EDM/Hip Hop Production

[minus.toes]

I dabble in EDM production at home. I am looking for a new computer to work from (DAW, MIDI controller, etc). But I keep feeling a pull back and forth between the 2014 Mac Mini, 2014 Retina iMac and 2014 Retina MacBook Pro.

1) The rMBP has a portability premium attached to it, which is nice, but I don't need.

2) The riMac seems fine, though the 5k screen isn't necessary for music production. And my one fear with the iMac - whether retina model or not - is if the screen goes, the whole computer goes with it.

3) The new Mac Mini, I can add 1-2 screens of my choosing, but I wonder if it's too little computer. Once you max it out and add a good monitor, you're back at the iMac pricing.

So long story short, can I get some opinions on which route I should go between the three? And perhaps in what config I should go, as well?

 

[SimonUK5]

I dabble in EDM production at home. I am looking for a new computer to work from (DAW, MIDI controller, etc). But I keep feeling a pull back and forth between the 2014 Mac Mini, 2014 Retina iMac and 2014 Retina MacBook Pro.

1) The rMBP has a portability premium attached to it, which is nice, but I don't need.

2) The riMac seems fine, though the 5k screen isn't necessary for music production. And my one fear with the iMac - whether retina model or not - is if the screen goes, the whole computer goes with it.

3) The new Mac Mini, I can add 1-2 screens of my choosing, but I wonder if it's too little computer. Once you max it out and add a good monitor, you're back at the iMac pricing.

So long story short, can I get some opinions on which route I should go between the three? And perhaps in what config I should go, as well?

I'm running a baseline 2012 mac mini as my secondary studio computer. I did put an SSD and 16gb of RAM in it though.

It handles 70+ track ProTools sessions fine, have to be clever with bussing and plugins to keep the CPU down, but its fine for 99% of the stuff.

 

[Luap]

I've had more iMacs than I can remember.. They weren't always without problems. But for the most part, they were all good solid computers, and the screen never died in any of them. So I wouldn't let any concerns with screens stop you from buying one.
But yes, 5K screens are of little to no use to musicians.

My last iMac I replaced with a 2012 MacMini (quad i7, ssd, 16gb ram) which has been great. But if something happened to it and I had to replace it, I don't think i'd get a 2014 MacMini. Simply because they are rather less upgradeable than they were, and also currently Apple only has dual core CPU's on offer for them, whereas the 2012's at least could be had with an i7 4 core. IE, the newer ones have significantly less oomph.
So if it were me, i'd probably get another iMac. You can still get 'non 5k' 27" iMacs. Go for the quad i7 upgrade and you'll get years of good music production service out of it

 

[GoldfishRT]

If you're planning on using Logic, just make sure whatever you have is maxed on ram. I noticed performance problems with 4GB in this machine but with 16 it runs like a dream. It'll work the CPU a bit but not terribly so I think you'd be fine with the Mac Mini if you don't need portability. I do still feel like you might benefit from the quad in the MacBook Pro or the more powerful iMac though.

 

[xSinghx]

I dabble in EDM production at home. I am looking for a new computer to work from (DAW, MIDI controller, etc). But I keep feeling a pull back and forth between the 2014 Mac Mini, 2014 Retina iMac and 2014 Retina MacBook Pro.

I would put a premium on screen space. If you're working for any extended period of time your eyes will thank you for a larger screen.

If you're worried about the life span of a screen I would consider a used mac pro before a mini. http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Apple-Systems/Used/Mac-Pro

 

[ChrisA]

I dabble in EDM production at home. I am looking for a new computer to work from ....

What you needs is A good sized screen, (13" macbook is to small) and at least 8GB of RAM and a good audio interface. You don't need a lot of CPU power but SSD storage is nice to have but audio does not really require it.