Mac for music studio use

I run a mac dual2Ghz for use in my production companies studio.
I'm going to be upgrading to an intel mac pro... I usually get a top of the line mac so it lasts a number of years. Looking at the macs available at the moment though will I really benefit from the extra power the 3.2Ghz gives over the 2.8Ghz?
I intend to be running large sample libraries (200gig) and running audio applications.
Any help would be appreciated.
Mike
www.manikemusic.com

From a purely mixing point of view my current 2Ghz mac is fine, it's more the large sample libraries I'm worried.
I need to be able to load a hefty amount of samples and keep the buffers down so I don't get too much latency.

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Using PC for Podcasts & Mac for music

Hi, I have an ipod 30 - love it.
I'd like to use my mac for music updates and PC for podcasts.
WHY would I want to do this?
1. My mac is a G3 10.2.8 and it rejects the majority of video podcasts - my local mac shop says "yes, that is common."
2. I like having my music on the MAC as it is portable - the PC is a desktop. (plus the mac looks cool in the loungeroom.)
So I formatted my ipod for PC - uploaded all my PC podcasts (successfully) and then moved to my mac to get my music (successfully).
PROBLEM
When I go back to my PC to get Podcast updates, it asks if it can wipe all my music. i can't find the option to just update podcasts.
Any thoughts?
ipod 30 - G3 mac Mac OS X (10.2.x)

Surprise Surprise . It worked!
I simply re visited the same process (see above)
and it worked.
TIPS: When Windows asks to be the Music library, say NO - it will then up date your podcasts.
NOTE: when you update your music on the MAC, it will wipe your podcasts - simply return to the PC and upload podcasts.
cheers,
J laz
Mac OS X (10.2.x)

Ipod - using Mac for music & PC for podcasts

Hi, I have an ipod 30 - love it.
I'd like to use my mac for music updates and PC for podcasts.
WHY would I want to do this?
1. My mac is a G3 10.2.8 and it rejects the majority of video podcasts - my local mac shop says "yes, that is common."
2. I like having my music on the MAC as it is portable - the PC is a desktop. (plus the mac looks cool in the loungeroom.)
So I formatted my ipod for PC - uploaded all my PC podcasts (successfully) and then moved to my mac to get my music (successfully).
PROBLEM
When I go back to my PC to get Podcast updates, it asks if it can wipe all my music. i can't find the option to just update podcasts.
Any thoughts?
ipod 30 - G3 mac Mac OS X (10.2.x)

Surprise Surprise . It worked!
I simply re visited the same process (see above)
and it worked.
TIPS: When Windows asks to be the Music library, say NO - it will then up date your podcasts.
NOTE: when you update your music on the MAC, it will wipe your podcasts - simply return to the PC and upload podcasts.
cheers,
J laz
Mac OS X (10.2.x)

Best Mac for music production

So i decided to get a Mac finally,
but i'm not sure which one...
i will use it only for DJ'ing (using Traktor / Abelton) and producing electronic music (using Cubase)
i suppose i need at least 8GB for this,and a SSD flash drive,
but i'm not sure which processor i need..
what do you think?
and would you recommend upgrading immediately to 16BG ?
thanks for the help

It is always recommended that you max out your RAM if you can afford it. Purchasing RAM from Apple is expensive. It's best to purchase from a 3rd party vendor that has lifetime warranties on their RAM.
As for your other concerns, go to your local AS and play around w/the Macs you are interested in. Bug the sales staff w/all of your questions & concerns. They will be more than happy to assist you.

I need a heat tollerant Mac for my studio

I need a really good mac for my new music studio (to run Logic on). My ancient Mac is a G4 Platinum.
I live in South Australia, and just like New Mexico it get very hot here in the summer. You can expect it to average 38C to 45C for a lot of the hottest part of summer and I know that a lot of computers can't take the heat. We have a pile of dead laptops that attest to that.
If all I wanted was a PC laptop I'd go get a dell M4700 as it is MIL-STD-810G 3rd part tested & compliant to deal with high temperatures, but I need a Mac for this purpose (PC's suck at smooth audio/video).
Although I would prefer a new one, if the best answer is an older model with a different case (and perhaps water cooling) I will deal with it. computer producers seem to want everyone to live inside of an air-conditioned space where the temp is pushed down under 80F. There are a lot of consumer grade laptops that hit 50C just rfom burning a DVD, but are definitely not rated to that temp.
If there was a way to put water cooling on the new Mac Pro (without violating the warranty) that would be my anwser. It really bothers me that

