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Looking to buy recording software / DAW and computer

soulstew

soulstew

Gold Supporting Member
Supporting Member
May 15, 2014
876
1,717
Minnesota
#1
Hi all--
I've had the terrible misfortune of making some money gigging this year, and to reduce my tax burden am looking to purchase a Macbook Pro and Logic, and am looking for advice for or against. I use both Macs and Windows computers in my work, and am equally comfortable with them. I've done some searches here and turned up a bewildering amount of information.

What I'm mainly interested in finding out is whether I'd be foolishly overspending on the Apple gear/software when I can do the same far more cheaply with Windows-based stuff, and whether Mac with Logic has any big advantages/disadvantages compared to other stuff. I've used Garage band a bit on an old iPad, and found it easy to use and fairly intuitive and was impressed with the quality of the samples. I could imagine starting with that and upgrading to Logic later, assuming the files I created in Garage Band would be compatible with Logic.

My goal with this would initially be to create an album of my own material, using a combination of live recorded tracks and ones I create/sequence in the DAW using the samples provided.

Thanks in advance. Looking forward to your advice.
 
#2
I hate Apple products. Personally, I would not use one (other than an iPhone and iPad as a control surface).

Having said that, if you are comfortable with Apple computers, everything I have read would say you are better off using an Apple than Windows based system. Not that Windows sucks, but I think the flow of much DAW software is very Apple-Like. For example, I use Pro Tools but all keystrokes and documentation is written around Apple command keys and the constant in-my-head conversion of the Apple keys (like Command, option, control, etc) gives me a headache.

Also, there are decent Apple dedicated products like GarageBand and Logic that I will never get to try because I don't do Apple. There are no known performance advantages of either, but as you say, Apple will cost you more for equal CPU & RAM performance.
 
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#3
Like Basslice I am not an Apple user. I had an Apple IIc as my first PC and when Windows hit the scene I never looked back (yeah I'm old). That said for recording there are a lot of Mac fans and studio pros in that corner. If you have both platforms to play around with you may want to test drive a few DAW's - lots of free demos out there. If you are comfortable with GB I understand Logic is an easy progression. Every DAW is going to take time to learn and get used to, so you want to find software that is both compatible with your needs and generates tracks that can be exported as needed. My first DAW was Cubase and I always found it clunky, I had downloaded Reaper when Band Lab released the free version of Cakewalk (originally Sonar). Cakewalk clicked with me and there are lots of Youtube tutorials online. It is Windows only, but the full product is free and updates are released regularly. I use a refurb. Dell Optiplex with WIN10, 500GB SSD, and 32GB RAM it was about $200 from Amazon and seems to do the job pretty well - it's going to be hard to find an Apple product at that price point.
Lots of DAW's out there, good luck.
 
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#4
I use a MacBook Pro with Logic Pro X, and prior to that had a MacBook with Logic Pro. As a hobbyist I have recorded, mixed and mastered a full length album for my band, a single, almost done with an EP, as well as a ton of other songwriting and idea exploration with these systems. The first MacBook lasted 13 years before being replaced with the newer. I bet it would still boot up and run if I remembered where I put it. The MacBook Pro (2018) is still going strong and I expect it to last just as long as the last one, though I’m tempted to buy a new one for the performance boost of the new chipset.

I have used Windows computers for decades at my day job in a technical capacity so I’ve logged plenty of time with both systems, in particular with how computers integrate with external hardware. I’d be very hard pressed to migrate to a Windows machine, especially one that I built. Been there/done that with gaming PCs - no thanks.

Macs are more expensive, yes, but they typically last much longer and come with far fewer headaches purely from a machine/OS maintenance perspective. No technology is perfect or perfectly hassle free, but the Mac and Logic Pro X combo just works, especially if you stick with the stock plugins which will do everything you need. Logic has tons of loops, great sequencing and Drummer is crazy good. There are great Ampeg and Mesa amp/cab sims in there too. Lots of stuff you hear on the radio was done in part or in whole on a Mac with Logic Pro X. Buy once, cry once.
 
