Playing on 11.6" MacBook Air —Asking too much?

[cemk]

Hey guys,

I'm going to be buying a Keystation (61es or 88es, depending on availability) and use it with my 27" iMac w/ 8GB RAM and 2.93GHz i7 processor with some piano VST's. I might also buy some other VST's later, but the main reason is piano.

Anyway. The iMac is not a music production device, since I'm no musician myself. (I'm a web developer and a UX designer, which probably translates to "geek" somewhere in the world.) But I know that it's got enough juice to run a piano VST without a need for any extra equipment.

On the other hand, I'm in love with the new 11.6" MacBook Air, and I want to buy one as my portable computer, since iMac has more than enough power for the stuff I do, and I don't want to carry 2 kilos (a.k.a. "The MacBook I've got") in my backpack when I go outside. My question is: Would it be possible to use the MacBook Air the same way I would use the iMac, using GarageBand and a VST to play when I'm not at home?

I'm willing to buy a USB audio interface if that's needed. Either M-Audio's Fast Track or Steinberg's CI1/CI2. Or something else, in that price range. Whatever works.

I have to admit that I know almost nothing about the USB audio interfaces and what the VST's rely on (Processor power? RAM? The audio interface?) and the more I research, the more I got confused. I'll appreciate any kind of feedback you guys can provide.

Thanks in advance.

PS: For whatever it's worth, I did an Xbench test for the diskdrive and the CPU between the 128GB 1.4GHz C2D version of the Air and my 2TB 2.93GHz i7 iMac —the difference is a mere 3 points. (122 vs. 125) [My aluminum MacBook with 500GB drive and 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor, on the other hand, got only 75 from the same test.]

 

[CFox]

Hi.

Yes, there is no doubt your puter is fast enough and yes, you definitely want an audio interface. One with midi ins and outs too.

Check out the Native Instruments Audio Kontrol 1. On special, free shipping blah blah, but also including a free sample player ( VSTi ) and New York Grand Piano sample set. Have a listen to it here.

 

[dgatwood]

My gut says it's a terrible idea. Specs don't tell the whole story here.

I haven't played with the new MacBook Air, but the previous generation of 13" MacBook Air, due to the small enclosure, has very aggressive thermal management. Initially, it just cranks up the fans, but at some point, CPU throttling kicks in to let the CPU cool back down. While the CPU is throttled, it becomes pretty much unusable for audio or video purposes. I'd expect the 13" Air to be problematic with CPU-intensive virtual instruments, and I'd expect the 11" to be even more problematic due to the smaller enclosure.

Not saying it won't work, but it might be quite infuriating, depending on how hard you're pushing it and for how long. At the very least, I'd suggest keeping your existing MacBook, too, so that if the Air hits the thermal wall sooner than you'd like, you can fall back on it.

 

[cemk]

@CFox: You're awesome!

I hadn't seen the Audio Kontrol 1. Thanks for the suggestion. I also love the New York Grand VSTi. Thanks.

@dgatwood:
You're actually right. I had totally forgotten about CPU throttling on the Air.
To buy the Air I kinda have to sell my black MacBook, which my parents are using right now, and I have to give them my aluminum one... So if I buy the Air, keeping the MacBook is not an option.

I'm not going to push it very hard though, I'll only be using it as a piano on the Air. But still it can be pretty problematic as you say. (I was also thinking of buying a synthesizer like MM6 or something, but I haven't found one with a piano sound I like.)

I think I'll try to find a way to slow down my MacBook and try to see how a VST affects it.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[dgatwood]

I think I'll try to find a way to slow down my MacBook and try to see how a VST affects it.)

The problem is that you just can't really simulate the tiny case of an Air with a MacBook, no matter how hard you try.

See if you can find somebody who has one and try it out. I really don't have any idea if it would be a problem for you or not. Ooh, better yet, if there's an Apple store near you, go there and ask them to set up Logic or whatever on an Air for you to test.