VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Bob Stevens · Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 4:50 pm Post subject: A return to the dark side...

My real job has recently crowbar'd me into a mac for some application development work. It has been a while since I trod through the Mac mire. I figured if I am buying a new computer I might as well say a prayer, strip naked and dive into the Mac goulash for recording as well.

Thanks to Craigslist I managed to find a great deal on a 2011 Mac Mini 16gb ram, 500gb SSD wireless keyboard and 20" display.

Reaper is my current DAW on my pc and have been happy (read comfortable) with it. A current version of Audition is installed on my new mini.

I am looking for some insight about transitioning to Mac, using Audition, or continuing with Reaper, plus I have a bunch of vst plugins on the pc I will have to migrate that doesn't sound like fun.

Anyone have any hints, tricks or tips for an unclothed migrating fool?

Thanks!

Bob
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"Dialog is the painting on a canvas of silence"

Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

Twisted Wave

oh, and it's worth the hassle to make the switch IMO

todd ellis · Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 5:34 pm Post subject:

I use audition 3 on mavericks and like it a lot. Never done any vst transitioning.
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Jason Huggins · Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 5:36 pm Post subject:

I'm a diehard Audition fan. I wouldnt use anything else. Macs are really similar to PCs. (as far as how to use them) Just get used to it. It will treat you well.

samowry · Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 5:52 pm Post subject:

I use Reaper and Sound Studio. Very cost efficient. Use 32bit mode for the VST plug ins.

SkinnyJohnny · Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 5:56 pm Post subject:

Mac Mini and Audition here. Would never go back to a PC, that's for sure!
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Bish · Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 7:12 pm Post subject:

That sounds exactly like the mini I'd like to buy! I'd probably go with a larger screen, but that sounds like a perfect little machine. I'm on a MacPro with Snow Leopard... I have no desire to upgrade from 10.6.8 !!!

I'm with Audition as well... Twisted Wave or Sound Studio are nice if you just want a simple recorder (I have SS) but Audition is really nice for both the basic and some more extended multi-track work. I have occasionally used VST plugins, but tend to favour AU ones. (I'm not really a plug-in person... the native effects in Audition, or the core audio ones are fine for me).
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georgethetech · Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 4:45 am Post subject:

I push my i7 quad Mini to the brink, all 8 threads nearly maxed out, every week on Ewabs and it has never let me down. + SSD performance is phenomenal. #spoiledforlife
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JBarrett · Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 2:31 pm Post subject:

Another Mac + Reaper combo here. Working swimmingly for me for years. Assuming you've already paid for a Reaper license, my hunch is that it should transfer to the Mac (one less out-of-pocket expense in the transition).
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todd ellis · Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 3:23 pm Post subject:

bob - given your computer savvy-ness - you might consider building a hackintosh. i'm running mavericks on the latest tonymacx build with a gigabyte mobo, 16gb RAM and gtx 760 graphics card. the whole rig cost me around $600, and i can boot into windows 7 if i want to. but i rarely want to.
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georgethetech · Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2014 12:24 pm Post subject:

Todd, I went down the Hackintosh road and it was a major time-waster and let down, in my experience. Worked great at first, then became unstable, and getting support was a total nightmare. It screwed up several EWABS shows and drove away some of our audience when they tired of the screw ups.
Great for a hobbyist, NOT great for production. For a under $1000 you can get the real deal, with a warranty, so consider that in your decision...
And a Mac Mini runs Windows as well as any PC either in a dual-boot configuration or in a virtual machine. Trust me, I am as frugal (cheap-ass sum'bitch) as they come, if there were a better way for less money, I would have found it! It's just the life-hacker in me...
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If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
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VOBS.TV Co-host
TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder

Bob Stevens · Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2014 5:57 pm Post subject:

Thank you all for your valued input.!

Me thinks I am going to play with Audition for a bit. Seems like a no brainer. After all, the current version was already installed. It seems to have some nice VO friendly editing features that are lacking in other DAW's. For that purpose Twisted Wave is on my list to try as well.

I do a fair amount of production and Reaper has been good to me. I also have a few expensive plugins that I cannot live without for that purpose. For the time being I am thinking about running a VM Windows 7 with Reaper and migrate my PC plugins to that. This way I can bounce a track out to Reaper and back and not have to invest in new plugins.

My next experiment is to control recording from an Ipad or droid from inside the booth.

Now the proud owner of a Mac Mini an ID22 looks to be in my future as well. I had been waiting for the windows drivers.

Bob
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"Dialog is the painting on a canvas of silence"

todd ellis · Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 7:45 am Post subject:

george - i'm sorry about your experience, and no offense, but i've been rock solid from snow leopard through mavericks. yes, in the early days of mac/intel, it was sketchy - today it's just like building a custom PC. if it's the right build, it really is exactly the SAME computer as the one in the shiny aluminum box (or black aluminum cylinder). same mobo, same processor, same graphics card, same a Hobo Tounge

store. there were a few hoops to jump through for install - extra steps, really - but it's been smooth sailing for me for 3+ years. with my specs you're looking at a $3,000 - $3500 machine. i do voice over & video for a living - nothing else - and i rely on it every single day.
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Bob Stevens · Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 2:35 pm Post subject:

Todd, I considered doing a hackmac but because I am doing some apple software dev I had to be a purest. I got a great deal on my mini so it was the path of least resistance.

I agree with both you and George about early Mac hacks, Many moons ago with Motorola 68xxx chipsets and does anyone remember the Orange Micro Intel card? I had some...Appletalk and I were good friends. lol

So far I am very pleased with my jump to Mac. The noise floor has dropped by a couple of db. No fan is a big part but I realized that there was a minuscule amount introduced hiss from my pc/laptop. It was impossible to record on batt power alone. Attaching the power adaptor eliminated what I thought was all of it but the Mac has proven that wrong. Smile

Bob
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"Dialog is the painting on a canvas of silence"

todd ellis · Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2014 6:08 pm Post subject:

I should have prefaced all that with "I'm just sayin' "
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"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?