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#5
I've got a Macbook Pro M1 Max, 32gb, 1TB
and a Lenovo Xeon 32gb, 4Tb

They both sound the same. Once you're in the Application/DAW, they both work the same.

Now that DAW and plugin makers compile for M1 there is a huge performance advantage on M1. You can load a lot more plugins and still have great performance. I'd even suggest the Macbook Pro M-series

The future for DAW workstations is heading towards leveraging GPU for computations. Things like convolution are better handled on GPU than CPU. IK's Tonex capture works much faster when you have a good GPU. Rendering video needs good GPU. Physical modeling requires less sample space, but more CPU/GPU to create the waveform and envelopes on the fly.

In either Mac or PC consider some future proofing by looking for good GPU along with CPU, plenty of RAM.

I'd just speculate that the Mac M1 will be more future proof over time. But there is never a guarantee. Tech changes for hardware and software so fast it's hard to keep up.
 
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#6
I believe it's more or less been said here already, but I'll amplify the thought that, given the performance level of reasonably well-equipped computers today (Windows or Apple) are reasonably close to even, you should probably spend a bit of time figuring out the best DAW for your needs, then pick the right hardware to run it on. DAW workflow will likely be a much more important decision point than computer performance.

as @seamonkey said above ... once you start the DAW, both platforms "sound" and work the same.

good luck
 
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#7
M1 machines are really the best on the market for real-time audio. if you have the budget -- just get one. I'd suggest to get a model with a fan (not the Air), so it will throttle less. I have an M1 Pro and don't regret it, it's just much better than Intel Macs or Intel PCs for real-time audio. I do prefer a Windows machine for my non-DAW tasks tho (and writing this from a ThinkPad), but my M1 is much better at real-time audio than everything I had.

and yes, both Logic and Garageband on macOS will be compatibile with songs, created on your iPad.
 
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#10
Thanks everyone for your wise words. This was a last minute, under-researched purchase for me, and, though it wasn't necessarily the cheapest route, and I may find that something else would have better suited my needs, I went ahead and bought a Macbook Pro with the M1 processor and Logic. We'll see how that ends up working for me as 2023 gets underway. Happy new year to all of you, and thanks again for your help!
 
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#12
Like other I dislike Apple products. I used to run an entire photo studio with Macs. But my experience was, that in addition to so many proprietary ports, accessories, software, etc I decided to go PC and never looked back. My experience with Macs is that not a single one has ever gone longer than 5 years without major repairs or replacements. My PC's go on endlessly and become obsolete due to mostly speed and and the amount of power I needed to run current software. At this moment I'm still stuck with iPhones because until now I've been getting my phones as "hand-me-downs" from the kids. Currently phoning on an XR.

I currently have two "relatively" new PC's. I have Aliengear desktop that I got open box a couple years ago for $850, threw in a few extra drives and up the ram and have one blisteringly fast computer for around $1000. Last fall I bought an open box HP laptop for video editing with 4k OLED dislplay. $1100. Closest thing to it was over $2000. I wanted the pure 4k display as I'd be away from home for a month or more early in 2022. I just gave away my last MacBook pro to one of my kids after I piled some money into it to keep it going. No more Macs for me.

I've only done a minimal amount of audio recording, but Reaper in my opinion is a "best buy". I'm sure I could buy something more elaborate and expensive (ProTools?). But I think I paid somethign like $64 for the Reaper license. Just as a tangential "throw in", if you ever want to do some video editing, you have to check out Davinci Resolve. The "basic" full blown version is free (and I don't know how they do that?). I have the "studio" version where they threw in the speed editor; the full package costing me $300. A lot of folks who've been using Adobe Premier Pro have been ditching it for DR.
 
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#13
I am still using the Macbook I bought in 2008. The Firewire port has failed, and it's batteries are a thing of the past. It dual boots OSX 10.6 and Windows XP. I use it with legacy audio hardware such as my Roland Fantom X7, and software such as Sound Forge 7.

