Modern Macbook Appropriate for Logic?

Hello,
I was just wondering if you guys could help me out with a few questions.
Because of certain professional changes in my career I've had to take my studio on the
road and I'm in the process of purchasing a laptop to do so.
I run Logic Pro and use a Apogee Ensemble for most projects but I'm thinking of getting
a Duet to help with portability.
Does anybody use Logic Pro with a current Gen. Macbook?
If so, how does it perform?
Also, I know I would need an external HD to record anything substantial.
Does daisy-chaining hurt performance much? (The MacBook only has one Firewire Port)
And finally, how does the Duet perform while recording to the internal Drive?
Thank you very much.
-FTIWL

FTIWL,
Since December, the school I teach at has deployed around 400 MacBooks with full installs of Logic Studio to all incoming students. We've done extensive in house testing of this combination, not to mention we've had the benefit of several hundred students putting this combination through its paces. I can assure you that MacBook has more the enough capability for the vast majority of Logic users. I travel a lot as a Logic trainer, and I personally use this same configuration for the classes I teach as well as the production work I do while I'm on the road.
As for the firewire drive, you my be surprised at what you can do off of the internal drive. Without details of your typical workflow it's difficult to guide you, but since you mentioned the Apogee Duet (I've been using one for the last 6 months) my assumption is that you're not planning on punching in 128 tracks of an orchestra at 96kHz;-) I can tell you that overdubbing mono or stereo recordings to a 40+ track session on the internal drive is quite realistic, and Duet works wonderfully for this application. In fact I just did a training event last week with 26 stations that all used Duets on MacBook Pros, and we used nothing but the stock internal drive. I can't remember if those MacBook Pros had the 7200rpm drives or not, but I always test my lesson plans out on my computer which is a stock 5400rpm drive. My recommendation is to not worry about the firewire drive until you run into a situation where you need one. Also, keep in mind that a nice thing about the MacBook is that it's simple to replace the internal drive, so upgrading to a 7200rpm drive is a cost effective option down the road.
Hope this helps!
-Brock

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An Intel iMac AND a MacBook Pro for Logic Pro?

I am torturing myself over this issue lately so any input you guys could offer would be welcome!
This is the situation:
After 3 months of serious debating whether to purchase a 20" Intel iMac or a MacBook Pro for Logic Pro, I went ahead about 3 weeks ago and got the iMac. My reasoning behind this was that even though I found the portability of the MBP very desirable, the iMac simply represented a better value with the big screen and bigger hard drive. Since getting it, I must say I love this machine and I have not had one single problem with it. Logic 7.2 runs like a dream on it. By the way, aside from maintaing my iTunes Library, occasional iLife stuff and web surfing with Safari, this iMac is for music production only.
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Help!!!
What would you do? Sell the iMac or just get a MBP as cheap as I can?
Opinions, Please!
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I love the portability my powerbook gives me. You can use a PB in your setup. You can run an external monitor for either PB or MBP. You can node. Universal Binary menas it is an application which has the components written for both PPC and Intel chips-so you don't need to do conversion. Nodes won't require you buy a nother license. so the answer is down to how much the 2 upgrades and 1 crossgrades will set you back vs how much use you'll get out of them. IMO the iMac is inexpensive (I mean that in a good way-worth hooding on to). Maybe just look at a refurb PB unless you really have the extra cash.

2.3ghz vs. 2.6ghz MacBook Pro for Logic

I plan on buying a new 15" MacBook Pro (with 8 gigs of Ram) and will primarily be using it for Logic. Is spending the extra money for the 2.6ghz model vs the 2.3ghz really worth it or will it not really make much of a difference? Would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

You won't see that huge of a difference. I don't know exactly what you're doing with Logic but I'm using a 2010 13" pro and I've never maxed out pc usage. From benchmarks though I think it was only a 13 percent uptick with the 2.6ghz

Planning to buy macbook pro for logic - dual or quad?