Laptops... waiting for the next die shrink from Intel that will deal with heat better and not need fan.
Broadwell for mobil, but Intel has its IDF conference coming in next week with new generation of Xeon too (though don't hold your breath as to if they will find their way into Mac Pro workstation in early 2015 as can happen as in 2008 and again in 2009 with previous chips)
the Mac Pro is not a laptop. It is a cylinder and it probably is quiet and able to keep it self cool very well - but no system can run cooler than ambient temperature unless it is water-cooled perhaps. Just not the PowerMac G5s! no way. Heat, noise, old and half of liquid cooling units failed. H100 unit in a PC?

Is it possible to sync an iPhone to one mac for music only and another mac for everything else? What about shared iPhoto?

I'm trying to figure out the best way to manage my iphone and that of my wife.
Our set up is that we share music that is on my imac under my apple store id. We also like to have all of our photos in iphoto on that imac.
She has her own macbook and I'd like to use icloud to sink her personal bookmarks, calendar and other stuff.
I've thought about seeing if I could set her phone up to sync with icloud as appropriate, turn on wireless sync on her imac for syncing everything but music, then sync that same iphone on the imact but just sync music.
I've tried to point her macbook to my imac itunes library and that doesn't seem to be working very well.
The other wrinkle is that she is taking photos on her iphone that I'd like to show up in our shared iphoto library and photo stream. Currently we have our individual icloud apple ids so we may sync our own bookmarks and such and we use a separate "store" id for music and apps and such. I'm not sure I see a way for me to merge iphotos into a shared library/stream?
1. Any thoughts on the best way to manage two iphones, each with their own computer, but a shared music library?
2. Any thoughts on the best way to merge iphoto?
I've been experimenting with setups and I have a feeling folks with more experience have probably worked this out better than the way I'm thinking of doing.
Thanks.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to manage my iphone and that of my wife.
Our set up is that we share music that is on my imac under my apple store id. We also like to have all of our photos in iphoto on that imac.
She has her own macbook and I'd like to use icloud to sink her personal bookmarks, calendar and other stuff.
I've thought about seeing if I could set her phone up to sync with icloud as appropriate, turn on wireless sync on her imac for syncing everything but music, then sync that same iphone on the imact but just sync music.
I've tried to point her macbook to my imac itunes library and that doesn't seem to be working very well.
The other wrinkle is that she is taking photos on her iphone that I'd like to show up in our shared iphoto library and photo stream. Currently we have our individual icloud apple ids so we may sync our own bookmarks and such and we use a separate "store" id for music and apps and such. I'm not sure I see a way for me to merge iphotos into a shared library/stream?
1. Any thoughts on the best way to manage two iphones, each with their own computer, but a shared music library?
2. Any thoughts on the best way to merge iphoto?
I've been experimenting with setups and I have a feeling folks with more experience have probably worked this out better than the way I'm thinking of doing.
Thanks.

Which Intel Mac for Music Recording, Please?

Hi--
I'm brand new here. I'm a music professional who is in the middle of switching my recording setup toan Intel Mac-based studio, running either Logic Pro or Digital Performer (once it's ready for Intel Macs, that is).
I've got an indie filmscoring job coming up--my second. The first was done without a computer--never again!
I require some meqasure of portability--I'll be travelling between San Diego and central Mexico a few times throughout the process, either driving or occasionally flying.
So last week I ordered a MacBook Pro 17" notebook with a 2.16 Ghz processor, a 100 gig, 7200 rpm drive and 2 gigs of RAM. I have been assured by friends and contascts in the filmscoring word that this is enough horsepower to run the applications I'll need to run (mostly the recording and sequencing software, plus Quick Time).
However...I just bought my wife a 17" Intel iMac. Whoa. What a cool machine! Looking at the specs, I see it has a 1.83 Ghz dual processor, a 160 gig drive (don't know the speed offhand) and while it only comes with 512 mb of RAM I know it's upgradable to at least 2 gigs, right?
So my question is this: is the performance going to be higher on a suped-up iMac than the suped-up MacBookPro? Does anyone have an educated guess about this? The notebook has a faster processor, but...it is a laptop with a laptop drive, which are typically not as fast as a desktop drive from what I understand.
Many thanks!
Doug

If I may wade in--
Strictly speaking from a travel/immigration perspective, you are less likely to have trouble with Mexican Customs with the MacBook Pro than with the iMac 17" or 20". The immigration laws allow foreigners to enter with a personal portable computer duty free. Something as large as an iMac is possibly tempting to a corrupt official, whether they are eying it for themself or as a opportunity to pocket a chunk of change to allow you to bring it in. We have a presidential election in July, and I have noticed the old corruption creeping back in at the borders and internal customs check points that existed pre-Vicente Fox. Corrupt agents going back to the good-old-days, when it was common to supplement one's monthly salary any way one could. Do yourself a favor and go powerful, and yet less conspicuous.

