WillPlay4Food** · #8 09-22-2009, 01:20 PM

Just drag GarageBand from the Applications folder into the Trash. This will remove the program. To remove the included sound loops, you'll have to dig into the /System or /Library or /System/Library folder (I forget where they are).

GarageBand can record 8 tracks simultaneously if you have an audio interface that can provide 8 inputs so don't write it off before giving it a shot. It isn't some kind of shovelware that wets your whistle but doesn't do anything else.

MakiSupaStar · #9 09-22-2009, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillPlay4Food

Just drag GarageBand from the Applications folder into the Trash. This will remove the program. To remove the included sound loops, you'll have to dig into the /System or /Library or /System/Library folder (I forget where they are).

GarageBand can record 8 tracks simultaneously if you have an audio interface that can provide 8 inputs so don't write it off before giving it a shot. It isn't some kind of shovelware that wets your whistle but doesn't do anything else.

+1. You might not want to be be so quick to delete GB. It's a lot deeper than you think and is quite handy. I still use it once in awhile for stuff and I'm an Ableton Live guy.

LeonD · #10 09-22-2009, 01:25 PM

Something like Garageband #1. Is small and #2. is part of iLife, I wouldn't remove it. I'd just leave it there.

Most Mac software is just drag and drop. Usually an app in one location and data files in another. A lot of apps don't even have uninstall routines. Just delete one or two folders.

Some of the larger apps do have uninstall routines. In that case, it's just like windows.

LeonD

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrispyDelicious

Forgive my ignorance - how easy is it to customize a mac's software? If, say, garageband is not what he settles on, it is easily removeable and replaceable? I'm just so used to PC's and the headaches involved with software.

CrispyDelicious · #11 09-22-2009, 01:33 PM

So all this hype about them being user-friendly is entirelly unfounded, eh?

Thanks guys.

So here are the available options in terms of preformance:

Which would you recommend?

CrispyDelicious · #12 09-22-2009, 01:36 PM

Man, I juct checked out the pricing. It's crazy how much the cost jumps from 4 to 8 GB RAM!

vagus · #13 09-22-2009, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrispyDelicious

Man, I juct checked out the pricing. It's crazy how much the cost jumps from 4 to 8 GB RAM!

Upgrading the ram yourself is actually a lot easier than it looks. The actually made it pretty simple for the new imacs - We took ours from 4-8 for about $40

**bassybill** · #14 09-22-2009, 01:47 PM

Just to reassure you that this is worth doing - my Dad got his first PC when he was nearly 70 and didn't even know how to plug it in. But he was determined to learn and now is proficient at all the usual stuff PLUS he has successfully transferred all his paper and pen arranging skills into IT ones (using Sibelius). He packed up playing drums a couple of years back (just plain too old at 78), but he's still writing charts on his PC, and keeping in touch with his musical buddies (and sharing music he's arranged) all over the Western hemisphere. He spends several hours very day online or on Sibelius - I'm convinced that without it, he'd be a lot "older" as he wouldn't be actively involved with music anymore and he really isn't into anything else. Best thing I've ever done for him is turn him into a 70 year old geek.

He's 80 in a few months. Check out my current lobby thread for more info on the irascible old bugger and some links to his music.

CrispyDelicious · #15 09-22-2009, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vagus

Upgrading the ram yourself is actually a lot easier than it looks. The actually made it pretty simple for the new imacs - We took ours from 4-8 for about $40

O RLY? That's something else I was curious about - how easy internal upgrades were in terms of hard drive and RAM. Good to know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassybill

Just to reassure you that this is worth doing - my Dad got his first PC when he was nearly 70 and didn't even know how to plug it in. But he was determined to learn and now is proficient at all the usual stuff PLUS he has successfully transferred all his paper and pen arranging skills into IT ones (using Sibelius). He packed up playing drums a couple of years back (just plain too old at 78), but he's still writing charts on his PC, and keeping in touch with his musical buddies (and sharing music he's arranged) all over the Western hemisphere. He spends several hours very day online or on Sibelius - I'm convinced that without it, he'd be a lot "older" as he wouldn't be actively involved with music anymore and he really isn't into anything else. Best thing I've ever done for him is turn him into a 70 year old geek.

He's 80 in a few months. Check out my current lobby thread for more info on the irascible old bugger and some links to his music.

That's really part of the reason I'm so interested in helping him. Even retired, he is a very busy man and doesn't have the time to play in a band (one of those "can't ever stop working" types) and this will give him the opportunity to play music for himself again, like he did back in the 70's and early 80's (you mean, dad used to play in bars?! and drink?!?

) And I saw that thread - very cool, man.

jdieh1 · #16 09-22-2009, 07:00 PM

With the actual computer specs, look at it no differently than you would a regular PC. Macs aren't that different.

Honestly though, you will be right with the base model or one with an upgraded RAM for just recording with Garageband. I have the base model and it does the job perfectly.

The other thing that you will need is a decent mic to record the piano into as the one that is built in is mainly for use with the webcam.

jdieh1 · #17 09-22-2009, 07:00 PM

Specifically I'd choose the 320GB HDD and 4MB RAM.

Unless of course you have a bit of extra cash to spend and want a bigger screen. In that case go for the 640GB HDD with 4GB RAM on the 24 inch screen.

You won't need any more than that

spencer · #18 09-22-2009, 08:34 PM

People often get way more memory than they need. 320 is more than enough for most and even 2gb ram will handle garage band flawlessly, for thins like video editing is when you usually need more ram but 4gb is more than you should ever need..

CrispyDelicious · #19 09-23-2009, 07:06 AM

So it seems that the 1TB hard drive and the 8 GB RAM are both pretty excessive then? I can see him working fine with a 320GB hard drive (especially since this will be used solely for audio work) and 4GB RAM, which still keep the machine in an affordable price range while maintaining qualiy preformance. Thatns for the help gents. I feel a little better armed for this venture.

LeonD · #20 09-23-2009, 07:17 AM

IMHO, for most things 4GB is fine but I'd consider a larger hard drive depending on what he'll be doing. If it's anything digital (music, photography, ripping video, etc.), he'll burn thru a 320GB very quickly. I don't think you can ever have too big a hard drive. Over time, software just gets larger.

Looking at specifics, a 20 inch monitor, 2 GB RAM, 320 GB HD is $1,200. For $300 more, you can get a 24 inch monitor (which is WAY bigger than a 20 inch), 4 GB RAM and a 640 GB HD. I'd definitely go with the latter. And, for just a $100 more, you can up the 640 GB HD to 1 TB.

With all that said, I'd also check out Apple's refurbished iMac's on line. They're as good as new with a warranty and you can add Apple Care to them.

LeonD