Hi
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I was pondering the same decision, and was "steered" by an Apple salesperson to a Mac Mini with Lion Server instead.
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If I really need a laptop in the future, I'll probably go for an refurb i5 Air, when they drop a little in price.
Cheers!
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MacBook Pro for Logic? Best configuration?

Hi everyone,
Thanks in advance for any thoughts about this.
I’m ready to upgrade my 7-year-old PowerBook G4 (which has served me so very well) to something more current. Logic Pro will be a primary use of the new Mac. With my understanding of ports and busses and the requirements of a DAW, I’m wondering about best configurations for a Mac DAW.
I generally record one, two or maybe three audio tracks at once, then add a bunch of software instruments (drums/percussion, strings, horns, pads, etc.) to craft a song. It would be nice, though, to have the possibility of recording a live drum kit or even a live band (so up to 16 tracks at once).
Aside from CPU speed, number of cores, memory, etc., my understanding is that there are two critical pieces of technology required for a well performing DAW. First is an audio interface. Second is fast storage for reading/writing audio files.
My preference is to upgrade to another Mac laptop and I’m thinking about the latest i7 MacBook Pro, 15”. I don’t want the 17” because it’s too big and heavy and I’ll be using an external monitor most of the time. (Still would like the portability of a laptop, so would rather not go with an iMac or Mac Pro.)
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So my first question is: given only FW 800 and USB 2, what would be the capabilities of audio recording on a latest i7 MBP? Would you attach an audio interface to FW 800 and an external drive to USB 2, or the other way around? Most FW audio interfaces I’ve seen support only FW 400, so would it make more sense to attach an audio interface to USB 2 and a FW 800 drive to FW 800?
Whichever the best option, does anyone have a rough sense for how many audio tracks could be recorded and played back with an optimally configured i7 MBP?
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Last question: Would using a SSD as either the internal drive or an external be particularly helpful in this situation?
I hope this all makes sense. I’ve used a Yamaha AW4416 for recording for years and I’m a little queasy about switching to a DAW because of potential latency and performance issues. One option would be to sync my AW4416 to Logic Pro, use the AW4416 for recording tracks, then transfer the audio files to the Mac for mixing with Logic Pro.
Many thanks for any opinions, feedback. Very much appreciated.
Tim

Phew - long post! Let me try and find your questions...
So my first question is: given only FW 800 and USB 2, what would be the capabilities of audio recording on a latest i7 MBP? Would you attach an audio interface to FW 800 and an external drive to USB 2, or the other way around? Most FW audio interfaces I’ve seen support only FW 400, so would it make more sense to attach an audio interface to USB 2 and a FW 800 drive to FW 800?
I would go: FW800 -> FW800 Drive -> FW400 Audio interface.
Whichever the best option, does anyone have a rough sense for how many audio tracks could be recorded and played back with an optimally configured i7 MBP?
It all depends on what a track is. There is a different between one 16/44 audio track on it's own, a 24/96 audio track loaded with plugins, and a heavy software instrument track with high polyphony and loads of plugins.
In terms of raw tracks, you can get way more than you will practically need. Yes, they shouldn't have dropped eSata (I'm keeping my older MBP for this reason - I can connect eSata drives or my UAD2 depending on my needs)
Another question: Is it possible to remove the DVD drive of a MBP and replace it with a hard drive?
Yes, but it may void your warranty, depending on how you do it.
If so, would the buss be capable of FW 800 speeds?
Internal drives are SATA, much faster than FW800 in general. Throughput mostly depends on drive speed and performance, more than any bus speed limitations.
(I’m assuming the DVD drive connection to the MBP is an independent buss not to be affected by other devices.)
Not sure on that. Optical media are very slow devices anyway...
I guess a FW 800 controller of some sort would be necessary?
Internal drives have nothing at all to do with FW.
If this is an option, then one could have two independent busses for storage access and audio interface, both functioning at FW 800 speeds?
To be honest, unless you are planning massive projects, you'll be fine with an external FW800 drive. If you are planning on doing large projects that one FW800 can't cope with, then you shouldn't be looking at a laptop, you should be looking at a Mac Pro.
I think you're probably worrying too much - a well specced MBP sensibly configured is a very capable machine.
Last question: Would using a SSD as either the internal drive or an external be particularly helpful in this situation?
I'm still dubious to how SSD's will hold up in the long run - they haven't been around very long, and I'm concerned about the limited lifespans (maximum number of writes etc). I wouldn't go there personally, not yet.
I’ve used a Yamaha AW4416 for recording for years and I’m a little queasy about switching to a DAW because of potential latency and performance issues. One option would be to sync my AW4416 to Logic Pro, use the AW4416 for recording tracks, then transfer the audio files to the Mac for mixing with Logic Pro.
Once you're comfortable with Logic, you won't go back, I'm reasonably sure of that...

