Pc Vrs. Mac

[toeshy]

I know i know this is a beaten to death cliche topic but i honestly want to know ppls opinions on which software is better for each OS and which OS has the best overall. I know mac comes with garage band and i have never used it in my life because for as long as i remember i have been a pc but pc products cost ALOT of money sometimes. I am hoping to get a mac soon and see for myself the ups and downs to the mac and its software. bottom line is: is garage band all that its cracked up to be or is there better mac software out there and how do they compare to pc software?

[john]

hey

As editors go I think Wavelab is excellent... but many editors offer similar capabilities. For me the true value tends to be in the VSTs. I guess I'm taking the editing for granted.

Audacity is pretty good as a freeware item but it is still clunky and not nearly as nice to use... is that worth the money? To me yes.

I've used several mac editors over the years but not for some time, so I can't really advise you there or offer much of an opinion.

Cheers

John

[toeshy]

where would i go to get a vst? cuz all the "vst" programs i tried to run r either demos that grab u by the hypothetical nuts so u cant do anything or plug-ins for some unknown program

[john]

Most of the VSTs in the VST thread will work.

Hold on i'll find a link...

[john]

Most of the VSTs in the VST thread will work.

Hold on i'll find a link...

freeware instruments and effects

[Retrosaurus Rex]

where would i go to get a vst? cuz all the "vst" programs i tried to run r either demos that grab u by the hypothetical nuts so u cant do anything or plug-ins for some unknown program

You need a host program to run VSTs, but practically any PC recording host will do so, because VST is the defacto standard for audio plug-ins...

[toeshy]

ok i found a host but how do i make them work i am clicking and dragging the plugins that i downloaded into the host window and i click the symbol for their control menus to pop up and i get lost with all the buttons lol

[toeshy]

ok scratch that i figured out that what is playing has to be an MIDI file format but is there anyway to get my guitar plugged in and play that way?

[LooknGlass]

I had this vst web page in my bookmarks, but haven't used it or looked around much yet

 

http://www.vstwarehouse.com/

 

I say PC, because it's less proprietary and computer parts from other computers are more interchangeable when you have to replace them.

[Rudi]

pc VS mac

 

I am entirely impartial about this.

 

I have used both. I failed at using both. Both cost a lot of money.

 

PC: despite having a custom built unit + soundcard + cakewalk etc etc. Every sound that issued from it was kak. Awful, awful sound. Now Steve (who is still a member here) mentored me with this gear. We had pretty much identical kit. His sounded fine. Mine sounded like a steam kettle.

 

Mac: Garage Band sounds ok, but you have to invalidate the warranty by immediately buying more ram. A lot more ram. And speakers, etc etc.

This is not as bad as it sounds because Apple standard warrantys and the expensive AppleCare Plans are not worth the paper they're written on. If your Mac goes ptfzzzz... Apple dont want to know about it. So you might just as well open the case and upgrade it. I didnt do this, so I cant help beyond this point.

 

IMO, both are rubbish. They need competition. We need more options.

[Just1L]

IMO a Mac. I grew up on PCs and started using Macs around 1985. Still, I liked PCs over Macs until I was in college and started using them for graphic design purposes. Once I used Macs and then went back to my Dad's PC, I knew that Macs were the computer for me.

 

As far as Garageband goes, I too have looked up the differences between that and LogicPro (the pay DAW). I guess it depends on where you are in your "learning how to record" process. From everything I've read Garageband will do just fine. I blame my bad recordings on human error over what Garageband can actually do. I've heard recording from Garageband that sound stellar and just as good as professionally recorded CDs. But if you don't know how to record and mix properly (and also the quality of your mic, sound room, etc…) you'll be in the same boat no matter which way you go.

[LayneGreene]

I like Mac more, but I'm unsure that its any 'better'. I think part of the debate lies in the fact that there's a lot more cheap PC's than Macs (as in, none), so I'm not sure that it's really a fair and level playing field.

