Need help selecting a mac for cubase

R

rob aylestone

Moderator
I don't usually need help for computer stuff, but the last two issues of Sound on Sound have had a feature on macs for music. I'm now confused.

I do have cubase 12 pro running on an M1 macbook pro, and an older imac, but as I have drives full of sample packages, my main studio computer that I do the bulk of the work on is a PC - windows 10. I'm very happy with all of them. However, the studio machine, though it's never let me down, is now becoming a bit temperemental - fine with many applications, but start up time for cubase can easily be 10 minutes and sometimes it hangs and I need to restart. Usually it's when it's searching for the VSTs - as I add more samples, speed is dropping and kontakt loading times increasing. It's processor won't allow for windows 11, either.

The sound on sound article with all the speed and performance graphs suggests that a mac mini M2pro with 500Gb SSD, more sockets and 16Gb of memory does really well on cubase - so I am thinking my initial plan with an i9 might actually be more expensive - the mini is about £1400 UK price.

I have no beef with apple or windows, but I'm struggling to see the pros and cons this time. In the same magazine was an advert for a i9 13th 13900k computer?

I'd welcome any comments as I really am stuck. I love the elderly presonus firepod I'm using, which works rock solid via firewire - can you still drive it wwith a mac?
 
Hey rob,
I very much doubt you'll be able to run the firepod with a modern apple silicon mac.
If you already have an M1 I suppose you could find out, if you have a dock that breaks out to firewire.

Not really an answer to your question but you mention start up time for cubase can be 10 minutes+, and the system hangs from time to time.
You don't list the specs of that machine but presumably it was once very capable?
I'd be looking into whether or not the hard drive is failing.
Could be as simple as clone+replace HDD to get you back on track. (y)
 
Hmm, I'd not actually thought of that? It's been stretching and stretching - so maybe you've got an idea here? I'll investigate.
 
rob aylestone said:
I have no beef with apple or windows, but I'm struggling to see the pros and cons this time. In the same magazine was an advert for a i9 13th 13900k computer?

I'd welcome any comments as I really am stuck. I love the elderly presonus firepod I'm using, which works rock solid via firewire - can you still drive it wwith a mac?
Click to expand...
The only real difference for you would be updating all your Windows programs to Mac - which can get quite expensive - I did it 15 years ago and it was expensive
then - you can use Firewire with the new Mac M2 - you will need a Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter and a Apple Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter -
it's a bit wonky but it works.

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Well - the ones I use lots - adobe and Steinberg are all on-line authorised now, and work on both. I've got three cubase 12 pro's authorised so could just dump the PC and add the Apple. I think that I'd probably need word and excel, but most things I use would be downloadable?
 
rob aylestone said:
I don't usually need help for computer stuff, but the last two issues of Sound on Sound have had a feature on macs for music. I'm now confused.

I do have cubase 12 pro running on an M1 macbook pro, and an older imac, but as I have drives full of sample packages, my main studio computer that I do the bulk of the work on is a PC - windows 10. I'm very happy with all of them. However, the studio machine, though it's never let me down, is now becoming a bit temperemental - fine with many applications, but start up time for cubase can easily be 10 minutes and sometimes it hangs and I need to restart. Usually it's when it's searching for the VSTs - as I add more samples, speed is dropping and kontakt loading times increasing. It's processor won't allow for windows 11, either.

The sound on sound article with all the speed and performance graphs suggests that a mac mini M2pro with 500Gb SSD, more sockets and 16Gb of memory does really well on cubase - so I am thinking my initial plan with an i9 might actually be more expensive - the mini is about £1400 UK price.

I have no beef with apple or windows, but I'm struggling to see the pros and cons this time. In the same magazine was an advert for a i9 13th 13900k computer?

I'd welcome any comments as I really am stuck only what i know about technic its only for this https://howly.com/article/how-to-remove-scratches-from-apple-watch/. I love the elderly presonus firepod I'm using, which works rock solid via firewire - can you still drive it wwith a mac?
Click to expand...
Regarding your Presonus Firepod, it's important to check if it's compatible with macOS. Presonus provides drivers for macOS on their website, so it should still work with a Mac. However, make sure to verify the specific macOS versions supported by your Firepod and download the necessary drivers to ensure proper functionality.

In summary, consider the compatibility of your software and hardware, evaluate the performance and cost differences between the Mac mini M2pro and the i9-based PC, and check the connectivity options and compatibility of your existing peripherals. This should help you make a more informed decision based on your specific needs.
 
