M1 MM 8gb good for music production...or should I...?

[olds_cool63]

Hey, y'all. LONG time Mac user here (many, many Macs owned over the decades). Currently running with 2011 13 inch MBP, 2014 15 inch MBP (both running Sonoma w/OCLP, both w/16gb RAM), M1 MBA 8/256 and M1 MM 8/256. The MM is the fastest computer I've ever owned. So, I have my spare room home recording studio set up. I'm a multi-instrumentalist (all instruments, mics, etc... connected to studio mixer. Mixer will connect directly to MM). I'm only planning on recording 12-13 tracks per song including instruments and vocals. So, I guess I'm more concerned with mix/master using Logic Pro (which I'm learning). Will the M1 be able to handle this without bogging down? Anyone w/experience? If not, I'm thinking of M2 Pro MM base or a refurb'ed M1 Max Studio. Maybe an M2 MM w/maxed-out ram? I'm not a professional by any means, just want to not run into any walls right away. I'm good with the monitor, keyboard, mouse I have. Also, I have enough external drives to keep me happy for years. Any info y'all care to share will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[casperes1996]

You'll be fine. I've recorded a fair bit with worse hardware

M1 can probably deal with like 70-80 tracks or so with enough RAM. Without going crazy with plugins and effects and virtual instruments you can probably do 40-50 without missing a sample on 8GB. YMMV depending on exact usage of course

 

[olds_cool63]

Cool! Appreciate the heads-up, casperes1996. Not sure about plug-ins, but all effects will be handled by my pedals or mixer (I'm really old school...hahaha). I was thinking now would be the time to upgrade with some good sales coming up and good refurbs pricing on apple's site. The computer would be for recording ONLY.

 

[casperes1996]

Cool! Appreciate the heads-up, casperes1996. Not sure about plug-ins, but all effects will be handled by my pedals or mixer (I'm really old school...hahaha). I was thinking now would be the time to upgrade with some good sales coming up and good refurbs pricing on apple's site. The computer would be for recording ONLY.

What you have will do great. If I were you I’d just stick with that for another four years

And ey. Analogue feels the best

 

[rm5]

Hey, y'all. LONG time Mac user here (many, many Macs owned over the decades). Currently running with 2011 13 inch MBP, 2014 15 inch MBP (both running Sonoma w/OCLP, both w/16gb RAM), M1 MBA 8/256 and M1 MM 8/256. The MM is the fastest computer I've ever owned. So, I have my spare room home recording studio set up. I'm a multi-instrumentalist (all instruments, mics, etc... connected to studio mixer. Mixer will connect directly to MM). I'm only planning on recording 12-13 tracks per song including instruments and vocals. So, I guess I'm more concerned with mix/master using Logic Pro (which I'm learning). Will the M1 be able to handle this without bogging down? Anyone w/experience? If not, I'm thinking of M2 Pro MM base or a refurb'ed M1 Max Studio. Maybe an M2 MM w/maxed-out ram? I'm not a professional by any means, just want to not run into any walls right away. I'm good with the monitor, keyboard, mouse I have. Also, I have enough external drives to keep me happy for years. Any info y'all care to share will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

I agree with @casperes1996 —I think that configuration will work fine. Especially if it's pure audio (with little to no MIDI), CPU, disk, and RAM should not be an issue here. I don't think for your use there's any reason to upgrade to something newer or of a better spec. You might hit a bit of swap, but since it sounds like it's purely audio you're dealing with, it likely won't be extensive.

 

[olds_cool63]

Thanks, rm5 and casperes1996. Really appreciate the feedback.