Music Production: Mac or PC?

General Forums Off-topic Chat
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Hey everybody.

I’ve been working on a self produced EP for the last few weeks here(been producing for a couple years), but things havent been going well the last couple of days.

Ive been recording on a windows Vista pc with Sonar 6 Producer Edition, and have been having about any possible problem(skips, dropouts, incompatability, etc) that I could.
I figured it was probably just a problem cause by my using Vista, but upgrades of all my software/drivers has left me with Sonar dropping out promptly when I start recording(after maybe 1/2 to 1 1/2 seconds), and me with a massive headache. If you’ve got any tips to fix it, that’d be great, but Im wondering…

Would it maybe be easier to just get a Macbook the next time I can and use Garageband/Logic for sketching/producing my music? I dunno, theres just that kind of mystical ‘perfection’ surrounding macs, and I read that Patrick Stump does a lot of his producing in Grageband on a macbook, so just wondering…All of my equipment is compatable.

So yeah, any tips thoughts, suggestions, Im just at a dead-end here, and its bringing me down.
Drew

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Oh man, mac for sure…Also check out Stienberg’s VST.

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Windows has nothing on Mac

in my opinion it’s simply the best

you should check out Logic - or if you want something less expensive, go with Audacity :slight_smile:

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@pixelmass: Okay, thanks.

@blndr08: Music-wise though? Im gonna keep a windows pc for my graphics work.
Anyway, theres no way Im producing music with Audacity(I have the wondows version), I need something with serious capabilities. Audacity doesnt even have EQ support!

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Well I hate to say it, but there are lots of people in the music industry that use Linux, Check out sourceforge under the audio section, you will see LOTS of goodies you might want that are Linux or windows only… Mac as usual has only a few applications .
http://sourceforge.net/softwaremap/trove_list.php?form_cat=113

Before you choose a system, you might want to figure out what software you need/want to run, and go from there.Might want to make sure you have a midi port for your sound card too.

EDIT:
check this out,

audacity is more for tweaking sound effects in my opinion, to put together music tracks try the above :smiley:

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I use a 1gig macbook coreduo2 for all my needs, 3d animation, video editing, music production, works great! For music production you can’t go wrong with a mac. Garage Band will get you started for simple means, but I really recommend getting logic pro, very powerful yet simple program that will do everything you need, a lot of hidden features too! I also use ableton live, and love it, very fun. I used to use ableton on a windows pc that had better specs than my macbook and it was quite sluggish, but no slowdowns on the mac. Linux also has alot of good music software, but good like trying to find a DAW as intuitive or powerful as logic.

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The problem is that you’re using Vista. Upgrade to XP!

garageband isn’t reall ‘all that’, from my experience it’s kind inflexible.

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@QuixoticSmile: Thanks! That was exactly the kind of reply I was llooking for. I was planning on messing around in GB till I could get my hands on Logic, but I would definitely use the latter for serious mixing etc.
Ive tried Ableton Live(an LE version) but I couldnt really get into it. Recently Ive been hearing a lot of good things about it, so Im gonna give it another go I think.

Thanks again.

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Really, it is all personal preference - your not going to get many more features by switching to any host, so it comes down to the way you work. I prefer the Sonar work flow and have been using version 5 (studio) on my XP system for a while now, with very few stability problems.

If your looking to switch to something that “just works” then go the Mac and Logic/Cubase route - but try to demo anything before you switch, nothing worse than spending a ton on new hardware and software to find out that you can’t work in the new interface. Also check to make sure any essential plug-ins are Mac compatible - I know that a lot of free plug-ins are Windows only.

Some tips to get Sonar working again (since it seems like that would be the cheapest option): What kind of drivers are you using (and what is your interface)? If you can, try increasing the buffer size - you’ll get higher latency, but in general fewer dropouts. It would also be worth checking out the Cakewalk User Forums. One of Sonar’s selling points is its Vista compatibility, and your issue seems like a fairly common one (on any operating system, not just Vista) - there are likely to be many people who have had the same problem.

And finally, at this point in time, you just can’t say that PC or Mac is better for music - you have to pick the one (and normally, that is determined by software) that best fits the way you personally work.

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Yeah, for whatever reson, it will not let me change or even turn on write or read chaching. Or anything on that whole tab for that matter! When I do and click OK or whatever, it just opens back up with all my changes un done! Reinstalls etc havent changed it. It just isnt working, and I want to use something else. Ive tried nearly everything, updated drivers, then rolled em back, grabbed maintinance updates, but it just makes it worse. UGH! Right in the middle of a big project too…my goodness.

But yeah, thanks for the tip. I havent looked into Cubase yet(heard of it but never actually tried it), so thanks again!

