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What Computer Do You Use for Music?


Anderton

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[Well... I didn't want to be the first to post in here but I got tired of waiting.]

 

I've been using Windows machines for music since around '90 or so, first to run MIDI, then to synch MIDI with my old 16 track ADAT rig and then, starting in 1996, to do multichannel DAW work.

 

Wasn't much fond of Win 3.x but since W95 and particularly W98 and XP, I've been mostly a happy camper. (But I'm in NO rush to jump to Vista. Whatsoever.)

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I was fortunate to grow up in a home which had both Windows and Macs. Once I moved out of the house and had to buy my own, I went Windows due to lower cost.

 

My parents still have the last Mac they bought around '92 and use it for word processing on a regular basis.

 

I've been extremely happy with the stability of XP Pro.

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I stared with a PC for general household usage.

Then I sarted using it for music.

Given that my music machine is off-line viruses etc. are not an issue.

I'm occasionally frustrated with stability and upgrade issues. However, given my familiarity with the devil I know I see no comelling reason to switch.

The PC hassles are certainly at a manageable level.

 

I do think the new mac commercials are very well done - even if they overstate the case.

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Various Macs from 1987-1997 (Performer/Vision/Logic)

a PC from 1998-1999 (Acid/SoundForge/Logic)

Mac since 2000 - present (Logic/Garage Band/Soundtrack Pro)

 

Acid and Sound Forge worked beautifully. I did lots of paid jobs with those two programs. Logic seemed to work best for me at the time as either MIDI or audio, but not both at the same time. But eventually it was the hassle involved with keeping Windows running smoothly that became way too much of a time consuming pain in the ass.

 

In 2000 I went to work for Alesis, and was given a PowerBook as a work computer. Logic 4.6 on that worked beautifully and I didn't have to waste anytime with viruses/spyware and unreliable audio drivers. I stopped using my PC for music right then and there. (kept it a while longer for email)

 

Been Mac ever since.

 

Currently Logic 7.2.1 on a PowerBook and a G5.

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I'm all mac here. I have a G5 Quad for my HD rig and I'm still using a G4-400 for my mix rig.

 

My wife recently switched to a Mac after seeing all the problems my son was having with his Compac. They ended when I bought the kids an iMac. Macs don't suck, and they aren't that much more expensive in the long run.

 

Steve

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I started with Personal Composer (nightmare) and then Texture (not as bad) using a DOS computer. Either 286 or 386. They were owned by a friend but I put a LOT of hours in his band room sequencing songs for our band. Later I bought my first computer, a 486/66 and purchased Cakewalk vs. 1. Cakewalk in Windows 3.1 was so much better than what I had been using that I stuck with Windows PC's running Cakewalk software. I cannot afford to just abandon Windows but I am trying Mac. Some of my applications will move but not Sonar 5PE or Acid. I don't think I would miss Project 5 or FruityLoops. Still, I might be cheating myself if I don't test the waters. Who knows, Logic or some other Mac program might be a better fit. Denying myself the most comfortable DAW (for me) to work with can only hurt my music.

 

But for the Mac/PC question, has anyone ever heard a song and said "That was done on a Mac" or "That was done on a PC"?

 

Robert

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By the way, as of yesterday, Apple's transition to Intel hardware is now complete. That means from now on, anyone who buys a new Mac is also essentially buying a PC; and for the price of Windows OS, any new Mac user can answer "Both" in the poll above.

 

While I personally have only used Macs to make music, I hope to be in the "Both" category myself someday soon. In fact, I'm sort of heading in that direction later this week when I plan to take delivery on a turnkey Receptor I ordered.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

 

NoMacVsPC.jpg

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Looking at the poll results, this is a very Windows centric forum (not making a judgement, just pointing out), but as Geoff said in another thread, not representative of what's used in the high end studios (at least not in L.A.)

 

:)

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Originally posted by steadyb:

as Geoff said in another thread, not representative of what's used in the high end studios (at least not in L.A.)


:)

 

The experience I shared in that post comes mostly from my work here in LA; but it also comes from working in high-end studios in New York and London, as well as with recording artists from America, Canada, Europe, and Japan. I also noted that while Macs seem to dominate that scene (especially concerning Pro Tools DAWs in America), PCs (or at least Receptors) are also being added to the arsenals of high-end people who use a lot of virtual instruments.

 

But it's best to read my post for the full context.

 

NoMacVsPC.jpg

 

Best,

 

Geoff

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Originally posted by Geoff Grace

Macs seem to dominate that scene (especially concerning Pro Tools DAWs in America)

 

 

Sorry, that was the point I was referring to.

 

 

 

It follows along the same lines of the bigger Pro Tools dealers on the west coast, who tell me 95+% (if not more of their Pro Tools sales are on the Mac side.

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I switched to Windows in 1998 once I figured out how to put together my own PC. Soon after that I started getting paid to put together Windows systems for broadcast studios here in Japan Although I enjoy using the Mac G5/Ptotools rigs at the music school where I work I don't see myself getting on the Mac merry-go-round anytime soon, it's just too much fun putting together these frankenstein PC's.

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Originally posted by jonmatifa



For some reason the idea of recording in Linux gets me very excited. We still need AISO support and a plugin standard.

 

 

Check out Dyne-Bolic and Studio 64.

Dyne-Bolic looks like it has some possibilities so far. I downloaded the latest distro but have not burned the iso and tried it yet.

I am, actually as I type this, downloading Studio 64. It's in development and will be interesting to take a look at.

 

On the Windows front, I use n-Track Studio and I'm checking out Reaper. I have used all the other free programs such as Krystal, Audacity and others, Including the Pro-tools freebie. I have an early Cool Edit and Cakewalk. I still migrate back to n-Track Studio. It does everything I need it to do and more and I will be upgrading to the 24bit version in the future.

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Maybe it's just that we don't have enough data, but the number of people specifying both is waaaay down compared to the last time I ran this poll. Wonder what the significance of that is?

 

And of course, next time I'll have to ask do you use Mac, Windows, or Windows on a Mac? :)

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At home, I use Windows, cuz it's cheaper and cuz I have to use it for my other business. At most of the commercial studios I work at, they have Mac based Pro Tools rigs. Mostly this seems to be left over from when there was a real difference between Macs and PC's for audio, and the studio owners have simply stuck with what they know. Personally I don't have a problem with using either one, but if I were starting a studio from scratch at this point I would go with a Windows setup simply because it's cheaper and I like the fact that lots of competing companies make all the components.

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Originally posted by Anderton

>


No, I was only interested in which computers people used for music, not whether they didn't use computers. There remains a sizable group of people who use analog tape or all in one machines.

 

 

Ah, I was thinking

 

1) It would allow you to get a dataset you could mine for multiple purposes (as well as possibly some validation)

2) Given the question would be a bit more neutral in tone, there is a lesser danger of sample self-selection

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