Mac Studio M1 Ultra | A MUSIC Production Beast or Bust?
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- Опубліковано 3 лип 2024
- I've been using the Apple Mac Studio M1 Ultra for a month now. So how's it going? Am I happy with the purchase? And how many tracks can this handle at once?
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Gear I use and essentials!
Home Studio:
DAW Controllers: imp.i114863.net/AorO6R
Interfaces: imp.i114863.net/9WN6oe
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Amp DI: imp.i114863.net/gbjR1g
Amp Capture: imp.i114863.net/ZdOKaR
SM57: imp.i114863.net/e4D0zg
E906: imp.i114863.net/2rO6DD
Amps & Guitars:
Marshall: imp.i114863.net/YgOAAP
H&K: imp.i114863.net/qn1KjY
REVV: imp.i114863.net/7m2OzO
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Guitar Pedals:
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Wah Wah: imp.i114863.net/AorO4J
Noise Gate: imp.i114863.net/WDbeo3
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Reverb:: imp.i114863.net/P0oQDe
Phaser: imp.i114863.net/7m46g3
Pedal Power: imp.i114863.net/DV56vy
Find great deals!: imp.i114863.net/9WN6XY
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I've now had the Apple Mac Studio M1 Ultra running in my home studio for a month now and wanted to share how everything was going and what I did to overcome some of the issues I encountered migrating to the Mac Studio from a 2013 Mac Pro Trash Can. Also, I was curious how many tracks the M1 Ultra could handle at once so I put it to the test. Is the Mac Studio the Music Production solution for home studios and professionals alike? I had problems installing Avid Media Composer. Did I decide to make the leap to Davinci Resolve? How about the issue with running old Waves plugins on the new Mac Studio? Can it handle the demands of a busy music production and video production environments? Was it all worth it in the end? I reveal all in this video.
Mac Studio M1 Ultra | How I Migrated My Home Studio • Mac Studio M1 Ultra | ...
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Index
00:00 Video Start
00:34 The Premise
01:38 Stacking Tracks
01:57 How I Migrated
03:43 How I'll Stack This Project
04:24 Let's Get Stacking
06:07 Latency?
06:50 Waves Plugins & Avid Problems!
07:40 Back To Stacking
10:08 Is The Mac Studio Worth It?
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Great video, info and playing.
So much appreciated. Thank you!
Great analysis and demo. For me, it’s the way to go. Thanks.
Awesome. Thank you!
The bass sounds amazing 🤩
Thanks so much!!
Great fun song! Nice style and honesty on your videos.
Thanks so much!! Really appreciate your thoughts!
THANK YOU! This will help me immensely. I've got a Mac Pro (late 2013) and am looking NOT forward to upgrading. Your advice and experience will be a significant help. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Awesome!! So glad I was able to help you. Best of luck with your migration!!!
Thanks for the info.
Any time!
🔥🔥🔥PUSHING the Mac Studio to its LIMITS--> ua-cam.com/video/oAdkJSwDUzU/v-deo.html🔥🔥🔥
✅✅✅ Dispute the RESULTS of this Test? Was I wrong? ▶▶▶ua-cam.com/video/r7AR9uXoDsc/v-deo.html
✅✅✅ Missed the Mac Studio Migration video??? ▶▶▶ ua-cam.com/video/SKobx7UtitI/v-deo.html
Awesome bass playing ❤
Thanks so much!
Thanks! This is the video I was looking for. Just pulled the trigger on a Mac Studio.
Sweet! Congrats!
How is it going so far?
Finally a real test.... now I can make a decision .... thanks bro
My pleasure! Glad you found this helpful!
Great video, Dan! Killer riif too!
Thanks Ed! Been sitting on that one...was time to unleash it! ;)
Stellar Video!
Thank you!
Seriously good riffs. And that Ultra chip sounds good!
Thanks so much!!! Good tone on that chip huh!!! Haha!
Congratz with the jump to Resolve! 😃
Happy to be part of the club!!! ;-)
Kick ass bass guitar tone!
Thanks so much!! I used this plugin as part of the chain: ua-cam.com/video/uWMtONSZPmU/v-deo.html
Great info even ater 8 months
Just subbed...
Thanks a lot
Awesome, thank you! Glad to have you here!
My install process was identical to yours. Went from a 2014 5k iMac to a Mac Studio with the Max Chip. Definitely install way less plugins so I can focus more on the ones I use and learn them inside out. Great video. Subbed!
Awesome! Thank you!! And enjoy yours! Glad to have you here!
This is really good info
Thank you. Make sure you watch the follow up I just posted today. Link is in the comments and description...
Exactly the type of video I was searching for only because I just purchased the Mac Studio M1 Ultra to replace a 2011 Mac Mini THX for posting
My pleasure! Enjoy your machine. If you didn’t see my Mac studio migration video make sure to check that one out.
Getting time back is the most valuable asset to get.
100%!!!!
Next generation Mac chip - MK Ultra... It both reads AND controls your mind while mixing your tracks (except for Waves plugs, the reason I stopped using them twenty years ago - actually THEY stopped using my computer - and never looked back. Nice to see things haven't changed...) I should add - nice video.
