Home recording

[thisnameistaken]

The advice that you should buy a Mac for Garageband seems a bit iffy. I've never used Garageband beyond using it to record live takes at rehearsals, but Macs are expensive boxes to be buying for one fairly limited piece of software.

Someone else above mentioned how much more entry-level kit you could buy instead of a Mac (monitors, interface, etc.) and to me that looks like a more sensible idea.

I have nothing against Macs but they are expensive, and given that there are DAWs which work on both Windows and MAC OS and you only have to buy one license, I don't see why we're discussing which [i]computer[/i] to buy at all.

[crez5150]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='520778' date='Jun 22 2009, 02:33 PM']The advice that you should buy a Mac for Garageband seems a bit iffy. I've never used Garageband beyond using it to record live takes at rehearsals, but Macs are expensive boxes to be buying for one fairly limited piece of software.

Someone else above mentioned how much more entry-level kit you could buy instead of a Mac (monitors, interface, etc.) and to me that looks like a more sensible idea.

I have nothing against Macs but they are expensive, and given that there are DAWs which work on both Windows and MAC OS and you only have to buy one license, I don't see why we're discussing which [i]computer[/i] to buy at all.[/quote]

Because the question was asked in the op. Asking what options there were....

[ironside1966]

[quote name='51m0n' post='520572' date='Jun 22 2009, 10:33 AM']If you are just getting into the idea you really do not need to invest in a mac.

Later on if you want serious pro quality recording facility (think 40 odd channels with VSTs and VSTis all over them, then you need a big f off mac.

Simple home recording is possible on an up to date PC running very cheap software (I recommend you try Reaper).

A very good friend of mine ran his studio on PC for years, he seriously knows his stuff with PC building, and his networking skills are far greater than anyone on this forum (in all probability) since that is his profession and he is at the top of it. Getting a PC to run close to 40 tracks of audio with plentiful VSTs and no glitches on output proved beyond an absolutely money no object top of the range current PC hand built for that specific task. It could not reliably bounce to stereo, it just ran out of horsepower. A top spec G5 mac cruises through the same test without any issues at all, every single time. He now bores everyone evangelising macs

You dont need that horsepower for simple home recording, I manage on an old HP business laptop running Reason. It ain't ideal, I have limits technically, but it does do the job, just.

Get a good book on recording, get on a couple of recording forums, get a decent couple of mics (an SM57 and an AKG C1000s for instance) and get on with it [/quote]


PC are getting faster all the time, A few years ago you had a point about Mac vs PC but now with the latest processes the argument is e relevant. It is not a case of Mac for Pros and PC for amatures it is a personal preference, Laptops have a slower hard drive so less tracks.

Spend the extra money on items that will improve the actual recording quality if you have a limited budget, why spend all that money on a mac and use the internal sound card (not the best) when a decent Audio interface, Pre amp, condenser microphone and studio monitors will make more of a difference to the recordings.

Try to stay clear of battery operated microphones the are not as good quality as phantom power only.

Edited June 22, 2009 by ironside1966

[niceguyhomer]

Thanks for all the advice guys - it's given me plenty to think about for sure. I'm going to have a good ponder while I'm away. If I do decide to go down this route, I'll have about a grand to spend and it needs to be fairly simple to use. If I have to spend weeks / months learning how to use anything, it won't happen - I'm too impatient.

See what happens but thanks again

[51m0n]

[quote name='ironside1966' post='520853' date='Jun 22 2009, 04:01 PM']PC are getting faster all the time, A few years ago you had a point about Mac vs PC but now with the latest processes the argument is e relevant. It is not a case of Mac for Pros and PC for amatures it is a personal preference, Laptops have a slower hard drive so less tracks.

Spend the extra money on items that will improve the actual recording quality if you have a limited budget, why spend all that money on a mac and use the internal sound card (not the best) when a decent Audio interface, Pre amp, condenser microphone and studio monitors will make more of a difference to the recordings.

Try to stay clear of battery operated microphones the are not as good quality as phantom power only.[/quote]

Firstly I'm not generally a Mac evangelist, but...

You are wrong.

Sorry, I've seen a £1600 specialty built PC running ProTools flounder where a G5 didnt. That was [b]this year[/b]!

It is not a personal preference.

It is not merely some speed issue - the platforms and thus hardware speeds are effectively the same.

It is not even a DAW issue, many are available on both platforms.

It is an OS design and implementation issue.

It is a fact that the code behind the Mac OS is based upon Unix (a BSD I think) and has inherently better algorithms for memory management, thread management and process management.

When you NEED a process to not be interrupted at kernel level then you better buy a Mac mate, cos a PC will always be hugely more likely to drop to the kernel and glitch your audio if you are running close to the machine's limit.

Not to mention the fact that Vista is ridiculously resource hungry, so you have to use a 10 year old OS to hope to keep up. Nice!

Unless you've compared two equally powerful machines one running MAC OS and one running Windows with the same DAW then you cant really comment. I have, and I know which I'd go for for high end recording.

The OP was talking about home recording, and in that case I think a PC will do fine.

