Best Laptop for Music Production?
December 7, 2021 10:42 AM Subscribe
Which laptop has the best combination of computing power, audio quality and large screen size for live music production?
The use of software synthesizers, filters, modulators, reverb, etc. means that the laptop has to have top-of-the-line computing power. I has to crunch a lot of numbers. This would imply the laptop should have many of the components of a gaming unit.
Also, the laptop would need the best possible audio quality.
However, the laptop does not require massive video support because the screen display is fairly static during music production. A large screen and high pixel density are essential, but video frames per second is not.
What laptop has this high computing power and audio quality but doesn't have the super graphical capabilities of a gaming computer?
Price is not a limitation.
Thank you for all assistance.
The use of software synthesizers, filters, modulators, reverb, etc. means that the laptop has to have top-of-the-line computing power. I has to crunch a lot of numbers. This would imply the laptop should have many of the components of a gaming unit.
Also, the laptop would need the best possible audio quality.
However, the laptop does not require massive video support because the screen display is fairly static during music production. A large screen and high pixel density are essential, but video frames per second is not.
What laptop has this high computing power and audio quality but doesn't have the super graphical capabilities of a gaming computer?
Price is not a limitation.
Thank you for all assistance.
Also, the laptop would need the best possible audio quality.
IDK if I'd worry too much about this - you can always just use an external audio interface, and may want to anyway for reasons like balanced outputs or more channels (for a monitor and an out, or inputs and outputs at the same time, for instance).
posted by aubilenon at 10:50 AM on December 7, 2021 [6 favorites]
IDK if I'd worry too much about this - you can always just use an external audio interface, and may want to anyway for reasons like balanced outputs or more channels (for a monitor and an out, or inputs and outputs at the same time, for instance).
posted by aubilenon at 10:50 AM on December 7, 2021 [6 favorites]
Everybody I know doing this type of work uses a MacBook Pro. I got one myself last summer and it's been perfect so far. It's the only drama-free computer I've ever had in my life, actually. Everything works all the time just like it's supposed to.
posted by something something at 10:57 AM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by something something at 10:57 AM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
I you're going the Windows route... I had one built last winter by PC Audio Labs - they're specialised in this sort of thing. Base specs for laptops are here but you can customize your build. Very excellent tech support too.
posted by remembrancer at 11:02 AM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by remembrancer at 11:02 AM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
"The use of software synthesizers, filters, modulators, reverb, etc. means that the laptop has to have top-of-the-line computing power. I has to crunch a lot of numbers. This would imply the laptop should have many of the components of a gaming unit."
This is not true. Any laptop from the last ten years has had the power to create music using a large number of plugins. Yes, the more powerful the computer, the more you can run, but you absolutely don't need a top of the line computer to create pro-level productions.
Macbook Pros are certainly the most common computer for music production. Even the lowest level one with the new M1 chip is capable of running over 1000 plugins in Logic. Decide what software you want to run. Most things run on Mac or Windows, but Logic is Mac only and there are a couple things that are PC only.
"Also, the laptop would need the best possible audio quality."
Audio quality has nothing to do with the laptop, unless you're talking about the headphone output. You'll need an audio interface to get audio into the computer. You'll also use it to get it out.
posted by jonathanhughes at 11:10 AM on December 7, 2021 [8 favorites]
This is not true. Any laptop from the last ten years has had the power to create music using a large number of plugins. Yes, the more powerful the computer, the more you can run, but you absolutely don't need a top of the line computer to create pro-level productions.
Macbook Pros are certainly the most common computer for music production. Even the lowest level one with the new M1 chip is capable of running over 1000 plugins in Logic. Decide what software you want to run. Most things run on Mac or Windows, but Logic is Mac only and there are a couple things that are PC only.
"Also, the laptop would need the best possible audio quality."
Audio quality has nothing to do with the laptop, unless you're talking about the headphone output. You'll need an audio interface to get audio into the computer. You'll also use it to get it out.
posted by jonathanhughes at 11:10 AM on December 7, 2021 [8 favorites]
If price is no limit, then a 14" or 16" macbook pro + a thunderbolt supporting audio interface (I would go for the Universal Audio Apollo Twin MKII Duo if I had $1500 lying around) is the way to go. You won't find a better screen+compute combination for audio production in a laptop on the market today than the brand new M1 Pro/Max laptops from Apple.
posted by dis_integration at 11:37 AM on December 7, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by dis_integration at 11:37 AM on December 7, 2021 [2 favorites]
If price is no object, I'd add a second monitor to the setup.
posted by box at 11:44 AM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by box at 11:44 AM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
It would be helpful to know if you're averse to OS X or the Apple processors. As above, the top of the line MacBook Pro is extremely common in music production. But if you have software that's specific to Intel processors and might not run well on the M1 or don't like OS X (I personally hate it), the recommendation would be different.