[LooknGlass]

Mac may indeed be better for graphics and such. But if I want to upgrade or replace parts cheaply, it's PC all the way.

[TheSluggard]

I was a PC user for many years, but switched to Mac and I doubt I'll ever go back.  With my PC, I was constantly experiencing issues when I would load new software and something else would stop working, or have to be disabled, or I'd have issues with drivers, or I'd get some arcane error message and have to search forums trying to find the solution.  On top of that there was all the spyware and viruses. 

 

This is not to say that Macs are perfect!  They are a lot more expensive than PC's and, like many vendors, Apple has an annoying tendency to release something that works really well, then change it for the worse in a subsequent release for reasons that don't seem to be related to the user experience.  Also, there is much less software available for Macs, since PC's are such a larger market.  However, when I load new software on my Mac, it works right away without exception and the OS never crashes.  On rare occassions, an individual app might crash, but then I had the same problem with Windows and since I upgraded my memory, this almost never happens. 

 

To speak more specifically about music production on a Mac, Macs come with Garageband - a very user-friendly tool which is sufficient for many people's needs.  I decided to upgrade to Logic Express 9, as it includes advanced features, including a virtual drum machine (Ultrabeat).  I haven't tried Logic Pro 10 yet, but Apple's strategy was to make it more similar to the interface of Garageband, so the transition from one program to the other will be easier going forward.

 

Not trying to sound like a paid shill, others would of course disagree with me.  But having used both systems, Macs work better for me.

Edited March 28, 2014 by TheSluggard

[TapperMike]

Logic was at one time a product designed for windows till apple bought it out and made it mac only.  They could have made it for both but opted against that.  Sad truely sad as Microsoft goes out of it's way to make Office available for mac users.  Of course this would have meant that the pc verision would have been able to run vst's (unless apple disabled it) and the mac version wouldn't.

 

Logic has been dummied down to look more like Garage band and features that were once available in Logic no longer are available do to dummying down for those upgrading from garage band.  Apple isn't the only one who did that.  When Sony aqured Acid from Vegas they too dummied down the interface and stripped several features out.  I was a Acid Vegas user at the time and was actually making some side money doing mixdown work with it.  When Sony came along and bought Acid they jacked up the price and stripped the features making it "Daw for Dummies"  Eventually they recanted and jacked the price up again then released the "Acid Pro" version, But by then I'd had enough of anything Sony to bite.

 

I love my vst's and to be honest once I moved from freeware to payware I found neither need nor desire to go back.  I'm not inclined to use software that doesn't support vst's fully like......Abelton Live.

 

I had terrible latency when using external vst's with live and couldn't figure out why.  Others I know had no latency issues. It turned out they never used external sounds/effects instead they relied on the internal sounds only.  Ableton has an issue I think it's called PDC.  Each time you add an external vst/vsti the latency doubles.  If you've got four external vst's or vsti's it quickly becomes unusable.  This has been bugged for several years now but Abelton refuses to do anything about it because they want you to buy more sounds / effects from them rather then buying from third parties.

 

So it's not all apple is evil with me, there is plenty of evil to go around.

 

It seems like every daw except maybe reaper is including sounds and effects these days as a selling point of the daw.  Which begs the question how much better is the new installment of the daw over the last one.  Which each successive build of software the bloat adds up for minor features which don't really enhance the program but do add to processor and ram abuse.   Studio One was hailed as the product that shook the industry up because they had a lean mean fighting machine.  A lot of serious Cakewalk / Cubase / Live and other bigger name daw users switched to S1 overnight and didn't look back.  It still had more features then ...Reaper but it was just as fast if not faster due to code optimization.  Most of all S1 is stable even on pokey systems like my Vista desktop. Still in my Daw shoot out Studio One lost out to mixcraft. Affordable. upgradeable, strong feature sets. Easy for those new to daw's yet plenty of features to keep seasoned players like me happy and most of all stability/speed.

