Ok I’m a musician. I’d like to get into electronic music, MIDI, sequencing, and all that stuff. Now as I understand it, Macs are the way to go for music software. But I already know a decent amount about PCs, while I know nothing about Macs. Should I make the great switch to Macs, or are Pcs catching up? Will PCs eventually (in the near future) have the same capabilities as Macs?
“I feel just as reduced being called a system as I do a clock.” - Thomas Harryman, Mindwalk.
Well, not that I know a lot, but I’ll give you my 2 cents…I think Macs are going to be “it” for a while in music and graphics. I have both a Mac and a PC, (still learning about Macs) and I like them both. But Macs seem to have this little elite “niche” for artists and musicicans. PCs may flatten them in games, certain other applications, but most people (who are not rabid anti-Mac people) will concede that Macs are stronger in the “arts”.
Don’t hesitate to learn the Mac. It has a lot of strengths. I am having fun learning about Macs - I just got into computers 2 years ago, started with a PC, still love my PC, but I think Macs are keen. Since I am interested in graphics, I think learning Macs (and making a transition of sorts) to do my graphics is a good idea.
Some people whill get all fired up and slam Macs (and vice-versa) and it can be almost like a religious war. But I think that’s silly. They are just computers. They are just tools. A means to an end. To get your work done. Bottom line.
Macs are getting inexpensive, are definitely innovative, and worth learning more about. Of course, PCs are great too, getting faster and more powerful, have more mainstream support…that’s why I like both.
Polydactyl Cats Unlimited
“A Cat Cannot Have Too Many Toes”
yosemitebabe wrote:
Except for Macintoshes, which are just paperweights. (Mua ha ha ha ha!)
Tsk tsk tsk.
We have an old Macs vs. PCs thread (that I originated about a month ago) if we want to revive the “holy war” between Macs and PCs!
Polydactyl Cats Unlimited
“A Cat Cannot Have Too Many Toes”
As a mac owner and a musician I think it depends upon how comfortable you are with pc’s. I think the mac OS is more intuitive but folks who learned Windoze first seem to feel otherwise.
Just so you know, there’s plenty of great music software out there for the PC:Cubase, Acid, Soundforge, Gigasampler, etc…
If you don’t want to learn a new OS and your already comfortable with installing sound hardware on your computer, don’t bother.
theres a better OS than macs and pcs for music 
What Kenny said.
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Uh…that shoulda been ‘What Yosemitebabe said’. (“I am intelligent, I am intelligent, I am I tell you…”)
If you think you already have a computer that can do what you need it to do, use it. If you think a dedicated and/or more modern computer would help you, don’t hesitate to get a Mac.
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Ahunter,
If I had any thoughts on the subject (well, solid ones based on a firm foundation of knowledge) I wouldn’t be advise-seeking. But the truth is, even my overall knowledge of Pcs is very limited (approx 2 years experience). My knowledge of Macs null.
If the teaming millions were to inform me that there would be a great advantage to switching over to Macs, I would look into it a great deal. I don’t doubt that PCs have their share of great software for music. I guess I’m hoping to find out, just how much advantage one might have over the other.
“I feel just as reduced being called a system as I do a clock.” - Thomas Harryman, Mindwalk.
Well, I’m not the best person to ask this, but…
I suggest you visit http://www.macworld.com or visit the message boards at http://www.maxfixit.com . The friendly people at MaxFixIt can give you all their reasons why Macs are better for music. OK, I’ve been clever and I have the direct URL for MacFixit’s boards (but check their home page too
http://www.macfixit.com/cgi-bin/ultimate/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro True, MacFixit is a pro-Mac place, but they also will know more things first hand about music and Macs. AND some of them have been cross-platform, worked in both PCs and Macs, and can describe the differences. I cannot guarantee that they will help you out as much as you’d like, but they are worth a shot.
All I can tell you is that Macs seem to be more innovative in such things as graphics, art, video and music. Look at the newest iMac DVs. I can also tell you, as someone who started in with computers about the same time you did (2 years) that Macs are not that scary. They are fun, and easy. You can find an old PowerMac on eBay for a few hundred bucks. And used iMacs are in the $600 range on eBay.
I also can tell you that many musicians use Macs. Strength in numbers. I also have heard (though of course I don’t know first hand) that with things like graphics (can’t speak for music, but suspect it’s the same) that most of the “Big” art houses use Macs. If you were to bring in a PC disk to them, they’d give you a funny look, maybe not take you seriously, because everyone uses Macs in their field. Now, this is just what I’ve heard, but if it’s partially true, it makes you want to expose yourself to Macs, doesn’t it? Can’t hurt.
