Mac Mini for Music - Advice

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Ok guys so you mean i'll be ok with the following?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Apple-Mac ... 137wt_1258

http://www.musicmatter.co.uk/motu-ultralite-mk3

I'll buy the wireless keyboard (mac) and the superdrive thingy seperate..
So i'll stick in an offer and see what they say although i dont' mind paying the £799 for the spec.

Cheers

Rob

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I'm waiting for the ivy bridge imac in June. Next mini will probably be out in September with mountain lion.

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That one looks perfect for you Rob. You don't really need a expensive Apple SuperDrive. Any other will do like a LG GP10NB20 which is Mac compatible.

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalo ... ps-sellers

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george wrote:That one looks perfect for you Rob. You don't really need a expensive Apple SuperDrive. Any other will do like a LG GP10NB20 which is Mac compatible.

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalo ... ps-sellers
Thanks for that George, im just making sure cause this will be my first venture into Mac land hehe. Now im gonna have to download all my plugins in Mac format but im gonna be quite happy with the switch.. Already ordered the Motu interface that's coming tommorrow :-)

Rob

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Ok George i made an offer :D

£725 lets see if he bites...

This is the one

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 137wt_1258

Rob

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Getting exciting :hyper:

By the way, I don't know if the MOTU will arrive with a FW400 > FW800 dongle or cable. The mini has FW800 only so you may consider that.

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george wrote:Getting exciting :hyper:

By the way, I don't know if the MOTU will arrive with a FW400 > FW800 dongle or cable. The mini has FW800 only so you may consider that.
The Motu has both firewire and Usb George i just checked, either way im sure this will be a cool setup, i also have a nice 24" monitor here that the mini will just hook right into.. just need to shop for a decent wireless keyboard and mouse + and external hdd now and im set.

Rob

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Specs of the Motu are here but i don't see FW800 anywhere - shit lol

The UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid provides cross-platform compatibility with Mac and Windows and all of your favorite audio software and host-based effects via WDM/ASIO/Core Audio drivers. Or you can use the included AudioDesk workstation software for Mac, with 24-bit recording/editing and 32-bit mixing/processing/mastering.

Hybrid FireWire/USB2 connectivity — connect to your computer via either bus-powered FireWire or hi-speed USB2.
CueMix FX™ flexible 10 input/14 bus mixer with on-board DSP effects, including reverb with sends/returns, plus EQ and compression on every input and output.
10 inputs / 14 outputs there's no channel sharing in the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid; the mic inputs, S/PDIF I/O, headphone out and main outs are all handled as separate channels.
Classic Reverb™ provides five different room types, three frequency shelves with adjustable crossover points, shelf filtering and reverb lengths up to 60 seconds.
Two forms of compression a standard compressor with conventional threshold/ratio/attack/release/gain controls and the Leveler™, an accurate model of the legendary LA-2A optical compressor, which provides vintage, musical automatic gain control.
Modeled EQ — provides 7-band parametric EQ modeled after British analog console EQs, featuring 4 filter styles (gain/Q profiles) to effectively cover a wide range of audio material. LP and HP filters are also supplied with slopes that range from 6 to 36 dB.
CueMix FX cross-platform mixing software — attractive graphic mixing, graphic editing of parametric EQ and a convenient tabbed interface for quick access to all features in one window. Also provides full-screen real-time FFT display, spectrogram "waterfall" display, oscilloscope, X-Y plot and linear or polar phase analysis.
Front-panel control — access any setting in your entire UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid mix directly from the front panel.
"Reverb return" stream — allows users to record or mix UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid reverb output separately in their DAW. Effects can also be applied when the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid is operating stand-alone (without a computer) as a complete stand-alone mixer.
Stand-alone operation — program your mixes at the studio and then bring the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid to your gig — no computer needed. Just plug in the included power adapter and you are ready to go. Need to tweak the mix? Do it on site using the back-lit LCD and front-panel controls.
Multiple CueMix FX mixes — for example, create different monitor mixes for the main outs and headphones. Or add send/return loops for outboard gear — with no latency.
Two combo jacks provide hi-Z 1/4" guitar input or low-Z XLR mic input with phantom power, pad and plenty of gain.
Eight 24-bit 192kHz analog inputs and outputs on balanced/unbalanced 1/4" TRS jacks
Precision Digital Trim Digitally controlled analog trim on all analog inputs (mic/guitar inputs + quarter-inch TRS inputs) provides accurate adjustements in 1 dB increments. Fine-tune the balance of your analog inputs and then save/recall trim configurations.
Direct Digital Synthesis™ (DDS) a DSP-driven phase lock engine and internal clock source that produces imperceptibly low jitter characteristics (below the noise floor), even when the UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid is resolved to an external clock source via SMPTE time code.
Time code support directly resolves to (or generates) time code via any quarter-inch input or output, without the need for an extra synchronizer.
Sample-accurate MIDI connect a MIDI controller and/or sound module with no separate interface needed. MIDI I/O is sample-accurate with supporting software.
Expandable add additional interfaces for more I/O as your needs grow.
Separate TRS main outs with front panel volume control.
Stereo 24-bit 96kHz S/PDIF in/out.
Includes drivers for Mac & PC, including ASIO, WDM, Wave, Core Audio, and Core MIDI. Supports all popular Mac and Windows audio software.
Plug-and-play operation with your Mac or PC via FireWire or USB2.
Front panel volume control for monitoring. Stereo, Quad, 6.1, 7.1 and user-defined surround monitoring setups available.
Front panel headphone jack with volume control.
Bus-powered FireWire operation. No need for external power when operating as a FireWire interface connected to a computer. A power supply is included for stand-alone operation.