My personal solution for a lot of CPU processing power is an Asus laptop with an 8 core mobile Ryzen CPU.
It's also worth starting whether being able to run long on battery is important. If money is no object and you value portability but not battery life, there's various laptops that use desktop CPUs that outperform any mobile ones that you could consider.
As others have stated, you don't want to use the built in audio of any laptop - you'll want a dedicated external unit for that. If you happen to be a user of the Universal Audio plugins, you can get their audio interfaces that also have DSPs that will free up more CPU for other things.
posted by Candleman at 12:15 PM on December 7, 2021
My personal solution for a lot of CPU processing power is an Asus laptop with an 8 core mobile Ryzen CPU.
It's also worth starting whether being able to run long on battery is important. If money is no object and you value portability but not battery life, there's various laptops that use desktop CPUs that outperform any mobile ones that you could consider.
As others have stated, you don't want to use the built in audio of any laptop - you'll want a dedicated external unit for that. If you happen to be a user of the Universal Audio plugins, you can get their audio interfaces that also have DSPs that will free up more CPU for other things.
posted by Candleman at 12:15 PM on December 7, 2021
You don't need a Mac for music production. Many musicians use them, but many also use Windows PCs at this point. I've been making music on Windows PCs for almost 2 decades at this point. Current Windows support for music and audio software is at least as good as what you'll find on a Mac, and often considerably less expensive.
Sound cards integrated into computers, at least for music production purposes, are pretty much a thing of the past. You'll probably need an external audio interface -- a box that contains a sound card and has various inputs and outputs. There are a zillion of them out there; you'll have to figure out which combination of features works best for you.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 12:50 PM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
Sound cards integrated into computers, at least for music production purposes, are pretty much a thing of the past. You'll probably need an external audio interface -- a box that contains a sound card and has various inputs and outputs. There are a zillion of them out there; you'll have to figure out which combination of features works best for you.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 12:50 PM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
In the absence of other info I would get an Intel based MacBook Pro and budget for a decent audio interface. A lot of plugins and second party software aren’t playing nice with the M1 yet. The computer is frankly not where I’d spend the bulk of my audio production $$$, a mid-level machine should do you just fine.
posted by aspersioncast at 5:44 PM on December 7, 2021
posted by aspersioncast at 5:44 PM on December 7, 2021
Yes I agree with aspersioncast, we are at an awkward point that is all too typical, as music software (and hardware) tends to run well behind the hardware and OS development schedule in Cupertino -- even Apple's own music software. It is notoriously common in the music recording world -- and I'd have think similar in live production settings -- to see 3-4 year old machines running one or two versions back of the the current OS version on the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" principle and because so much typically breaks across a new OS release or a major hardware changeover -- and we are in both now in the Apple universe. So as great as M1 machines already are -- and I love my MBP M1 -- you can expect it to be a year pr so before most major music software is running natively on it. Music stuff gets low priority from Apple too.
But it's also a bit shortsighted to buy an Intel Mac laptop right now for all sorts of other reasons, and really we don't need the headroom and processing power of current bleeding edge machines for audio production anymore, so I'd suggest possibly getting a refurbed 2020 Intel MBP (but definitely get one made after they gave up on the stupid butterfly switch keyboard design) unless money really is no object. It might only be the sweet spot for another year however.
Long run, the speed and battery efficiency of the ARM machines is nothing short of stunning to me as a user of Mac laptops since 1991. I honestly find my current 14" MBP absolutely to be the best laptop I've owned out of likely 15 or more. I can't recommend it enough after owning it a year.
posted by spitbull at 2:29 PM on December 8, 2021
But it's also a bit shortsighted to buy an Intel Mac laptop right now for all sorts of other reasons, and really we don't need the headroom and processing power of current bleeding edge machines for audio production anymore, so I'd suggest possibly getting a refurbed 2020 Intel MBP (but definitely get one made after they gave up on the stupid butterfly switch keyboard design) unless money really is no object. It might only be the sweet spot for another year however.
Long run, the speed and battery efficiency of the ARM machines is nothing short of stunning to me as a user of Mac laptops since 1991. I honestly find my current 14" MBP absolutely to be the best laptop I've owned out of likely 15 or more. I can't recommend it enough after owning it a year.
posted by spitbull at 2:29 PM on December 8, 2021
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If you’ve already got a significant investment in plugins that are not cross-platform, or are no longer receiving updates, that may not work for you. In that case, just about any high-end laptop should work for you. Look for lots of RAM and an I7 or I9 processor. I used to recommend Razer, but I’ve had enough battery problems with them that I no longer can. Dell XPS and Lenovo ThinkPad are well-regarded brands. You should be able to get what you’re after at the higher end of either line.
posted by Alterscape at 10:50 AM on December 7, 2021 [1 favorite]