macbook pro and logic protools

[lazybones at 50]

I am thinking of buying these two for home recording..do i need 8 gb or 16 gb, I wont be doing anything other than home recording.Are their any other options?they are expensive and my only advice is from the salesman who recommends the 16gb.

[Steev]

For PT11 get as much RAM as you can. Apparently it makes use of RAM a lot more than PT10 and earlier versions.

[Archtop Guy]

As a single data point, I use a 2011 MacBook Pro with Logic 9 on only 4GB RAM.

Granted I usually have no more than 8 tracks, but it works fine.

BTW, Logic is from Apple and Protools is from Avid. You won't need both.

[Sam VanLaningham]

Originally Posted by lazybones at 50

I am thinking of buying these two for home recording..do i need 8 gb or 16 gb, I wont be doing anything other than home recording.Are their any other options?they are expensive and my only advice is from the salesman who recommends the 16gb.

If you are only recording 1-4 tracks at a time and only plan on having less than 20 tracks, 8 GB is aok with my 2014 mbp and Logic Pro 9 or X (can't temember).

Ram gets cheaper after a year or 2 and thus the upgrade is always pretty inexpensive and easy to diy (YouTube baby!).

Ps: I'm confused by the "logic protools". 2
Different apps right?

Cool. Sam

[alohachris]

Aloha,

If you're recording at home, then go with an iMac (which allows for more Ram - up to 32GB) than Mac laptops & provides much better screen options (larger choices, better quality - important if you're spending many hours on it).

Combine an iMac with Apple's great Logic Pro X DAW (made for Mac's & also fully integrated w/ Apogee interfaces for best compatibility). I prefer Logic Pro's workflow to all others - for all functions. It offers much more than you'll need & high quality across the board. It also works great w/ most external plug-in's & is 64-bit capable. Logic's User Forums are fantastic for support & creative suggestions.

Sign up for Apple's 'One to One" program when you buy your iMac & Logic Pro. For $99 you'll receive unlimited training sessions for a year! I did 56 one on one sessions with a certified Logic trainer in one year at a store of my choice & it really demystified Logic Pro for me. And it wasn't an issue at all for me to bring my iMac to each session. You can also renew for another year. I go in for tune ups every now & then. It was the best $99 I ever sent on training. Check that out!

Nothing wrong w/ PT 11 for Mac's (except Avid's arrogance & unpredictability - I had many bad experiences with their service dept. when I ran PTLE many years ago).

An important thing to remember when shopping for DAW's is that Pro Tools & Logic Pro are the only two fully professional DAW's found in every studio. So if you record some great tracks & want an ME to master a finished product for you in his/her studio, those are the two DAW's you can use to easily do that (forget it Reaper users).

BTW, store your your music projects on some really good ext. hard drives. Glyph's have the best guarantees for lost data down the road. And use your computer only for music projects. Don't share it w/ daily computer activities to avoid issues. And learn which upgrades to avoid as well.

Check it out. All the best!

alohachris

[Michi]

Originally Posted by lazybones at 50

I am thinking of buying these two for home recording..do i need 8 gb or 16 gb, I wont be doing anything other than home recording.Are their any other options?they are expensive and my only advice is from the salesman who recommends the 16gb.

If you think about Protools or Logic X, I would strongly recommend Logic. It is much cheaper, comes with a lot of useful tools for songwriting and a whole lot of virtual instruments, and even the new plugins like the Compressor is quite good and useable.

Avid/Protools is a software which makes your Computer a Studio-System, and I would not recommend to use other Audio/Video Software on it, and avoid system updates. Just look at it like a Studio-machine, not like a Personal Computer anymore. Be careful to select a Macbook-Model with the exact specs that Avid has in their Compatibility List - otherwise you will not have technical support.
Logic will not cause you any trouble if you use your Computer for daily work, gaming and other stuff.

(I am using a PT at home and a Logic X on my MBP)
Best
Michi

[KevWind]

So to clarify you are wanting to use both Logic and Protools ? Which is fine but I am curious as to why ?

So if you are going to use Pro tools then max out the RAM.

