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I Heard....

YaBoyDrew	Date: January 3, 2005 @ 1:08 PM I Heard that Apple Computers are really good computers 2 get, 4 recording music. Is this true????? I Heard that they work very well on one specific thing, such as recording music. I was justwondering if this is true n if so, HOW??
TheFearDrone	Date: January 3, 2005 @ 1:45 PM I use both mac(G5) and pc(p4) for recording. I definitely prefer my macs tho. Dual processing is a beautiful thing when it comes to laying tracks(background rendering). Also, the G5's seem very stable not to mention extremely fast. And as always, any applications with heavy graphical display simply seem to run better on macs. A drawback: While mac's have gotten more affordable over the years, they still are much more pricey then pc's. Hope this helps.
Veracohr	Date: January 4, 2005 @ 2:34 AM I'm a Mac guy all the way, but I don't agree with the statement that Macs are better at recording audio than PCs. I think this is a holdover from the days when the only professional recording applications were on Macs. Only two really good recording programs are Mac only now, Logic Audio and Digital Performer; and Logic hasn't been Mac-only for very long. Disregarding opinions on the aesthetics and 'feel' of an OS, the only thing I think the Mac OS has over Windows is that it's easier to fix problems and conflicts that arise.
jeddak	Date: January 4, 2005 @ 10:05 PM Mac also has the maturity, stability, and security of Unix going for it. While XP is far better than its predecessors in terms of stability, the same cannot be said for its security. Windows is extremely prone to spyware/adware etc, and has greater vulnerability to virii and worms than other OS's.
EmpireDay3	Date: January 4, 2005 @ 10:38 PM With the advent of faster processors on PC's nowadays, they are defintely gaining ground on the Macs, but there are some programs, like Logic Platinum, that were just designed for and run better on macs. I have always used a PC with Logic Platinum and some other programs. Once I got my PC optimized with my soundcard, software, etc it has performed flawlessly. I am only running 1 GHz on windows 98se and can get 30+ tracks, realtime, each with some eq and many of them with some insert effects, busses running with eq and inserts on them as well before it overloads my processor using the asio drivers. If I bus a few things and apply more general effects I can get some more tracks, but have rarely run into a situation where more than that were required. I augmented it further by picking up a cooper datasync2 and adding 24 tracks of adat outboard, processing it through the busses on the board and using the outputs on my motu's into 16 (fx returns on my board. With all this stuff going on, I can sync the pc and the adats for more tracks than most people will ever need. PC's have come a long way and are very capable. They are less expensive than macs. I also agree with vera that there is some holdover from the days when pro audio recording apps were only available on macs. It's not a decision to be made lightly! Investigate the performance features of the software you intend to use and what it is optimized for. Some programs, like Logic Platinum, are only supported and sold for the mac now. I will never be able to update past v4.8 because emagic doesn't support for PC anymore. But, I also know that logic on my pc was optimized (at the time I bought it) to run best with the intel dx, bx or lx chipsets - so I made sure that the pc I was going to get had them and ended up going with a dell and have never had an issue, once I got it optimized (the right updates, the right soundcard with the right drivers, etc...). After all, 24bit 96kHz is the same on a mac as it is on a pc - the rest is personal preference. But, at the same time, all of the posts so far do have some great points about macs. Even though a mac may perform better in some aspects, a top of the line PC is still less expensive and will give them a run for their money! Have fun and happy recording.
SilverShining	Date: January 8, 2005 @ 8:15 AM All I can do here is relate my own experiences and let you be the judge. I had a Win 98 box, homebrew that did nothing but crash. It didn't have virii or spyware as I was diligent in keeping that stuff away. I could do a decent job with about 4 tracks or so with Music Studio 2002 (a Cakewalk program) with effects. I now use a G4 733 and after the adjustment period and finding a good program (Tracktion) my music has been able to blossom. I can now do 12-14 tracks with effects, Price of the software was about the same. But now it's a lot easier and I can do more. Understand that this is a shoestring studio here, so if you want to spend lots of $$, I'm sure your experiences may vary.
leflaw	Date: January 8, 2005 @ 8:23 AM I own fifty Pc's and 4 macs. Get a mac for music.
Traf	Date: January 27, 2005 @ 9:41 AM It's true.. Macs rule..
