Best Mac for Basic Music Production

[baybaytenayje]

I've been tasked by a friend to put together a basic music production setup (computer/interface). He's going to be making very basic recordings by himself and possibly with friends. Using a DAW excites him because he wants to layer instruments without worrying about a limited number of tracks. This is all new to him (computers in general) so there's going to be a pretty big learning curve.

I've always used MBP's so that's always a good option but I'm wondering if he'll need that much power for what he's going to be doing. My gut tells me to start him off on GarageBand and see how he does with that. He definitely won't need to be running lots of plug-ins or high CPU effects. I'm having my doubts about a MacBook Air because of the low processing power. The lowest tier iMac seems like a reasonable choice though and the big screen would be nice. He definitely won't be taking the computer out of the studio.

I'd feel bad making him spend more than $1,500 since you can buy a capable PC for cheaper. I'm avoiding that route because I think the macOS system is so straight forward and there's so much technical support available from Apple.

With that being said, what would you recommend for him? Thanks in advance!

 

[0128672]

Garageband and an iMac or a Macbook Air is a great way to get started. But he can also learn Garageband on an iPad, which will keep the cost down while he sees if he likes using it. You may also want to wait until after WWDC next month to see if a new iMac is announced.

 

[baybaytenayje]

Garageband and an iMac or a Macbook Air is a great way to get started. But he can also learn Garageband on an iPad, which will keep the cost down while he sees if he likes using it. You may also want to wait until after WWDC next month to see if a new iMac is announced.

Yeah I think it’ll be a little while until he’s ready to get this rolling. Waiting is an option. If they end up announcing a new iMac maybe a I could get him a cheaper previous model.

 

[Fishrrman]

"He definitely won't be taking the computer out of the studio."

Then DON'T get a laptop.
Get either a 2019 27" iMac or a 2018 Mini instead.
If money is tight, he might consider an Apple-refurbished 2017 27" iMac, properly equipped.

With DAW's, "screen real estate" is what one needs.
The 27" has plenty of it.
Also, all current iMacs (the exception is the iMac Pro) DO NOT HAVE a t2 chip inside, which sometimes seems to interfere with audio production hardware.

It should have an SSD inside as the boot drive.
512gb would be large enough to handle things, without being overly expensive.

RAM can be 8gb to start. The 27" iMac makes it EASY to upgrade RAM.
You CANNOT upgrade the RAM in a 21" iMac without a LOT of disassembly. You do not want to do this.

The other important consideration is the audio interface he will use.
I'd suggest a thunderbolt interface to overcome latency problems that are often encountered when using USB.
A better place to read up on interfaces would be gearslutz.com.