Buying a Mac mini for music

I'm buying a Mac mini in September - so I will have Snow Leopard - to use with the latest version of Logic and the latest version of Pro Tools and use for my college work and recording my band. I plan on using an M-Audio MobilePre USB, external hard drive and multitrack firewire interface for recording. Will I be able to use all of these devices simultaneously by using some kind of firewire hub without any noticable latency or driver/hardware problems? If it will not be as plug and play can somebody offer some kind of assistance? I am getting the 120GB model with a 2GB memory upgrade so I can get the maximum graphics memory as well. Thanks in advance.

I cannot answer your other questions, but I believe that you can confirm this with Apple, you can go ahead and make your purchase now and get a free copy of Snow Leopard when it is available. Apple has always had a free upgrade program for those who made recent purchases just before the upgrade release date.
Dah•veed

Similar Messages

Mac mini for music vs new soundcard

so i want to set up a home recording thang. mostly sequenced stuff, but with plenty of recording guitars, vocals, etc.
do i buy a creative labs audigy sound card, that's bundled with cubase and put it in my ageing PC (2.4ghz, 1gb ram, 80gb, dvdr) and hope it works well
..or do i splash out £500 on the mac mini with superdrive - safe in the knowledge it'll work great and have garageband, imovie hd, etc all ready to play with!
I do music and video mostly, really tempted to get a mac but when i write it down like that it seems foolish and costly.
I know this is a biased place to post, but what do you think? convince me it's worth the cost! i've still got to buy a microphone adaptor for the thing! for crying out loud!
also... how do i move my itunes library over onto the new mac? will the tracks i've bought from the store still work on the mac and my ipod?

ASIO and Core Audio just don't compare.
ASIO isn't in Windows, it's a third-party add-on. Windows XP wasn't designed to handle its specific purpose. Microsoft is just flat-out more interested in audio for gaming than they are for audio production.
Steinberg's Official ASIO driver isn't even being developed anymore. There hasn't been a new version since 2003 I believe.
Core Audio allows for multiple applications to access the same audio device. You can switch back and forth from Reason to Logic, etc. easily
Up to 30 channels (I believe) on Core Audio vs 18 on ASIO
Core Audio has Device Aggregation, that's even more channels
ASIO supports up to 96Khz sample rates, while Core Audio does 192Khz
Let's say you have multiple Macs, a fast network, and one device that you'd like to use without unplugging, etc. You can use Core Audio to send a receive MIDI signal through the network!
The list goes on. Core Audio is much better to work with than ASIO. Not to mention the great software available on the Mac.
Brian

Which Mac mini for home server, Aperture & HTPC

Hi,
I'm buying a Mac mini for:
- home / small business server
- Occasional HTPC usage (will be hooked to my TV via HDMI)
- Occasional Aperture / iPhoto usage (minimal iMovie)
Which one is most suitable for this?
I was planing to go for Server version (with bumped up RAM to 8GB), but now I read about video card and I'm not 100% anymore.
I will NOT use it for 3D - gaming or similar tasks!
Thak you all for help!
Vasja

I went for the non-server dual core i7 with AMD GPU and am very happy with it. Do quite a bit of Aperture work and it never misses a beat (so far). I'm not a fan of integrated Intel graphics and wouldn't trust it for HTPC duties.
I'm not sure how many/much of the 'server' functionality you're going to be using as it sounds more like file transfer and other tasks that could be accomplished through normal Lion.
Unless I'm missing something I assume the two hard drives in the Mini Server are just as much of a pain to replace as the one in the non-server Mini so I didn't see the point of having a two hard disc Mini.
For your requirements I would definitely look at how much of the server functionality you really need to utilise, and if the answer is 'not much' I'd recommend the i5 or i7 non-server Mini with AMD GPU and some sort of NAS, plus a sensible offsite backup plan for your data.