Macbook pro for (Logic pro x & Photoshop)

hello everyone,
So i currently have the 13" Macbook pro 2.4 ghz with 16gb Ram i5 500gb late 2011 model.I am interested in purchasing the 2014 2.6 ghz 8gb ram ssd i5, 128gb with retina (i also have 1 TB external hard drive that i use ).I work with Logic pro x a lot and use mostly a external piano to plug in and make instrumentals and record vocals through my apogee duet,i also use it for Photoshop as a free lancer to do web designs.My question to everyone is that ,am i wasting my money with getting the newer macbook pro or am i making a solid investment with what it has to offer.Is it worth buying? Thank you

...or not...? Hmmm...
http://browser.primatelabs.com/mac-benchmarks

Which new MacBook Pro for Logic 9 bigger sessions?

Hello!
I'm fixin to buy a new MacBook Pro to make records while on the run. I generally work in Logic 9.1.7 with many layers of VSL, Guitar Rig, and Battery and such and have hit the limit at times on my old machine. Can anybody weigh in on which new model to buy? retina or not? specs?
you rock.
Grabbin'

Ram & HD speed will make the most difference with audio recording, although you could always use an external drive to record on. You could buy the On-the-Go USB3 2.5 external drive and it will fit in your hand and allow for a lot of tracks. Buy a 2.5 drive with 7200 RPM for that external drive. You could also load the MBP with an SSD HD and 16 Gigs of RAM and have all the speed in the world.
However, I would recommend the (mid) 2012 MBP 2.3Ghz 15.4", which will allow for upgradable RAM & HD. Upgrade to a SSD drive and 8 Gigs of RAM. You won't need the Retina, if fact you're better off without it, for now.
Happy Recording!!

Is Macbook Air (2013) appropriate for music production?

I heard from a friend that the macbook air does not have an audio interface port. I'm not sure what this means, but I'm purchasing a macbook to be my overall computer for normal day-to-day tasks as well as to produce music (via logic pro). I'm just wondering if he is reffering to the firewire port which is absent on Macbook Airs or if there is something else that I am unaware of. I'm leaning towards the Air because I don't need a whole lot of processing power, and I plan to travel a lot in the upcoming year (Europe), so portability is a must. Anyway i won't be producing massive electronic tracks or anything like that. More along the lines of indie/alternative music that probably wouldn't ever go more than 10-15 tracks. Most likely I'd stay in the area of 5-8 layered tracks. I don't really want to spend any more that $1500. I won't be gaming on this device, I really just want it for normal tasks, minor video editing, and recording/mixing, etc.
Thanks a lot in advance.

He probably means 1/4'' port. It does have 3.5mm standard stereo port. The MBA would be appropriate for your planned usage.

