Recording on a 13" MacBook Pro

[velvetkevorkian]

Hey folks, I just got hold of a 13" MacBook Pro and had a couple of questions about using it to record with. I've been using Reaper on both my previous Windows laptop, using the built in soundcard, and on my Windows desktop using an M-Audio PCI soundcard. I run a wee mixer for the ins and outs and that's fine for what I need. However, there are a few things I'm not sure about...

Firstly, it only has a single 3.5mm audio port, which is meant to be in and out combined. I assume this is something like a TRS cable- has anyone managed to record and monitor using this port? I presume in theory it's probably just an adapter required, but I'v never come across one like that. I know in the ideal world I would get an external FireWire (or Thunderbolt, if they make them yet) interface but I'm not spending any money on it at this point as I have a perfectly good recording machine available (albeit non portable).

Secondly, I have a bunch of VSTs installed on my desktop. As I understand it, VSTs are meant to be cross platform; does that mean I can just stick them in a folder and tell Reaper to look for them, as on Windows?

Finally, for Reaper users, are you running the 32 bit or the 64 bit version? On my desktop I'm using the 64 bit version to take advantage of the 8gb of RAM, but using 32 bit VSTs with it can be, shall we say, interesting. I've installed the 32 bit version on the Mac for now but I'm interested in experience/suggestions regarding either OS.

Cheers!

[Ancient Mariner]

Is this an old Macbook? Mine has separate ports for in and out audio. I think that for serious recording people would use firewire, although you might be able to find an external USB soundcard for it.

Don't know about the VSTs for certain, but probably.

It will almost certainly have to use 32bit - OSX 10.5 (leopard) was 32 bit, and 10.6 (snow leper) was a mixture of 32 and 64 bit.

edit for typo.

Edited December 7, 2011 by Ancient Mariner

[velvetkevorkian]

No, it's brand new, running Lion (which I think is 64 bit compatible, although a quick Google has left me more confused than when I started )

[51m0n]

How can a single 3.5mm port do in and out combined at the same time exactly?

Sounds very dodgy to me!

Do you have a USB port on it?

Do you have a budget for a soundcard?

I'd look into an RME Babyface if I were you, not cheap but superb quality and exceptional latency on a Mac, but it does require a USB port....

I run 64 bit Reaper and have had no issues running 32 bit VSTs on it. However I didnt think you could run VSTs on a Mac - I could welkl be wrong but I thought Mac fx were au's?

[velvetkevorkian]

OK, looks like VSTs have to be rebuilt for OSX, so PC versions don't work. Sadface.

[velvetkevorkian]

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1323297436' post='1461857']
How can a single 3.5mm port do in and out combined at the same time exactly?

Sounds very dodgy to me!

Do you have a USB port on it?

Do you have a budget for a soundcard?

I'd look into an RME Babyface if I were you, not cheap but superb quality and exceptional latency on a Mac, but it does require a USB port....

I run 64 bit Reaper and have had no issues running 32 bit VSTs on it. However I didnt think you could run VSTs on a Mac - I could welkl be wrong but I thought Mac fx were au's?
[/quote]
I assume it works on the same principle as things like a hands free kit on a mobile phone. There are USB ports but I'm not going to invest in a soundcard for this machine- I have a 6 month old very powerful Windows desktop with a decent dedicated soundcard that I'll use for recording, it's no real loss (it's not what I bought this laptop for anyway).

Most VSTs seem fine bridging with 64 bit but there are a couple that don't like it, nothing significant though. From what I can gather there are OSX compatible VSTs but they have to be compiled for Mac; at the moment when I add a virtual instrument I get both the VSTs bundled with Reaper and some AUs (from GarageBand I presume) showing up.

Edited December 7, 2011 by velvetkevorkian

[skidder652003]

yep vst's wont work on the mac im afraid, unless they're RTAS (which technically arent vst's!). Im guessing your reaper is the mac version right?
if you dont already know this
[url="http://www.kvraudio.com"]www.kvraudio.com[/url]
has loads of free plugins for reaper

[velvetkevorkian]

Well, the Apple support site basically says "Buy an interface"- from poking around in the settings it looks like the jack is switchable from input to output. So it goes, I guess.