Be aware that Protools is moving to an annual subscription or monthly rental model. Which means that in order to be able to upgrade to new features in new versions you will be paying either an annual support/upgrade fee of $300 for Regular PT or $600 for HD or you can opt for a monthly rental of PT and opt in and out depending on your particular use needs.

The only other option will be to stay at the current version. And if you later decide to upgrade you will be paying full retail purchase again at that point.

To clarify a couple other points:
To address any possible misconceptions , literally thousands of PT users use only a laptop for all their computer needs both recording and everything else there. While a dedicated studio computer is always a good idea ( regardless of which DAW), there is in fact nothing in PT software which "requires" that it be used only dedicated studio computer . Also there is nothing inherent in the software that precludes you from using other Audio/Video software For example I use both PTHDN and Final Cut Pro X on both my studio computer (Mac Pro) and my Mac Book Air (that I am typing this on)
And to clarify as far as system updates, you certainly can update your OS BUT with PT definitely a good Idea to not update your OS until qualified by Avid as being compatible.

Now if you are in fact going to use it as dedicated studio computer Then I agree with Aloha Chris
Might as well enjoy the added screen real estate of the biggest screen iMac.
As someone who uses a 27' inch and a 13" screen I can verify it is way more fun on the big screen

[ljguitar]

Hi lazy bones at 50…

I retired our 5year old iMac (21" screen) to the studio. It has 8GB RAM which is more than adequate to record/mix sound.

And I'm a Logic Pro X user. Not opposed to other software, but it's features and price are what fit what I do with my recordings.

I'm not opposed to subscription models (I do a subscription through Adobe for Lightroom/Photoshop) and it's worth it as a photographer. But I do more 'professional' things with photography than I do with my sound. I use the apps several times a week whereas the studio gets fired monthly for a few days.

In the pricerange of ProTools or Logic Pro X or other high end recording software, we are not generally haggling over features, but straight forward usability and intuitive use of the apps. And how much trouble it is to mix, edit and export files in the format we need quickly. I like the workflow of Logic Pro X as it is similar to the software I cut my teeth on, and it doesn't tend to module me to death (I don't find myself needing to buy more effects).

If I were buying a new computer which was going to do anything other than the studio, it would have 16GB RAM. If it were sound recording only, 4GB would do it.

[Ty Ford]

Originally Posted by KevWind

So to clarify you are wanting to use both Logic and Protools ? Which is fine but I am curious as to why ?

So if you are going to use Pro tools then max out the RAM.

Be aware that Protools is moving to an annual subscription or monthly rental model. Which means that in order to be able to upgrade to new features in new versions you will be paying either an annual support/upgrade fee of $300 for Regular PT or $600 for HD or you can opt for a monthly rental of PT and opt in and out depending on your particular use needs.

The only other option will be to stay at the current version. And if you later decide to upgrade you will be paying full retail purchase again at that point.

To clarify a couple other points:
To address any possible misconceptions , literally thousands of PT users use only a laptop for all their computer needs both recording and everything else there. While a dedicated studio computer is always a good idea ( regardless of which DAW), there is in fact nothing in PT software which "requires" that it be used only dedicated studio computer . Also there is nothing inherent in the software that precludes you from using other Audio/Video software For example I use both PTHDN and Final Cut Pro X on both my studio computer (Mac Pro) and my Mac Book Air (that I am typing this on)
And to clarify as far as system updates, you certainly can update your OS BUT with PT definitely a good Idea to not update your OS until qualified by Avid as being compatible.

Now if you are in fact going to use it as dedicated studio computer Then I agree with Aloha Chris
Might as well enjoy the added screen real estate of the biggest screen iMac.
As someone who uses a 27' inch and a 13" screen I can verify it is way more fun on the big screen

Yep. I also run PT10 and FCP X on the same (tower) machine along with a number of other apps. I did max out the RAM; 32GB. Big screens a re great, but I chose a slightly smaller on that would not be in the way of my audio monitors. PT10 and PT11 both have virtual instruments on board. In addition, I have BFD3 which is a pretty massive drum machine software running as a PT plug in. I use Carbon Copy Cloner to back up each of the two drives (Sys/Apps and Media) every night to exterior drives.

Regards,

Ty Ford