Macbook for music production (metal)

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24 Nov 2020
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I am currently looking to upgrade from my Macbook Pro (13inch, mid 2012) i5 as it is slowing down and struggles to run logic and pro tools now. I do a lot of guitar tracking and use plug ins frequently so I need something that can handle running these.

I'm unsure what specs I would require so any recommendations on models and specs would be appreciated :)
 
Soldato
Joined
14 Oct 2009
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UK
The new Macbooks look awesome. I would try watching some YouTube videos just to see people using Logic etc and you can see the performance.

I'd say go for the MacBook Pro with M1 chip with 16gb.

If you have the funds you could always buy it. Trial it for 14 days and if no good send it back.

With regards to plugging in your devices etc your likely going to need a thunderbolt dock.
 
Soldato
Joined
3 Jun 2005
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3,066
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The South
M1 appears to be decent and you'll have no issue with Logic. But Protools isn't officially supported, even though there are now a few posts on the Avid forums where a few users have it "running" via Rosetta, and it's possible you might have support issues with plug-ins (AVX/AVX2 instruction set support) and external hardware (Audio I/O etc).
Also the M1's 16GB RAM is a hard limit, so it's worth thinking about especially if you're using lots of sample libraries (RAM is king here), otherwise you'll be doing a lot of freezing/bouncing down.

Personally, if you can hold off for 6 months then do so as there should be more details on Avid's native release of Protools as well plug-in and hardware support and possibly updated Apple Silicon hardware (32GB variants maybe).

If you're really desperate, i would personally get the best Intel system you can as it'll just work and will be supported for a fair few years yet.

If you do opt for a M1 system, just know that it's a gamble and make sure you thoroughly test your workflow (DAW, plug-ins, hardware etc) as much as you can within the Apple returns window and prepare for things to not work.
 
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