[Ancient Mariner]

Wow - I didn't know the latest Macbooks had done that with their ports. So much to like about a Mac, so much to dislike.

[velvetkevorkian]

[quote name='Ancient Mariner' timestamp='1323355334' post='1462401']
Wow - I didn't know the latest Macbooks had done that with their ports. So much to like about a Mac, so much to dislike.
[/quote]
Yeah, that's pretty much exactly how I feel about them. FWIW the larger MBPs still have separate ins and outs, for now at least.

[paul_5]

that's crap, definitely a step in the wrong direction for Apple. I've got an old (2008) macbook and use firewire/USB. No problems. Can't use PC VSTs though.

[SebCarr]

Bear in mind that with most plugin makers (commercial ones at least, not necessarily freebies) make Mac and PC versions on their plugings, and one licence fee buys you all of the versions (often including Audiounits and RTAS as well).

While the onboard sound limitation is irritating, the onboard line is is pretty awful so you'd probably find its use pretty frustrating (hence the various interface options that Apple sell on their store for plugging in guitars, and the USB microphones etc.)

[budget bassist]

Having only one input and one output, and not at the same isn't really handy at all... While you can record things doing it like that, it won't be great. It'll be a pain, and the built in sound card isn't great, so you'll get latency etc. I'd definitely recommend getting a USB/firewire interface. The difference it makes is huge.

Also, as sebcarr said, the folks that make the VST plugins will usually make one for OSX as well, it's definitely worth checking the various websites to see if they do, as more often than not, they will. Even if it's freeware.

[velvetkevorkian]

Yeah, I think I'm just going to accept that this isn't the machine to be doing recording with for the time being- not a big deal as it wasn't the main reason I got this (iOS design/development).

Found some free Mac VSTs on KVR- for anyone who's wondering, they have a .vst extension rather than the .dll on Windows, and seem to be separate from AUs and RTAS.

[JakeBrownBass]

For the price you can get Stereo USB interfaces nowadays i'd just go for it.

[urb]

OK - sounds like you might need to start from scratch here - I did the move from PC to Mac about six years ago and I've not looked back since. I was using Cubase and it was driving me insane as soon as I started using Garageband I could actually get on with the business of making music - most of the plugins in GB are excellent - the latest version has been radically overhauled as well - the new interface is really clear - plus you can get a ton of Apple loops that are very useable - and it works great for MIDI as well... I know you may well be used to Reaper but as a free alternative to get you going I highly recommend it. You can also transfer GB projects to Logic and or export the files as WAVs and bang them into Reaper when you get all your plugins sorted...

USB Soundcards have never been so cheap and the quality obviously can vary from the OK to the excellent - something like this would get you going in no time:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fast-Track-USB-Interface-Software/dp/B002QZ402Q/ref=pd_cp_MI_4

I'm using the Focusrite Scralett 18i6 but the model before that is also killing - and just over £100

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/27486073/Focusrite-Scarlett-2i2-Portable-USB-Recording-Interface/Product.html?_%24ja=tsid:11518|cat:27486073|prd:27486073

This would be a great investment - I run Logic Pro 9 and Ableton Live on my MBP 13 and have no problems at all with it - for the price of a decent soundcard and by using Garageband you'll be able to get some great results - there are zillions of great tutorial vids on recording techniques on youtube and the people here are very well informed too - so I say spend a little bit of dosh and get stuck in

Hope that helps

Mike

[Mornats]

Urb's right, GarageBand is so simple to use that you do get to focus more on what you're making and not how you're making it, plus I prefer some of the GarageBand plugins over some of the Reaper ones - mainly for their simplicity. That's not to say that Reaper isn't fantastic, I use it as my main DAW now but I still love GarageBand.