New External Monitor for Logic on MacBook Pro - Suggestions

I'm in the painful process of updating my studio and now my large screen external monitor has started failing.
I know if this a pretty general question more suited to the MacBook Pro forum but I'd like some input from folks used to working with an application like Logic in a home studio environment.
I guess the issue for me is that I'm not getting any younger and my eyesight isn't what it used to be. One of the things specific to Logic and music software in general is that there are LOTS of very detailed dialog boxes with text that is not always height adjustable (yes I know about zooming and indeed I do lots of that but it gets quite distracting). The other factor is that I'm often recording and engineering myself which means I'll be sitting with a guitar in my lap or at a keyboard and can't always lean in too close to the monitor.
I solved this by buying a large 26" Acer which sits on my desk behind the Mackie MCU. To my left I've got the MacBook 15.4" Pro on a keyboard stand above my MIDI controller at a 45 degree angle to the desk.
It's worked quite well until the Acer seems to have become haunted. It will mysteriously reboot itself intermittently, going blank for a second, then showing the Acer logo and going back to picture. It will also turn itself on spontaneously when the computer is off (the status light is off and then turns itself on). It seems to detect when I'm in the middle of a really good session and starts resetting itself every 30 seconds or so. Then it will work fine sometimes for days or weeks at a time. I've checked it on 4 different computers, it malfunctions on all. I believe in may be a problem with one of the capacitors or the inverter, I'm not sure, but it's driving CRAZY at this point.
And of course now it's 3 months out of warranty and may be more expensive to fix than buying a new one.
So my issue is what monitor to replace it with. I've considered buying an Apple monitor, since the display is lovely to look at but there are a couple things that are deal breakers.
It's expensive. Very expensive.
Oddly you have to choose between a 24" and a 30", with nothing in between. Don't want to sound like Goldilocks here, but the 24 is tooooo small and the 30 is tooooo big.
Yeah I know bigger is usually better but since they bumped the native resolution of the 30" up to 2560x1600 it's really sharp but things like the menu text get really quite small. Yes you can reset to a lower non native resolution, but then you loose the sharpness. I tested Logic in the store on the 30" and it did look great but I found I actually had to move my whole body around to see things at the top and bottom of the screen.
Oh and did I mention that it's expensive? Jeez.
The 24" now seems to look a bit small to me after using the same resolution (1920x1200) on the Acer's 26" screen. (Ok, I think it's actually 25.5 but hey that half an inch can make a big difference and I will avoid making any bad jokes here).
And did I mention the Apple monitors are expensive? The 24" is almost 3 times as expensive as a cheaper alternative.
I also still have a PC here that I use (sorry) and the Apple monitors have very limited connectivity. So I think unfortunately the Apple monitors are out for me.
So I;m down to a couple other non Apple options. I will not buy an Acer again since I believe now that their quality control is not good and their support is absolutely atrocious. Shame I used to be a big fan of Acer PC's, but after owning a couple I'm steering clear.
My biggest issue right now is that most of the new budget monitors are geared toward 1080p HD uses so they are they are maxing out at 1920x1080 (16:9 aspect ratio instead of 1920x1200's 16:10). So the tradeoff here is that HD movies will look better in 16:9, but 16:10 gives you "squarer" pixels and more vertical resolution for screen hungry apps like Logic.
Any opinions on this? I'm a bit new to the Mac so I don't know if I'm really better off going with a 1920x1200 screen like the Apple monitors.
Also, I know this may just be a bug in the Acer's scaling, but if I switch to 1920x1080, I lose the menus off the top of the screen or if I adjust the vpos I lose the dock at the bottom. Downscaling to 1600x1050 or even 1024x768 works fine. If I get a 1080 screen and set the resolution appropriately will it work correctly and without too much distortion?
I'm also curious what is the best way to hook up the monitor? I'm currently using the DVI to VGA adapter that came with the MacBook. My Pro is the slighter older silver keyboard model so it has the standard DVI out. Will I see any real improvement by going over to using DVI directly?
Also I'm wondering how people feel about glossy vs matte for music. My current displays are the non-glossy and I do think I prefer them for detail work.
The candidates right now are
Hanns-G HH-281HPB 28" @300$. It's one of the only budget monitors that uses 1920x1200. All the right inputs (DVI, VGA). I'm just afraid this might be a bit too good to be true. It's really cheap and after having problems with a "cheap" Acer (although it wasn't so cheap 3 years ago!) I don't want similar problems. Stand has no swivel or tilt (a big problem for my use). Also that resolution on such a big screen might be good for me or it might look grainy I don't know I haven't seen it. Anybody have any experience with these?
Samsung P2770H 27" @339 Looks nice, good color. Sadly only 1080 native resolution. Stand doesn't swivel, but does tilt. No VGA input, so won't work with my old PC (although strangely it says it comes with a VGA cable). They get generally good reviews and I know Samsung makes very good flat panel TV's.
ViewSonic X Series VX2739WM 27" @350. Once again maxes out at 1080. It's fast (1ms), has VGA input. I've never been a big fan of ViewSonic but they do seem to have gotten better color-wise. Tilt no swivel and it's anti-glare (not sure this is a plus).
There are also similar options from HP, Asus, LG and Sceptre but they are all 1080. In fact outside of the Apples, the Hanns-G and a few expensive monitors from NEC they all seem to be 1080. So if I really want the 1200 the Hanns-G seems like the only way to go.
Any input here would be greatly appreciated.

