Soundcard for Macbook Pro?

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PokerDude422

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currently i am using a piece of crap laptop for my recordings with just the built in audio card, I am soon going to be upgrading to a mac book pro, do i still need to buy a sound card for a macbook or is the built in ports on a mac enough?
 
Good question! Im getting a Macbook, and I guess Im wondering about the same thing.. I used to have a powerbook and after a while I bought an M-audio Firewire soundcard, although I dont really know how much much difference there was. Everybody keeps saying you have to have a good soundcard, but as a complete amateur I dont really know how/when you can tell the difference.
 
hmm well what if i was recording firewire, will the built in firewire port make any difference from if i bought a soundcard?
 
um, the only way to record via firewire would be to have a soundcard (I use this term loosely btw, read as "sound interface") like that MOTU attached to it. If it does not say intel mac compatable, either look elsewhere or just wait a couple of months
 
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Bump! :D

I want to know from Macbook Pro users What software you use to record? And what Hardware you possibly use (soundcard, external interfaces)?

I vow to get a Mac cause I'M SICK OF PC'S. I'm done building them, I'm done fixing them, I'm done! So I'm thinkin a nice Macbook Pro thats loaded. So I'd like to know what else I'd need to 'load' it with from all you pro's out there? :cool:

I plan on recording straight rock! Heavy Guitars, Bass, Drums, Vocals... Please respond!
 
I use a MOTU Traveler and it has worked out great. It sounds excellent, and has worked flawlessly. It worked so well on my laptop that I've now made it the main interface in my studio!

The Ultralite is a cut down version of the Traveler, so while I haven't used it I would expect it to be a good one as well.

Another option is to get a Digidesign unit like the Digi 002R or 003R. Enough inputs to record a whole band, and it also comes with ProTools software. I also own and use a Digi 002R, and I like both it and ProTools.
 
Firewire is a method of connecting an interface (sound card) to your computer. On a desktop, installing an internal sound card uses PCI instead of firewire.

If you can't hear the difference between a stock card and an upgrade then there's no point because you ears won't be able to make the subtle mixing decisions that will differentiate between the two. Unfortunately, you don't really know this unless you buy one, so then you have one and should definitely use it, and my little theory goes out the window.

The stock sound cards on nearly every computer are identical. Mostly because the general public can't tell the difference as much as with, say, a video card. The Macbook Pro is no exception.
 
At this point, I think all the major vendors that support the Mac support the Intel Macs. It wasn't really that big a transition for driver writers because assembly language, Altivec, and other processor-specific stuff are all generally discouraged in device drivers, and endianness issues are about 99% abstracted by the I/O Kit itself.

Oh, yeah... software... the two most highly recommended apps are Logic and Digital Performer. Both are Intel native in their current versions; both are only recently native, so I would not be surprised if there were a few bugs lurking still, but they should be fairly solid by now.
 
dgatwood said:
At this point, I think all the major vendors that support the Mac support the Intel Macs. It wasn't really that big a transition for driver writers because assembly language, Altivec, and other processor-specific stuff are all generally discouraged in device drivers, and endianness issues are about 99% abstracted by the I/O Kit itself.

Oh, yeah... software... the two most highly recommended apps are Logic and Digital Performer. Both are Intel native in their current versions; both are only recently native, so I would not be surprised if there were a few bugs lurking still, but they should be fairly solid by now.
Click to expand...


Most firewire audio interfaces do not require drivers in OS X because Core Audio natively supports them. I do not have to load drivers for my Mackie Onyx - OS X automatically sees it.
 
I don't believe anyone else mentioned this, but another advantage an external interface will have over the built in input and output on the MacBook is recording multiple tracks at once and then mixing your tracks within the software (GarageBand, Logic, Cubase, ProTools, etc). So you need to consider how many tracks you'll need at once. Miking a drum kit? You'll probably want at least 4 inputs with preamps.

And whatever you do, stick with FireWire.
 
brzilian said:
Most firewire audio interfaces do not require drivers in OS X because Core Audio natively supports them. I do not have to load drivers for my Mackie Onyx - OS X automatically sees it.
Click to expand...

Mac OS X natively supports all FireWire AVC devices, which includes digital video cameras, most FireWire mixers (including Mackie gear), and Edirol and Presonus FireWire interfaces. That's probably over 50%, but I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say "most". :)

I -think- that the latest M-Audio device firmware is AVC-based, but they ship their own drivers anyway, and if you don't use them, you can't fully configure the device....

MOTU uses their own proprietary protocol that appears to be more efficient than AVC in terms of CPU load. Their gear requires drivers, but they're slicker 'n owl s**t. :)
 
fuzzrhythm said:
I don't believe anyone else mentioned this, but another advantage an external interface will have over the built in input and output on the MacBook is recording multiple tracks at once and then mixing your tracks within the software (GarageBand, Logic, Cubase, ProTools, etc). So you need to consider how many tracks you'll need at once. Miking a drum kit? You'll probably want at least 4 inputs with preamps.

And whatever you do, stick with FireWire.
Click to expand...


Well I do already have a Firepod, but I haven't used it yet cause my old stupid computer sucks... but yeah, I got the firewire interface covered. So I guess the stock soundcard doesn't really matter? Just have to worry about the software being compatable with the Firepod. I know Cubase works with Firepod (at least the Cubase that comes with it), but does anyone know for sure if the other programs mentioned work with Firepod as well? Like Garageband, Logic, Protools, Digital Performer? And when I say work well.. I mean be able to record all 8 inputs at the same time into seperate channels...
 
ProTools won't work with the Firepod because it requires Digidesign hardware. The other software should work fine with it.
 
I believe GarageBand limits the amount of simultaneous inputs to 4
 
GB and RME fireface - 800

c0r1n said:
8 inputs simultaneous at present.
Click to expand...

had a macbook pro to play with

Garage band did up to 26 mono tracks or 13 strereo tracks

tryed my RME fireface - 800 on it :p
 
Current major issues with macintelbooks and Logic include occasional crazy errors (when using lots of plugs), the lack of good VST wrappers and, when recording at high samplerates, to get a good amount of record-time (even on a plenty-of-free-space external drive). Also, don't expect all of the algorithms to work - Time and Pitch machine is so buggy I don't even try any more. Depends what you're looking for I guess.

You'll be wanting to get an external hard drive with that - the hard drives on the crap-book pro is pitiful - keep your audio elsewhere. PM me if you want to know the best way to do it - I've got some fantastic techniques for audio backup. Last session I ran (editing) I had 90 stereo tracks of 96/24 playing back simultaneously - I had problems with 8 on my macbook drive.
 
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