I have never used any apple product, but the Mini does sound rather capable.
I watched a youtube video about non-upgradeable apple computers never having the right configuration.
Just take care to find one with everything big enough. Look at what configurations pro-audio dealers offer.
 
I think the mac is going to be the favourite - I'm hovering at the moment because I've got a higher than VAT bill to pay, and I've gone over the month end, so any purchase will not be recoverable VAT wise till 3 months time? I got sidetracked and wasn't quick enough - but I do think the mac will be better value than going with another PC. They just get expensive as soon as you start upping the specs.
 
Hi guys! just wondering if anybody here can provide their opinion. I've never taken classes/lessons on recording. I taught myself, and I'm a musician. I've been making progress in getting a sound that meets commercial use minimum parameters, but I'm not "there yet". I"m confidence in my musical skills, but certainly not in recording.
My question: would I be able to produce (I know nothing beats recording in a professional studio) professional sounding tracks with the gear I own, specifically, if the computer I'm using has the capability to produce that:
iMac, on OS Catalina
2.9 GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5
memory: 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
I'm using a Focusrite Clarett 8 pre, and also have the "solo"
I don't mind investing in a better interface, like an Apollo, but, does it matter if you're only recording VST's?

you can hear my work on my website:
dreemeternalmusic.com

Samples

The slap! Fire Horizon Symphonair Serenite Aeturnus You belong Piece in mind Sunday song Action theme Dark symphony Tierra en mis hojos Dark Bellz Came for you The lighthouse Muscle car Sax jingle …
dreemeternalmusic.com dreemeternalmusic.com

Thanks in advance!
 
dreemeternal said:
Hi guys! just wondering if anybody here can provide their opinion. I've never taken classes/lessons on recording. I taught myself, and I'm a musician. I've been making progress in getting a sound that meets commercial use minimum parameters, but I'm not "there yet". I"m confidence in my musical skills, but certainly not in recording.
My question: would I be able to produce (I know nothing beats recording in a professional studio) professional sounding tracks with the gear I own, specifically, if the computer I'm using has the capability to produce that:
iMac, on OS Catalina
2.9 GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5
memory: 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
I'm using a Focusrite Clarett 8 pre, and also have the "solo"
I don't mind investing in a better interface, like an Apollo, but, does it matter if you're only recording VST's?

you can hear my work on my website:
dreemeternalmusic.com

Samples

The slap! Fire Horizon Symphonair Serenite Aeturnus You belong Piece in mind Sunday song Action theme Dark symphony Tierra en mis hojos Dark Bellz Came for you The lighthouse Muscle car Sax jingle …
dreemeternalmusic.com dreemeternalmusic.com

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Your computer is definitely capable of doing it. Not da best as far as 2023 standards go, but then, it changes so fast that no-one trying to outfit a serious studio would go for my M1 chip, 32 gigs of RAM, etc. So use that computer, it'll be fine.
Focusrite is fine, are you recording anything with a mic tho? If so, what is your mic? Vocals?
 
Serendipity Records said:
Your computer is definitely capable of doing it. Not da best as far as 2023 standards go, but then, it changes so fast that no-one trying to outfit a serious studio would go for my M1 chip, 32 gigs of RAM, etc. So use that computer, it'll be fine.
Focusrite is fine, are you recording anything with a mic tho? If so, what is your mic? Vocals?
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice! yeah; I don't have computer or latency problems; just wondering if the i5 was not up to par. I"m looking into upgrading my OS
For vocals/live instruments I use sm57, 58, got a SM7B last Christmas (bought the clod lifter).
 
Steenamaroo said:
Hey rob,
I very much doubt you'll be able to run the firepod with a modern apple silicon mac.
If you already have an M1 I suppose you could find out, if you have a dock that breaks out to firewire.
Click to expand...
OWC Makes a Doc that breaks out firewire.
 
Still on the fence - unusual for me. Spent hours tweaking and cleaning and defragging drives, running various tune up apps and it's a tiny bit quicker, but all the drives are doing fine, health wise - plenty of space and windows seems fine. Just the start up time is soooo slow.
 
Pull the drive and plug it into a mac, then check it with DriveDX.
Like I said in the other thread - There may be a windows equivalent, but I don't know what it is.
 
Rob, is the system drive in the Win 10 machine a spinner? If so, just grab an SSD, clone the drive and you'll see it fly again. I did that with my old Phenom X6 system that's a dozen years old. It used to take 4 or 5 minutes to reboot, and, heaven forbid that Windows was doing a big update. It could sit there for 20 minutes or more before I could do anything.

I put in a 1TB Samsung Evo SSD, and boot times went down to about 20 or 30 seconds. I don't dread system updates anymore.
 
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