Hi guys

I would like to buy a new macbook pro, and I was looking at the new models with apple's proprietary processor (M1,M2 etc..).

i have doubts about the compatibility of any software; some only work on INTEL processors?

mainly i will use logic pro x and plugins for it

would you have any advice on choosing the best version of INTEL processor OR M1,M2 etc?

Thanks!!

 

Go M chip without question.

Without question.

 

you are nice!
but i had a doubt that some plugins would only work on intel, didn't i?
(last question!)

 

mostly any developer has meanwhile upgraded to apple silicon plugins. other's will run via rosetta mode

 

Sure, there are plugins that will only work on intel, and that's how it is.

I have had Mac's since the 1980's... and I just made the move from my hotrodded Mac Pro 5,1 which I dearly loved, and still do, and gave me (and still will) decade+ of service... and my new M3 chipped Mac isn't going to be able to run some of the software I ran on that.

Same thing happened when I went from OS9 to OSX and lost StudioVision and Turbosynth and SampleCell and a bunch of other life lines for myself at the time.

Same thing when I went from Motorola chips to Intel. (not as bad but...)

I'm in a weird position as I am going from someone who was making 2009 and 2012 machines try and do the most they can in a newer era that can make it a bit of a challenge to stay abreast or run later versions of things.... and now I'm building a Sonoma system on Apple Silicon and having to deal with things being too far ahead as the dev's haven't gotten there yet..

So my systems have opposite sides of the problem.

But all I can say, is one thing I do not regret at ALL, is getting this M chipped system.

It plainly smokes, and while I can't run some older software on it, I can on my older systems if I have to, and I have found pretty much better solutions to what they could do, and the runway has extended itself so much further.

I wouldn't buy an intel machine now, but saying that, I wouldn't feel bad having one at all, and having it working, as that is what I have done forever... but if I was buying now (which I just did), I wouldn't buy intel vs Apple Silicon unless there was an extreme price difference or your demands were low.

 

Intel Macs will soon be obsolete and receive no more updates. Even the latest functions of Logic Pro like the mastering assistant don't work on Intel Macs.

 

What are you using now? If you already have an intel Mac, you can just install Audiogridder on them both. You can use your current machine to host any of the stuff you would really need an intel for, and it will run like you are using the plugin in Logic. That way, you can still use all the old stuff which your new machine cannot. Even better, if you have a good Logitech keyboard and mouse; you can install their software called Flow and use them both at the same time with 1 mouse and kb.

 

No debate good sir. Go with the M chip. For Logic Pro X I would highly recommend an M1 chip as it actually has better multicore efficiency for large Logic proj's than the newer models.

As for the plugin compatibility i wouldn't worry about it. As long as you have Rosetta installed, then MOST non-native plugins should still run fine without needing to use Logic in Rosetta mode (i only recently found out about this myself). And there actually is a lipo command you can run in Terminal that can make *some* x86 plugins work in ARM x64

The only one you gotta worry about is Celemony Melodyne, if you're planning to use it. It requires Rosetta, but at that point it's just as simple as using a separate "Rosetta enabled" logic session for any Melodyne ARA needs you may have.

 

Just get as much RAM as you can afford, maybe a little more

P.S. M-chipped systems are SILENT by default ... so nice for music making

 

The 32bit plugins are what most people mention about intel Macs and Catalina. But there are also a bunch of 64bit iLok plugins that aren't going to work either. McDSP, Softube, R2R PA bundle, etc. The only one I would really miss though is Altiverb 7. I have little to no hope or expectations of anybody getting v8 XL to work. It's iLok and a new license is currently $900. Maybe it will go on sale for Black Friday or something; but I do not remember ever seeing it marked down to a price I would pay for a reverb. Audiogridder is free, so that's not a very tough decision.

 

You are not just whistling dixie on that one @clone. There is no way in hell I am paying $900 for Altiverb ffs... no.

McDSP, and some of the rest that either I don't own outright legit or whatnot, I can easily live without, and it does suck losing some old toys, (but I have my old systems on "ice" and all good should I need anything on them)... But as you said, Audiogridder is an option if one needs it... and while I wouldn't (having an idea of your system and how you have it set up) feel a need to jump now to m series... I wouldn't recommend anyone buying a late model intel 2019 machine or anything right now, as the returns would be diminishing without certain skillsets and everything else...

