What MacBook?

[Fvlt]

I'm thinking about getting a MacBook for recording on the road. Is a regular MacBook powerful enough? Or should I look at one of the MacBook Pros?

Also, should I get it with Logic pre-loaded? Or is there a better option (I'm a noob when it comes to recording)?

 

[greyskull]

stump up for the pro if you can

 

[viralz]

Never understood the hype about mac, I mean they have twice less power then PCs but are twice the price.

 

[Pex]

Never understood the hype about mac, I mean they have twice less power then PCs but are twice the price.

Think different!

 

[Leon--]

go for the pro basically,i got the macbook and t's ok but the pro is definately better and faster

 

[006]

Never understood the hype about mac, I mean they have twice less power then PCs but are twice the price.

Totally right bro. Why the hell do the overwhelming majority of professional audio engineers use it for their livelihood? Makes no sense right?

:Smug:

To the OP: Get the best one you can possibly afford, it will last you for many years.

 

[jipchen]

^Yeah that's because they're all stupid. Who needs a good, fast and stable operating system anyway? It's fun to go through billions of registry-entries, install hundreds of drivers, look for missing .dlls and updates for hours on the internet, and trying to optimize a PC's performance for days. That's what real men do, anyways.

And +1 on the Pro. Also get one of the current models, they're incredibly fast and an estimated 100 times faster than the last generation.. even faster than the entry model Mac Pro I might add.
As for software: Logic is great, but ProTools, Cubase, Reaper, etc. are great products aswell. You gotta find the DAW that suits you most - which is kinda hard if you don't own it, though. Personally out of the ones mentioned I like Logic the best, with ProTools following.. but others hate Logic and swear on Cubase. Try to watch a few videos of the workflow and possibilities.

 

[viralz]

My sarcasm-O-meter just blew up

 

[John_C]

Macs are pretty good. So are some PCs. Linux is pretty cool.
Hooray for computers.

Stump up the money and get the pro, better performance and metal is infinitely cooler than plastic.

 

[LydonB]

For an extra $200, the MacBook Pro is totally worth it. If you can manage to save that extra cash for the Pro, I say do it.

 

[Fbarre]

I would go with the pro. It will be great for recording and mixing. Also be sure to check out reaper. It's only $40 but you can try it for an unlimited time without any restrictions before buying it. It might help you to understand digital audio workstations and what you can do with them if you're new to recording, before you invest into a daw you don't like. Since the main functions of daws are pretty similar, the switch to another daw becomes pretty easy if you have familiarized yourself with the concept.

Other daw alternatives for example are Logic, Cubase & Pro Tools.

 

[arv_foh]

Get the pro, and check out apple refurbs, you can save a couple hundred bucks usually

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_pro?mco=MjEwNTY3ODE

 

[Noumenon]

Never understood the hype about mac, I mean they have twice less power then PCs but are twice the price.

Mac = PC
PC = Mac

??? :O

BTW. Twice less? Not half the power? And what are you on about?

 

[Fvlt]

Cool.

I picked up the basic 15" MB Pro. I wanted the 13" because it was both smaller and cheaper, but they were sold out and I was suffering from a bad case of being impatient.

I didn't realize these things came with Garage Band built in. That's kind of cool I guess, although I've never used Garage Band before so I don't know how good/useful it'll be. I'm probably going to start with Logic... no particular reason, just pulling a name out of a hat.

This is probably a stupid question, but.... can I just plug a guitar into the audio input on the laptop? Or am I better off getting some sort of interface (m-audio, etc)?

 

[ThatGuitarGuy]

Get an interface.

Also, you did good on getting the 15 inch. Realistically the 13 inch is the same as a macbook but in an aluminum casing if I remember correctly.

 

[Fvlt]

What's recommended for an interface?

I don't need anything fancy... I'm only looking to record practices and lay down ideas.

However, I would like something that would let me mic my cab as well as let me DI a guitar or bass in when travelling.