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I'm using a wired Apple USB because I like the convenience of having two USB ports for dongles, cameras and so on. It was fun to see it working with Windows :)

But if you prefer wireless, consider the Apple Bluetooth one. It's compact and really nice low profile plus aluminum body. You also get dedicated function keys for brightness, dashboard, iTunes playback, system volume and disk eject.

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rob_lee wrote:Specs of the Motu are here but i don't see FW800 anywhere - shit lol
No worries. Check the image.

Image

You can clearly see a FW400 label. Only thing required is a FW800 to FW400 dongle and you are set. Just call them about it and I'm sure they can give you more details.

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george wrote:I'm using a wired Apple USB because I like the convenience of having two USB ports for dongles, cameras and so on. It was fun to see it working with Windows :)

But if you prefer wireless, consider the Apple Bluetooth one. It's compact and really nice low profile plus aluminum body. You also get dedicated function keys for brightness, dashboard, iTunes playback, system volume and disk eject.
Oh the wired versions give you 2 extra usb ports? Oh but even then i'd only gain 1 cause obviously the keyboard would have to be plugged into the back of the mini so i'd lose 1 port there.. hmm still im waiting to see if the seller accepts, if not i'll just buy it outright :-)

Rob

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george wrote:
rob_lee wrote:Specs of the Motu are here but i don't see FW800 anywhere - shit lol
No worries. Check the image.

Image

You can clearly see a FW400 label. Only thing required is a FW800 to FW400 dongle and you are set. Just call them about it and I'm sure they can give you more details.
Ah thanks i never even bothered looking so yes i'll do that mate :-)

Rob

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rob_lee wrote:Oh the wired versions give you 2 extra usb ports? Oh but even then i'd only gain 1 cause obviously the keyboard would have to be plugged into the back of the mini so i'd lose 1 port there.. hmm still im waiting to see if the seller accepts, if not i'll just buy it outright :-)
Yes, in my particular case I find bothersome having to search for rear USB connections :hihi:

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george wrote:
rob_lee wrote:Oh the wired versions give you 2 extra usb ports? Oh but even then i'd only gain 1 cause obviously the keyboard would have to be plugged into the back of the mini so i'd lose 1 port there.. hmm still im waiting to see if the seller accepts, if not i'll just buy it outright :-)
Yes, in my particular case I find bothersome having to search for rear USB connections :hihi:
Yes i agree, ok i will get that adapter too so all should be fine the. Still waiting for reply hehe, can't find any 8gb i7 quads anywhere else at that price, even at £799 it's a steal. I seen lower spec one for £900+

Rob

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