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It’s weird that you can’t change anything that tab - I’d image you’d be able to at least change the driver type you were using. Of course, I’m not sure how Vista handles audio drivers, so maybe it is hiding something from Sonar. If you’re still willing to try stuff, check out ASIO4ALL. I don’t use it personally (my interface has good ASIO drivers already) but I’ve read very good things about people using it to replace whatever drivers come with soundcards/interfaces - in general, I find you’ll get better performance with ASIO drivers over other types. Of course, if you’re already using them, it’s not much help. It’s always most annoying when things that worked previously suddenly stop working, isn’t it?

Cubase is like Sonar in most regards - different work flow, but mostly the same, feature-wise. Runs on both Windows and OSX, so you wouldn’t have to switch platforms if you didn’t want to. Downsides are USB dongle for copy protection and no demo to try.

By the way, if you do decide to switch, make sure to check out crossgrade offers - you might be able to save a lot of money as you already own Sonar. And finally, check out Reaper and EnergyXT in your search - both are full featured, inexpensive hosts that may suit your needs and not cost you a ton of money.

EDIT: Out of curiosity, what kind of input/output device to you have? A regular soundcard or a USB/Firewire/PCI Interface designed for recording/production work?

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Sorry about the typo, herecheck it out. I use this software, it gives me 32 note poly and 128 tracks to play with. More fingers than I have! Pretty flexible stuff. I am running 3 synths and a drum machine at the moment. (A hobby that got out of control!)

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@Gplex: Huh,Ill have to try out those drivers(it always resets mine to MME 32 bit!), I dunno what the problem is. But, it is only since Ive been using Vista, so teh issue probably lies there.
I need to upgrade, but Im using an M-Audio Fast Track, real simple USB interface with one line input, and an XLR input for recording.

@pixelmass: hmm…So you use Cubase? I mean, a VST is really just a plugin…But cool, Again, I’ll be checking that out.

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Yeah, I guess the name of the software is cubase…(silly pixelmass, don’t even know what you are using!) Anyway, it works quite nicely. I have heard about, but have not used, cakewalk on the windows side of things.

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I made music on PC for several years…but it never really worked out for me. Then I bought a mac - and haven’t had any real problems since I did that.

About Cubase - I guess if you’re going to buy a mac you are going to get an intel mac (macbook - or macbook pro) - and remeber that Cubase 4 and Cubase studio 4 are the only two cubase versions that run on mac. I myself use cubase studio 4…a wonderful program!

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But the program really depends on what you’re going to use it for - what kind of music style you aim at…

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@pixelmass: Ha, thats Sonar(cakewalk’s Sonar), what I currently use. Pretty good piece of software, but my goodness…problems problems problems(it did work fine on XP)
@morvan: That was the plan, I want an intel core, so Ill have to check out Cubase for sure.
As far as style, I want to keep it open. I want full mixing and arranging/sequencing capabilities(I do various styles, mostly around a rock/pop vibe), so I really need something better than just loop based sequencing, hence my using Sonar instead of Acid Express.

What do you do?

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Good news! (Hopefully)

Thisperson on the SONAR forums has the same interface with Sonar 6 and Vista and was having near identical problems. Turns out they had two versions of the M-Audio drivers installed - for them, a complete uninstall (talking drivers, not OS) and then a more careful reinstall fixed the issue. There are several other suggestions in the thread too, so maybe something else would help.

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The best way to go for music production, is:
#1. Ears
#2. Maybe Nuendo, with Universal Audio Hardware and plugins.
#3. Understanding how to use compression and being able to eq layer.

mac or PC is not the issue, we are getting radio air play and a national release from Nuendo from a PC(will be uprading to a Mac soon)

Your sound is going to be as good as your ability to mix and produce. You could have a Mac, and still sound like a lo-fi mix from Cool Edit Pro, if you can’t wrap your head around cleaning and producing tracks.

Most high-end plugins have decent high level presets, but if you can eliminate things between your tracks and the sound on disk(boards, preamps…etc) you can eliminate things being added to your sound.

I think sonar or Wavelab could suffice, but you have to focus on isolating, cleaning the individual tracks, then eq’ing it so it is distinct from other frequencies(not jacking the eq, though). Bass can get muddy really fast, especially when the bass frequency of all the tracks start blending and cancelling each other out.

Having a good compressor, and avoiding the use of Normalize, you should be able to get good imaging with just compressor and a eq preset.

Reading about mastering and mixing helps.

There is a difference between the mixes you make, and mixes that are engeneered by pros. Can you take a CD produced in a high end studio, and compare the mix to your own?

PC/Nuendo/Universal Audio landed us radio airplay, clients and a national release.

Read, practice, listen.

hope that helps.

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Hmm, trying now…Id gotten back recording with ASIO4ALL, but it was still all screwed up. Uninstalling the device now, gonna try with those new drivers(which incidentally, I may have also installed over teh to of my old drivers as well…)