Hi all,
I need to upgrade my computer system in making music as my laptop (Dell, Intel DuoCore, 4GB RAM etc) has been slowing down on and off and i have limitation to put in more Vst - plug ins. As I’m serious in producing music of high quality, which one (Mac or PC) do you guys think is better based on your experience?
Appreciate your advice/suggestion 
Thanks.
Iris
Hi Iris I think Mac it’s better than PC and very good for producing music.
The Final option it’s in your hands,Goodluck.
I am a mac user and love it…but if I were starting new I would go with a PC. Apple has already abandoned the professional video community and I am afraid that they are becoming a gadget company and will lose interest in the computer side of the business. If you look at the speed of updates on the Mac side of the business you can already see that happening.
brownhousemedia saidI am a mac user and love it…but if I were starting new I would go with a PC. Apple has already abandoned the professional video community and I am afraid that they are becoming a gadget company and will lose interest in the computer side of the business. If you look at the speed of updates on the Mac side of the business you can already see that happening.
Pains me to say, I agree. There is more money in FMCG products to be made by Apple than computers for music and video now. But, if you’ve got lots of money, buy an Apple. For a couple of years at least, you’ll have something sitting at home which you’ve been told, like the rest of the world is the best thing that money can buy and, it looks “cool”!
The question is not PC / Mac. Both are great for producing music.
The question is - what software are you going to use to make music? Some are PC exclusive, some are Mac exclusive, and some work well on both.
Also, what are you using now? I’d generally recommend to go with what you are familiar with.
I recently bought my first Apple computer, a Macbook Pro. As far as the OS and general use, I haven’t had the “never going back” experience that a lot of Apple users claim to have. It is a great computer, but I can’t say that it’s significantly different from a Window’s computer. There are several minor differences, some of which I like and some I don’t, but you’re not diving into a whole new world. Contrary to what you might read, Macs are not invincible. They do lock up, and they will give you your fair share of hair pulling moments just like you get with a PC. Macs tend to have higher price tags too, so make sure you do your research before you buy into all of the hype.
That said, I also made the switch to Apple exclusive Logic Pro 9 and I have to say that I am impressed there. Logic is a fantastic program. It made the whole switch worth it in my opinion.
The purists amongst us will always say Mac, but in truth $ for $ PC’s are cheaper and much more upgradeable. A new mac-book air in the UK costs around £1000! Yet you can build a liquid cooled monster PC for that. Windows 7 x64 is very stable thankfully. I have owned a mac, and a many PC’s and I will always go to PC’s now. Of course you have to take your DAW in to account as well, I run Cubase 6.5 and have never had any crashes or lock-ups even before I upgraded to 6.5, this is on a custom built system too.
It is my belief that Mac is the better platform for music and video production. I have worked on both platforms, and both can have issues. But by far, I have had more incompatibility issues with pc than mac. Upgrade your windows and you never know how your audio production software will perform. This is less likely to happen on mac although mac can have its share of minor bugs. But the truth is apple controls its hardware and software so you will not be dealing with pluging in different hardware devices that may or may not function properly with your software
I`ve used both, and I can say that for music production to me Mac OS seems pretty stable, and if you are using their software (Logic) runs very nicely, I haven’t got any problems with drivers, and most studios I know normally use mac with Logic or Protools.
So in my point of view if you are really serious Mac probably is the way to go.
I think a Mac is the smarter way to go. But unfortunately it is more expensive than a comparable PC also. So it’s all about what do you really fancy, you can make some great music on either platform. 
FL Studio was top rated software this year.
PC only.
I think the only answer is… whatever works. Personally I’ve been a Mac user for many years. I’ve owned at least 7 different machines and have been extremely happy with all of them. That being said the only reason I wouldn’t switch to PC is because I’m way to comfortable where I am and can’t justify spending the time to get as comfortable on another machine. Ultimately the music comes from your brain and once you’ve taught it to use your tools your off to the races. Even if you can’t afford a powerful machine it’s not a bad thing. Sometimes the limitations can be freeing!
All the best.
I’m done 2 Mac Pros with Pro Tools and Logic.
2 PC’s with Pro Tools.
But right now 1 PC with the latest 3rd generation i7 and Z77 and Cubase is the best setup I’ve every had.
I’ve also had Cubase with first gen i7 and x58 and it was great as well.
SkyProductions saidI’m done 2 Mac Pros with Pro Tools and Logic.
2 PC’s with Pro Tools.
But right now 1 PC with the latest 3rd generation i7 and Z77 and Cubase is the best setup I’ve every had.
I’ve also had Cubase with first gen i7 and x58 and it was great as well.
You could start a webhosting service with that set up Sky! That’s a data centre.
There’s also the option of mixing them up together, using one as a master and the other (or more!) as a slave and hook them up with something like VSL’s Vienna Ensemble Pro.
With a Mac, you could always Bootcamp to Windows if you needed for a particular application, but not the other way around. I personally love my Mac wayyy more than my PC, and it’s 1000 times quieter (noise-wise) which is crucial for a recording/music environment.
haha Taco. That would be cool if I had them all at the same time, but I only had 2 at the most at any given time.
In my experience, it really doesn’t matter that much. I think one of the bigger questions would be whether or not you want to use Logic. If you do, then Mac is the way to go. Otherwise, any computer will probably do you justice.
Macs do have an ‘artsy’ following though. People in college seem to get macs if they are going into music, art, graphics, etc. I’m not certain as to why though.
One thing I can say is that the hardware is very very quality when you go with Apple products.
The operating systems have advantages and disadvantages. I think Mac’s Operating System is superior (It’s updated more frequently), but not to the point where it should be a decision maker.
Another thing you should consider is familiarity. If you’re a Windows guy, and you’re switching to Mac, there are probably a lot of things that are going to take getting used to. And that means time and frustration. (At least it did for me…)
So I really can’t give you a solid answer. But I hope that can help you anyway.
Thank you guys for your opinions and suggestions, it helps!!! Appreciate that =)
Historically, Mac has been the go-to system for production… same thing with ProTools… It’s just what people used. In the last few years, technology has loosed their grip on the market making PC and other DAWs like Sonar a remarkably viable option.
Non-musicians use the term “ProTools” as a catch-all word for “music production software”. In the same way that most Americans ask for a “Kleenex” when they are really in need of any facial tissue on which to blow their nose.
Mac users will normally swear by the supremacy of their machine… PC users will normally swear that their machine is equal to (and cheaper than) a Mac.
Some people are dog people… Some are cat people… That’s exactly what this PC\Mac debate will always be.
In short… Fear not! There are many machines out there which can excel at production… Use great software and high RAM (and maybe take it out for a nice dinner on occasion), and you’ll be able to do nearly anything - regardless of which brand you choose.