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FROPPE
Akahai
USA
81 Posts |
 Posted - 08/13/2007 : 08:37:19 AM
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Aloha, everyone!
I am considering acquiring a laptop for personal use (very simple word processing and spreadsheets), internet access, e-mails, and writing music in standard notation and tab.
Years ago, I had a Mac desktop that I enjoyed very much, especially for the simplicity of use for my computer-illiterate mind. I had to swith to PC (Compaq, then Dell) for compatibility with business software, etc., and am using a Dell today with Windows XP.
My life has changed, for the better, and I no longer need the business applications. I am strongly considering going back to the Mac, especially since they now have Windows capability, as well as (or so I am told) much better performance for music-type applications.
Any input on one versus the other, personal experiences, and/or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
The best thing of all, though, is that with power outtages, system crashes, etc. I can always grab my slack-key guitar, ukulele or Hawaiian lap steel and chill!
Mahalo,
Ben Sterling
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hwnmusiclives
`Olu`olu
USA
580 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2007 : 08:58:39 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by FROPPE
I am considering acquiring a laptop for personal use (very simple word processing and spreadsheets), internet access, e-mails, and writing music in standard notation and tab.
My life has changed, for the better, and I no longer need the business applications. I am strongly considering going back to the Mac, especially since they now have Windows capability, as well as (or so I am told) much better performance for music-type applications.
Any input on one versus the other, personal experiences, and/or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Aloha, Ben! As I have been wrestling with this issue - as recently as this weekend - I am happy to offer some insight.
PCs are less than ideal for music creation. It's not because they are slower than Macs. And the sound quality is equally good on both (since that is essentially done by converters anyway and not by the CPU). It's because in order to get a PC to do right by music applications, there seem to be an infinite number if variables to tweak, and you may never find all of them. By contrast, a Mac is a better integrated system - all of the components coming straight from Apple. So when music applications go awry on the Mac, tracking down the reason is much simpler.
A real life scenario: The recording issue I have been having is called "latency" - i.e. when two tracks of a multitrack recording do not sync up in time. Imagine recording your rhythm guitar track, and then overdubbing your `ukulele track, and playing them back only to discover that the `ukulele is two beats ahead of or two beats behind the guitar! You begin to think you are defying a law of physics because while you were playing the `ukulele you are certain you were playing in perfect time with the guitar! There are about 27 different reasons - in any combination - why this may occur, and each PC handles the various settings differently. I have wrestled with this off-and-on again with a brand new, state-of-the-art PC since last November. As I knew I was going to use the PC for home recording 99% of the time, I feel I made a huge mistake.
If you need only one reason to choose Mac, go out and pick up a copy of Keola Beamer's "Island Born" which he made entirely on a Mac (hassle-free, I would presume). |
Join me for the history of Hawaiian music and its musicians at Ho`olohe Hou at www.hoolohehou.org. |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2007 : 09:13:45 AM
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I too am married to the PC for work purposes. Also, I have a comfort level with the PC (read, I like the right click of the mouse). 
My wife bought an iMac a few years back and loves it. I sometimes hijack her iMac to record a bit too. Garageband works great. It is relatively easy to use and the result has been excellent.
If you do not have the work apps anymore, I would definitely suggest visiting apple.com or a store near you. |
Andy |
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GUke
Lokahi
188 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2007 : 09:49:14 AM
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Buy the Mac. I've only had Mac because I considered them to be the Rolls Royce of computers and since I'll never own a Rolls Royce, I figured why not get the Rolls Royce of computers. Actually when I first considered a PC (pre-Windows time) a Mac was way too easy to install printers and other peripherals. Other computer geeks loved getting into the programming nature of non-Macs. But I always considered the end use--turn on computer, click on program and go.
On a side note I've been told it's better to use an emulater for Windows if you transfer documents between operating systems. If your in Windows and want to bring a document into Mac, you have to restart the computer in Mac OS.
Mac is coming out with a new OS -- maybe in October 2007. So if you do consider a Mac you may want to wait when the new system is out, and maybe even a bit more for Apple to get out any "bugs". If you can't wait, at least wait till Apple offers a free upgrade, or a discounted price for the upgrade to the new OS.
