Nord User Forum

[AlQuinn]

I had a windows machine dedicated to music. It worked well for a few years and then started acting up. I have a technical background and could have dove into figuring out what was wrong but decided it was time to become one of those mac people who no longer experiences/complains about this stuff. That's when I made the switch and bought a macbook pro -- it was about three years ago. It has worked out well. My macbook pro has been near flawless.

On a related note I bought my daughter a macbook when she went away to college. The thing just worked the entire four years. She never needed any help with it.

[RedLeo]

So there you have it. You should definitely buy a PC. Or a Mac.

[Mr_-G-]

Linux? Nah, just kidding.

Well, I use linux and performance is very good, specially on old hardware. It even runs the Sample Editor under Wine (a windows compatibility layer), but unfortunately for some reason the Clavia USB driver is not recognised. This is the only piece of software that makes me keep an old Windows partition. Grrrr!!!
Some linux distributions have tons of music and audio software and if you have some old computer that seems too slow for a recent Windows version, it might be worth trying something like Ubuntu Studio (I use openSuSE myself).

[neolithic]

So there you have it. You should definitely buy a PC. Or a Mac.

You said it! Bottom line is that either can help you be magic or tragic...

[e8ndave]

I'm a PC guy by trade but I bought a Mac based on the recommendations of a lot of people in the business. While it isn't quite as great as I expected (there are more updates etc than they would lead you to believe) it is still a great system. Best attribute, stuff pretty much seems to just work. Worst, some of the nitpicky things that are hard to get rid of (getting old equipment out of the Midi manager or deleting various things that refuse to go away). The software for the Mac just seems a bit more stable in the important ways.

[Merlimau]

The TO starts the discussion 2 years ago. Then jump from July 2012 to December 2014…

But it seems still a “question of faith “. I own a PC for more than 20 years and I start now with Android running SetListMaker. 1 year long I worked on a MAC on business and I see all the limitations on software. Now I see some limitation on a PC and Android in conjunction with connection of an instrument.

My personal conclusion at the moment:
- If you are running most time the computer with a band or an instrument -> go for MAC / Ipad (It seems most professional make the same)
- If you use the computer just some times with an instrument and making music and your most part is running other applications -> go for PC

Merlimau

Edit: Typo

[neolithic]

The TO starts the discussion 2 years ago. Then jump from July 2012 to December 2014…

True, and this is often mentioned on discussion forums when people revive old threads, but my take is that you are not answering just the OP, but 1000+ other people who may have the same question. Also what was a valid answer 2 years ago may not still be accurate.

So instead of a subjective answer, i'll try to lay out the facts, and anyone can then make a better informed choice rather than be a victim of marketing hype.

I've used (and use) Windows, Mac and Linux professionally as a software designer, for many years. For my music I use both Mac and PC: A MacBook Pro because it is the best portable option IMHO, and a custom built desktop PC because it is certainly the cheapest studio option (and may even be better than Mac - read on...). The bottom line IMHO is that all have their merits. Let's look at hardware first:
A Mac is a Mac, is a Mac. It's a piece of hardware that has well designed and documented specifications. It has some 3rd party components that are chosen carefully or have even been specially designed for Apple. In this respect, it's just like your Nord Lead.
A PC *may* also be well designed and spec'd to the same degree, but (even if it has a badge like HP or Sony on it) it can be any combination of a billion OEM motherboards, drives, RAM, IO devices etc. which conform to a variety of different specs. Sometimes these are changed midway through a production run, even in identical models like a Sony Vaio X or a Lenovo Y. If you get one made from the right components, then it is likely at least as good as a Mac, and very likely better. If you buy one that is not fit for your needs, it will let you down. That's why I recommended in an earlier post that if you go the PC route, you buy one from a maker who understands the requirements of music production.
In terms of hardware, Mac is the safe option, but may be a more expensive one. It's not just the initial cost, but also consider how often you need to replace it... maybe every 3 to 5 years depending on your specific demands on performance.

The software side of it is ultimately preference. I prefer Mac OSX to Windows, but I am not going to say it is better - some things are better in Windows. Some software like Logic Pro is only on Mac, and others may only be on Windows, but stuff like Cubase and Ableton Live is available for both, so that may influence your decision.

A word on Linux:
I may create a few enemies by saying this, but I would never seriously consider Linux for music production or recommend it to anyone who isn't a programmer. Yes it's free, but your time isn't, and trust me, you will spend hours searching on the web and typing complex commands into a terminal window in order to install a module to fix a problem, only to discover you break many other things. It will destroy your workflow and burn entire evenings of your life (even more than Windows does). You will become more knowledgeable about compiling java code, and you will play less music which is what you wanted it for in the first place!

Some of this is inevitably my opinion, but i've tried to be objective and honest. Let the flames begin...

[Mr_-G-]

A word on Linux:
I may create a few enemies by saying this, but I would never seriously consider Linux for music production or recommend it to anyone who isn't a programmer. Yes it's free, but your time isn't, and trust me, you will spend hours searching on the web and typing complex commands into a terminal window in order to install a module to fix a problem, only to discover you break many other things.

No enemy here . What you mention above about linux was particularly so a few years back. I remember SuSE 8.0 was a pain to install.
But nowadays there are a few arts-oriented distributions that work straight from a DVD or USB stick, without the need to install anything. One is Ubuntu Studio, the other is Musix, there might be more. They both have real-time kernels so they handle audio and graphics well.
The problem of library dependencies used to be a big pain, I agree, but modern distributions handle dependecies quite intelligently wihtout the user having to do or know anything at all.
I am not saying that people should run to drop their OSs for linux. Most know what they need/want. But when you have an old computer runing W98 or XP that could not handle a newer Windows version, rather than throwing it away, it may be worth trying a linux version and see what all the fuss is about.

[neolithic]

Yep that's a fair comment, especially for recycling older PCs, but it's still not something I'd recommend to anyone who doesnt have a certain amount of in their skillset

[c0wfunk]

This is coming from a linux every day user (java programmer) who grudgingly uses windows when I have to.. just mentioning the words distributions, kernels, and dependencies is plenty to scare off most average users. Linux has grown much more user friendly over the years (been using on and off since the late 90s.. I remember when Red Hat first came out and was to solve all of these problems), but its whole mentality is not for the average user who just wants to turn it on and go for it.