No doubt, the Apple displays are gorgeous. The first time I saw the 30" display wow, I wanted one BAD and it's actually what prompted me to buy a "big" monitor. The colors are great with a rich wonderful saturation level and as usual for Apple the form factor design is stunning. You know for that picture quality I could even get over the sticker shock and save up for one.
Which is why I was so disappointed when I actually sat down in the store and started to use Logic on one. I imagine for doing video work, graphic design or darn near anything else, it would be great. But for Logic I just found myself bending and twisting trying to look at toolbar at the bottom and then up to look at the menus. And instrument or plugin displays that were hard coded to look OK at lower resolutions looked really, really tiny to me. For me and particularly using Logic having 2 slightly smaller displays at a 45 degree angle makes more sense.
And once again the 24 seems just a bit small. I don't understand why they have a 27" iMac but you can't buy a 27" display. So iMac 27" starting at 1699, subtract out the cost of the CPU and drive ie the Mini and I'd really buy one. Strangely you can buy a 21.5" or a 27" iMac. Or you can buy a 24" or 30" display. Hmmmm.
So don't get me wrong I'm not bashing Apple for being expensive. They put a lot of money into R&D and into really thinking about the form and the function of their products. As a recent convert from being a PC developer for 25+ years, hey I've more than sipped the Kool-Aid here, I've guzzled it. They make great products and yeah they're more expensive, because they ARE better! I've now got 2 MBP's, 2 iPods, I'm about to get an iPhone (silly "death grip" or not) and I really want an iPad. Heck I'd really love an 8 core MacPro if I could afford one (alas I can't).
I guess my only gripe here is that there always seems to be a little less choice in the Apple world. Yeah, I know they do a lot less volume than the PC clone world I just think that they always seem to have a big gap between the high end and low end with not enough in between. So you can choose between the lower end and one piece units with no expansion boards (the mini or the iMac) or go straight to monster tower MacPro (way over 3K with display). You can get a MacBook but then you have to put up with a small screen or go with MacBook Pro, which let's face it is a lot of computing power for someone who just wants to web surf and write some email without squinting.
So here I am stuck in the middle. I don't want to buy a HannspreeQG or another piece of junk that's going to last 3 years and 3 months because of a crappy $2 capacitor that no seems to able to fix or care about fixing. I'd like to buy a really nice Apple monitor, I just want a big monitor, not a huge one and not a "medium" one (I know I'm spoiled but 24" seems "medium" these days).
Sorry about the rant here but my monitor is shutting down every 30 seconds and I'm about to go completely insane and toss it out the window!!!
Really glad to hear about that 84' VGA cable. I never imagined such a thing existed or would work without some sort of signal boost on the way. Very cool for me. My electronic drum kit is in another room and I would love to have a small cheap monitor next to it for sequencing. I had my laptop on a stand next to it for a while but I began to get terrified that I'd let a drumstick slip and destroy my laptop screen. That would be a very bad thing. Thanks for the tip.

