Macbook air m1 + bitwig I am using -> best kit i ever had for music on the go and studio use too.
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I did actually look at Macs, and yeah, you can pick up a base model air for less than a grand, but how many years is 8gb RAM and 256 SSD going to be useful?
If I want to spec it a bit higher it ends up costing a fortune. Also, I need more than two sodding thunderbolt ports.
I get it, the M chips are a big leap forward and need less RAM and all that but I’d rather have a bit more RAM and storage (with the option to upgrade later) than be stuck with a laptop that might not be all that in a few years and no easy way to upgrade it. I feel like a Mac is just too expensive for me in reality.
Anyway, the deed is done now, laptop and Ableton purchased…
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i bought 8gb 256gb ssd Air m1 for less than 700e. used ones are a steal 
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return it !
get the base Air. Don´t get hung up on specs like 8GB of Ram or 256GB of Storage. It will last you. Those Airs are blowing every windows PC out of the water. with Ableton they are the shit.
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I would say that you have nothing to lose here, but in your case, I understand that you don’t have a laptop yet. Is there any chance you could borrow one for just a week so you could get a chance to evaluate this idea before committing to a $1K investment?
Edit: I see now that you just made a purchase. Hope it works out well for you!
‘A man say no to knobs and sliders, he say no to life’
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@Fin25 just go for it and see how you get on. Don’t go wild and purchase all these “cheap” synths though as you’ll be starting a “thinking of selling the laptop” thread in no time.
Personally, I’d also push for seriously considering a mac. I spent years going through Windows laptops - often top range models - and all were in bits within 3 years and the windows OS regularly being a pain in the tits for music production. I’m not meaning to fan the flames of the Mac vs Windows debate, both are great for various use cases but life has measurably more enjoyable with my MacBook than it was under a windows laptop.
Edit - spotted you got a laptop already. Ah well, ignore the above and enjoy!
Don’t worry, I won’t.
The most I’ll do is purchase Max MSP if I get on well with M4L, I don’t have a lot of need for a load of VSTs and plugins. Ableton has more than enough to keep me going for a very long time. And like you say, I’ll probably jack it all in after six months anyway.
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Sorry - I know the deal is done but…
I agree though, you can’t upgrade the ram on a laptop really, and I always get into a death cycle when buying a laptop… “we’ll I might as well get get more ram… oh a little more storage” and before you know it I’m having to sell my car
iPad with Drambo made me forget about all conventional DAWs running on computers/laptops.
just saying.
definitely in top-3 of the happiest accidents in my music production.
PS. computers are so XX century…
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Last year I got a pretty good windowslaptop at work to use as a musiccomputer. Been using mbps since 2012. It took me 4 months to figure out how to use youtube and ableton at the same time and it wasnt me being an idiot. If your time is tight go mac. Windows is retarded.
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Hmm, you’re obviously set on Windows but seriously, making music on a Mac is so much more hassle free. ASIO sucks, really sucks. Windows is full of bloatware, god I hate Windows. I dislike Apple, too but as a tool, Macs are so much better at the job than Windows.
That said, go for it. I personally have time and could never move completely or even mostly ITB, but I do use a 2011 Macbook Pro for arranging, mixing and mastering. Couldn’t even imagine doing those OTB anymore.
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…congrats…some half decent computer, some actual standard daw like ableton or bitwig and some interface inputs with at least ok’ish converters is a must, no matter what cool hw make ur instruments and days…
whatever u like to do, at some point u need to be able to tape/catch/edit/arrange/mixdown ur performances/ideas…at some point u need a studio, a good old tape machine…and that’s what a daw is these days…
nothing but a whole studio for take away and to finally finish projects, get it done and out there…
and hell yeah, it’s great to create, but nothing beats the feeling, once u’r able to cross that final finish line on frequent bases…
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Every time I need a new laptop I do some research and get a windows pc that seems far better value for money. I try to love it then return or sell it 6 months later and buy a Mac.
I use pcs in work every day and generally work fine but my Mac just works better. I used a pc for years to make music and got it running how I’d like and was smooth enough. Best thing was I never connected it to the internet and never updated anything that already worked. My last pc laptop was constantly running updates and I was updating drivers because it was online
Miles off topic
I have a fever dream of a dedicated “computers for music” company. They’d make a limited range of specs (like Apple used to, or like Framework), they’d take Haiku and make it modern and pretty, and they’d partner with Ableton or Bitwig to port the software to the Haiku-derrived platform. Use the “specialist and cool” motif for a few years to grow slowly and calmly.
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A Macbook Air M1 with Ableton Live is the best bang-for-buck music-production setup currently available. Or any DAW of choice. Though my preference is Live.
Incorporating hardware and software into a hybrid setup is sublime. But software alone is the most flexible and of course, affordable. The sheer amount of quality distortions and filters available in software is biblical.
Get yourself an interface with loads of ins and outs.
Hybrid is the way.
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Software distortion sucks tho
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