 

be aware the mac-book m2 etc are not upgradeable as far as ram or ssd goes. whatever you buy is what you'll have until it dies.
the SSD is a group of chips soldered to the logic board.

for details
https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View...ade+SSD+AND+RAM+to+a+MacBook+Pro+2022+M2+chip

 

Last edited: Apr 23, 2024

Yeah, and while I haven't really stress tested it, I have heard the fans come on on this new machine ONCE, and that was running RipXDaw in a fairly computationally intensive task I imagine... and I had to lean in.

A lot of the fan hubalub is just that... my old systems sounded like hair dryers on low, this thing is silent so far.

 

I still have to experiment more with Fabfilter Pro-R2 using the Altiverb impulses I have from V7. I have a fully loaded 15" i7 MacBook Pro with the stupid touch bar on it, and I use it as a laptop for other stuff. Not much has changed about laptops for music. If you really don't need one; a desktop will always be some combination of better price, better specs, more repairable/upgradable. You aren't paying extra money for portability and miniaturization; wether it is a pc or a Mac. I wouldn't immediately rule out a 2019 cylinder Pro, or even further updating my 2 Xeon processors. It can be difficult to compare such different machines and prices, and figure out what is more bang for the buck. If you are working on clients projects, you have to be on newest versions of everything. But if not, who cares?

Can you put a big nVidia gpu for CUDA in a Laptop or a Mini? Bargain hunted FW audio interfaces like RME? If you are going off nothing but specs, of course get the Silicon machine. But when you start talking about 2,3, or even 4 times the price; it's not such a simple comparison. Maybe you just buy a little Silicon mini for 500$ so you can run newest software titles, a loaded Pro; and still end up paying much less than a MacBook Pro. It's not so cut and dry, unless you don't care at all about the money.

 

A point I will respectfully disagree with here, is that, yes, an m chipped MBP WILL do what "I" need to do and a lot more of it, and while I understand I perhaps am honestly attempting to cut down on my need for my 2 fully functioning studios with Mac Pro's and 100 guitar pedals, outboard, loads of rack mount or full size synths etc... I took some time off from music, and that is the ONLY job I have ever had. and I am trying to make it work with a single laptop, a mic, a guitar, a controller keyboard, decent/competent interface, and monitors... and fuck it all... and I am extremely surprised how much I can get done with my MBP m3 max... and while, sure, I miss my some of my outboard pre's and all my synths etc... sigh, it seems to be coming together in at least a 95% kinda rate, and that's without having solved it yet...

So again, I'm trying to be "mobile" and fit everything in a 19" carry on bag (if guitar necks and midi controllers of 61 keys would accommodate etc..)... and I understand that is not where many want to be or are or you want to be etc... and I get that... I just found myself in the Arctic circle for a month and my 2016 maxed out MBP wasn't getting anything done for the most part... at least at a level I was used to, and sure, I like to work with "limitations", as is smart, but...

But bang for buck and size? I'm seriously fine so far... (while I still have a long way to go from a 5,1 tricked out to getting this fully operational)...

I don't need the latest versions of everything... as a matter of fact, I like the older versions often... as I know them and know how to get what I want from them... But I'm finding that this apple silicon can do so much more with advancements then I had even hoped, and I can plug in 4-6 4K monitors native off my damn laptop should I need I think... I've got 2 4k or 5k plugged in right now (27" and 32")... and again, not hearing any fans going off on this little laptop...

And sure, my beloved firewire interfaces like the Apogees and whatnot... whatever for now...

And please don't get me wrong, I agree with you, and have been firmly in that camp for a long time... and extended the lifetime of these cpu's and they are my friends (the 5,1's and whatnot)...

and I care about the money, as I don't have a lot of it... but I got a great deal on what it is, and the money is paying itself back with what I can do with less, and the mobility, and even things like the power consumption...

toss in the fact of which way the world is moving in this os, I feel pretty confident this machine will last me almost a decade, which is less then the 2009/2012's I had tricked out... and any intel MacBookPro for me couldn't hold water for this machine... and not even talking about going forward with new releases tied to os updates, but what can be run NOW etc...

I have a 128GB 2x 3.46ghz 6 core xeon sitting right next to me (busy copying work/sample/library files from one drive to another for this system), and it putters next to this, and it is not even close.

 

Last edited: Apr 24, 2024