[SteveO]

[quote name='clauster' post='520393' date='Jun 22 2009, 12:35 AM']That sytem freeze rate makes your PC 60 times less stable than my PPC Mac - One freeze in five years

Regarding the quality of the onboard soundcard - it's all comparative isn't it? With a very cheap A/D box and a couple of DIs, I get two channels of relatively noise free 16bit 48Khz recording with a latency in single figures and my mac only cost £599 - nothing wrong with that. Okay, it's not going to give me the results that a Protools HD rig in an accoustically treated environmet with decent monitoring would give me, but I doubt your system will either.[/quote]

That freeze rate of once a month is for my mac as well as the PC. One freeze in 5 years is good going for your PPC though, I don't think any of my macs have lasted that long. I just wish that it was as easy to recover from a system freeze on the mac as it is with the PC so that i don't loose any work in progress, but such is life with computers I suppose.

I must have my wires crossed, I thought you were saying that your onboard soundcard was up to the task. I didn't realise you had an A/D box. I'll blame it on tired eyes not reading your post properly and offer my apologies.

Ultimately though pc's and macs are essentially the same. They use the same processors, they run the same software (yes, i know some software isn't ported over from one platform to the other, but all the decent stuff is), they interface with the same hardware, they just have different OS's. I am a fan of the mac OS, I just wish they weren't so bloody expensive, I hate the feeling of being ripped off.

I suppose the real point is that I don't think it's worth investing loads of cash on a mac just for this task. If niceguyhomer has one then great, if not then he can get into the world of digital recording and mastering for £0-£50 using his PC rather than spending £600-£700 for a similar spec (i.e. entry level in the world of audio recording) Mac based system.

[WinterMute]

I [i]am[/i] an Apple evangelist, no question, however the Mac vs PC question has been a dead rubber for some time now.

The important thing to remember is that all recording software will do a good job, but great recordings start and end with good mics and pre-amps, if you have a shed load of cash by all means get a Mac, they are lovely machines to run Protools on (and obviously Logic etc.) and Garageband isn't half bad (it's not what it could be however, but that would dent Logic wouldn't it?)

If you're on a budget, I'd suggest a decent PC and spend the extra cash on good mics and a solid interface, the MOTU range is very good for instance.

Look at mics from SE and Sontronics before shelling out of Neumann and AKG.

Logic, Nuendo and Digital performer are all good MIDI programmers, and have great suites of synths and samplers, Protools is an audio recorder, editor and mixer first and foremost, however all can record and all can edit MIDI and run synths. Abelton Live is an interesting alternative.

Have a think about what you want to achieve and how you want to go about it, do you need lots of mics at once (MOTU 828 has 8 mic inputs for instance) or will a single or stereo input suffice.

Get the best mics and pre's you can afford, they will last a lot longer than any mac or PC. I have a set of mics that go back 20 years, I've seen 10 Macs off in that time easily.

Software and computers come and go, mics and good signal paths are eternal...

Edited June 23, 2009 by WinterMute

[escholl]

i think it's quite funny that everyone is going on about mac vs pc when it's really not going to matter for this application. garageband is likely the easiest but it's hardly worth the outlay of buying a mac just for that.

meanwhile there's been hardly a mention, or in some cases no mention, of the things that do matter -- room acoustics, microphones, interfaces (any decent interface will have preamps good enough for this application), monitors -- not to mention the thing which will matter most of all, knowing what you are doing! If you don't know how to use microphones properly or do any of numerous other things, or even if you do think you do know -- don't underestimate the importance of getting a few books on the subject!

[ironside1966]

Have a home built PC and a Mac book Pro, I make backing tracks so I use a lot of large sample library's including BFD into 14 separate tracks each with EQ compression and some with saturation plugins + Guitars bass maybe vocals I have also done live bands with up to 30 tracks both have been fine with plenty more in reserve. Why pay for power that I will never need as I have said both are up to a pro job I agree with one thing Pro tools runs better on Mac but Cubase runs better on PC

A good article on
[url="http://www.tweakheadz.com/Mac_vs_Pc_DAWS.htm"]http://www.tweakheadz.com/Mac_vs_Pc_DAWS.htm[/url]

As wintermute says Software and computers come and go, mics and good signal paths are eternal...

[wibble]

I think that there are a lot more plugins available for PC than for Mac, including free ones, so that's something to think about as well. It's worth remembering that an audio interface will work on practically any computer. Even Pro Tools, notorious for being picky about hardware compatibility, will probably work on any bog standard computer (i.e. cheap, Pentium 4 and above). However, you would be limited to recording on very few tracks but one way for you to dip your toes into the water might be to get an M Box (version 1) off eBay, and learn about hard disk recording. Also, if you get any piece of Digidesign hardware, you get Pro Tools software with it. I'm using a Pentium D with 4 meg ram, hardly cutting edge, and I can record big sessions - 40 tracks, plugins like BFD 2, Omnisphere, etc, and FX and EQ and it works (and crashes and stalls now and then) but having finite resources makes you make decisions, and that has to be better than constantly being unable to commit to anything!

I bought a dedicated music PC from Red Submarine - it's been great, and a lot cheaper than a Mac - the main thing is that the PC/Mac is a tool to creativity - don't get bogged down in a quest to have a bigger, faster one, etc, etc.

Another tip is to browse user forums - Digidesign User Conference is a good one - look and see what PC and Mac Pro Tool users moan about. Also, search out Mac user forums - suss out what their gripes are.

just my 2 cents