Mac mini for video / music production

hello!
i'm really into music and video, i currently do all my video work in premiere pro on the pc, and music is done in a combination of packages like reason, soundforge, etc.
i'm really tempted by the offer of a mac mini for a few hundred pounds complete with garageband, imovie, etc. plus i can always get final cut on there too.
I am serious about what i do and would want high quality results. what i'm asking is basically, consdiering the specs of the mac mini, (i'd have to go for the top of the range to get the dvd writer) will it be capable of performing well with video work and more importantly, will garageband let me do professional sounding sequencing and mixing?
or am i kidding myself that the mini is capable? because if the option is buying a G5, i'll use the cash to upgrade my windows pc instead. it's all about tools for the job for me, i've got no brand loyalty.
thanks for any advice / opinions!!
-the swan

There's no doubt that the mini CAN do what you want - it outperforms many Mac systems that have been sucessfully doing pro-level video and audio work for years. On the video side the system is very capable, and whether in iMovie or Final Cut, professional results are achievable. Indeed, being digital, there's no practical way to tell from the rsult whether it came off a mini or an old G3 iMac or a brand new G5 tower. The mini's only drawback is that rendering takes time. Less time than older systems, and more time than a G5 would. Some rendering (such as transitions or effects in iMovie) run in the background and don't prevent continuing work.
On the audio side, I'll leave that to people who have a better knowledge of the application than I do as a rather 8th-rate amateur!
As for the model you should buy, I would suggest NOT the $699 version with superdrive. I'd suggest you buy the $599 model, replace the 512Mb RAM with a 1Gb stick, and add an external burner. That way you would be getting enough memory to give the mini a solid performance in video work, and giving yourself the choice of DVD burner which not only would include possible dual layer devices (the superdrive is single) but also better burn speeds.

I am going to buy a mac mini i7 with 3 thunderbolt displays for forex trading. the question is if i use bootcamp and run windows on the mac mini will the displays still run the same way as if i was running it on Lion?

I am going to buy a mac mini i7 with 3 thunderbolt displays for forex trading. the question is if i use bootcamp and run windows on the mac mini will the displays still run the same way as if i was running it on Lion?

No idea if Windows will do it, but you can run Windows without Bootcamp & have OSX available at the same time, which should give you all the Monitors that OSX uses.
Parallels...
http://www.parallels.com/
VmWare Fusion...
http://www.vmware.com/mac

For a Macbook Air will I need to buy a mac mini to run additional programs like photoshop and games

As a graphic design student I wanted to own a laptop that was capable of running Adobe programs and games, but I bought a 2014 Macbook Air; 128GB of storage, 4GB of memory, and runs at 1.4 Ghz. With this information will I still be able to run programs with no problem or will I need to buy a Mac Mini to run all the programs and games that'll be too much for my Air.

Your MacBook Air has turbo boost up to 2.7GHz > http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/macbook-air?product=MD711LL/B&step=config
Check Adobe's website for minimum requirements for the apps and games you want to use.
Turbo boost is a technology integrated into Intel processors that temporarily increases the speed of the processor when needed.

Will I have OSX Server in my App Store if I buy a "Mac Mini with OSX Server"?

I am planning on buying Mac Mini for a Home Media Server, and I am curious if the OSX Server will be added to my account. Or do you think I would better get the same system configuration without the OSX Server, then buy it from the App Store? Is there going to be a difference between the two different processes.

It won't automatically be added to your account unless you supply your account details when you buy. But once you've received your server you can phone Apple Sales and give your details (including order number or server serial number) and they should add Server to your account for you.
What you actually get will be identical.

Can you use logic express on a mac mini for recording

Can i use logic exprees on a mac mini for recording? Ive seen alot of 8,12, and 16 track recorders with a cd burner and it seems like a logical and more productive gues for me to buy a macmini for the same thing of recording and then I can uses logic express, a far better program for recording. can the mac mini handle the load of processing tracks and how much ram should I uses? thanks tim

sorry, I'd like to butt in here:
I would like to do the same thing, so I am curious about this forum and rather than starting a new one, can I get some advice on this possibility:
Mac Mini
1.83GHz Intel Core Duo
2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
80GB Serial ATA drive
Glyph External HD 250 Gig
Mackie Onyx 1620 w/Firewire
Logic Pro 7.2
thoughts?
The most number of tracks I could see at once would be 16.
Here is something I am most curious about...
Firewire Hard drive
Firewire Interface/mixer
Firewire camera for FCP
to much firewire?
Please let me know if you have other thoughts aswell...
Shuke
thanks guys, this forum is fantastic!

