Thinking about a MAC, lotsa quesitons.

So, I've tried everything I can with this PC of mine and no matter what I do, I get pops and crackles and very low sound levels... worthless and impossible, really. I've tried a new sound card, USB input devices and nothing gives me anything i can even remotely use.

So, I'm seriously contemplating an Apple. What should I be looking for?

I am not even remotely familiar with the recent Apple machines. Is there a minimum processor, minimum memory I should be looking for? I'm not worried about storage as I have several externals that I use for everything now. Are used Macs out there worth taking a chance on?

I'm thinking of buying a my wife a new Mac Notebook for Christmas, but I'm thinking a desktop would work for my recording purposes.

The other question.... Is it possible to use the MAC for things other than recording? I'm not a pro musician and I'm too old to hit it big... so I'm really just doing this for myself and maybe to pass music around between a few other musicians. So, do I really need to dedicate this new machine to just recording or can I use to for surfing the TDPRI too?

you could use a Mac for all your needs, although it's highly recommended to record your songs to an external Firewire drive (cheap) so your internal HD can concentrate on running the operating system and applications — sort of like the separation of church and state. a fast USB2 drive would work too, but Firewire seems to handle the massive throughput better.

the learning curve for OS X would take you a day or two to adapt (a Dummies book or equivalent would speed things along), then once you've got the hang of it, it's a breeze. system X is robust and will take a punch — it very rarely (if ever) crashes.

the best thing about Macs for the novice recordist is that Garageband, the easiest and most glitch-free recording software i've ever used, is included free. since it's intermeshed with iTunes, it's a snap to share your tracks with other players — i've got several friends i swap tracks with via email for collaboration on tunes. but GB's processor-intensive, so you wouldn't want to skimp on your hardware.

my budget solution was a Mac Mini with the duo-core Intel chip — you can get a refurb for $400-500. i'd suggest at least a 1.66 GHz processor (2.0 if you can get it) and 2 GB or RAM. here's a link to Apple's refurb Mini (http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB464LL/A), but you can get them for considerably less if you shop around. it's not a pro-studio powerhouse, but totally adequate for my (and probably your) recording needs.

i use the Mac for all internet apps, word processing, Photoshop, Illustrator and what-have-you, but when recording, you want to close all other apps to conserve system resources. it's not far-fetched to predict you could be turning out tunes within a week, as long as you browse the manuals so you're not flying blind. good luck!

Well, I'm a pc guy and just my opinion, but unless your pc was made before pentiums came along I kinda think you might have the same problem with a mac because something in your chain ain't diggin' it.

And yes, like wood said, you can use a mac for anything. Unless you're me.

Bottom line, it's a computer. So yes, you can use it for other things.

I bought a 24" iMac in July and I have not mastered it yet. Close, but that's the challenge.

Rumor has it that new Macs are on the way. You can probably get a good deal on the one like I have when they come out.

As Old Cane pointed out you're probably injecting the noise.

I am a mac user and like the os and sure you can do lots of things with a mac, anyway a fine pc would be able to record without cracles and pops at least since xp.. not a question of operating system imho, but of horsepower ...

New iMacs to be introduced this Tuesday. Prices on old ones will drop.
New MacBooks to announced too. Prices coming down on those.

Macs are great for all creative stuff...movie editing, graphics, and of course, music. Like Woodman says, GarageBand comes free with iMacs and it is a multi-track program for midi and sound.
But Adobe makes all their programs available so you can have Word, Excel, etc. Also Photoshop and Pagemaker (CS). And if you really want to have it all, the Intel iMacs will also run Windows if you buy the inexpensive hosting software.
Having a Mac does not mean losing Microsoft or Windows.

Hey Axis, like others said already: it sounds like there is something else in your setup that's interfering. I record both on Windows (using Reaper) and Mac OS X (using Reaper and Garageband), and had crackling noises on both... I solved it by getting a new 2 channel Behringer mixer and record everything from there. Now recording on both platforms is fine, so I'd say switching platforms might not be the best solution to your problem.

So check your setup first... old cables or bad grounding may cause problems as well.

It turns out there's a few issues I'm fighting... I have Windows Media Edition. So, it's handling of audio cards and audio recording is suspect at best. I cannot use my Diamond Multimedia card's line ins in Reaper. I got it working with my Lexicon Lambda, but there's way more latency than there probably should be.

I'm currently playing with a few things to resolve my issues... I've picked up an M-Audio card (which doesn't work with Windows XP Media Edition, but I didn't find that out until after I bought the card...) and I'm going to try working in Ubuntu (Linux).

Then I'm gonna save up my moeny and move over to the dark side, mabye next year... LOL

Axis29 Il be honest I know people who use windows in professional studios with high en interfaces. It work but its still windows. I my self have been using mack for 7 years now, both in the professional and personal world. The difference between both companies is OS stability. PC usually have faster processors but since the os is not as stable they don't work to their full capability. With mac its all optimum. Not that errors dont happen but i can count them with my fingers with pc I cant even begin to recall.

If you tell me what you want to set up il be glad to advise you.

Hey Axis29. Sounds like your pc may not be up to handling audio processing. Maybe an upgrade of ram etc. might help. I use Cubase on my PC with no problems. I have a Tascam US122 interface which works really well. A friend of mine records CD's which he releases (proffesional quality) on a mac and which is now the only platform for Logic. Perhaps you should consider which software you prefer to use before deciding on mac or PC. Hope this is of some assistance.

So, I've tried everything I can with this PC of mine and no matter what I do, I get pops and crackles and very low sound levels... worthless and impossible, really. I've tried a new sound card, USB input devices and nothing gives me anything i can even remotely use.