The MacBook Pro I bought in 2012 is also still online. I had to pay for it's battery replacement 4 years ago. It boots OSX 10.11 and its FW port still works. Supports my Focusrite Saffire 40 and other legacy hardware/software.

I have 3 Minis. The oldest is from 2009. They all work. Also 2 Airs. Using one of them right now. The 2nd is a backup.

In my last IT job, our company ran Windows + Linux + Mac. The hardware budget for Mac was about 20% of the budget for Windows/Linux (same hardware for both). I never replaced a Mac for a hardware issue, but I had to RMA about 2 dozen PC's or laptops in 12 months (250 people in the company).

I've bought/built more PC's than I can count. One of them still works, but it's gonna get scrapped soon now that my wife is using a brand new Mini that I got her for Christmas.

There's 2 sides to every coin. On my side, no love for Windows. PC's are ok if they boot Linux or Unix but otherwise - fugedaboudis Microsoft shizzle
 
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#15
A Mac/Apple fan for many years here. Logic is an excellent DAW. You made great choices and long-term better economic choices. No DAW gives you so much for little and for so long. No update fees. You don't get that with the other DAWs. Gotta love Logic. :)

Please post if you want any recommendations on third-party software. There is so much great software out there. There is so much great free software out there: Vital, Akai Beats, Spitfire Audio BBC... Native Instruments has many freebies: Native Instruments

Enjoy!
 
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#16
I have a PC that I use for CAD drawing, video editing, and audio work in a DAW. I use Reaper for audio and video editing, which wets me back $60 for the personal license. You get Reaper updates for quite a while for the cost of a license, so it's a bargain.

MS updates and anti-virus stuff makes the average PC unusable, so I purchase a "re-furb", usually around $150, and set it up to run totally off the internet. This has worked great for me, and I've used the same Windows 7 PC for several years. I'm getting ready to get a newer "refurb" with Windows 10 pro and I'll do the same thing with that one.

Any interaction with the internet such as uploading to Youtube or transferring a audio interface driver to the PC is done by moving by flash drive to/from my Chromebook.
 
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#17
Akiyama said:
A Mac/Apple fan for many years here. Logic is an excellent DAW. You made great choices and long-term better economic choices. No DAW gives you so much for little and for so long. No update fees. You don't get that with the other DAWs. Gotta love Logic. :)

Please post if you want any recommendations on third-party software. There is so much great software out there. There is so much great free software out there: Vital, Akai Beats, Spitfire Audio BBC... Native Instruments has many freebies: Native Instruments

Enjoy!
Click to expand...
just to be clear, as @rudy4444 noted, Reaper license (non-commercial) costs $60 and updates are free. Great DAW and its open source.
 
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#19
pfschim said:
just to be clear, as @rudy4444 noted, Reaper license (non-commercial) costs $60 and updates are free. Great DAW and its open source.
Click to expand...

uhm, no, it's not open-source.

updates are not free, you get 2 major version updates (takes some years to reach this point tho) and then need to buy a new license if you want to update.

please don't spread misinformation.
 
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#20
Aloe said:
uhm, no, it's not open-source.

updates are not free, you get 2 major version updates (takes some years to reach this point tho) and then need to buy a new license if you want to update.

please don't spread misinformation.
Click to expand...
hey, lighten up Francis, what I posted was hardly misinformation. I was wrong about Reaper being open source, but it does use open source modules and has an open source community outlook and has versions for Windows, Mac and Linux (which Logic doe not). As far as the license goes, Reaper is similar to other DAW's in that point updates within the major releases are free (of course) and its only after 2 major releases that Cockos seeks a new license fee. Even you pointed out that 2 major releases could be years in the making, and even then, users can have endless updates as long as they don't care about the nag screen, which is not the case with other more commercial DAW's including Logic.

FWIW, I'm not promoting Reaper, or any other platform for that matter. I have zero skin in the game on anyones choice of hardware or software. My original suggestion to the OP was to find a system/DAW that offered him the most comfortable workflow. It appears the OP has done that, and I hope it all works out for him.
 
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