The Best Computer for Ableton Live ...for now (2021)

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MY MUSIC:

MY ABLETON DEVICES AND SAMPLE PACKS:

MY SOCIALS:

00:00 - Intro
0:42 - Mac vs PC
4:10 - CPU Heat & M1 Chips
6:03 - Silicon Native & Live 11
8:13 - Conclusion

[ceounicom]

First off, love your channel, i really dig the topics you choose to cover, and your efficient way of covering them.

I started doing audio work on computers back in the 1990s; ive seen the mac vs. pc debate going on

imo, the debate mattered more back a decade ago; there were for a long time serious differences in HW+SW compatibility, issues w/ timing stability, how different platforms handled background processes that interfere with audio drivers, etc...

but by 2021... its really at this point just sort of a preference thing. i think this video (useful! and insightful) is really mostly about 'if you're primarily running a laptop'.

in my case i always have done work at home on a PC i built myself specifically for music. Heat and noise were never an issue (while my on my 2006-2010 mac laptops, it aways was); these days, performance is so good from mainstream CPUs that audio is quickly becoming 'too easy to do'. You're not going to get into much trouble on either platform (unless! its a live performance rig, but then only 'maybe'). I am very into the new M1 processors, and the efficiency they offer. Am seriously considering an M1 mac mini for my next 'core workstation'. But the point you made about 'lack of i/o' is a real issue. Lots of people don't just do 100% ITB work all the time. You've also got lots of peripherals and all those things need to be plug+play, and play nice w/ every platform. In some cases its better to have an "old" (read: established) technology for music because you can just be sure everything is going to work. ffs, I still regularly use shareware music apps that were made for windows XP. More importantly, every time computer base technology changes, lots of legacy audio interfaces become defunct (this happened w/ me and my frontier designs cards more than a decade ago) i'm sure the current mainsteam guys will all do updated drivers for M1 chips. But its not something i'd rush into blindly. Basically, i see no reason for people to ever become early adopters of any new platform for something like music production. You should always wait until everyone in the industry has already fully established support, or else in some cases you'll find certain older pieces of gear (or sw) you have are now just unusable.

but w/e. just my 0.02$. making music imo isn't really a matter of needing 'the best computer' anymore. if anything its people needing to find better workflows to learn to do simple things fast. Which your channel btw is very good at talking about, so kudos.

[doonut]

I‘m using a Mac mini with 16 GB ram and a 1TB SSD. Have recently checked the beta and it‘s already working very well and really fast. But there is still a good way to go for some of the plug-in makers to have everything in native apple silicon code. Looking forward to seeing it 👍

[Bronwyn]

I still can't choke out my Intel i9 9900KS w/ 64GB of system RAM. Massive plugin chains, 35+ MIDI and or Audio tracks, 128ms sample rate at 48KHz while driving outboard gear too. Combined with my Tascam 20x20 and Arturia Audiofuse 8 Pre in ADAT configuration audio interfaces set to 128ms sample rate but can drop down to a blistering 8ms if I need to but I do not; my AIO CPU cooled i9 maybe creeps up to 50% utilization in Ableton Live 11 with everything cranking away. And even then, Windows 10 only shows 4 of my 8 cores actually doing anything. 🤷🏾‍♀️ I think my system is overkill to be honest. I could only imagine an AMD Thread-Ripper or Ryzen 5k series build rocking 64GBs+ of system ram. Also, I can literally load all of my most intensive Kontakt VSTi's directly into system RAM and play them stutter and glitch free. Kinda crazy.

[chrisfreeq]

Having made music on PCs for over 20 years, this is the first time ever I've been persuaded to consider a Mac. Sounds like a game changer. Thanks for the video 🙏

[jimmeymcgee]

Well said! I will be taking your course just as soon as I find a new Mac

[theovergoat]

I just ordered a 16" M1 Pro, I'm really excited to make music on it

[ryoshamo]

2014 15inch MacBook user here. Works like a dream. CPU overload during heavy processing sessions but nothing track freezing can’t solve

[AxLiMusic]

Congrats man for the video! Straight on point!

[Simbosan]

I have had none of the issues you talk about on PC in maybe a decade, never needed to 'tune windows for audio' and I do some BIG sets with tons of plugins, I haven't updated a driver in years Win10 does that. So yeah we have had very different experiences but your point about the M1 processors is very on point and impossible to argue with intelligently. I do worry about plugin compatibility as I use a lot of different VST, is that a problem with M1 processors?

[mattj]

DUDE WTF!! I almost finished your video before realizing I saw you perform a couple of weeks ago at Pryes in Minneapolis. To make matters worse Ive been a subscriber to your YT channel 😅. Lmao, great set! Keep up the content!

[synthoelectro]

this is why I'm moving to Mac, because no matter how much I work to get my personally built PC from 2014 to optimize for music, windows 10 just won't allow for it. It worked flawlessly on windows 7.

[theandroids]

Huh! None of my PC's have ever needed "servicing" EVER. lmao.

[j.shelton]

Good lord, thank you for just saying a thing out loud. I almost didn't care what it was as long as I didn't get to the end of the video just to have you say "whatever suits your workflow best." I know sometimes thats the best answer, but also sometimes #data.

[etcot]

Your comparison using the Prius vs Mustang really did age well, Prius are mad fast in 2023, lets see their reliability.

[PiQuiLeroy]

Hi, I had a MacBook Air M1 ITB SSD 8core, sold it and got myself a MacBook Pro late 2019 2.4 Ghz i9 2TB SSD 32 GB RAM Radeon Pro 5500M 8GB.
I sold the M1 because I wanted 2 monitors, and no hassle with dongles. I get 128 tracks on the i9 and with TGPRO no fan noise. I was really impressed with the M1 but sold it to a developer. The i9 can handle all I throw at it, both are great machines. I got the mac i9 for a really good price and with a little extra cash I bought an ipad pro 12.9 certified refurbished from apple like new. I bought all synths on the ipad pro and use a motu 2 to load the sound into the MBP i9. Ableton link is a great feature. I use an Air2 128 Gb as a remote for LogicPro with some other cool apps. Mac's are great with that. Enjoyed your video keep up the good work.

[benoftroy]

I worked at Apple about 15 years ago, and at least back then, all the "Geniuses" preferred refurbs because they actually get MORE testing than new product off the line. Anyway, thanks for the vid!

[chickenlittle]

Imagine having to turn off all visualisers on every instance of EQ eight you use on a fresh out of the box MacBook Pro

[ipassenger]

Great vid, well thought through.

As a PC (current i9900k) and Mac ( current 2015 mbp) user, PCs generally give more grief (as more variance in parts and configuration) but when you have issues with a mac they take longer to sort and make less sense, imo. Had gpu issues with the mac that took a really long time to sort out and the solution was bonkers. Backwards compatibility tends to be more of an issue on macs too.

[nateseaward]

This is exactly the info I was looking for. Very useful/ helpful. Thanks 👊

[vague]

Thanku so much i was really confused about buying m1 air u literally cleared all my doubts