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PC vs. Mac for Music Recording/Editing?
fivetigers
Member UncommonPosts: 208
Basically my friend wants to be able to record bands to make cds. We've both heard that Mac is supposedly the way to go. I thought that most of the top software (protools, ect.) were available for both PC and Mac, so why is one better than the other? Thanks for any input.
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one reason this issue even comes up: Fan Boys (no bois...thats just retarded).
I can only think of one real reason and that is that most of the people who do any of that stuff are not familiar with computers, so they use macs; since any moron with functioning hands can use it and not have it blow up in their face.
If you can handle a PC. go for it. Avoid the mac simply due to the fact that almost everything is made for windows, while a some things are made for both.
I know I'll get a lot of flak for this.
im a pc fan, but i do think that the mac has better editing software. If you were using it for games, then i would say a PC.
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It really depends on what you are familiar with. As was mentioned above you have more people who don't know how to work with computers doing sound editing. So they end up recommending Macs. In reality the software/hardware is there to work on a PC. There is actually alot better quality hardware for this on the PC. There is also a fairly large following of people manipulating sound on the PC. Particularly in games.
I have 2 friends who have studios and record bands. They use macs. When i asked them why, they told me that even the pc has equal hardware capabilities and software to do the job, it has 2 major disadvantages. Noise and poor stability.
I will bypass Takis opinion since he never used a PC in his life (mac Junkie) and he is using a program not available for the PC (logic audio, that's what he called it) and i ll tell you you what Jim did to demonstrate PC noise (he has also a PC in his studio since many bands use PC software for additional instruments and effects) and he is sometimes doing sound engineering for Sepultura's live sessions in europe.
To check noise, please do what he demonstrated to me. install your software to the PC (he is using Kubase or Qbase whatever it's called) you want to test and do a silent recording (record without a signal). Then Jim "magnified" the recording volume somehow on the PC and told me to notice that the wave line was not flat, there was a sound from the hardware components. Then he did the same thing again and he asked me to move the mouse a bit. Well lol the mouse made noise too.
He said that PCs made with high quality components able to do the job in a recording studio are very expensive (cost much more than a mac) and if you decide to go for a pc you must make sure that it will be as "quiet" as possible and actually know a bit more about computers. Expensive Power supply, "fanless" cooling systems, 270 dollar towers e.t.c are just enough to raise the price several hundred dollars.
As for Stability he told me that macs crash too and sometimes even more than Pcs . Go figure...
I don't know why so much "hate" for the PC from artists and sound engineers but i think that the PC is not that bad as musicians say. At least you can run this "test" on both computers before spending your money.
Like cleffy said, hardware is essentially the same; and not much choice with macs.
The sound issue can be easily fixed. Installing the insulating foam for computers (i can't think of the name at the moment - and insulating might be the wrong word there but w/e).
And almost all recording is digital, so the noise will not be a problem, not to mention the recording room will most likely not house the computer itself - even less to worry about now.
Sorry to be all over the place but i'm going to go back to the price issue. THe thing with macs is that you are essentially also paying a premium for the brand. You can build yourself a really nice PC for about the same price you'd pay for a mac.
And as Vagelisp mentioned I really don't know why so many artists and sound engineers rely on macs? And this seems to be mainly with the music industry, and low scale video prodcution because most of the movies you see now a days have scenes rendered [EDIT: not rendered but produced i guess - that would be done on a render farm] on beastly PCs with 32 gigs of ram and 4k vid cards.
I have Logic for the PC.
Some of my friends use Mac's on their studio's, some use PC's.
The ones with professional studio's all use Mac's.
The same is true of all the video editing suites I've seen. Mac is the dominant computer in this field.
Either will do, it's what you learnt on that you will feel most comfortable using.
When it all started Mac was the market leader for audio software. So that's what a lot of engineers have learnt on.
Mac's cost more but look nicer. They have status symbol appeal.
A new Mac is made from identical components to a new PC, it just uses a different Operating System.
For noise, keep your PC/Mac box in a different room. Just run the keyboard and screen in your recording area.