YaBoyDrew	Date: February 10, 2005 @ 12:45 PM daz wuzzup my minds made up, thanks. I gotta admit i 4got all about this post
YaBoyDrew	Date: May 9, 2005 @ 10:11 AM lol how much do macs range????
DjInsertCool...	Date: May 27, 2005 @ 1:20 AM for a good one now adays? it all depends but just go to apple.com and go shopping. Also you can get a nice little discount if your a student or atleast have a valid student id. I saved scrilla!
LiQuidMetamo...	Date: January 23, 2006 @ 12:41 AM They both have their advantages - most Mac owners like (justifiably) Logic which is now Mac only - it's a great interface but if you can live with Sonar or Cubase, they record audio just as well for PC. In fact many mac owners I know also have PC's and run programs like Wavelab for mastering which is not available on Mac. Macs are stable and the dual processor G5 is fast, but expensive compared to PC options like AMD Opteron or INtel dual core which is regarded as faster in most applications. They are designed to be push button simple and "just work" - they are much less prone to security issues. Definately worth considering the desktop Macs (but for now as the laptops only run older G4 chips, I would hold off on buying a Powerbook, they cannot compete with top line P4 or AMD 64 chips for speed) The other thing to consider is if you are laying out x thousand dollars on a dual or quad G5 setup, can you afford to have it run as a stand alone music station?? I know I couldn't and many of my favourite programs are PC only. PC's record music just fine. I have run Acid, Cubase SE and Nuendo with awesome results on my P4 3.2 Ghz laptop w/ Echo Indigo IO audio card , 7200 rpm 60 gig HDD and 1GB 400Mhz DDR. P.S. Most mac users I know tell me to steer clear of Steinberg products, even though they are hybrid (run on both PC and Mac) I am repeatedly told their performance on mac is very glitchy and buggy.
ATC1	Date: February 23, 2006 @ 1:19 AM I am a PC guy, myself, and I do audio engineering (and other audio-related work) for a living. Be warned, though, if you go PC: The common man-on-the-street wisdom is that Macs are better but more expensive, but in the final analysis, a cheap computer is just that--cheap. Do not just buy a super cheap PC. I have had a lot of problems with bad hardware because I would buy the cheapest parts that met my required specs and screw them together. However, my understanding of specs is only one or two steps more complex than what you can find in website advertisements, so I bought a lot of crap that burned out on me within months of the warranty expiration. Yes, it is true that if you get a Mac and a PC of roughly equal quality, the Mac will cost considerably more. Also, the most knowledgeable of my friends and associates tell me that there is no substantive difference between a PC and a comparable Mac. My experiences corroborate this. The main advantage to Macs, as I see it, is that because they are so proprietary, when you buy a Mac, you're almost definitely not going to get crappy hardware. PC hardware can come from all over the place and, unless you know what you're doing or have a friend who's a serious computer guy, you can get burned on a bad purchase. However, if you do have the right guy telling you what to buy, you can get a very powerful, very stable PC system and save a heap of cash over the comparable Mac. As for vulnerability, you have two options: 1. Designated audio computer that does not touch the web. I don't like this one, because I like to download and try audio freeware (from reputable sites only). Some free stuff is so good that I use it for jobs (usually funky effects, rather than processors like compressors and reverb, which have to be on point). I know this is sloppy of me, because I could just burn discs and transfer the files from a separate internet computer, but I go with option 2. 2. Have a good virus protection program (I use EZ antivirus, which is the best virus software I've ever had) and do occasional scans with Lavasoft's Adaware. Everyone knows that it's important for virus software to get new definitions from the manufacturer (EZ updates every time you boot), but there is another important characteristic for virus software, especially on audio and video computers: it's got to go light on your resources. Norton Antivirus, for instance, has slowed down every computer on which I've ever seen it installed. I don't understand the deeper technical reasons for this, but my obsevartion has told me all I need to know; the damn thing thinks it owns your computer. Anyway, in short, good antivirus and Adaware, and don't be a dumbass when you surf the web. Ever since I got my act together and sprung for some decent hardware (and sprung a lot less than I would have for the same thing in Mac), I've had a lot of power and as much stability as I've seen from any computer I've used. Good luck. Don't buy crap. Don't overpay. How's that for ya?

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