PowerMac G5 1.6 ghz upgrade for music studio

Hello!
I have recently acquired a friend's old Powermac G5 1.6ghz and am hoping to bring it up to speed, as this computer is now almost 8 years old. Still runs fine... miraculous. This will be a new tool for my remedial recording studio, and as such, I don't want to spend too much to get this thing into shape.
First step, I do now this much, is to upgrade memory. The machine is currently running two 512mb, and has two empty slots to fill. I was thinking two 1gb ram cards would do just fine, bringing the total to 3gb, which is plenty for my needs.
So first questions...do apple computers require a certain memory card?
Is there any reason I should spend more for this http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/2700DDR2GBP/, as opposed to this http://cgi.ebay.com/PC2700-1GB-DDR-SDRAM-1-GB-PC-
2700-DDR333-1G-RAM-184-pin_
W0QQitemZ280359045930QQcategoryZ44936QQcmdZViewItemQQ_
trksidZp4340.m8QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DMW%26its%3DC%
26itu%3DUCC%26otn%3D5%26ps%3D63%26clkid%
3D5961475680032559290#ht3214wt702
Is there a distinction?
Second. The computer is currently running on OSX 10.4.11. A software upgrade is in order once I get the thing connected to the internet, BUT, is there a good reason to upgrade to OSX 10.5? I am currently typing on a Powerbook G4 running 10.5, and it works great, but I'm wondering if there's any reason to run an older machine with an OS, or if it even makes a difference.
That is it for now. I do appreciate the help, I know these may be elementary questions, but I got to start somewhere.
Thank you!
Best, K

Hi K, how did you start this topiv... seems to run off mt 1280 wide screen!?
No telling on the RAM other than the OWC will work, many generic/PC modules will not work in Macs if High Density or aren't all that great on JDEC compliance.
I was thinking two 1gb ram cards would do just fine, bringing the total to 3gb, which is plenty for my needs.
But not for OSX's needs, especially if going to 10.5.
BUT, is there a good reason to upgrade to OSX 10.5?
Catch 22, 10.5 seems to use multiple CPUs better than 10.4, but requires twice the Disk Space, twice the RAM to mention just a few.
If Security is an issue, then 10.5 is the choice,

Archive Web Page for Off Line Use

Hi all,
I'm currently enrolled in an online music program where I have to review/study web pages for my course instruction. These pages contain standard HTML text, graphics, mp3s, multiple flash applications and quite often embedded quick time movies. To date to back these pages up I have physically printed each page and then discretely downloaded and saved all mp3s, flashes, and quick time movies. However, as I'm sure you can guess, this leads to a very disjointed "archive" of paper product, separate quick time movies, and flash applications. So here's the question:
Is anyone aware of an archive utility that will save a web page like above in it's entirety onto my mac for off line use? I have seen a few web archive tools like I'm looking for, but all appear to be for Windows or older versions of mac OS. So any direction would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Rick.

Hi
Welcome to Apple Discussions
Give this utility a try. The way this works. After you install the app. in your Applications folder, open it. A panel appears.
Then go back to Safari. Open the web page you want to archive. File>Save As. When the panel opens make sure the drop down menu is set to "Web Archive". Then go to the location where you saved that page. Move the web archive file onto the Utility's panel. This will create a folder with the various web components for that web site.
Also, either update your tag to your current version of OS X Leopard, or if 10.5.2 is correct, consider upgrading to 10.5.5 via Software Update.
Message was edited by: Hawaiian_Starman

