Making the PC to MAC switch - advice??

[trentoliphant]

What about the hard drives - can I get third party drives too? (the apple ones don't seem to be too out of line price wise.)Unfortunately my MBox was the original and doesn't have the midi on it. I use either USB MIDI devices or I have an M-Audio 2x2. I currently don't use any outboard midi gear besides my controllers.Trent

[jmather]

Thanks Mazz and Andy for the input.I'm looking at all of this as a long term investment, and will save up until I have it. That said it seems like the ideal system would be to go:Mac Pro - I'm definitely not into tweaking the comp. or messing around with externals after dropping 1000s of dollars!And Logic - I like that it comes with loops and ancillary (love that word) software. I'm glad you mentioned Logic, I don't know anything about it but I'll look into it now. So as far as periferals - cheaper to buy the monitor and extra ram by a third party, Great, I wouldn't have thought of that. And for virtual drums - how are we skinning that cat?? Justin

[mojobone]

You work with large samples, 4 gigs of RAM is minimal for modern VSTIs. Yes to non-Apple hard drives, they get 'em from the same place as you. Long as they're 7200 RPM, you're good to go.

[superjeezus]

Nov 18, 2008, 6:57pm, jmather wrote:And for virtual drums - how are we skinning that cat?? Superior Drummer, BFD, and there are others for sampled drums. Each program has its fans and foes. I can vouch for the two I listed above (as if that means something, ha ).Stylus RMX for loops...yeah, almost everybody's using it now, but it's pretty deep and I still consider it essential. You just have to dig deeper than using the preset loops.I'm sure there's much more out there, but that's what I use.--Andy.

[anne]

Hi Mather - I hope this isn't too repetitive - just thought I'd let you know what I bought for my set up - I think it was way under 3K to boot. I use a Mac Pro with Logic. I also have ProTools mbox 7.3, but don't ever use it since Logic takes care of my needs and I know longer own my projectmix or a working iLok key.I started with whatever came with it, and now have 4 GB of Ram. The ram loads into two "trays" which are super easy to pull out and install. If you look on line, especially on ebay, people are always selling the sticks that come with the machine for about $10 - 20 each because they buy 8 gb sticks etc. I think it cost me about $25 to upgrade to 4 GB this way, and I have a ton of expansion room left. I run Logic studio, Kontakt, stylus with very rare lock ups (only happens when working with editing groups in Kontakt when I have more than one instance loaded, so I attribute it to my lack of knowledge more than anything)As far as monitors, you can use any. Samsung syncmaster 940bw (widescreen lcd) is what I have and it was less than $300 when I purchased it 2 years back. After market hard drives - SATA 7200 rpm Western Digital drives are what apple uses, and you can buy these at any box store for a bargain price. The machine holds 4 of them. I don't know if its an option when ordering or if its standard, but I'd get an airport card installed (unless you will have ethernet for your internet access). It is not considered user friendly and has to be installed at apple for the warranty. The drawback is that it doesn't work wonderfully well. I would guess that somewhere like MacMall would have a better solution. I hope this helps - Anne

[superjeezus]

Nov 19, 2008, 11:06am, nashvillean wrote:Nov 18, 2008, 4:32pm, superjeezus wrote:Monitors - don't buy Apple peripherals. Ok, the cinema displays are nice, but unless you have money to burn, you'll do fine with any good brand monitor.Bad advice... I have a Apple Cinema Monitor and unfortunately purchased a Dell Monitor...Dell is way cheaper but also in quality. Don't save money on the monitor... It's your health. (Eyes)With all due respect, if I would have recommended a Dell monitor, that may have been bad advice. But I didn't. Apple doesn't make the only eye-friendly display out there. Anne had a good suggestion with the Samsung Syncmaster, IMO. Synmaster 24" - about $700. Apple 23" - about $900. (By the way, did I mention that I have two 23" Apple cinema displays? )--Andy.

[djbobm]

Hi Justin!I bought an iMac 2.8 almost a year ago. I went to an Apple Store and got a demo of Garage Band. It looked pretty easy, which was a requirement, so I got a demo of Logic Pro 8. It also seemed pretty easy so I fired up my credit card and Logic and the iMac followed me home. I was under the impression that the iMac 2.8 was the biggest, baddest computer available for recording, which is all I do on it. I got 2 gigs of RAM and the 500 gig HD as upgrades. I have since upgraded to 4 gigs of RAM with third party RAM, which is a lot cheaper. The 24 inch monitor is great. I would never be able to work on a smaller screen. I wish I could get more RAM but 4 gigs is the limit. There is a new iMac out that is faster but I don’t know the specs. I would go with the top of the line. As far as Logic Pro versus Logic Express goes, I think Logic 8 at $499 is the way to go because you get a lot more sounds, not to mention a couple of extra programs that you might or might not use. I’ve been working with Logic 8 on a daily basis for almost a year. There is a lot of fire power there and I think it has the capability of producing a top quality recording. After hearing examples played at the Rally, I think I need another year or two to reach the pro level of production, but that isn’t Logic’s fault. With Logic 8, you can get up and running and recording immediately. As you work on projects, you learn the lingo. I have been though 3 third party tutorials which have really helped. If you go with Logic, I’d be glad to tell you what I have used and found useful. I haven’t used any other DAWs but I'm sure each one has a learning curve. I bought mine at an Apple Store. If I had to do it again, I would definitely get it from a music store that has a sales staff that actually uses Logic and offers service. (I know a good one but I’m not sure if I can write it here. Email me.) I now know more about Logic than the Logic guy at the Apple Store, so he is no help. At other music stores, I found that most of the guys use Protools, so they aren’t of any help either. You can buy a service package for Logic that is crazy expensive. You can call and talk to a Logic expert. Get it from a good store and get advice for free.There are a lot of good people on this board that know a lot more about the technical aspect than I do. I’ve learned a lot just by reading this thread. I like my iMac and I like Logic 8. If I had to do it again, I would probably go with the Mac Pro because it is expandable. I hope this helps.Bob

[christig]

I'm breezing through these posts and there's a lot of great advice. I'll add my 2 cents.Other World Computing offers some great aftermarket add ons. Memory, hard drives, etc.Last time I checked, Logic Express was not eligible as an upgrade to Logic Pro. You might want to read through the specs and see if the difference in price is worth going to Logic Pro. Lucky you - you're getting a new Mac!

[jmather]

Andy, Anne, Bob, Nashvillian and Chisti - thanks so much for your advice!! There's a lot of great info here that I will use as a reference as I look around online and in the Mac store. It may be a while before I can afford all of this so if you don't hear back very soon, that's why! I just want to do the research now and learn about all of the different possible configurations so I can be ready when the fundage is there. I'm still very much a beginner when it comes to music production, so I really appreciate your help. I'll keep checking back if anyone else has anything to add. peaceJustin

[slideboardouts]

Nov 20, 2008, 7:37am, christig wrote:Last time I checked, Logic Express was not eligible as an upgrade to Logic Pro. You might want to read through the specs and see if the difference in price is worth going to Logic Pro. Lucky you - you're getting a new Mac!Thats not true. Logic Express users can upgrade to Logic Studio (formerly known as Logic Pro) by paying the difference (about $300). They even have a separate designated "Upgrade" box on the shelves at apple stores.The only time Express isn't eligible to upgrade to Studio is if Express was bought using a student discount. -Steve