APPLE TECH TEAM SUGGESTED TO REPLACE MY MACBOOK PRO'S LOGIC BOARD FOR 2ND TIME?All the funtionality and applications is working fine but my screen backlight is off.If i expose it to direct sunlight , i can see what is running on my MAC(out of warranty)

APPLE TECH TEAM SUGGESTED TO REPLACE MY MACBOOK PRO'S LOGIC BOARD FOR 2ND TIME?All the funtionality and applications is working fine but my screen backlight is off.If i expose it to direct sunlight , i can see what is running on my MAC(out of warranty)

likely display inverter board.
did you get your inverter board replaced already?
Did you have a question?
If the diagnostic in shop indicates same, thats 1000X better than anyone can do online in "diagnosis" (not really genuine diagnosis of course)

ADE version for Mac OS X 10.6.8: I use a Macbook Air with OS X 10.6.8. ADE 3.0 and ADE 4.0 require version 10.7 or higher. Where might I get the ADE version appropriate for Mac OS X 10.6.8?

ADE version for Mac OS X 10.6.8:
1. I use a Macbook Air with OS X 10.6.8.
2. ADE 3.0 and ADE 4.0 require version 10.7 or higher.
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Please try ADE 2.0.1. You can download it here.

Memory For Logic On MacBook

Hi there i am not very good with computers but wondered if any one could spend a few minutes explaining something to me.
I have MacBook with a 2 GHz Intel Core Duo and 2 gig of Ram. I am apparently have about 20G left on my Disk usage and 500mb free on my system memory. I am looking at buying Logic Studio but have read on the specs you really need about 50G free which i do not have. It has been suggested to me that i could install Logic (9/10G) onto my computer and then put all the extras on my hard drive and just plug that in when i use Logic. Is this a realistic idea?.
Would it just be easier to get a bigger hard drive installed or by adding RAM?
Cheers for your time guys and have checked out a lot of posts but cant quite find the info i need.
Keir

Hi, Keirguitar.
I've got a macbook pro with a 2.16G Core Duo and 2G ram. It's the first intel mac. I'm running logic 8.0.2 and about 25 G on the system HD.
I haven't installed Logic 9, as it does [from reading posts on this forum] use more system memory. 8 runs fine however.
You need 50G for logic for the bonus content, most of which can be installed onto an external HD. The program itself is 363 MB and the other stuff that sits on the system drive is probably about another 2 - 4 G [rough guess, it might be less] I'm guessing that you want version 9, however.
If Logic pro doesn't work, how about Logic Express? That might solve your memory/storage problems.
More ram is good of course, but I'm unsure if your machine will take it. Mine doesn't. Another solution is ring apple tech support or visit an apple store and talk to a logic specialist.
Good luck with all this. I hope this info helps.
Scorpii

Has anybody heard if Apple is going to fix the Logic Board on the early 2011 Macbook Pros for Free?

Has anybody heard if Apple is going to fix the Logic Board on the early 2011 Macbook Pros for Free? Of course my Apple Care warranty expired months ago, and this just happened. I've been looking online for solutions. But am wondering if anybody has heard if Apple is going to take care of this, or what others are doing to get Apple to repair this problem without having to pay $1,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know this is an old post but just in case it helps. They ARE fixing certain macs for free!
https://www.apple.com/au/support/macbookpro-videoissues/

Mac Pro 2.66 quad or MacBook Retina 2.7 quad for Logic Pro?

