Frequently Asked Questions...
I want to record my own tracks?
I would like to hear from anyone who records music, which is best mac or pc? what equipment do you use e.g. microphones, midi drum machines, logic studio. I want to record vocals and produces my own backing tracks.
Answer:
In music making, just as in all aspects, Macs and PCs both have their strengths and weaknesses.
The greatest arguments for Mac are that they come with a music making program pre-installed (Garageband is decent to learn on, but it's also a bit amateurish) and they are more stable than PCs. However, they are not "infinitely stable" as some people would have you believe. Macs have their own version of the "blue screen of death" (BSOD) but you'll rarely see it, if ever.
The greatest argument for PCs is that you have MANY more options available to you. The fact remains that PCs have a larger market share, so more people make software exclusively for the PC. There are only two (that I know of) major pieces of music making software that are Mac exclusives. They are Garageband and Logic...they are also developed by a company that is owned by Apple. (It's worth noting that Logic used to be a PC exclusive before Emagic was acquired by Apple). The PC exclusives include Cakewalk Sonar, Adobe Audition and Sony Acid Pro. Note that these are all major recording programs (except for maybe Acid...that one's a stretch), and there are many other minor programs that are exclusive to each platform.
Personally, I prefer PCs for several different reasons (not the least of which is that fact that I grew up using them.) The main reason is that PCs are open systems. When you make music with a computer, the two most important things are your recording software and your recording/MIDI interface. I'm a HUGE fan of PCI based audio interfaces. PCI interfaces represent great value for the money, and they can't be used with Macs because of their closed system architecture. If you use a Mac, you are forced to use a USB or Firewire interface. The Firewire interfaces are grossly overpriced, IMO, and some newer Macs don't even have Firewire interfaces. That leaves USB. USB 1.0 interfaces are WAAAAY too slow for any audio work. USB 2.0 is quite a bit faster the 1.0 (a little faster than firewire in theory, but a little slower in practice) but there are only a few USB 2.0 interfaces on the market at the moment.
I hope I've given you a few things to consider. This answer isn't meant to be definitive, I just hoped to give you a good starting point to continue your research.
Good luck!
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Midi Drum
a DIY midi drum pad
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