I kept my lid open and auto screen saver enabled.
And yes, it’s a fault with the energy management of the device. We shouldn’t blame the victim - especially if the manufacturer didn’t tell us desktop-replacement users that we needed to take any specific actions.
Reg. The 32/16GB discussion
Yeah, I saw that video. It’s a different use case than sample playback. With samples, it’s 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 isn’t overly used.
For most live playing, 16GB would be enough. It’s when you’re 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 didn’t use.
I got the 32GB/2TB 14-inch MacBook Pro last week. Like Ian Gillan sings, “She’s a killer machine.” The display is crazy good. The ports are ideal. I’ve 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, it’s 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 issues… I couldn’t 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 couldn’t unregister that machine from its license. I figure I got my money’s worth from it. If I need notation software in the future, I’ll go shopping again. Oh well.
Yeah, don’t forget to unregister your old machine from its various licenses before repurposing. Aside from Sibelius, I had no problems. I just hope I didn’t 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 that’s 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. I’m 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, I’m confident that this was an OS glitch, not a GP issue.
Overall, Sibelius was the only major loss. I’m doing development and practice, rather than live stage work, so I can tolerate the occasional restart/reboot, but I’d 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. I’m running 12.0.1 now and will upgrade to 12.0.2 as soon as it’s out.
Performance-wise, the new machine runs amazingly cool and quiet. Unless you want 32GB of RAM or use the machine for additional uses, I’d go with the M1 Air, 13" MacBook Pro, or Mini for Gig Performer. The display, ports, etc. are great but not necessary. Unless you’re running multiple instances of GP, you’re likely to be running in a single core anyway, so the additional performance and graphics cores will be idle anyway.
I’ll 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 it’s 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. Perfect…
Yes. The ports are really nice. Let’s say I’m 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.) I’ve 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 it’s nice that transition is behind us.
It looks like we’ll be tracking down the OS audio issue here:
Thing’s we are looking at include cables, audio interfaces/drivers, and possibly (less likely) MIDI collisions.
One minor thing about the 14-inch MacBook Pro… 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 you’d 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 can’t 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 it’s nice that the slot is there. You could make a recording to the SSD, quickly copy it to a bandmate’s SD card (or your own SD card as a safety backup), and be able to do it without any dongles.
I was watching the new M1 pro/max and all the news.
Seems clear now that they indeed have “just” about the same single core speed as the M1 has ( which i use). I´ll have to wait anyway for a new mini/desktop model.
But for folks mainly relying on working with GP4 (and not doing graphics work or games) seems the M1 the better deal plenty.
In my case, i have to upgrade anyway. SSD space, aswell as RAM.
( had to take a model, better suited for resale, since it was back then not clear if i would have to resell it quite quickly, ,and heading for a expensive Hackintosh Intel tower instead )
The two-only TB ports IS really a pita on these old M1macs also.
I can deal with it on my desktopM1…since it “has” to be.
Buuut…other would be nicer.
Still, VERY happy with my M1mini ! ( 512GB/ 8GB)
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, it’s worth it !
Let’s add some concerns about these new macs (Monterey, plugin compatibility …)
What is sufficient “for you”, depends on you 
Some data is now out. The new M1pro or Max CPU seems to have quasi the same single core speed as the older M1.
GP4 is running (on itself) on just one Core per instance.
so, with GP4 alone is the number you mainly need to have, the single core speed !
RAM do you have to decide on yourself.
From what i gather from the web is 16GB still a good number .
there are many YT videos on that. Also vs. Audio.
You need to know yourself, though, how much you work with sample lybrary based instruments, or not. I mostly do not use such for example.
I stumbled in another forum over some statements, with tests.
The take out: it seems that not all sample lybrary based VST instruments do handle the streaming from SSD with same efficiency.
If i would play with loading alots of sample based instruments would i much likely try to afford 32GB of RAM. And then is the older M1 out of play, and not a possible choice.
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 — 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.
thats why i put the (on itself) …kind of a note.
I make it the next time better, and write it out
interesting
It’s 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 it’s 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.
yes, i use a M1 with 8GB of RAM.
my Piano, Keys, Synth patches consists mostly of analog modelling VST instruments.
Very little sample based instruments. probably never more than one at a time.
And i´m fine so far with 8GB of RAM.
8GB of RAM (on a M1) will certainly do for people with limited funds, and NOT beeing depended on haevy uses with sample lib based instruments.
More would be better, even if its just to feel save.
yet, for some folks is even a M1min a tough one to reach…8GB is fine for ALOTS allready!
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 “Kinder an die Macht” by Herbert Grönemeyer with a lot of keys…
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?
OK, so the cooler had a lot to do