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Hey guys,

I have a couple questions, first, I just ordered a 17'' Macbook Pro with Intel Core 2 Duo 3.06GHz, 4 gigs of ram, and a 500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive. Is this a good home recording computer? I have Cubase 4 on my PC and I am going to put it on the Mac but I eventually want to move to Protools. Any suggestions on what Pro Tools I should look into getting that my computer can still support and one that has a resonable price.

Thanks! :D

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fourone3 Mon, 07/13/2009 - 09:24

I can't see why it wouldn't be sufficient. I recently got the 15" for everyday use and installed PT LE 8 and it seemed to be working fine. I haven't really gone through much on it, though.

Not sure what you mean by what Pro Tools you should look into. Do you mean version, or interface?

I think version 7.4 and 8 are the only versions compatible with the new Mac OSX.

You might want to get a FireWire express card so you have another FW bus - if you're going to get a FW interface. If you want a USB interface, you're all set.

I'd get an external FW drive for your audio as well.

ouzo77 Mon, 07/13/2009 - 12:00

it has plenty of power for recording. i have the old 15" macbook pro with 2.2 ghz and i'm running logic on it. works like a charm.

but you should get an external firewire800 harddrive for your audio stuff. you can even daisy chain a second one for samples.
it's a pity the new macbooks have only one firewire port. mine has a firewire 400 and a 800 port, so i can connect both, a harddrive and an audio interface.
not sure if you can daisy chain a harddrive and an audio interface...

something else to consider are the usb ports. some usb devices, such as audio interfaces, work only on a built-in usb port and not on a hub.

if you choose your usb and firewire connections/devices wisely you will have no problems at all running any recording software on this computer.

TheJackAttack Tue, 07/14/2009 - 13:20

Definitely better possibilities on firewire. Much will depend on the driver controlling the firewire connection and what it allows. Firewire is a much better interface for bi-directional data flow. I think generally speaking if one can avoid daisy chaining interfaces and storage it is best even if it works in some applications. Just my opinion and YMMV.

Not really possible to get stable bi diretionality on USB at all.

anonymous Fri, 07/17/2009 - 01:53

M-Audio Firewire 410 issues on the Mac/Pro Tools M powered 8

Hello everyone I'm new to the forum but not necessarily new to recording.

I have been on a n mac since 2005 and I have used Pro-tools first on digidesign hardware and now M-audio gear.

Ever since upgrading to Leopard/Pro Tools M powered 8 I have had nothing but an unrelenting nightmare of hell trying to keep the Firewire 410 running consistently. I'm apparently not alone on this and the forums at M-Audio are useless.

THE Point I'm trying to get at here is...Could anyone familiar with these issues recommend an alternate M-audio device and/or a different interface altogether for use with Propellerheads new software "Record"

I'm so pissed about this that I just want to say screw M-audio all together.

Thanks and any tips/insight is deeply appreciated.

Best regards

Adrianrulz

TheJackAttack Fri, 07/17/2009 - 08:35

The FW410 is only good as a dongle-barely. Apparently the various versions of PT8 all had problems in the beginning and there are allegedly some updates to help fix things. As far as a different dongle, the Profire series is supposed to be the next step up from the FW series. Or you could just go with a Lightbridge and route your other pre's through optical connection.

anonymous Sat, 07/18/2009 - 02:05

ouzo77 wrote:
it's a pity the new macbooks have only one firewire port. mine has a firewire 400 and a 800 port, so i can connect both, a harddrive and an audio interface.
not sure if you can daisy chain a harddrive and an audio interface...

This is a bad idea because the two ports share the same hardware. You should hook up either the 400 or the 800, not both.

You definitely can daisy chain a HDD and audio interface. I use a Glyph GT 050Q and can hook it up like this: Mac Book -> Glyph -> Digi003 (for example). I use an express card with eSATA for the Glyph, but I have tested running FW800 to the Glyph and then a FW400 cable from the Glyph to my 003. Works like a charm. Note that with the 003 it's important to put the hard drive before the audio interface. This is because the audio interface does not pass data through Firewire if it is powered off or has a glitch, and that can corrupt the drive.

adrianrulz wrote: Could anyone familiar with these issues recommend an alternate M-audio device and/or a different interface altogether for use with Propellerheads new software "Record"

While I'm not familiar with M-Audio interfaces, I've had nothing but success so far with Record on various interfaces. I've used my 003 rack, X-Station 25, POD XT Live, original MBox, and even a Zoom H2 -- all recorded just fine with no issues. Perhaps see my comments above and make sure you are not using both Firewire ports on your Mac. It not intuitive, but trust me, you need to pick one or the other and daisy chain from there.

Hope this helps!

Dave