IMac Optimization for Audio Recording

Good Afternoon iMac Community,
I recently made the switch to the new intel based iMac and tried my best to load it up in preparation for doing some intensive audio processing. Specs of my Imac are 2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo, 4GB RAM, and 320 HD. Was wondering if anyone had any links or sugestions that could help with optimizing my iMac for audio recording? Maybe things like disabling the internet capability and or losing all the internal sounds and etc.
When I am running Logic and Reason together I hear a skip when the loop comes back around and it is all off beat. My DAW audio interface is a Tascam FW1884 and is fairly decent when it comes to latency. I may need to adjust the latency parameters a bit though. Any information would be helpful.
Thanks

Hi and welcome to Apple Discussions.
Disabling the internet capability and concerning yourself with the built in sounds will make no noticeable difference. I have been running audio on Macs since the very first version of Cubase VST on a PowerMac 7100, and those things haven't got in the way.
Optimizing your system for audio would for me include an external drive with a Firewire800 connection (assuming you have one if it's newish!) for the majority of your recording. Seriously reduces system disk fragmentation. I would (and did) get a de-fragmentation program. I use iDefrag. It is very thorough, although not super fast.
http://www.coriolis-systems.com/iDefrag.php
As for your problem with Logic and Reason, I would try the Logic forum with details of which version of Logic and Reason etc. Your fine Tascam interface will not be responsible for the loop problems. It is the 'communication' between Logic and Reason. I don't and haven't used Reason (not my bag) so can't help you as much as maybe others.
Karn.

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I'd work off of another hard drive as much as possible. Install the applications to your boot drive, but keep your data on a separate external hard drive. If you try to run OS, apps and big audio data off of that 5400, I foresee performance issues even with 16GB of RAM. Also, don't forget a second external hard drive for your backups.

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Mac Mini for audio recording???

Hello,
My name is Gavin Brinck. I have been fishing in the pc market for about 6 months. I just bought a BEAST of a PC with all the parts. I assembled everything, and seemingly the motherboard is fried. That's another story.
I am looking into the mac mini, seeing as I have a nice HDTV + HDMI cable as well as a wireless Logitech keyboard and mouse bundle to use with it. I am intyerested in audio recroding, mostly guitar, vocals, and hopefully MIDI controlling in the future. I like the idea that the mac mini can be a very portable device.
I will be using it to write, record music, play Starcraft 2 HOTS as well as surf, research, and continue to learn. I am on a budget and am looking into my options.
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all the best.
-Gavin Brinck

In addition to BDAqua:
You will probably want to purchase and use an external "sound card" or DAC via USB or FireWire to get decent audio quality from external sources into the Mac.
Audacity is sort of an 'industry standard', but not for complex recording purposes as I read in (and in between) your lines. Free on bord with a new Mac will be Garageband. Once you've got your head around it, you'll love it.
Gaming - I have no clue, but don't expect the lower-end models of Macs ideal for heavy gaming... even the higher-end versions can lack, depending on the games. Check around here and elsewhere, there are gazillions of gamer forums.
Budget & portability: Keep in mind that for a Mini you'll need an external screen, and if that's supposed to be your TV, make sure it accepts data (PC or Mac) signals on HDMI. Or has DVI as well. Otherwise disappointment - not due to Apple!
Eventually take a look at MacBook Pros, they are portable, do come with a screen, and can do more than an Air - depending on model.

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You might look here and see if any of these tutorials help:
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Greetings! You don't say what audio hardware you have. If you have nothing other than your standard inputs on the MacBook, then you can't have more than two inputs. If you have a multi-input audio interface then it sounds as if it's not connected properly. Check:
Audio > Audio Hardware and Drivers
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I would recommend any entry level iMac, particularly if you are the type of individual that likes to upgrade every 2-3 years. I think even an entry level refurbished iMac would be fine for your needs. For your needs unless you're making your living making music there really isn't a major reason to go with anything more robust. However if you like to keep machines longer and you want to future proof your machine a bit then take a look at the i5 or i7 machines. What you're going to be doing isn't really that taxing, I'd save my money and use it for software and any new peripherals you may want or need like external drives, music keyboards, etc..
My rational is musicians have been using far less powerful Macs for creating music for quite awhile. Having the extra power is a luxury, what really matters though is do you really need it or not.
I would recommend you purchase AppleCare though, it's a modest cost and protects your new iMac for 3 years, yes even an Apple refurbished machine.
Prior to making the change I'd also recommend you go over these site if you haven't already:
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/
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Me again Today I had a string recording session so I was able to try the replace mode in practise. Even though it seems to do the same as what I was looking for there is one big difference which makes this method useless. If the take is not good I'm used to pressing the record again so it deletes the previous take and starts a new one immediately. If there are regions in the same track Logic asks (in replace mode) if you want to keep or delete the files. This is really annoying since I just want to rerecord the part and not delete other takes. Is there still something I'm missing? Oh I wish you could just record two takes partially over each other, I think it's not good policy to force people change their working methods and not give an alternative... I'm sure I'm not the only one that can't get the same things done using the take folder.

Quiet HDD for Audio Recording on T61

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T61 SSD replacement
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Z.
The large print: please read the Community Participation Rules before posting. Include as much information as possible: model, machine type, operating system, and a descriptive subject line. Do not include personal information: serial number, telephone number, email address, etc. The fine print: I do not work for, nor do I speak for Lenovo. Unsolicited private messages will be ignored. ... GeezBlog
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App for audio recording on ipad that doesn't have the red status bar.

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Realtime kernel for audio recording

I have an old laptop I'm trying to record music with. I tried using the standard arch kernel with minimal daemons and a lightweight desktop. I still get glitching/ skips in my recordings and lots in playback. As i understand it, a realtime kernel is the solution to this. I know AUR has a realtime kernel, but after reading the 'realtime for users' archwiki article i'm not sure what I need to do to actual cause the audio processes be given a higher priority. I'm using ardour with jack and lsdpa plugins. If anyone has ideas or insights i would appreciate them! Thanks
Last edited by empthollow (2010-05-17 06:29:42)

empthollow wrote:I did install one, but couldn't tell what it was doing and didn't know enough about it to know if I had it set correctly. Durring an upgrade it somehow got uninstalled and a normal kernel was installed. I figured I'd see if it work and, well, it didn't. Thanks for clearing that up, I'll try installing a realtime kernel again and editing limits.conf.
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As Allan said, archaudio provides an RT kernel. But if you don't know what I was talking about in the previous line you'd still need to find out, they don't do automatic GRUB editing for you I think.
EDIT: nor should they....
Last edited by ngoonee (2010-05-15 06:13:58)

IMac Optimization for Audio Recording

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