Which is better MBPr for music production? 8gb or 16gb

Hi everyone:
I am seeking suggestions here from fellow music artists/ DJs and tech wizards to help me make the "right" decision in where to invest my money.
I don't know wether to buy the base model MBPr 15inch with 2.0Ghz Quad Core i7, 8gb ram and 256 flash drive. I am a musician and this laptop will solve two purposes
1) Usual everyday Microsoft Office kinda stuff and web surfing and
2) More importantly for Music production using Logic Pro X, Ableton 9 using KONTAKT and Omnisphere along with Reason Rewire for loops.
THEREFORE, now I am second guessing my purchase on two aspects -->
1) Is the 8GB enough to run, say a typical setup of Ableton along with 2-3 vsts softwares, would these specs on the MBPr last about 3-5 years?
2) Is the 256 GB SSD going to be an issue with file sizes? I mean like I can always transfer stuff to an external drive and keep creating space but then its almost like having a McLaren SLR and running it constantly on EMPTY and getting gas filled in it every 2 miles. Idk....
Any advise, nudge in the right direction, suggestions, recommendations would be much appreciated. . Is 8gb of ram enough? I am more on the 8gb ram side because of money issue also the place I am buying is offering 10% discount (cannot configure with the specs) I want to be happy with my purchase, but I don't want to be 2 years down the road kicking myself for not having gone with the 16GB and bigger SSD.
Which is a notable problem with the rMBPs and their lack of upgradability.

Hi whopkins85
Well I ended up going with the 16GB Retina MBP. For the simple reason that the 8GB would've seen me constantly second guess my decision. Plus I wanted to "future proof" myself as best as I could knowing that these babies cannot be 'upgraded' with additional ram at a later date due the whole soldered RAM issue. So yeah I shelled out some extra money, bought my rMBP from B&H in NYC through their webstore and saved a ton on not having to pay sales tax since I am not a resident of NY state.
Another thing I'd like to recommend to you is that if you plan on running a number of VSTs or AUs with your DAW especially of the nature of heavy sound libraries such as Spectrasonics Omnisphere or KOMPLETE then I would highly highly recommend purchasing a Lacie 2 or 3TB 7200 RPM external drive. I wish I had known this earlier but an incredibly efficient (and correct) way to run DAW with sound libraries to load your VSTs on an external drive which is either a fast SSD or at least a 7200 RPM. This way your system drive doesn't get overloaded reading and writing at the same time between multiple programs running in parallel. Once your system drive runs the DAW and the system accesses the sound libraries through and external drive, it makes for a much more efficiently managed read/write process.
I hope this helps. My mantra for technology is, when in doubt go with max specs on a machine.
Thanks for your post

Need help finding the best Mac for gf

hi I need help finding the best desktop. I am looking to buy MAC for gf.
she uses final cut program question is does the GB/RAM/STORAGE matter on performance?
She has a 2009 Apple computer I want to upgrade her to a new one
I Dont know much when it comes to specs. She edits tons of videos and pictures.
what's recommended for a video/photo editor that's good in performance ?

Pro consumer might go with iMac even.
Final Cut Pro latest benefits from dual AMD graphics.
Video is one animal, graphics a much different.
Great site full of performance, buying and configuration ideas:
MacPerformance Go to the main topics
I think you need to get clear on budgets. start with mid range and add all the options and can spend $4,000 or $7,000.
Go to the Mac Store and do some looking and Google for reviews of software, hardware of course.
Barefeats
Rumors Pro
Visit the forum for FCP-X would be a place to start.
Final Cut Pro X

I am considering purchasing the Mac mini for home studio audio production using Adobe Audition and a USB microphone. Will the base mini model run these programs?

I am considering purchasing the Mac mini for home studio audio production using Adobe Audition and a USB microphone. Will the base mini model run these programs?

The base mini has 4GB and a 5400 RPM hard drive. It is slow to start up and slow to launch large application such as Word (and I'd assume Adobe Audition) due to the slow drive. I've not used a new 4GB model, just the 8GB model, and the 8GB model (except for the slow drive) handles everything I've thrown at it, including running Photoshop, Word, Safari, and Mail at the same time but there is sometimes a delay switching between programs as the swapfile is updated. Overall I was not happy with the 5400 RPM drive (perhaps because I have MBA and iMac with Fusion drive) so I eventually upgraded it with an SSD. Now the mini is truly a warrior.

I installed an airport express, on my mac book i can use the airplay using iTunes, but on my iPhone en ipad the icon for airplay not appears on the screan when i start the music player.

I installed an airport express, on my mac book i can use the airplay using iTunes, but on my iPhone en ipad the icon for airplay not appears on the screan when i start the music player.

Chances are, you have already tried this and already know the answer.
But, if not....sorry, but no......since your printer is not AirPrint compatible, you must use the extra software workaround in the Mac.
A newer AirPrint printer would allow you to do what you want.