Mac mini for a friend

hi
my mate really hates macs, and for know reason, he hasnt come in contact with them before, he just loves windows to much. So i have a plan, he listed all the software he will loose if he got a mac, these were these:
ms office
firefox
photoshop
studio MX
msn
so im thinking of buying a mac mini (wanted one for some time, for my dad) and lending it to him with all that software installed. let him use it for 2 weeks and then ask him what he thinks of macs.
my question is this:
will the software run very "fast" on a mini?
as you can see i have a imac G5 so im used to fast speeds, and ive never actaully used a mini, so i dont know how they preform. Its just i dont want to lend him a computer which makes apple / macs look bad because there not as fast as his wintel machines.

I must say, a month ago i was a windows boffin, but since i got a mac, i havnt used windows much. Today i fixed my brothers laptop which had 27 viruses, hes only had that a week . And i kept finding that i would go to the wrong side of the screen to minimise because im used to mac.
I also used to take pride in the fact that i can programme, but i really cant think of anything to programme on my mac, i feel like everything i need, i have already which is just great
2 years ago, i hated macs, never used one but as soon as i head they didnt have a "right click" i thought they were stupid, but after spending hours in the schools recording studio, i learnt how to use the OS, ever since kept asking my parents for a mac, but they said know, so i got a job and now i own well. . . you can see, and im very glad ive stoped with windows.
I dont see how people can like it, many of my friends love it and say they would never use mac os. I do think that if steve himself turned up at there houses with a copy of Mac OS tiger and said "you can have this for you computers, but you must uninstall windows" they would jump to it and format there hard disks without a second thought.
I just hope that my mate ben will like a mini, i guess i could let him use my G5 but i feel likes its my baby, im very protective, i check for updates everyday, i clean it alot and i just look after it, i would be heart broken if it had a scratch or worse, didnt boot up.

I'm looking to buy a Mac mini, has the tv connection issue been totally fixed yet?

As above. I'm looking to buy a Mac mini 2.6 i7 fusion drive and want to connect it to my Panasonic viera HDTV. (27") read a lot about People having issues connecting to a HDTV. My tv only has 2 hdmi ports, no dvi VGA etc. if it hasn't been fixed I'm going to have to purchase a Smaller monitor due to lack of space!
Thanks in advance.

That has helped/worked for about 96% f the people.

Should I buy I Mac mini?

I want to connect my computer (my only computer-macbook) to my TV LCD HD1080p 120hz. I know I can do this with HDMI cable (but may need HDMI to DVI to mini DVI connectors to connect tv to laptop - not sure). My laptop is working wirelessly with DSL modem using high speed DSL to connect to internet. I have an airport extreme base station that is not currently attached to anything.
I'm considering buying the mac mini to connect TV to internet instead of HDMI cables. I have very limited amount of space by my TV. I only have a cheap portable DVD player attached--no other equipment. Any thoughts? I also need a way to backup computer (time capsule maybe).

MacMystie wrote:
Could you elaborate on connecting external drive to mac mini to back-up.
if you get an external HD (USB or firewire), just plug it into your Mac - time machine (TM) will ask you if you want to use this drive for backups.
see _*Time Machine 101*_ for information.
Which would do the backing up the mac mini or the external drive?
TM will back up the entire contents of your startup disk to the backup drive, unless you specify items to be excluded from backups.
see the _*Time Machine FAQ*_ user tip.
Would that be cheaper than time capsule
probably. of course, a time capsule (TC) is very convenient if you have e.g. a portable computer because you can back up wirelessly to it. the TC is also a wireless router (more precisely, a wireless router with a built-in hard drive).
however, all drives will fail eventually. there4, many users make bootable clones of their startup disks using e.g. _*Carbon Copy Cloner*_ in addition to TM backups.
JGG
edited by the Jolly Green Giant (where Green stands for environmentally friendly)

Using Mac mini for storage

Hello Folks,
Quick question: can I use the mac mini for storage only? I have loads of movies, music and tv shows that I want to store.
How would this work if at all possible?
Alternative advice on EHD that I should rather use?
Thanks!
JDT

Yes, and target disk mode, or firewire over IP or setting it up as a file server are all possibilities. But given there are faster more capacious hard drives for less, I would get that instead unless there is some feature of the Mac Mini that a simple hard drive can't do that you need. I.e. Front Row, Media Central or other software can be used to see your data on a TV. An external hard drive attached to your desktop Mac together with an AppleTV can do the same thing but the media formats are more limited.