So, I'm seriously contemplating an Apple. What should I be looking for?

I am not even remotely familiar with the recent Apple machines. Is there a minimum processor, minimum memory I should be looking for? I'm not worried about storage as I have several externals that I use for everything now. Are used Macs out there worth taking a chance on?

I'm thinking of buying a my wife a new Mac Notebook for Christmas, but I'm thinking a desktop would work for my recording purposes.

The other question.... Is it possible to use the MAC for things other than recording? I'm not a pro musician and I'm too old to hit it big... so I'm really just doing this for myself and maybe to pass music around between a few other musicians. So, do I really need to dedicate this new machine to just recording or can I use to for surfing the TDPRI too?

Few things to think about:

1) What's the current computer like? How old is it? If it's more than 3 years old, then you're probably looking for a new computer anyways.

2) You say soundcards-are these PCI cards you drop in a tower, or Firewire or USB connected interfaces? If it's the former, I'd pop them out and reseat them, and blow out the slots with compressed air. Seen it happen all the time with cards over the years.

3) What software are you using-like-prefer? Most of the major PC recording software has a Mac version, so your comfort level won't be too bad-Garageband is pretty easy to figure out, too and sounds really good (click on my links in my signature-all done in GB!)

4) What other stuff do you on your computer? Are there equivalent programs on the Mac to cover your needs (nearly all the major programs are available)?

Personally, I'd be looking hard at an Intel iMac-more power, usually bigger and faster hd, better connectivity. Only drawback is if you want to drop a PCI soundcard into it-there's no slots to drop it into! (Same with the Mac Mini, btw). Buying used is certainly an option, but like all electronics, you need to be careful and do your homework. Personally, I'd only buy it if the seller was a little old lady, all the paperwork, discs, etc. were there-that kind of deal would make sense, as opposed to a machine that's been in a print shop getting pounded day after day for weeks on end...

Good luck!

Franc Robert

I haven't done a lot of recording on my mac, just some sketches in Garageband, but I don't think you'll be disappointed in making the switch. Some things I love about Macs:

User friendly and attractive interface. It's just elegant compared to the clunkiness of PCs.

No worries about viruses (really- there are no mac viruses.)

They don't crash like PCs; since Apple designs the software in tandem with the hardware, they can test things to extremes and make sure it will work. Microsoft could never try Windows 7 on every piece of hardware on the market.

Lots of useful stuff included. There's a search bar that searches your whole hard drive like Google searches the web, so I never lose documents (Spotlight). There's a backup program that backs up my whole hard drive whenever I plug in my external drive (Time Machine). There's free music and video editing software included- and it works great (iMovie and Garageband).

Macs cost more initially, but they're worth it. Think of all the money you won't spend on soundcards, virus software, and repairs.

As for new or used, I'd go with new to get the longest use. DO buy the AppleCare protection- I had a problem with my first Mac and ended up getting a new model free.

When to buy? Check out this site for advice:
http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/

You want to buy the latest release, soon after it goes on sale, not at the end of its cycle.

Macrumors also has a great forum with lots of helpful folks.

The premise of this thread is kind of silly. Your problems have nothing to do with what platform you're using. Your computer is probably just underpowered. You need a new one, but there's no reason has to -- or necessarily should -- be a Mac.

I've been recording engineer for over 25 years and have worked on both platforms. Macs were solid in the digital recording and MIDI area well before PC's were. Since the late 90's the two platforms are very essentially identical in their performance.

It will also comfort you to know that you can get Microsoft office for Mac and all of your Word documents and Powerpoint presentations etc. are completely portable to a Mac.

You will want a newer Mac only because they switched over to all Intel processors a couple of years ago so older models that use a Power PC processor will have a limited upgrade ceiling.

good luck!

+1 on the Intel chip — the duo-core really improved performance in Garageband for me.

Intel has been the standard for about 4 years, so anything pre-Intel would be an old machine indeed. If you must buy used, stick to recent models- repairs will be much easier, and you'll get more life out of it.

After editing a feature length documentary on a Mac, I do not agree with "They don't crash like PCs..." It happened twice - one crash took 4 weeks and a new (quadcore) machine to recover from, along with new, expensive software upgrades. The second crash (actually a series of - "oh, the computer just spontaniously shut itself completely off....) only took two weeks. Did I mention expensive software update accompany any major operating system upgrades with Macs? Nice touch. That's why I don't run Pro Tools anymore - Figured I'd be better off with cross-platform software like Cubase, so just in case Mr. Jobs wants me to get another Mac someday, my perfectly good software will still run on my virus infested PC.
Macs ain't perfect, neither are PCs. I have PC and Mac in my studio. I run Final Cut Pro HD 7.0 on the Mac, and Cubase 5 on my Mac, desktop PC, and on my mobile studio laptop PC. Final verdict - pay your money and take your chances,either way you can be screwed beyond recognition on any given day...
www.bigblueskythemovie.com

So, I've tried everything I can with this PC of mine and no matter what I do, I get pops and crackles and very low sound levels...

Get some help from a competent resource. You will probably need an in house service call for someone to help you troubleshoot your problem.

the issue you are having is fairly minor and would not necessarily dictate drastic measures (an entirely new computer)....

If you just want to try a new platform, great, but the two probably shouldn't be so closely related.

Training and competent use of devices is required when attempting tasks that are not trivial. Music recording and Movie making are complex tasks and while many companies have worked to make it simpler (and have succeeded in great measure) all systems require a base level of competence and understanding of how the technology works.

The spread on that continuum is fairly broad, but it exists nonetheless.

I'd contact a local music store and ask if they have any music DAW specialists who can help you in person. Getting your studio setup correctly will save you a great deal of time and frustration.