 

 

 

 

. 

[peterknight]

Myself, I'm a Mac convert as I was a PC user for years.  I would have to say that I'm happier overall (and poorer as well. lol!)  I used to debate whether I should stay on PC or move over to a Mac - for it seemed that a Mac was much more stable for audio and video production.  And at the time, maybe 2 years ago, this was the case.  But these days, I think that both platforms are fairly stable for the most part.

 

In regards to DAWs, I've stuck around w/ Cubase over the years, both on PC and now on a Mac - I've been tempted to switch over to ProTools, for no other reason that its seems to be "the standard DAW", but all in all, most of the DAWs these days have the same functions and its about how we use the DAWs which is fully transferrable from platform to platform and software to software.

 

In other words - its all good!

 

-Peter

[john]

Wow.

 

I am puzzled. Why did you post this Skylark?

 

I ask because, you dug up a 6 year old topic that hasn't been posted to for 2 years, and then focused on running down both thread and site. At least, that is how it reads. At the same time you avoid actually answering the question (which would at least have shown that you have a good understanding of the issues involved) ... Including failing to explain why you think previous answers fell short of the mark. 

 

I don't get it.

 

There are plenty tech heads here whose opinions and advice are at least as valid as your own, if not more so in some cases. Instead you make unsupported assertions which demonstrate that you have an opinion on the subject but not what or why. You then announce an unexplained verdict on the thread and community and your advice is that they should go elsewhere?

 

Did something happen?

 

If someone offers a critique such as "Your song is crap" but offers no explanation or reasoning... Even you would call them out. The issue is not that you think the song is crap, that is your opinion. It is the lack of any explanation that is the first problem.

 

You are a smart and articulate man. As it stands your reply only serves to raise questions about your motive for posting. For example: What are you trying to achieve? Do you have an axe to grind, or are you engaged in classic trolling? Do you feel superior, or do you have a motive other than the OP or other reader's knowledge and understanding? Etc.

 

All in all, very disappointing when I know you are capable of so much more. 

 

Neither does it suggest any respect for either Songstuff or our community members. Hence me asking if something happened. Reading back over the topic I just don't see why you have reacted like this. Yes there are better topics, but your reply is simply a slap and put down.

 

Communities improve based on member contributions to their knowledge base, by goodwill and a willingness to help each other. Telling people to "run" or to "look elsewhere" does nothing to build the knowledge base and ultimately undermines the community. Answering in the way you have doesn't particularly help anyone either.

 

I respect your experience with making music, but such a non answer and slap in the face is just destructive.

 

[john]

Hey Skylark

 

I should point out most of those points regarding what I inferred were actually questions that it prompted, not conclusions. As we both mentioned your opinion is your opinion... I was just surprised and somewhat taken aback. Text doesn't always accurately convey strength of emotion, or indeed balance of emotion... but as a reader it seemed quite a strongly worded post. The strength of my reaction is in part due to that. The unexpectedness and the strength is what made it feel like a slap.... though admittedly I am protective of both community and site... I like to think not overly so! lol Still, rightly or wrongly, I doubt I would be the only one to feel a reaction to your words.

 

Yeah sadly that aspect of the community has been pretty quiet of late, but we have a plan! I've been focused on quite fundamental changes to the site for quite some time... Far from complete, but I have pretty well got to the point where I have time to refocus on the strengths of the community, and the ongoing structural improvements are less fundamental, and less time consuming. All in we should see an unptick in all activity as we get back to building the community and what it offers to our members.

 

On a personal note.. I am soooooo glad to be getting back to involvement in the community from creating content (articles, posts, blogs, training material, workshops, ebooks etc), promoting and fundamentally interacting with my fellow writers and musicians. I have been in the technical implementation dungeon for way too long!

 

Thanks for your nice comments on the site improvements. What can i say, we care. We try to push improvements as best as we can. It's good to know that changes are noticable.

 

Cheers

 

John