Using iMac6,1 Intel Core 2 Duo with Mac mini for Mavericks?

Hello,
I am using iMac6,1 (white) Intel Core 2 Duo which works perfectlly fine and I hope to keep using this machine as long as I can.
I've learned, however, that OS Mavericks does not run on my iMac6,1 and Apple will no longer support it.
I am very attached to this machine and am not ready to face a new iMac display with a bold black frame...I just don't find it very attractive.
So I came up with an idea to buy a Mac mini and use my white iMac as a display.
Does this idea work?
I know nothing about computer so please laugh if I am being silly.
Now here's the specs of my beautiful white iMac if it helps;
Model Name:
iMac
Model Identifier:
iMac6,1
Processor Name:
Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed:
2.33 GHz
Number Of Processors:
1
Total Number Of Cores:
2
L2 Cache:
4 MB
Memory:
2 GB
Bus Speed:
667 MHz
Boot ROM Version:
IM61.0093.B07
SMC Version (system):
1.10f
I recall having added memory and replaced a graphic board at a local Apple Store five years ago but I am not sure if it's shown here.
Thank you everyone always for this awesome communities.

I am very attached to this machine and am not ready to face a new iMac display with a bold black frame...I just don't find it very attractive.
So I came up with an idea to buy a Mac mini and use my white iMac as a display.
Does this idea work?
I know nothing about computer so please laugh if I am being silly.
No, however there is an app you can try if you want. It's called ScreenRecycler

Mac Mini for editing uncompressed full HD videos?

I'm thinking about buying the Mac Mini, but I don't know if it's capable or even powerful enough to edit uncompressed full HD videos. I'm looking to buy the i7 quad-core model. While upgrading the RAM myself. Or, is the i5 dual-core more than enough to edit uncompressed HD video, as well? If not, should I get the least expensive, 21.5-inch iMac instead? I will be using Final Cut Pro X to edit. Oh, and they're game play footage. Nothing like RED, which will need to have a super computer to edit.

The Mini doesn't have a real Video card, just Intel HD4000, but should work fine for "light" editing fine with the i7.
Looks like you'll not get any GPU acceration with Premiere Pro...
http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/system-requirements-premiere-p ro.html

Using Mac-Mini for movie / TV entertainment center

Hi all,
Can someone steer me into right direction? I'd like to use my MacMini as my main entertainment center to view my movies, music,TV, etc. and would like to know what will I need to make viewing pleasurable? I'd like to get a 42" display. I'd also like to add 5.1 digital surround sound. I'll also be using my Mac mini for web surfing and emails. Thanks for your help
Web dude

I just finished my setup, and I'm quite satisfied. I bought a Mac Mini to use as the media center and bought the Elgato EyeTV 250+ to get digital television over the antenna, which also allows you to use your mac as a DVR. I send the video to a Sony projector via DVI to HDMI cable, and the audio goes to my old surround sound receiver via the headphone jack to RCA. If you don't have a receiver yet, I'd get one that has optical audio input since the headphone jack on the mini also has optical out. I also use a firewire external hard drive to store video.
I continue to use my DVD player to play DVD's instead of the mini, simply because if there are any scratches (especially on rentals) the mini doesn't work through them as well as my DVD player. I plan on ripping my collection to the external drive so that I don't have to deal with disks at all though.
For the keyboard and mouse, I got the logitech dinovo mini keyboard because it has a trackpad integrated in the keyboard. While some of the buttons lack functionality, I will probably use ControllerMate to program them as well as difficult keyboard shortcuts. The other nice thing is if you have a "learning" programable remote because you can program it with the apple remote signal as well as the EyeTV remote and reduce the amount of clutter on the couch.

Buying a Mac mini for music

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for