Can a 17" MBP be my main recording computer?

[GanleyBurger]

Sold my Core Duo Imac... Now ready to buy a new Mac... when they actually launch the new stuff...

Software Needs: Audio and loop recording / Logic 8 when it comes / Ableton Live
Hardware: Probably Mbox 2 or Mbox Pro
Needs: Good quality Demos / 8 to 10 virtual instruments (i.e. Logic) and 4 to 6 Audio Tracks at the most.
Wants: Occasional Rewire / Some effects

Can a 17" MBP handle this now? Or when the newest products hit???

I can $$$ afford the equivalent of today's 17" Core 2 Duo 2.33, 2gigs Ram, 160 5400rpm drive, 256 graphics card

MBP audio gurus... opinionate!!!

 

[zimv20]

you should videe this thread.

 

[GanleyBurger]

Thanks. Read it all the way through... and that was back in the end of 2005... and into 2006! Good stuff. I wonder what they think about the upcoming gen?

Perhaps if Apple updates the 17"s in this March/April madness with at least the next gen of Core 2 Duo chips, I just might go for it. (oh, that they would just drop one quad chip into the 17").

Hey... I guess that if the MBP didn't work out, I could always Ebay it, only lose about $300, and go back to a desktop or tower. It's all good with Macs!!!!

Any other tasty advice... anyone???

 

[chasemac]

For your recording needs, get an external 7200 rpm HD or upgrade to the 7200 rpm internal HD for less $$$.

 

[NewSc2]

definitely yes. my 17" PB was okay for logic (had to freeze things a lot) but working with my 15" MBP is a breeze. if you're working with a lot of audio an external eSATA hdd would be a good option, same with working with a lot of samples.

i've yet to see my CPU bar go up more than 40%ish for Logic Pro 7. Logic's plugins are VERY efficient.

 

[GanleyBurger]

Woo hoo!!! People who own them... fantastic!!!

I have a Glyph FW 800 250gig external drive 7200 rpm...

Do you put your loop libraries on the external or internal?

Would you go so far as to put the Apple Loops on the external?

I fear (when I purchase the new gen 17") only having 100 gigs if I buy the interal 7200 drive. Between installs of OSX, Logic Pro, RMX, Albeton and my loop libraries, I had used up 65gigs. That would be 65% of the internal drive space. Add a couple of virtual instruments, it going to 75%.

 

[NewSc2]

Woo hoo!!! People who own them... fantastic!!!

I have a Glyph FW 800 250gig external drive 7200 rpm...

Do you put your loop libraries on the external or internal?

Would you go so far as to put the Apple Loops on the external?

I fear (when I purchase the new gen 17") only having 100 gigs if I buy the interal 7200 drive. Between installs of OSX, Logic Pro, RMX, Albeton and my loop libraries, I had used up 65gigs. That would be 65% of the internal drive space. Add a couple of virtual instruments, it going to 75%.

Um, currently I have everything on my 160gb HDD of my MBP. Load times are there but not so bad where I get annoyed. Most EXS sample sets load in about 3-5 seconds. I don't have an external HDD yet -- I was doing most audio work on my PC until I purchased this laptop 2 months ago.

I have a lot of video on this MBP so it's filled up pretty fast -- I have about 60gb left, but once I back up most of my video work and delete some stupid projects I'll be back up to 110gb+. That's with at least 10gb of samples.

People recommend putting all your samples externally, and some purchase a 2nd external HD for their projects/recordings, and a 3rd for backups. External HDD's are cheap.

I don't really use Apple Loops (if I do, I use the MIDI ones), but i'd probably put them externally too, especially with 100gb HDD.

I'm sure you'll figure most of this out as you go. The HDD will probably be your bottleneck (especially space-wise) but you should be fine. The 17" monitor is great to work with, and the speeds should be very similar, if not better than, your iMac.

 

[GanleyBurger]

Good stuff...

One of my biggest concerns is if I get into a big virtual piano program or had something like Native instruments Komplete. I really like the new ToonTrack drum stuff. Big files though.

Does your ultralight have a knob to mix between input and playback tracks?

 

[NewSc2]

Good stuff...

One of my biggest concerns is if I get into a big virtual piano program or had something like Native instruments Komplete. I really like the new ToonTrack drum stuff. Big files though.

Does your ultralight have a knob to mix between input and playback tracks?

I have a Traveler. Yes there are controls on the interface that allow you to adjust levels. They're not hard to access but you do have to do each input one by one.

I have a pair of Dynaudio BM5As set as the main outs, so whatever I list as the input level gets to the output level. I generally just adjust the input levels to max headroom (without distortion) on the Traveler and adjust the levels separately on Logic or on my synths.

 

[SSpiro]

Like this thread.. was going to post the same for my 15" MBP.. not as fast, but I think it'll be perfect..