Guke
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Genaro
Should I? Itʻs only $, and where Iʻm going itʻll burn or melt. |
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`Ilio Nui
`Olu`olu
USA
826 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2007 : 09:50:40 AM
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dog |
Edited by - `Ilio Nui on 08/13/2007 3:36:09 PM |
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keoladonaghy
Lokahi
257 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2007 : 11:06:55 AM
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Keola's Law: Use a Mac for everything that you can and Windows for those things you can't do on a Mac.
I have a new MacBook Pro with both OS X as well as Vista (using Boot Camp). There are some localization tools (programs for translating programs into other languages) that are Windows and *nix-based which have no Mac equivalents, so I boot into Vista when I need to use them. I also use it for testing website compatibility.
BootCamp is free but you still have to have a legit copy of XP or Vista to load onto it, in addition to sufficient HD space. |
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keoladonaghy
Lokahi
257 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2007 : 11:22:04 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by hwnmusiclives
If you need only one reason to choose Mac, go out and pick up a copy of Keola Beamer's "Island Born" which he made entirely on a Mac (hassle-free, I would presume).
Kenneth Makuakane's last release was also completely recorded on Mac, with him engineering and performing most tracks by himself, as well as doing mixdown. .Mac and iChat were also heavily utilized during the recording process. |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2007 : 12:41:52 PM
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| Well, if Kenneth made that fine CD with a Mac, that's a very good recommendation, indeed. It is a wonderful collection of music, very well done. |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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Basil Henriques
Lokahi
United Kingdom
225 Posts |
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Basil Henriques
Lokahi
United Kingdom
225 Posts |
Posted - 08/14/2007 : 04:02:27 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Admin
I too am married to the PC for work purposes. Also, I have a comfort level with the PC (read, I like the right click of the mouse).
You CAN use a multifunction mouse on a Mac I have the logitech Media Play on a laptop and the MX 1000 on my G5
FWIW |
Edited by - Basil Henriques on 08/14/2007 04:02:58 AM |
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 08/14/2007 : 05:15:47 AM
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| Not only is the Mac the professional's choice for music production, but with current Intel-based Macs you can use an application like Parallels or the new VMWare Fusion to run those Windows apps you still need right alongside your Mac apps (or you can boot the Mac into Windows as others have pointed out). Given these capabilites I don't see any reason to buy a Windows-only laptop unless you want to limit yourself. |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
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FROPPE
Akahai
USA
81 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2007 : 09:19:00 AM
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Mahalo, everyone, for your input. It is sincerely appreciated!
Aloha,
Ben Sterling |
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keoladonaghy
Lokahi
257 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2007 : 10:54:57 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Basil Henriques
quote:
Originally posted by Admin
I too am married to the PC for work purposes. Also, I have a comfort level with the PC (read, I like the right click of the mouse).
You CAN use a multifunction mouse on a Mac I have the logitech Media Play on a laptop and the MX 1000 on my G5
FWIW
All you have to do on a Mac with a single mouse button to emulate the right button is hold down the control key when clicking. |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2007 : 11:20:48 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by keoladonaghy
All you have to do on a Mac with a single mouse button to emulate the right button is hold down the control key when clicking.
Thanks Keola. See, I might be a convert after all.  Thanks for the tip. |
Andy |
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2007 : 1:19:41 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Admin
quote:
Originally posted by keoladonaghy
All you have to do on a Mac with a single mouse button to emulate the right button is hold down the control key when clicking.
Thanks Keola. See, I might be a convert after all. Thanks for the tip.
Also bear in mind that new desktop Macs ship with a multi-button, scrolling mouse. On the MacBook and MacBook Pro you touch your middle finger to the trackpad along with your index finger and click to emulate the right button (no Ctrl key needed). The two finger technique can also be used for scrolling. |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
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Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2007 : 11:08:29 AM
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quote:
If you need only one reason to choose Mac, go out and pick up a copy of Keola Beamer's "Island Born" which he made entirely on a Mac.
Albeit it with ProTools, a couple of fx cards, piles of plug-ins, Summit mic pre's & Neuman mics...
I did mix it with a mouse, though. For "Mohala Hou" I brought over some outboard compression & FX & a little 8 channel MIDI mixer -- but ended up mixing most of that with a mouse, too.
Can't beat hand drawing volume envelopes for precision control, eh Dog?
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