KVR Audio

Jesus123 · Post by **Jesus123** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 9:07 pm

Man I'm just a load of questions, aren't I? Anyway, it's getting to that point where I feel the need to buy a new computer. Would anyone reccommend Macintosh over PC in terms of efficiency in music? Or any other reason for that matter?

cron · Post by **cron** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 9:10 pm

Get whichever one supports the software you want to use.

jeffn1 · Post by **jeffn1** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 9:25 pm

Here is my view on this controversial issue. If you are a professional in a position where you are expected to have a Pro Tools rig (and maybe Logic for more midi intensive work?) and may lose work if you do not use Pro Tools (for example you are dealing with big labels or major motion picture studios), than get an Apple.

Is there pretty much a consensus for smaller studio/hobbyists that you get much more "bang for the buck" in terms of computing power, variety of plugs-ins, availability of free plug-ins, etc. with a PC?

jeffn

Falconmusic · Post by **Falconmusic** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 9:36 pm

heres my quik point of view.

mac - better speed and reliability, supports protools and many other music programs.

pc - more variety in plugins and can be custimized to your hearts content

though i must say that most profesional plug ins come in vst AND rtas format.

counterfeit · Post by **counterfeit** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 9:41 pm

heres my quik point of view.

mac - better speed and reliability, supports protools and many other music programs.

pc - more variety in plugins and can be custimized to your hearts content

though i must say that most profesional plug ins come in vst AND rtas format.

Here's mine
If you want a nice OS =Mac
If you need raw power for Vsti etc...=PC
if you use Protools, it doesn't matter, it run great on both nowadays (and better on centrino laptop..)
I have both and i am happy with both for different reasons...

Jesus123 · Post by **Jesus123** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 9:45 pm

though i must say that most profesional plug ins come in vst AND rtas format.

So...Macs aren't good with VSTi's? I mean, essentially all I've ever wanted is a piano that sounds real and string instruments that sound real, and it seems like VSTi's can produce that- the more expensive ones, at least. The only reason I'm leaning toward Mac is because of the amazing things that my friend has been doing through his Garage Band program and frankly I'm quite jealous. He produces songs efficiently and they also sound great...I don't fuckin' know what to do anymore.

Goa Head · Post by **Goa Head** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 10:06 pm

Having delt with both mac + PC in professional situations, I feel both platforms are as professional as you want them to be. Sure, apple has the marketing where they, and others, advertise as being superior to the PC platform ... but that doesn't mean squat when you sit down in a creative situation, ready to write some music. Both are excellent, thought I feel apple way over prices their 'gear'.

As a cubase and protools user, I have built a solid PC for very cheap compared to mac. Cubase runs better on PC, thats a given, and ProTools runs as good as it does on mac. Logic runs ONLY on mac. Different strokes for different folks.

I, personally, will be sticking with home built PC's for a very very long time. But, It all depends on what YOU want to do.

Another note on the microsoft debate where people claim its a buggy peice of sh*t. XP is solid as rock, probably more stable then OSX. If you put this into perspective... Let me make a analogy here. People 'ussually' hate MS cause they are a monopoly. Therefor, people love to hate it, cause they feel they can. Now... Put Pro Tools in MS's spot for a moment and think how that war goes. A lot of people HATE Pro Tools, cause they are the largest company there is. Pro Tools is an amazing program, and I hightly doubt most of these people have used Pro Tools in the way it is supposed to be used, therefor lack of knowledge ties the knot. Point being... Don't let people scare you away from windows, just cause their bitter for no reason. It's a valid, and again professional as you want it to be, OS.

Peace..

jeffn1 · Post by **jeffn1** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 10:07 pm

Garage Band program

IMHO, I would save the money buy getting more powerful PC and buy Tracktion (I do not even use Tracktion, but it seems to have a nice following here).

JeffN1

pough · Post by **pough** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 10:21 pm

The only reasons to choose one over the other, when it comes right down to it is:

1) Which OS are you more comfortable with? (And, of course, you probably can learn to be comfortable with the other, too.)

2) Which OS has the software you want the most?

Sounds to me like you want to use garageband. That would be a Mac. An alternative to it would be Tracktion. Well, that runs on PC and Mac. Now you just have to decide if the PCs have more plugins that you want or not. Ignore anybody that mentions the word "professional."

Jesus123 · Post by **Jesus123** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 10:24 pm

but VSTs work on mac and pc, right? what's the deal there..

munchkin · Post by **munchkin** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 10:26 pm

Mac's are shite and PC's are crap. Get an Atari.

On a more serious note. PC's have more plugins available. That's it! There are no differences in power or ease of use - both platforms offer these.

You might want to consider price - Mac's tend to cost more and aren't as easy to upgrade. But if you buy a powerful Mac you might not need to upgrade for awhile anyway.

pough · Post by **pough** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 10:27 pm

Jesus123 wrote:but VSTs work on mac and pc, right? what's the deal there..

One file doesn't run on both. By which I mean, every VST plugin has to be written specifically for a platform. And some VSTs do exist for the Mac, but not all Mac programs run them (without a special adaptor.) So not everything that exists on the PC as a VST will have a Mac version and not every Mac host can run VSTs anyways.

Goa Head · Post by **Goa Head** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 10:30 pm

pough wrote:Ignore anybody that mentions the word "professional."

Why? He's making a big decision that will cost him a considerable ammount of $$. Why wouldn't you want a professional system in doing so?

SuitcaseOfLizards · Post by **SuitcaseOfLizards** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 10:30 pm

Jesus123 wrote:but VSTs work on mac and pc, right? what's the deal there..

The trick is, not all VSTs made have a Mac version. While quite a few are on both platforms - and there are Mac-only VSTs - there is a far greater number of VST/VSTi available for the PC platform.

It's interesting to hear that Pro Tools runs well on a PC now, used to be, if you wanted a stable Pro Tools setup you got a Mac. I'll have to look into the cheaper (is there such a thing) versions of Pro Tools and Digi hardware again. Not because I like 'em, but because some folks just like to hear the words "I have a Pro Tools rig".

Screw 'em both, run pure hardware.

Wendy Randolph · Post by **Wendy Randolph** » Sat Sep 11, 2004 10:37 pm

digidesign actually does most of their demo's on PC systems now. (sony laptops + centrino).

And the main rumour I keep hearing is they are switching to PC as the main development platform, then porting to mac. They have a much faster growing PC community. Honestly, if you're not going to run logic or DP. there's no reason to do music on a mac. DP4 is really nice though.

It's your choice in the end, none of our opinions means anything.

Mac vs. PC