Reg. The 32/16GB discussion
Yeah, I saw that video. Itās a different use case than sample playback. With samples, itās about latency, rather than speed. SSDs can be very fast for big file transfer, but not as fast for random access of small amounts of data. Samplers often load the start of each note in RAM with the tails coming from storage. This allows instant playback when you press a note, but RAM isnāt overly used.
For most live playing, 16GB would be enough. Itās when youāre doing big arrangements and using lots of articulations where big RAM is nice to have.
32GB is perfect for me. It lets me plow ahead without having to think about managing things. By the time I hit that ceiling, I could probably stand to clear out sounds that I auditioned, but didnāt use.
I got the 32GB/2TB 14-inch MacBook Pro last week. Like Ian Gillan sings, āSheās a killer machine.ā The display is crazy good. The ports are ideal. Iāve had 15-inch laptops (cumbersome) and 13-inch laptops (weak & small screens), and I find 14-inch with a high-res display and small bezel to be perfect. One could sling it in a small courier bag and use it on a plane, and not feel lacking in screen and performance. With the process, memory, and storage elbow room, itās luxurious.
I had no problems loading Gig Performer (with Rosetta.) All my plugins are happy. I can set the latency to ridiculously low levels. With nearfield studio monitors, you can hear the difference. The sound of the physical keys actually interferes with the attack of the sound. Again, luxurious.
Now, for issuesā¦ I couldnāt load Sibelius 7.5. Avid let development of their license manager lapse at 32-bits. Maybe I could have found a workaround, but I let it slide. In fact, because I upgraded my older machine to Monterrey, I couldnāt unregister that machine from its license. I figure I got my moneyās worth from it. If I need notation software in the future, Iāll go shopping again. Oh well.
Yeah, donāt forget to unregister your old machine from its various licenses before repurposing. Aside from Sibelius, I had no problems. I just hope I didnāt forget anything.
The biggest issue has been some instability with the audio interface. It runs through a USB-C hub and the latency is crazy low, so maybe thatās the problem. Still, I expect pops and clicks with low latency, not reliability issues. With Gig Performer, sometimes, I lose all sounds. But I also had a situation where the machine was idling without any audio software running, the interface would click, and the inputs were randomly routed to the outputs and then not. Iām confident that this is unrelated to GP.
Last night, I had a situation where left clicking things with a wireless mouse brought up the right-click menus. This first occurred in GP, but only because that was what I was using. All apps were affected, so again, Iām confident that this was an OS glitch, not a GP issue.
Overall, Sibelius was the only major loss. Iām doing development and practice, rather than live stage work, so I can tolerate the occasional restart/reboot, but Iād be testing longer latency and no hub if I were performing soon. Given that Apple is strongly marketing the MacBook Pro to A/V creators, I expect that fixing these driver issues is a high priority. Iām running 12.0.1 now and will upgrade to 12.0.2 as soon as itās out.
Performance-wise, the new machine runs amazingly cool and quiet. Unless you want 32GB of RAM or use the machine for additional uses, Iād go with the M1 Air, 13" MacBook Pro, or Mini for Gig Performer. The display, ports, etc. are great but not necessary. Unless youāre running multiple instances of GP, youāre likely to be running in a single core anyway, so the additional performance and graphics cores will be idle anyway.
Iāll increase my latency and keep an eye out for OS upgrades and report back about any reliability improvements. The new system is fine for practicing and casual performances, but itās not quite there for professional stage use.
Very good report.
I like the increased port number to play live without hub. Two midi controllers and one audio board. Keeping power supply connected. Perfectā¦
Yes. The ports are really nice. Letās say Iām doing some audio design. I could take the laptop to the woods, bring a nice set of headphones, and leave the audio interface at home. I could put my USB/HDMI dongle in the drawer with the HDMI output. (I would have already, but the other side of the laptop is more convenient for now.) Iāve got a nice Tascam portable recorder (DR-100MkII), and its been super convenient to plug the memory card right into the laptop. All that and three USB-C ports remain open for business. I can see why Apple force fed USB-C in the previous generation to spur migration, but itās nice that transition is behind us.
It looks like weāll be tracking down the OS audio issue here:
Thingās we are looking at include cables, audio interfaces/drivers, and possibly (less likely) MIDI collisions.
