Should you upgrade your older Mac for music production?

[@Mirandav2001]

this video save me! I didnt have too much money for the newest MacBook Pro, so I got a cheap MacBook Pro retina late 2012, with an i5, 8gb ram and 128gb ssd, and its absolutely amazing how it performs Studio one 6 even this year, im still learning to produce but with the money for a MacBook Pro 2024, I just bought my whole home studio, I have the presonus audiobox bundle, an Arturia MicroLab, an acoustic guitar, a piano, and all that stuff and it is absolutely better than just a better MacBook, thanks again :))

[@bearpitrock]

The first mistake was installing Catalina. There are many known issues with Catalina and the 2012 MBP. I kept my personal 2012 at Mojave (I7 Quad 8gb ram) and it does well. Ableton seems to fair better than Logic in general. Your points were valid for sure but as you say, Apple keep pulling our pants down on the costs. I was recently upgrade with a spec's out M1 for work (creative media) and the difference compared to my previous i5 MBP work machine is bonkers.

[@lvpuchiha1576]

Thank you man. I already have a Mac Book Pro 13 inch Mid 2012 and been sitting for a minute thinking about upgrading it for music and was pretty scared to do so. Nothing to crazy just hip hop but I know macs are beast at music. I feel more comfortable now to upgrade my Mac book

[@kevindelgado3505]

Thanks ,same, I have a MacBook pro 13 2015

[@preachermarange2100]

How good is it. Thinking of getting one

[@Domzdream]

Technology is great...... .....when it works. Cool video Rob. 👍 I love how you just keep adding tracks and it still keeps on ticking haha. Much better! *This video is so valuable!!*

[@TheOrphicCreative]

Haha, it's quite surprising how much punishment it can take. SOunds horrible though 😂

[@pommedapi3847]

The huge leap forward was one year later.. I’m sorry you got your new MacBook Pro to early. Still thanks for making the video

[@TheOrphicCreative]

Completely agree! Unlucky timing on my part

[@junaidsiddiquemusic]

LOL After watching the video I tried this same test on my fully loaded out 16" I9 MacBook Pro I did about 100+ alchemy tracks but still no overload message I was too at 128 samples... whereas like your old MacBook my 2011 13" MBP was freaking out at just 13 alchemy tracks...

[@TheOrphicCreative]

Yeah actually it was my difficulties with running Alchemy which fist made me decide to upgrade. Great synth but sucks a lot of power

[@BAND-MAID-USA]

This is weird. I’m using Logic Pro X with an early 2011 MBP with ZERO issues. I’ve upgrade to 8 gigs and 256 SSD. I can load tons and tons of tracks using Logics selections and have never had a single issue at all. Not a glitch or slow down, and certainly never that pop up you’re getting. Strange, I don’t understand why you’re having the issues. Also I’m still running Sierra.

[@TheOrphicCreative]

This demonstration was not realistic really as I was playing very large numbers of simultaneous notes in each track with very processor-heavy patches in Alchemy. In real-world conditions I could run projects with 50+ tracks on my old laptop without trouble. The demo here was to see how much of a difference there was between the two laptops

[@tpike32]

Very informative. Was thinking about getting a older MacBook for music. I currently use a 2nd gen iPad , very very limited . 4 tracks doubled guitar is all it can do 😂

[@AllHitsPlaylist]

Have u made yo decision yet bro?

[@curtiscollins3318]

Hey Rob, not sure you have experience with trying to upgrade a 06 Macbook Pro, with has original version of GarageBand, but I thought you might be able to tell someone wanting to start recording guitar-based music if an old Mac, with old software, can get updated versions of GarageBand and have fun. Trying to have a DAW the cheapest way possible.

[@TheOrphicCreative]

Nice, that would make a good subject for a future video. I'll have a look into doing something like that 😊

[@saulcaetano]

NEVER REGRET FOR STAYING WITH APPLE.

[@siddharthst2712]

im using logic pro 10.6.2 on my mid 2012 macbook pro running catalina , will upgrade to m1 imac or mac mini after i finish getting my college deg

[@bolillo5013]

Good to know

[@larrylo2985]

I'd just like to use my 2010 mac book pro 512ssd 8gb mem for just fruity loops n.a. maschine and logic

[@charvelgaming2975]

I'm looking to get a MacBook with the sole purpose of recording with Ableton/logic. Nothing serious some guitars, vocals, drums to create jam tracks. Can you recommend a used macbook that would be suitable?

[@TheOrphicCreative]

Actually I'm in the process of filming a video about this exact topic! But as a quick spoiler, the one I've got to test with is a 2011 MacBook Pro. There have been a few hurdles getting it set up, but it seems to be working ok for that sort of production

[@raphabmroque]

Hey! What is the Macbook 2012 specs, please? You said something like "the most upgrades", but which are they? Btw, awesome video! Thanks for every information

[@TheOrphicCreative]

It's a MacBook Pro mid 2012, 2.9GHz i7 CPU, and ram upgraded to the max 16GB, and the original hard drive swapped out for an SSD. It's running OSX Catalina which is the latest OS it can use

[@raphabmroque]

@@TheOrphicCreative Thank you so much! That's exactly what I needed to hear!

