I have a small music studio running Steinberg Cubase VST. I have used Macs for the past 10 years and Ataris before that. I need to upgarde as my 1997 Mac is strugging to run the new stuff and some of my hardware is past it's sell by date. My initial thoughts were to just by the lastest Mac but given my previous policy of always bying the mid range pro Mac (which would be a dual 1Ghz G4 in this case) and the fact that I also need a new monitor this is looking like £2200+ before I start looking at getting the newest version of Cubase. I thought I would have a look and see just how much switching to a PC would cost. The problem is that there are many great looking PCs in terms of spec. but how do you know you are getting something reliable and stable? The Dells look cheap but... I have had a look at some of the so called PC music specialist machines but I'm not sure what I am getting by paying a premium price over basic machines other than quieter drives etc.

Has anyone out there made the same same move or has any advice?

 

We have a family friend who owns a recording studio and swears by Mac's - I can't really give you advice beyond that due to the fact that I haven't ever done anything like that...

If I were you though I'd wait. The new G5 chip is supposedly out soon and that's supposedly quite a lot quicker than the current G4's.

Also, if you're gonna buy Mac stuff contact AllanB who works at MacWarehouse - I'm sure he'll give you a good deal!

Andy.

 

yeah i think mac is the standard hardware in this profession

 

Yup - I'm Mac too

Been using em since early 90s for music (see website in profile)

I had one session where I was transferring songs from VST PC to MAC. It worked, but added about £5K on to the studio bill!

In theory files are compatible, but in reality.....hmmmm. Not convinced.

Just upgraded from a G3 300 (beige - ah how I miss it!) to a G4 dual processor.
The big pain was upgrading all my Midi interfaces (using MOTU MTPAVs) - as the G4 wasnt serial
Also, at the moment, I don't think OSX runs the Midi packages properly. I'm running both VST & Logic Platinum on OS9.2. Sweet as a nut.

G4 will come down in price - especially after what has been mentioned about G5. Bear in mind, you're dealing with audio. Not video. A G4 will keep you going for a long time - you gets what you pay for though.

If you use Mac now, continue. After all, PCs are souped up typewriters!! <flamesuit ON>

If you want any advice, feel free to mail me offline

Dan

[Edited by ScoobyDoo555 - 1/13/2003 10:35:28 AM]

[Edited by ScoobyDoo555 - 1/13/2003 10:36:24 AM]

 

I could be wrong but G5s have been talked about for nearly 2 years now and I honestly don't think we'll see these for quite some time. If anything prices will rise as Apple continues to increases its cost prices to resellers and halve the margin which is now around 5% rrp !

Some announcments are due in about 5 weeks and we have bought up as much stock as we can as many of the existing models are going into constraint. This normally happens prior to new releases.

Oh and once you get used to OSX you'll love it. I run it at work and have not had a single crash. I wish I could say the same for OS9.1/ OS9.2


AllanB

 

Ahh Macs! lovely!

I know a chappie called Nic Raine (he's a composer type chappie) who uses macs, and Cubase (I think)


Of course I could be baised due to using macs for nigh on 11 years

As for OS X, well, I hated at first, but now I can't go back to os 9.x.x. Am getting all geeky learning unix commands now as well:

rm -rf anyone?

[Edited by Markus - 1/13/2003 6:46:24 PM]

 

Funny that so many people seem to be using VST.......

when the pros use Logic

<Flamesuit ON>!!!!!

Dan

ps NO offence intended

[Edited by ScoobyDoo555 - 1/13/2003 9:53:34 PM]

 

Have thought about a move to Logic especially since the Apple buyout. Thought there would be some bundled deals around but nothing yet which seems a bit surprising. I have used Cubase since Atari days and I know what I'm doing with it so even if Logic was the pro choice I would need a pretty good reason to switch. I also have a lot of difficulty understanding all the versions of Logic (gold, platinum...) and why does that 'big box' deal cost so little compared to other versions.

Just seen a recon dual 867Mhz G4 on ebay for £975. Looks like a good price?

 

Oh and Nine Inch Nails used Macs for the production of thier last album and then did the DVD on Final Cut, DVD Studio Pro.


AllanB

 

Wheelman - only ribbing ya!!!

It's down to personal choice. I was in the fortunate position of being endorsed by Steinberg, but still chose to use Logic.

I started off the same way (Atari & Cubase) - but soon changed. No real reason apart from I just thought that Cubase wasn't suited to the Mac. (IMHO )

Best of luck though Let us hear some snippets of your work!!!

Cheers,

Dan