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ibook for recording

ricgnzlzcr

ricgnzlzcr

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 7, 2005
802
0
Hi all. I am planning to buy my first ever mac and am excited about using Tiger. I have been waiting for the updates to the ibook line forever and have decided that if it's not done in 2 weeks I just won't wait anymore. I will be using my ibook mainly for itunes, websurfing, and wordprocessing. The thing that might take a little power though is that I will be recording using garageband or a more advanced program which means I will be hooking up a mic and a keyboard to my ibook to do some advanced stuff. I was wondering what is the minimum speed ibook I need to run garageband at a decent speed and how much is the minimum ram that would allow me to perform my tasks well. I don't plan to record more than two tracks at a time (ex: vocals and guitar) so it doesn't have to be a powerhouse like a powermac or anything. I'm asking this because I may just decide to buy an older model off ebay. Anyways, thanks and let's hope they update the line.
 
ricgnzlzcr said:
Hi all. I am planning to buy my first ever mac and am excited about using Tiger. I have been waiting for the updates to the ibook line forever and have decided that if it's not done in 2 weeks I just won't wait anymore. I will be using my ibook mainly for itunes, websurfing, and wordprocessing. The thing that might take a little power though is that I will be recording using garageband or a more advanced program which means I will be hooking up a mic and a keyboard to my ibook to do some advanced stuff. I was wondering what is the minimum speed ibook I need to run garageband at a decent speed and how much is the minimum ram that would allow me to perform my tasks well. I don't plan to record more than two tracks at a time (ex: vocals and guitar) so it doesn't have to be a powerhouse like a powermac or anything. I'm asking this because I may just decide to buy an older model off ebay. Anyways, thanks and let's hope they update the line.
Click to expand...

Powerbooks have always been the preferred model for audio recording. I do audio/software synthesizer stuff from my powerbook, and I chose it because of the faster 5400 rpm drive (can record more tracks, faster as well) faster cpu, and faster FSB.

If you could snag a 1ghz TiBook or 1.33 ghz AlBook off of eBay, that'd be a good deal.

Also, I'm currently using Audio Units (softsynths) for garageband and so far so good with 512 mb ram. Eventually when I start doing more tracks of audio, I'll upgrade to 1.25 gb ram.
 
Thanks a lot. Do you think that it would suffice with 512 megs of ram?
 
My brother and I are both musicians and we've used his 1.25ghz ibook and the iMic (usb adapter) to record through Garageband 2 (GB) , many times. Worked great. No flaws noticeable, we would typically run about 3 tracks at once when doing playbacks and dubbing. I believe he has 512mb of RAM.
A PB would be nice, but the iBook handles GB w/o a hitch.

Oh, and a MIDI keyboard worked just fine in the mix.
 
iMic

Used GB with a 900mhz iB, and it worked, no problems.

You do need this:

prod_imic.jpg


info

Happy recording! :D

----------------------------------

SoundSource---> iMic---> iB---> GarageBand---> iTunes---> Burn to CD.
 
Thanks guys. I'm thinking about a 1.0 ibook with 512 ram so that I have enough money to afford a keyboard. Thanks for the tips. I greatly appreciate it as music is a passion and its nice to know there are people with macs out there recording their own stuff.
 
just to throw in my belated reply!

As the others have mentioned the iBook is perfectly adequate. If you are only going to record 2 tracks at a time (stereo is 2 tracks) then the hard drive speed of the iBook wont be much of an issue. One of the other technicians were I work uses a 700mhz (or around that mark) iBook with Cubase/Pro Tools and its fine for smaller projects.

Ram is going to make the biggest difference in my opinion, so put as much in as possible. 1GB is expensive now, but its much cheaper than buying a smaller amount then upgrading in the future.

I've been using audio programs for the past 5 years, I've just about tried all the big names (Cubase, Pro Tools, Logic), as well as the smaller names (Fruity Loops, Reason, GB). I must say for the price and what it can actually do, GarageBand is one of the most impressive packages I've seen in a while. Its not going to blow the heavyweights out of the water, but for writing small projects or demos, its almost perfect.
 
pulsewidth947 said:
I must say for the price and what it can actually do, GarageBand is one of the most impressive packages I've seen in a while. ... but for writing small projects or demos, its almost perfect.
Click to expand...

I hear that.
I've been a singer/songwriter for about 2 years now, and I started by using freeware/shareware recording stuff. I generally still do for idea stuff, but Garageband can produce excellent stuff if you put the time in. I actually run it on my Blue/White 400mhz G3, and it does the job. Of course I cannot add effects at all. But whatever.

www.travislawrence.tk
 
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