You seem open-minded about the prospect of using a Mac, so I am confident that you’ll come to the right conclusion for you. Which may not be a Mac, it may be a PC. But, don’t listen to these rabid anti-Mac people (they’re out there) they often hate Macs for reasons that are not applicable to your needs. (i.e. Macs may not be tops for games - do you intend to use your computer as a gaming machine? If not, who cares if Macs arent’ better in games!) And, some people need to get a life, and just hate Macs because they hate them. (And, there are Mac people who hate PCs too - sure.)
Well…hope this helps.
Polydactyl Cats Unlimited
“A Cat Cannot Have Too Many Toes”
Having used both Macs and PCs for music creation and editing I can say that I prefer Mac. I cannot say, unequivocably that Macs are better. I HAD to buy extra hardware for my PC to make it useful for recording. I didn’t HAVE to for my Mac, but I did. I still use my Mac’s standard microphone input for some things. Most of the software that is available for the Mac is also available for the PC. I’ve found both Cubasis and Cakewalk to be a little more stable on the Mac. My 300MHz PowerPC Mac performs most functions faster than my 366MHz Pentium II PC. I’m an admitted Mac evangelist, but I’ll be the first person to tell you not to change platforms if you don’t need to. You’ll probably spend more money getting into a Mac than properly setting up the PC you already have and you’ll spend a lot of time relearning to use a computer (learning to do things right [wink]).
Now, if you didn’t already have a computer or wanted to buy a new computer specifically for music, then I’d strongly recommend the Mac.
I’ve used MACs in the workplace (PageMaker, databases, word processing and such) and liked them, but I’ve never recorded music on one.
I have recorded quite a bit with my Dell XPST450 with Cakewalk and SoundForge and I love it. Haven’t had a single computing problem yet.
I don’t think it really matters which platform you use. Whatever you get, though, buy the most RAM and the largest harddrive (the song I just recorded weighed in at 70MB) you can afford.
What kind of tunes do you play?
Yet to be reconciled with the reality of the dark for a moment, I go on wandering from dream to dream.
Thank you all for all the helpful replies. I will probably make the switch to Mac as soon as I can afford one comfortably, especially since I’m currently attempting to go to school for music in the fall and I’ll bet 100 to 1 that their labs are not PCs.
Sake,
I’m into everything and I try to incorporate many different styles/genres/sounds into my musical self. I’ve been very much into fusion and prog. rock for awhile. I’ve more recently been turned onto minimalist classical music (philip Glass, Steve Reich). I also enjoy techno/hip hop, jazz and its many sub branches, Indian classical music, jam rock, etc. etc.
In a word, I like “good” music as opposed to bad.
Thank you all for all the helpful replies. I will probably make the switch to Mac as soon as I can afford one comfortably, especially since I’m currently attempting to go to school for music in the fall and I’ll bet 100 to 1 that their labs are not PCs.
Sake,
I’m into everything and I try to incorporate many different styles/genres/sounds into my musical self. I’ve been very much into fusion and prog. rock for awhile. I’ve more recently been turned onto minimalist classical music (philip Glass, Steve Reich). I also enjoy techno/hip hop, jazz and its many sub branches, Indian classical music, jam rock, etc. etc.
In a word, I like “good” music as opposed to bad.
Thank you all for all the helpful replies. I will probably make the switch to Mac as soon as I can afford one comfortably, especially since I’m currently attempting to go to school for music in the fall and I’ll bet 100 to 1 that their labs are not PCs.
Sake,
I’m into everything and I try to incorporate many different styles/genres/sounds into my musical self. I’ve been very much into fusion and prog. rock for awhile. I’ve more recently been turned onto minimalist classical music (philip Glass, Steve Reich). I also enjoy techno/hip hop, jazz and its many sub branches, Indian classical music, jam rock, etc. etc.
In a word, I like “good” music as opposed to bad.
Thank you all for all the helpful replies. I will probably make the switch to Mac as soon as I can afford one comfortably, especially since I’m currently attempting to go to school for music in the fall and I’ll bet 100 to 1 that their labs are not PCs.
“I feel just as reduced being called a system as I do a clock.” - Thomas Harryman, Mindwalk.
Thank you all for all the helpful replies. I will probably make the switch to Mac as soon as I can afford one comfortably, especially since I’m currently attempting to go to school for music in the fall and I’ll bet 100 to 1 that their labs are not PCs.
“I feel just as reduced being called a system as I do a clock.” - Thomas Harryman, Mindwalk.
On a slightly different topic - Does anyone have recommendations for a MIDI synth that can accurate reproduce electric guitars sounds?
I have Cakewalk, and a Soundblaster Awe 64 Gold. The samples for wind instruments and pianos are wonderful. If you close your eyes, you can actually believe that you’re hearing a real instrument. But any electric guitar sound I’ve ever tried (clean, distorted, whatever) sounds like unrealistic crap. I’ve tried a number of downloadable soundfonts, and they aren’t much better.
So what do I need to do to get better MIDI guitar sounds? Are there some external synth boxes that do a good job of this? Another sound card that has better MIDI samples?