[@AndyX]

gotta ask ,,,,why are you running all that gear and processing thru a laptop ?, or is that just your portable option? i spent less than $1000 on a 32gb ram, intel 10700 chip with 8 cores ,,500gb ssd c drive and 1tb ssd storage and it runs very cool and no latency even with the included high end video card .

[@AndyX]

forgot to add im running studio one 5 and a presonus interface at 24/48

[@TheOrphicCreative]

Good question. I prefer a laptop because it allows me to work in multiple locations, e.g. external studios or rehearsal spaces. I also perform live often so I need to be able to take my productions with me when I do.

[@joelm.8340]

Your specs look really similar to what I’m looking to build or buy. What brand did you go with? Did you build it yourself?

[@ast3663]

I would use a M-ATX system, better hardware, upgradability, more powerful.

[@victormartins7438]

Man, seems you know more about Apple lol. I wonder if a Air on an I5 and 1.6, a late 2012 would be good for audio production. Know something about? And btw, great video. Keep up the good stuff!!!Cheers from Dublin

[@TheOrphicCreative]

Thanks, glad you found it useful! The main problem with the Air is that the cooling is pretty limited, so even though the processor specs are not too bad, for prolonged high-intensity work like music production, the processor will keep getting throttled to prevent it overheating. I think you would struggle to do any complex audio production on it, but you'd be ok with things like recording audio for podcasts, or some lighter music production without too many plugins.

[@pouriyanaderi4232]

is it ok to buy 2015 model for logic works ?? or even lower model like Macbook pro 2013 ?! i just want to use logic pro and i dont want to spend much money , any model sugeste ?

[@TheOrphicCreative]

I think you should still be ok with that, although you might have some trouble with downloading Garage and or Logic because they won't allow downloads on older OS anymore. But you can use other DAWs like Ableton or Fl studio

[@netrodex]

honestly... I still have my macbook pro 2015. I learn one thing from this current area. apple... don't gives a s** of producers that still like their old and stable vsts and workflows. when they went 64 bit only, they had no idea that a lot of people can't make the jump. cozzz 32 bit is still a big deals with software. my mom asked for my windows, just because she couldn't get it on her mac for work. point being, if I use my old mac just for music, where my plugins works, then so be it until 2077 :) Windows is amazing for older software, but.... man Realtek audio direct is a pain in the ass.... apple is juts king on audio. but nope... refuse to go 64 bit only

[@TheOrphicCreative]

Yeah I hear you, it's very frustrating being caught up in this cycle of having to upgrade things all the time. If you have a workflow that works then you can keep using old software, as long as you have all the program files backed up so you can reinstall when necessary. I still have a late 90s PC running some old sequencing software, and it runs just fine. On the other hand using that now seems very slow and antiquated compared with what you can do with a modern daw. It's the price we pay for progress I suppose!

[@netrodex]

@@TheOrphicCreative lol now adays I save the old installers, coz... companies won't give use the legacy, which I think it's not cool. but nice! 90's stuff still rocks:)) but yeah price to pay... osx Maverick was my all time fav, but win 11 and macos 10.14 had to be my pick. never changing anytime soon tho. but I keep one computer only for music

[@Rk-fs9me]

Hey can you get garage band on Mac book pro 2012

[@TheOrphicCreative]

It's a bit tricky, but there is a way to do it if you have an apple ID and can borrow a newer Mac to sign in on. I'm going to do a video about it soon actually

[@956.al3jandro]

Is using a 2010 MacBook in 2021 for audio engineering worth it ? Or do I get a uoegrade

[@TheOrphicCreative]

It depends on the projects you are working on :-) For audio editing it would be fine, but you might struggle with big music projects with lots of effects and software instruments

[@sodoffski5642]

Very informative, cheers.

[@TheOrphicCreative]

Glad you found it useful!

[@cekouptown]

Hey do you think a late 2012 iMac 21,5, with 1tb space, i5 and 16 gb RAM will work for beginning with music production?

[@TheOrphicCreative]

That would definitely be enough to get you started, yes. You might struggle if you use a lot of heavy plugins like Alchemy or Serum. But you can always freeze tracks if you have to

[@junnn8081]

hey，thanks for this video! I want to buy a MacBook recently, because it is very convenient. Can you tell me the specific parameters of your new model? What CPU is it? I did the test according to your video. I used the i7-8700 desktop computer. In the nine tracks of abletonlive, your CPU utilization rate is 65%, and the i7-8700 is stable below 40%. I am very confused about what kind of CPU should I choose to satisfy. I usually do some future bass or glitch hop. Usually 40-50 orbits are used. Can you give me some advice?

