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nicoga3000

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 8, 2010
7
0
So I'm taking the plunge into the Mac world finally. I'll be straight when I say the primary reason I want to go Mac is for Logic Studio - I've used Ableton Live a bit, touched Reason, but really feel that Logic will be give me the composition tools (rewiring Reason into Logic will only make my life more incredible) that I desire.

I can't decide if I want the portability of the MBP or the size and power of the iMac. I need some help from people who (hopefully) have experience with production on these guys. Outside of using Logic, I won't be doing TOO much else in the media department. A bit of photo editing once I splurge on a DSLR and replace my basic digital. No video editing in the near future either, at least nothing that will require anything insane. :)

My hurdle is in the price. The iMac is $1199 retail and the 15" MBP (because 13" is DEFINITELY not enough screen real-estate for any music production IMO) will run me $1599 for the base model, more if I stepped it up. I get a preferred pricing discount that acts like a student discount, so knock off whatever that is - $50 or $100? Something like - it's pretty much going to make the cost of the Apple Care negligible.

I have a PC that works fine for what I use it for (great in fact, as it's built to be a gaming machine), but I just feel that it's a bit cluttered. The argument comes down to desktop vs laptop, right? Well, not necessarily, since I can't see myself really producing much music at fricken Starbucks or whatever, ha. Even then, any work I would do outside of my home or on my lunch break at the office would be mastering/tweaking rather than straight up composing (since I'm gonna need my MIDI controller when actually doing work that way).

I've got no real desire to game on the thing - again, I have my PC for that. I will touch a bit on programming touch apps, but that's only when I'm feeling adventurous and want to learn a new language (ugh). The other side will be, of course, if I go with the MBP, I'll HAVE a laptop that I can take around with me. Sit on the couch and browse the web while watching TV - something I don't really have the luxury of doing anymore since my laptop died months ago. But given the vacinity of my PC to my TV (bachelor pad, ftw), I don't need that. Taking it to a public place to be around people (that sounds pathetic, but ya'll know what I mean, haha) would be another reason for having it, but I'm not going to let this be a selling point in the least bit.

Huh - this is turning out to be a MUCH longer post than expected...I'll try and simplify this...


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tl;dr I need me some pros and cons of iMac vs MBP for doing music production in Logic (with plug-ins, VSTs, Reason, quasi-system intensive stuff) with external peripherals (mainly external audio and a MIDI controller) attached.
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MUCH appreciate the tips and info. Oh, one final note, I can't imagine needing to "wait for the next release" as the i5/i7 would probably a) cost more and b) be overkill for what I need. Grazie
 
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