Hi Guys,
It has come time to replace my ageing Mac Pro in my home studio, and I am in a quandry as to what to choose.
Up until now, the sensible choice has always been a Mac Pro, because it allows a number of hard drives (separate drives for audio, and for virtual instruments) to stream at high-speed, which was not possible with a laptop using external USB or firewire drives.
Thunderbolt changes all this, and I'm now wondering whether to replace the Mac Pro with a MacBook Pro 15" Retina, and connect two external drives via Thunderbolt for my audio and virtual instruments...
The alternative is to get a newer Mac Pro, and I've noticed a demo 2.66GHz quad at a great price at my Mac dealer.
I'm really not sure which way to go. On the one hand, I like the idea of just one computer (the MacBook 15") for both studio and non-studio work, as it would mean I no longer need my 13" MacBook for non-music related tasks. I also like the idea of the main drive being SSD in the Retina. The MacBook 15" can be specced with 16GB of RAM, letting go of the previous RAM limits of earlier MacBooks. The downside is that external Thunderbolt hard drives are still incredibly expensive, and I'd need two!
On the other hand, the Mac Pro is brilliant in that it can house all the hard drives I need, is expandable port-wise (although is that really such a big deal these days?), and it would mean I have a dedicated computer in the studio just for music, and can keep my non-music stuff separate on my 13" laptop.
I'd love some thoughts on what will do a better job for me in the studio. Perhaps I've missed a key benefit of one of the approaches above, that actually puts one option significantly ahead of another!
Keen to hear people's thoughts, perhaps from people who have had experience running DAWs on both machines I'm looking at.
Thanks guys!
Mike

What are you using for an audio interface? It's not just disks...
I have a similar question, currently 8-core MacPro, and a couple of 17" MBPs for live rig and general use.
There's another option, the non-retina MBP...
There's supposed to be new MacPro next year. I would hope it's a serious rethink of the architecture. Internals via thunderbolt connectors for starters? No version of SATA will keep up with that... So... I keep my supposedly long-in-the-tooth MacPro, feed it memory, swap out eSATA card for USB 3, so I can transition external drives to something faster and get away from eSATA connectors - hate those things! OWC has a bootable SSD card that goes in a slot, which is supposedly. Much faster than any version of SATA. It's pricey, and... If I didn't think they'd be doing away with expansions slots as we know 'em, I'd score one of these, but it's a lot of cash for something that may not go over to the nextgen MacPro. I have *no idea* what it's going to be, just looking at a machine today and wondering about what they could leave off a new version, while giving the kind of power and expansion we want in-the-box as opposed to hanging off of it.
I would personally *not* buy a new MacPro today, because I have hopes for what the next one will be.
Laptops, MBPs. Love the power of the new machines! C'mon. Those geek bench scores are ridiculous, so I would score one in a sec, but have to have a strategy for my live rig. Audio interface is FireWire and I run an eSATA card in the express slot for streaming samples (rack mounted drive from Glyph). Oops, the FW audio interface can't connect and there's no express card slot so my streaming performance falls back to usb2 speeds (my Glyph has a quad interface, but not USB3). The non-retina MBP gives a FW port but doesn't have the sexy screen... Assuming cost is not an issue (not true), hanging an SSD off one of the USB3 ports would surely bring good to great sample streaming rates, but still have to get another audio interface, and then strange as it sounds, probably something over USB...
So... I ultimately decided to wait for the market for peripherals mature for the new connectors, usb3 and thunderbolt.
End of story. MacPro=next year and... Pull the trigger on a retina MBP once I'm sure my peripherals are all in place. The MBPs do go out live, so they're in Speck protective cases. Adds bulk, probably ugly bulk to a rMBP, but it beats trusting the roadies at the venue. MBP, audio interface and streaming HD all in a nifty rack case the size of a carry-on bag, even wheels and a trolley handle!
Not really a 1-2-3 answer, but these are my thoughts on the pieces of kit you seem to be considering too...