[@leahtistrahmad1369]

Do you think the 2017 MacBook Air 13th is good to use for beat makers using Cakewalk by Bandlab and fl12??

[@TheOrphicCreative]

Personally I think the Air probably will struggle a bit for music production, I would instead go for an older MacBook Pro with the maximum amount of ram available

[@leahtistrahmad1369]

The Orphic Creative thanks man

[@manikchandwadia4372]

Cakewalk only works in Windows

[@rickylubana3035]

You think Imac 27inch with i5 16gb ram 2.7GHz MacOS high Sierra work in this days with new update or software for Daws?? I'm trying to buy or I should get some different?? Thanks for looking

[@TheOrphicCreative]

Hey! Yes it would definitely work. You would only run into issues if you were working with very complex tracks with many layers, such as orchestral writing. But for normal music production you would be fine. And you always have the option of freezing tracks if things do start to get overloaded

[@jasoncoetzeeadadjjzjdatune9617]

Leaker bru thanks me

[@PTR2K]

which 2020 macbook was this? It looks like a 13" but just want to make sure as i'm wondering if a 13" will be good enough for music production

[@TheOrphicCreative]

Hey! Yes this is the 13 inch, with the 2.3 GHz Core i7 10th gen CPU

[@christye8972]

@@TheOrphicCreative then y still this overload ....only few tracks can be loaded?? only?? then what is the purpose of using mac

[@TheOrphicCreative]

​@@christye8972 The point is not the number of tracks but the improvement between the 2012 and 2020 Macbook. The tracks I loaded were artificially heavy in note data. Normally a track will only play a few notes at a time but in my test I was playing 20+ notes on each track simultaneously. In real world applications you can load many more tracks than what I did in this demo.

[@masterkahleon262]

Will logic pro x run on MacBook pro 2011?

[@killjoy2467]

i have a 2007 black macbook and wondering if it will run logic

[@TheOrphicCreative]

Tbh I think it probably won't, unless you can find an old version such as Logic 7 or 8

[@killjoy2467]

@@TheOrphicCreative im getting new 16 soon🙏

[@thapeloramafoko5388]

Using Macbook Pro 2012 13in, will upgrade to SSD and 16Gb RAM help Logic Pro X to run heavy plugins?

[@leroybrown5922]

Did you ever do that

[@MikeMardari]

Are you going to replace it again with the new M1 processor?

[@TheOrphicCreative]

I'm pretty tempted to, to be honest. Seems they are a massive leap forward in performance with even M1 Mac Minis out-performing Intel MacBook Pros...

[@mrsantiaji]

@@TheOrphicCreative i have try mac mini m1 for music producing and it is massively do the work

[@VA1ENTINX]

Omg thank u

[@ummmidkanymore2249]

Do you think a Refurbished Apple MacBook Air 11.6-inch, Intel Core i5, Intel HD Graphics 5000, 128GB SSD, 4GB RAM, (its a 2015 model) would work?

[@TheOrphicCreative]

Definitely! Up until I made this video I was still using my old 2012 MacBook Pro for some pretty complex tracks and it was handling most of them fine, it was only really complex tracks with long plugin chains that were an issue, so a 2015 i5 should perform easily as well as that.

[@RestlessLightning]

I just got a 2018 MacBook Pro i7 as my first one as a beginner who is piecing together a studio $799 Did I do ok? Is this still a viable option in 2023 especially at entry level?

[@niklasvonwerne5837]

don't tell tis guy about M1...

[@vibrationalmusic9353]

Would an Apple Mac Book Pro 13in be big enough of a screen for music production?

[@AllHitsPlaylist]

Let me know when u get answer

[@christinakraftician]

I am guessing you purchased a laptop by now. I am amateur music producer but I love my 13 inch MacBook for music production.

[@loganvegh]

2012 MacBook Pro for music production?

[@TheOrphicCreative]

That's what the older Mac in this video is. I was managing fine with it but starting to struggle with more complex productions with many software instruments. For up to about 10 tracks, or audio recordings, its still perfectly fine

[@kanishk1748]

@@TheOrphicCreative Hey, I am just getting started for music production and vocal recording, specifically hip-hop and TRAP music, gonna use fl studio or maybe logic, offcorce gonna upgrade ram to 16 gb and 500gb ssd, will it get the job done ?

[@JulianDoe]

@@kanishk1748 Absolutely. The non retina 2012 are good machines. I would suggest 1tb and don't forget an external to backup your data. if money is a problem 1tb sata is better than 500gb ssd. I prefer logic over fl because of the instruments and effects included and the new version has also a lot of features that suits your genre. hope this helps. have a great day

[@TheOrphicCreative]

All depends on the complexity of your tracks and the software instruments you use.