I spent the last 10 years recording on PCs running various Windows operating systems and various recording hosts such as Cubase and Reaper. I used to get the family hand-me-down machines but about two years ago I went 'whole hog' and bought a fully tricked out PC from Sonica dedicated solely to my studio. After about 18 months this glorious thoroughbred developed a noisy fan and then the graphics card became unreliable. It just so happens that my disenchantment with my Sonica PC corresponded to my disenchantment with my basement recording space which was always dark but also, and more problematically, cold -- fingers do not like to move so quickly and nimbly in temperatures in the mid-60s Fahrenheit.
So, I bought an Apogee Duet to mess around with GarageBand on my upstairs iMac. I bought this machine a couple of years ago for strictly non-musical purposes but soon found that it is a real powerhouse. One thing led to another and pretty soon it became apparent that just about everything I used with my studio PC was still relevant and useable with my iMac. So, in July of 2011 I partially abandoned my basement recording space and moved 27 feet up and 60 feet West to an upstairs 20X20 studio space with my iMac functioning as the 'nerve center' of the operation. My Sonica workstation is still endowed with my 10-year-old RME Multiface and is used solely for recording my drum kit -- which I still use a lot, laying live acoustic drums and cymbals on top of loops.
(Update: that old PC is now just collecting dust as I moved my drums upstairs. I am awaiting a new iMac and RME interface so that I can record drums in my new studio space).
After a few days I had all my gear moved up and over to the iMac (my Line6 PodXt serving as a giant red dongle for the Pod Farm plugin bundle, my Yamaha Motif Race ES, my Roland VG-99, etc...).
In less than two weeks I had gotten more accomplished with the new rig than I had in the previous six months. Three projects in the can and I experienced exactly zero crashes, no graphics cards freak outs, no fan noises, no Windows catastrophes, etc.). This iMac is only a dual core machine but it easily handles 48 tracks each with EQ and dynamics plus several tracks running many processor-intensive plugins, and the iMac doesn't even break a sweat. Nice.
I've been recording on PCs for 10 years but spent another 10 years prior to that using Windows and even pre-Windows DOS machines. When I moved for a job my employer gave me the choice of a Dell or a Mac and I decided that I'd take the plunge on somebody else's dime. In less than 24 hours with my new MacBook Pro I was a convert.
Ultimately, I will upgrade to a dual drive iMac quad core and a much more powerful interface but my current setup will keep me happy for quite a few years. I literally can give you no good reason not to switch to a Mac. The OS is a dream, the hardware is rock solid, the monitor display is breathtaking and "it just works." No kidding.
What's working well on my machine? I own a copy of Logic Pro but I find it to be incredibly clunky and tedious compared to Reaper, which is my suggestion for recording. I've been a long time fan of RME and I still recommend them without reservation but my Apogee unit is killer. I've been a harsh critic of Line6 hardware and their McAmps but their Pod Farm software bundle is really very good and, while I will bitch and complain when my PodXt bites the dust, I will buy a replacement so I could continue to use the Pod Farm software. Also, Breebaart plugins are now available for Mac OSX under the new brand name of Tone Boosters -- they are fantastic and priced right. And, of course, the Roland VG-99 editor software, which never did work on my Windows machine, is working like a charm on my iMac.
So, I bought an Apogee Duet to mess around with GarageBand on my upstairs iMac. I bought this machine a couple of years ago for strictly non-musical purposes but soon found that it is a real powerhouse. One thing led to another and pretty soon it became apparent that just about everything I used with my studio PC was still relevant and useable with my iMac. So, in July of 2011 I partially abandoned my basement recording space and moved 27 feet up and 60 feet West to an upstairs 20X20 studio space with my iMac functioning as the 'nerve center' of the operation. My Sonica workstation is still endowed with my 10-year-old RME Multiface and is used solely for recording my drum kit -- which I still use a lot, laying live acoustic drums and cymbals on top of loops.
(Update: that old PC is now just collecting dust as I moved my drums upstairs. I am awaiting a new iMac and RME interface so that I can record drums in my new studio space).
After a few days I had all my gear moved up and over to the iMac (my Line6 PodXt serving as a giant red dongle for the Pod Farm plugin bundle, my Yamaha Motif Race ES, my Roland VG-99, etc...).
In less than two weeks I had gotten more accomplished with the new rig than I had in the previous six months. Three projects in the can and I experienced exactly zero crashes, no graphics cards freak outs, no fan noises, no Windows catastrophes, etc.). This iMac is only a dual core machine but it easily handles 48 tracks each with EQ and dynamics plus several tracks running many processor-intensive plugins, and the iMac doesn't even break a sweat. Nice.
I've been recording on PCs for 10 years but spent another 10 years prior to that using Windows and even pre-Windows DOS machines. When I moved for a job my employer gave me the choice of a Dell or a Mac and I decided that I'd take the plunge on somebody else's dime. In less than 24 hours with my new MacBook Pro I was a convert.
Ultimately, I will upgrade to a dual drive iMac quad core and a much more powerful interface but my current setup will keep me happy for quite a few years. I literally can give you no good reason not to switch to a Mac. The OS is a dream, the hardware is rock solid, the monitor display is breathtaking and "it just works." No kidding.
What's working well on my machine? I own a copy of Logic Pro but I find it to be incredibly clunky and tedious compared to Reaper, which is my suggestion for recording. I've been a long time fan of RME and I still recommend them without reservation but my Apogee unit is killer. I've been a harsh critic of Line6 hardware and their McAmps but their Pod Farm software bundle is really very good and, while I will bitch and complain when my PodXt bites the dust, I will buy a replacement so I could continue to use the Pod Farm software. Also, Breebaart plugins are now available for Mac OSX under the new brand name of Tone Boosters -- they are fantastic and priced right. And, of course, the Roland VG-99 editor software, which never did work on my Windows machine, is working like a charm on my iMac.