MacBook Pro or MacBook Air for 6th Former.. HELP

Hi, thanks for reading this.
I understand this is a constant discussion on most forums however everyone has different requirements and I'd like to know people's opinions according to my personal situation.
I'm 16 and have been saving for a macbook since I got a job, and I've got to the stage now where I can buy the macbook (yay!!).
I'm going to sixth form in September studying science, maths and history (so nothing intense!), but in my spare time I write music and I'm interested in running Logic Pro X (looks amazing!!) as well as possibly Aperture for some light photo editing, but the main uses will be Pages and safari.
The MacBook Pro looks great, and is really upgradable and I like how you feel as if you're getting more for the money as there's a whole lot more aluminium and the specs are considerably better (bar the SSD). I'd upgrade the RAM to 8GB too.
However the Air has impressive battery life and is stunning as well as having an ssd in built, however it has a (somewhat) piddly processor that I fear could struggle with running 12 or 16 tracks in Logic Pro with effects and safari/emails running too. However I know the pro would manage easy and it would be possible to put in an ssd with 8gb of ram and it would be a demon.
So I'd like to hear people's opinions really - for months I've had my eye set on the air and now I'm going more towards pro bit I'm still undecided. I work in an electronics store where we sell MacBooks so I know my stuff about them to some extent, however the down side to this is that i would have to buy the stock machines and not the made to order ones from apple - i just wanted to hear other people's experiences with the products and hear people's recommendations.
I'd really appreciate your replies,
Thanks in advance :-)!
Lewis.

100% Mac Book Pro - You can swap out the DVD drive and put an SSD in there as well as the traditional HDD, so you have the best of both worlds, i.e. good storage capacity and a quick drive for OSX and Apps to live on.
However, in the real world, i don't think you would really benefit majorily with an SSD when the expense is considered.
They are quick, boot times are quick, apps open quicker etc. but chances are any sample libraries you have etc. will be on the standard HDD so within an app you may not see a huge performance increase.
The great thing about the macbook (If you're not aware) is closing the lid, opening it and everything is ready to go again in seconds - So for me startup times etc. have never been an issue, so i'm yet to even try considering an SSD personally.
i5 is great, but the i7 really is much better, it has 4 cores as opposed to the 2 core i5's and software like Logic will make use of those cores. If you're running a lot of plugins it will excel. But, trust me, the amount of plug-ins it can handle may well exceed your requirements that an i5 would more than be capable of. It's very hard to advise without know what plugins may be used in the future!
As an idea, i could quite happily run 20-30 tracks on my i5 loaded up with effects and instruments, it runs hot, but that's because Apple in their wisdom decide to make everything as thin as possible, thus reducing ventilation. However, i've ran on various different macbooks like this for years now and not one problem, they are very well designed.
Most of my projects hit around 15 tracks, and by that i mean 15 distinct tracks and it's more than comfortable.
Sure, if you start spreading your percussion/drums into their own seperate tracks you can already add 5-6 on tracks on that list, and you can have additional tracks running from the same instrument plugins, and start getting into 30's and 40's which it will run fine with too.
If you think, for the majority, you will be using Logic's built in instruments (Which are great for composing) they are very efficient.
Something else to consider is that on the 13" MBP Logic's interface feels a bit tight, like you haven't got enough room to work within. So if you're running from the laptops internal screen seriously consider the 15". On reflection i wish i got the i7 in a 15" now. But, my 13" supplements my other machines so i would miss how portable it is, it's ideal for work.
If you like the 13" form factor then it's easy to put it out to an external monitor too, you may need to if you're mixing. You need that screen space, and the resolution can go beyond 1920x1080 if monitor supports it.
Also, from experience, Aperture is a real resource hog - Even the lightest of work on that can push your resources as it's none destructive, i.e. it's rendering any changes in realtime. So Would also go Macbook Pro for that reason too.
Just one more thing to add, i've ran 20+ tracks on Core2Duo 2.4ghz machines, any modern machine from the apple line-up has plenty of grunt for most people, but as AOS said, the Air really wasn't intended to be used with 'pro' applications. It must run incredibly hot if put under load!

Modern Macbook Appropriate for Logic?

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