Which Mac is best for music purposes? I want to mix music recorded from MIDI and live sound, and also want to use Sibelius to play music in. I'm looking at MacBook Pros; any tips? 13" or 15"?

Which Mac is best for music purposes? I want to mix music recorded from MIDI and live sound, and also want to use Sibelius to play music in. I'm looking at MacBook Pros; any tips? 13" or 15"?

I would think a 15" with the i7 CPU. You can get a 13" with the i7 CPU but the 15" has a dedicated graphic chip along with the intergrated one.
You will also need to upgrade the hard drive to a faster 7200RPM model instead of the standard 5400RPM model that comes with all MBPs. The Sibelius website recommends the 7200RPM or a SSD. You will also be better off installing 8GBs of RAM.
Both of those upgrades can be made after you buy a MBP for much less then Apple charges for the same upgrades and you get to keep the original RAM and hard drive.

When using office for mac or i studio after inserting several pictures, my computer locks up and the only way I can fix it is to do a force quit. Why does it do this and how I I get it fixed without a force quit?

I have a mac book, with office for mac and iStudio installed. When I try to create a document using either one of these; after inserting several photos, the computer locks up and the only way I can get it to unlock is to do a force quit. Why does it do this, and how can I get it to unlock without having to do a force quit?

Are you using versions of the software that are compatible with the version of OS X you have installed? Very often such lockups are caused by application incompatibility.
The problem may also come from trying to use both sets of applications at the same time while not having enough RAM installed. Adding more RAM may fix the problem.
The problem can arise from corrupted support files such as preference files or Application Support files or corrupted cache files.
The image files you are using may also be corrupt thus causing the problem.
You might start with:
Kappy's Personal Suggestions for OS X Maintenance
For disk repairs use Disk Utility. For situations DU cannot handle the best third-party utilities are: Disk Warrior; DW only fixes problems with the disk directory, but most disk problems are caused by directory corruption; Disk Warrior 4.x is now Intel Mac compatible. TechTool Pro provides additional repair options including file repair and recovery, system diagnostics, and disk defragmentation. TechTool Pro 4.5.1 or higher are Intel Mac compatible; Drive Genius is similar to TechTool Pro in terms of the various repair services provided. Versions 1.5.1 or later are Intel Mac compatible.
OS X performs certain maintenance functions that are scheduled to occur on a daily, weekly, or monthly period. The maintenance scripts run in the early AM only if the computer is turned on 24/7 (no sleep.) If this isn't the case, then an excellent solution is to download and install a shareware utility such as Macaroni, JAW PseudoAnacron, or Anacron that will automate the maintenance activity regardless of whether the computer is turned off or asleep. Dependence upon third-party utilities to run the periodic maintenance scripts had been significantly reduced in Tiger and Leopard. These utilities have limited or no functionality with Snow Leopard or Lion and should not be installed.
OS X automatically defragments files less than 20 MBs in size, so unless you have a disk full of very large files there's little need for defragmenting the hard drive. As for virus protection there are few if any such animals affecting OS X. You can protect the computer easily using the freeware Open Source virus protection software ClamXAV. Personally I would avoid most commercial anti-virus software because of their potential for causing problems.
I would also recommend downloading the shareware utility TinkerTool System that you can use for periodic maintenance such as removing old log files and archives, clearing caches, etc. Other utilities are also available such as Onyx, Lion Cache Cleaner, CockTail, for example.
For emergency repairs install the freeware utility Applejack. If you cannot start up in OS X, you may be able to start in single-user mode from which you can run Applejack to do a whole set of repair and maintenance routines from the commandline. Note that AppleJack 1.5 is required for Leopard. AppleJack 1.6 is compatible with Snow Leopard. There is no confirmation that this version also works with Lion.
When you install any new system software or updates be sure to repair the hard drive and permissions beforehand. I also recommend booting into safe mode before doing system software updates.
Get an external Firewire drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
Backuplist
Carbon Copy Cloner
Data Backup
Deja Vu
iBackup
JaBack
Silver Keeper
MimMac
Retrospect
Super Flexible File Synchronizer
SuperDuper!
Synchronize Pro! X
SyncTwoFolders
Synk Pro
Synk Standard
Tri-Backup
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQs on maintenance, optimization, virus protection, and backup and restore.
Additional suggestions will be found in Mac Maintenance Quick Assist.
Referenced software can be found at CNet Downloads or MacUpdate.

Mac for music studio use

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