One minor thing about the 14-inch MacBook Proā¦ The SD card slot is not deep. The card sticks out. So if you were thinking that you could increase the storage without an external drive, think twice. It could work in theory, but youād have to remove it before transporting it, it could get damaged, it could be stolen and pocketed in a heartbeat, etc. Not to mention that SD cards can have spotty reliability. You canāt just stick it deep into a slot and tape it in. So either pony up for more storage than you expect to use or plan on a cable to an external hard drive (in addition to your external backup/TimeMachine drive.)
But itās nice that the slot is there. You could make a recording to the SSD, quickly copy it to a bandmateās SD card (or your own SD card as a safety backup), and be able to do it without any dongles.
Hi,
Funky40, you say the M1 is sufficient for a GP user.
I am planning to buy a MacBook Pro for live use and was hesitant with the M1Pro and 32GB RAM or an M1 MacBook and only (unfortunately) 16GB RAM.
The price difference is too big to wonder if, for a musician, itās worth it !
Letās add some concerns about these new macs (Monterey, plugin compatibility ā¦)
Already mentioned here.
I am using a MacBookPro since one year, with M1 processor, 16 giga RAM and 2 Tera SSD.
Mainly for live playing with two midi controllers and one audio board, obviously with GigP and BigSur.
Until today after 4 gigs, with song list with more than 60 tracks, absolutely no problem.
Using some sampled instruments with kontakt (brass from komplete edition and something else).
Only issue: I need a USB C hub to drive everything.
With new M1pro I would have no hub and 32 gigabyte RAM. I will probably buy one in 2022, but not sure.
Until then I am not upgrading to Monterey
Be careful with this one ā these days quite a few plugins have their own multi-core support so even if the audio processing for a GP instance is running on a single core, plugins themselves may still be using multiple cores.
Yes, and Melda plugins will also use your GPU on your graphics card for the plugin graphics to minimize CPU loading if you have one, otherwise its CPU driven. One size does not fit all.
Itās good to know that Plugins can use multiple cores and even the GPU. It would be cool to have a list of multi-core, M1 optimized, low-latency effects, emulations, and synthesis.
Regarding need, I would think that a guitarist, using Gig Performer to replace pedals and amps, could get by with 8GB and an M1 machine. A live keyboardist who uses some samples would benefit from 16GB. In both cases, some optimization and predictive loading could keep things going, even if you hit the ceiling.
I went with 32GB because I used to compose for film and might do orchestral compositions again in the future. With optimization, 16GB can get the job done, but itās nice to not have to spend energy on workarounds and management tasks. Just load the samples you want to play/audition and go. Unload the duds, but keep viable sounds at hand in a template. But had I been on a tighter budget, a 16 GB M1 would have done the job.
Yesterday I had a gig with my MacBook Pro M1max. Before the first set starts the MacBook lost the connection to the power adapter by accident. Unfortunately I did not notice that. After 9 songs in the first set the battery of the MacBook was empty and the Macbook shut down.
The song was a german song āKinder an die Machtā by Herbert Grƶnemeyer with a lot of keysā¦
I am very surprised that the battery of the Macbook is empty after only 8 songs, but I have learned my lesson.
How long are the songs.
Heavy cpu load?
Warm temperature on stage?
- round about 4 or 5 minutes
- average cpu load (the sounds of my Kronos go through GigPerformer)
- it was very hot on stage
OK, so the cooler had a lot to do
Yes, you are right.
But the performance of the battery was not even one hour. In my opinion that is not much.
and it was 100% loaded?
I think so, end of soundcheck was 17.30, at that time the Macsafe was connected. At 20.30 we went on the stage and my ipad falls on the floor. I think, that the ipad cuts the connection between MacBook and the power supply, but I cantāt proove it. At round about 21.30 suddenly I had no keyboardsound and the MacBook was black. The macsafe cable was not connected, it lies on the floorā¦
I made 3 hours rehearsal with battery from 100 to 75. I have a MacBookPro 13" M1.
A lot of times.
On stage I connect power just to be calm, but I donāt need it.
I cannot believe M1 Max can be so power hungryā¦
I cannot believe that too, I was very surprised.
Next rehearsal I will test it with battery 100% and our first set without connection to a power supply.