Frankly you're asking in the wrong place. Shoot over to a pro audio forum and ask the same question. Here you're gonna get a LOT of PC fan bois who've never used a PC and then a comparible Mac to record in their entire lives (exactly as they're arguing that musicians use macs because they've never used PCs).
I'm damn good with computers, and still use one (my 23rd solo build) just because of the ease of use for gaming. I've been raised on windows since I was about 7, and I know it backwards. A little over a year ago I got a mac, and I have -never- looked back.
I've got about £9000 of recording gear sat in my 'studio' (Ok, it's just a bedroom, but it would be a studio if I'd stop buying electronics and actually soundproof the bugger!), and the Mac completes it. I actually really suck on mac, I have to be honest. I'm so used to windows that it's quite an adjustment - fortunately windows stole most of mac's mechanics years ago so it's not toooooo unfamiliar
*flame retardant jacket*.
I've -never- been into a studio in my entire life (nor at a live venue, or ANYTHING to do with music pre/post-production) that doesn't solely rely on Macs. And you have to ignore the idiots saying 'musicians don't know how to work PC's. Try going to one of the big studios, where pro recording takes place, for Dream Theater, or Dave Matthews Band or someone massive like that. They've got a whole fucking IT department, and those guys know computers. And they know the Mac will -always- come out on top for recording.
As has been mentioned, noise is an important factor, but as is the OS itself, as well as software. Simply, Logic is the best commercial recording software in the world. A price tag to match, but it no longer uses a dongle (you can work out what I'm suggesting
). And it works best on a Mac, largely because Macs hardware interfacing is incredible.
I said to start with that the 'haters' never used a PC -and- a Mac with the same hardware to try and record. I have. I first used my interface (Saffire Pro 26 I/O - highly recommended!) with my mac. Plugged it in. Installed the software suite. Full functionality, instantly. Did everything I was expecting, and everything I wanted. Allowed me to record all 8 channels from my drum kit, monitor seperate mixes to seperate channels, follow the MIDI tracks as well, etc. etc. etc. In live settings it allowed me to send people seperate mixes (louder guitar for the guitarist, louder drums for me etc.). All of this worked -instantly- in Logic, as soon as I launched it (having never used the program before in my entire life), created a new project, and created the tracks - it did all the rest for me.
A few weeks later I wanted to record some practice, but my mac was sat over at my dad's office after a visit that weekend. I hooked the interface up to my computer, running Cubase (probably the most renowned pro audio suite on windows), which I've got years of experience on. From those years of experience, I can tell you Cubase is an absolute bitch. Massive amounts of potential, but like everything windows, totally unintuitive. So I installed the software suite and followed all the instructions that came with the interface, and then began to try and record. No intuitiveness here. 8 audio tracks created, but all had to be source selected seperately, taking about a minute and a half per track (not so bad, until you're recording 64 tracks...) because of the ridiculous complexity Cubase adds to it (using an X-Fi soundcard doesn't help either!). The same for MIDI, and all monitoring mixes took ages to set up too. I didn't get any practice done that day.
I've never had a pleasant experience trying to record on windows, in about 6 years of doing it. Sure the recordings come out OK eventually, but it's never pleasant making them. I've never had an unpleasant experience recording on Mac, and the recordings ALWAYS come out perfect. Everything's easy on mac, and even though if you isolate the PC etc. etc. etc. you can produce the same quality recordings, you can guarantuee you'll have put in 10 times as much effort to do it. For me, 10 times less effort was worth an extra 20% on the price tag, if it's not for you, go for windows. If it is, it -has- to be Mac.
Better yet buy a Korg 32 track digital studio !
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
To the OP, a Mac is always going to be more user friendly and better for video editing and music simply because of the Macs OS and programs have fewer flaws and is easier to use. That doesn't mean a Mac is better then a PC, each has the same hardware just about but what makes a Mac a Mac is simply the OS (operating system) which again is user friendly.
Anyone who can use a PC point and click can use it to do anything as long as they know the basics of that program or GUI. The issue is how well does that program or OS handle the user and perform.
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