Mac Mini for audio recording using LOGIC X

Has anyone had experience using the latest Mac mini for audio recording? I'm thinking of purchasing the 2.6GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x8GB 1TB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm model. I'll be using Logic X along with Reasons, Wave, UA plugins with a Apollo I/O I'd appreciate any feedback and or suggestions.

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.
Is audacity(free music recording software) decent? Do I really need 8 GB of RAM? In the future I will probably get an external harddrive for storing all of my information. I am also looking into getting a camera. WILL THE MAC MINI FIT MY NEEDS?? I do not need a mac pro, and the mac air does not have hdmi . I think I have found a decent solution. Please help! Thank you.
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.

Wich one best for Audio Recording using cubase and pro tools? MBP md102 or MBP md103? i often using a lot of VST

wich one the best for Audio Recording using cubase and pro tools? MBP md102 or MBP md103? i often using a lot of VST too

Well, I've been trying this for a while. By my calculations, at this rate, installing all the applications one by one and trying to restore all the data manually will take me about six years. I would finished just in time for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The main problem is, I don't know where all the bodies are buried. Just one example, I'm using Cornerstone for an svn client. I have working copies of multiple repositories on my computer. I really don't want to set them all up again, and I can't figure out where the Cornerstone preferences and all settings are stored. I couldn't find them in the Library anywhere.
And that's just one case.
I haven't done much with my MacBook Pro yet, I think in retrospect the easiest course of action is to reinstall OS X as though it were new MacBook Pro, start from scratch, and use my Time Machine backup with the migration assistant and go from there.
And that's what I'm doing right now. I'm in the middle of reinstalling OS X.
Afterwords I'll use a clean app uninstaller application to get rid of all the applications that I'm not using. And I'll just hack away at directories that I know I haven't looked at for years, with the confidence that I have a backup both in Time Machine and in CCC and also on my iMac. That's three backups.
I would rather start out "light", but I can see it's just going to take forever and a day to get it done. Anyway, fortunately nothing is carved in stone, and I can always try again if I want to. But dealing with all the documents and all the applications one by one separately was just obviously going to take too much time.
I'll report back on my results. And I appreciate your suggestion.
Doug

Is the Mac Mini for me ? (used for basic operation and recording)

I have always owned a PC and ready to make the change to Apple, since we have iPhones and iPads.
Here's a list of what we would use the computer for:
- basic Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc)
- browsing
- storing files (ITunes movies and music)
- storing photos
- streaming video
- recording music via pro tools (demo versions)
Thanks for the help; very unfamiliar with Apple desktops.

dwb wrote:
Depends on how many wires the user wants on and under the desk. I’ve related a number of times my own experience with a base 2012 mini which I found frustrating to use until I upgraded the RAM and installed an SSD. I started with a quality USB 3 enclosure - not all enclosures are created equal - and that was significant but an SSD in a Thunderbolt enclosure tested as fast as when I installed it internally. One thing is certain - for the 2012 with Yosemite, the SSD made a bigger difference than the 8GB RAM in my usage tests and both upgrades created a very enjoyable computer. One thing is certain - Apple did us no favors by making the new mini basically unupgradeable.
I hear ya. My 2012 Mini's HD is quite a bottleneck, but fortunately, I don't think that matters for my intended use. I found that even running it from a 7200 rpm HD in an external FW800 enclosure was zippier than running off the internal drive. Thunderbolt must make a huge difference. Apparently you can get at the HD in the new model, but you need a TR6 Torx Security screwdriver to get into the Mini. The iFixit teardown does not look like fun.
According to a someone I know who does certified repairs on Macs, improperly-installed and/or incorrect RAM accounts for quite a few problems, so the move to soldered RAM will eliminate that possibility. But it's disappointing to those of us who are careful about such things.

Audio recording using Logic and Mbox

Sirs,
I've to import vinyl using Logic and the Mbox (Digimedia) card. Does anyone have experience in such kind of operation?
Thanks in advance for your help.
titanium 1ghz Mac OS X (10.3.8) Logic Platinum 7.1 - Mbox audio card

No MBox, but I just patch my turntable into a phono preamp I bought at Radio Shack about 25 years ago (in order to have RIAA equalization) and the preamp outs into your interface and you can record like normal.

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!

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.

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.

Using a Mac Mini for DSP

Hello!
I am wondering how many users are there out there using a Mac Mini for DSP to allow for more processing power.
wondering what types of experiences people have had out there/how well the machines work together. and if you would or would not recommend doing so
i would assume that it would help out with all of the processing and makes things sound better in the end?

I don't do it on a regular basis, but I tested out using an intel mini as a node on a G5, and it worked fine. Probably added about an additional 25% of what the quad could do (so if the quad did 100 of a plugin, the mini added 25 more).

Can i use my mac mini for a cd drive for my macbook

I am going to purchase a macbook to replace my old mac mini. Can I use my old macmini as a cd drive for it?

Yes. You need to visit this support site:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5287?viewlocale=en_US

I have a mid 2011 27 inch iMac and a late 2012 mac mini. I am using the 27 inch iMac as the display for the mac mini. I was trying to use bootcamp on the mini but after I started downloading windows I can't get it to display on the iMac.

I have a mid 2011 27 inch iMac and a late 2012 mac mini. I am using the 27 inch iMac as the display for the mac mini with a thunderbolt cable. I was trying to use bootcamp on the mini but after I started downloading windows I can't get it to display on the iMac.

Hi there,
The simplest way is to drag it across wirelessly using the 'Airdrop' application once both computers are near one another. 'Airdrop' can be found near the top, on the left hand side menu, within 'Finder'.
AJ

I am semi-retiring my old mac mini and want to use it as a hard drive for my macbook pro. Does anyone know how to do this?

I am semi-retiring my old mac mini and want to use it as a hard drive for my macbook pro. Does anyone know how to do this?

1. Remove the drives, install them in external enclosures.
2. Use a Firewire cable to connect to your computer. Boot the mini into Target Disk Mode - Transferring files between two computers using FireWire

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.

Can i use my mac mini for some users at the same time?

can i use my mac mini for some users at the same time? i mean with their own screen, mouse, and keyboard

If you're asking whether more than one user can use the computer at the same time with multiple displays, the answer is no. Other users can log in over a network with Screen Sharing, but each one will need his own computer (not necessarily a Mac.)

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.

Mac Mini for audio recording using LOGIC X

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