IOS to MacOS MacBook sugestions

[Simon Bar Sinister]

Looking for recommendations or suggestions for moving from AmpliTube 4 Max (iPad) to MacOS. I haven't had a Mac before so just curious what to watch out for or not get, beyond the requirements anyway.

[garfy]

Hello there.

Firstly, I would advise that you change your username to something other than your email address. Spambots love to harvest information like this and you may well receive emails trying to sell you holiday insurance.

As for which Mac to buy, I'll be slightly biased and say that the size of your wallet dictates the size of your Mac

But, seriously, the main thing to think about is portability. MacBook Pros are great machines, but you are paying a premium for a mobile device. If you never intend on taking it out of the house then a desktop is better. Then the question of peripherals. If you already have a good monitor, mouse, keyboard etc then a MacMini can give good bang for buck. But an iMac is a beautiful piece of design and can be much more powerful than the Mini.

At the moment, Apple are in a transition phase, moving away from Intel processors into their own chip technology, similar in design to the one in your iPad. This new type of processor is a System in a Package (SiP) which means that the CPU, GPU and RAM are all integrated onto the same chip and can work faster. They have refreshed some of the basic models already and early signs show them to be really good machines. However, they are still to release their middle to top range stuff and some software and hardware manufacturers are still adapting their products to run on the new machines, so it might be wise to hold fire for at least a couple of months before buying, to see how it pans out.

That said, there have been some great reviews for the base model MBPs and MacMini, so if you don't intend on running limitless audio, MIDI instrument and effects then of those might fit the bill already.

Hope that helps.

[Simon Bar Sinister]

Yeah, basically looking for some recommendations on what key features are resource hogs on the system. Pack it full of ram or memory, or both. Portability is a driving factor as well. (Thanks for the heads up on the name change...

[garfy]

I guess with buying any technology, getting the best spec you can afford is the default position as the machine will last you longer (technical failure not withstanding).

Pack it full of ram or memory, or both

RAM is memory, but I suspect you mean RAM or storage.

Again, more of everything is best but if you have to decide where to put your money if you're on a budget, then it will depend on what else you want the machine to do. If you are just looking at it to run AT5, then even a lowly model should do that without breaking a sweat. The difference comes if you're looking to run a DAW and what you expect to do with it. Do you want to record large multi-track projects of audio with loads of effects plugins, or are you needing it to run lots of virtual instruments with sample-heavy sound sets?

If you're looking at the last generation of Intel machines, then a Quad core i7 should be a minimum. SSD storage will always be best, but you'll need a lot of it if you're running virtual instruments with big sample content. RAM should be 16GB minimum as the OS has to run in it before you even boot apps up, but 32GB is becoming the norm. You can save a bit of money by getting a relatively small (256GB) internal SSD and then buy externals for sample content and recorded audio, but then this starts to encroach on the portability factor and having to buy stable hubs etc.

[Simon Bar Sinister]

Been using AmpliTube 4 for some time now and want to start doing some recording and sampling. Got lots of ideas floating around and its time to do something with them, besides its a fun time. I've had the iPad with v4 going for about 3yrs now and thought I would get the Mac and dive a little deeper.