Ha! That’s funny. The more things change, the more they stay the same….and thanks for your thoughts!
A good load of pertinent info! Thanks!! I should receive my Mac Studio Ultra near the end of June, and will slowly install all of my music and video/graphics software directly, not using the migration system. It is tedious, but ensures the stability, so worth the hassle.
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed this. Best of luck with yours!
Great video. I'm going to buy one
Thanks! Enjoy yours!
Great update on your new computer! I hope this one lasts a loooooong time.... maybe longer than 5 years!!! :)
Me tooooo!
Great video.
Thank you!
Great Musican!!!
Thanks so much! :)
Thanks you seem to be the only person how is doing stuff about audio.
My pleasure. Really? Any other audio topics related to the Mac Studio you think might be of interest?
Key words. It does everything you need today.
As much as we try to make it about tomorrow we need to enjoy it today ;)
Love the vid Dan something every prospective Studio Ultra owner should check out . 150+ tracks is impressive I'd imagine it will take you a while to outgrow this one. Had to hold off getting one just now but will be definitely joining the ranks of the M1 Studio ultra jockeys soon as 🙂P.S love that dirty ass groove you had going there !!
Thanks Ricky. Many are saying it should have done more tracks. I may revisit that. And that groove….just something I had lying around 😎😎😎😎
Just upgraded to the Ultra as well. Interested to see how well it does. I added a T4 External hard drive unit with 8 bays. So I'm all set for HD space.
Awesome! HD? You’re ready fir 4k and 8k!
Thank you for a great video. I updated my Trashcan 2013 with OWC drives and memory, giving it another 2 years of life. However; the real bottleneck is the lack of graphic memory, no USB-C and slow render times… I really love the Trashcan, but it’s time to switch. Perhaps for the Studio M1 Max.
Thank you!! Yeah, there is only so much you can do. Graphics was a huge bottleneck for me on the trash can...I think it was the culprit for most of my crashes....
Thanks for this. I’m looking at going from a 2010 Tower to a Mac Studio. Yes, for music, but just basic stuff like having an OS that maxed at 10.11.6 is becoming a hassle.
My pleasure! It's worth the leap!! :)
My Mac mini base M1 can run superior Drummer 3 at 32 buffers, along with about 20 or so audio tracks. I had horrible latency with virtual instruments when I had my UAD Apollo X twin on my windows machine. And that was an all out beast! X299 i7 9800x, 64 GB ram, etc.
Crazy how much more efficient my lil Mac mini is!
Thank you so much!! Appreciate your thoughts very much.....
8 gb ram? How many track in vsts it handles? One person says 80 vsts can handle is it right??
I have added a dedicated 4k video card with the sonnet external Thunderbolt to my M1 system.
How's that working?
I am using the 2020 M1 MacBook Air for music production. My projects are usually 60-100 tracks. Tons of plugins in Logic, about 10% third party plugins. CPU usage is around 25%-50%. There is no doubt the Mac Studio is powerful enough.
I suspect I should be able to do more tracks than what I got in this video, but the point was made I think (hope) :)
How much RAM does your laptop have?
@@runirogvason3764 16 GB RAM. My productions are mostly ‘rock’ and ‘alternative’. Drummer takes up around 20 tracks. I use a lot of BIAS FX2 on guitar tracks. Few synth tracks only. Some valhalla plugins. Lots of vocals layering. Some flex time and flex pitch edits. Handles all with ease. CPU around 20% on my latest project which has around 90 tracks. Everything is snappy. Using Logic for 14 years now. It is amazing experience with the M1 Macbook Air.
Same!
Try your air to many orchestra vts, definitely you got overload error 😂
Nice to see a musician testing these out. Makes a pleasant change from channels that only check video performance, and of course the ones that merely run benchmarks.
Interesting of the as to track count. I wonder if any of the instruments were using rosetta. Always worth checking out as that will always add quite a bit of load to the CPU. Certainly if you were just running audio tracks, i think you would get many more tracks than the 140 you were getting, and of course as audio is much easier CPU wise on the system, you can always bounce in place to alleviate the processor load.
Glad to see that my thoughts on Resolve from your earlier video, seem to have worked out. Subbed and liked!.
Thank you. I’m telling you, this video kept changing as I shot it. I realized there were so many variables determining how many tracks you can push. Especially the drive setup. But as long as enough of a point was made. Maybe I’ll try again and push it further 😂
Yeah, a bunch of the plugins in the project aren't M1 native yet, SSL etc.
@@LonelyRocker You can have a look at the Activity Monitor, and see how much extra memory etc, that running rosetta takes up. Bound to lower track counts if that is your main priority.
Good eye....I think it's realistic to have a mix of native and non-nate M1 plugins. But I may redo this test with all M1 compliant plugins....
@@LonelyRocker Be interesting to see. Looking forward to it.
Me? I don't use many 3rd party plugins, and the ones I do have are all now M Series compliant. Interestingly the ones which seem to have made the move to M1 compatibility seem to be the smaller developers. I use Valhalla stuff, Moddart Pianoteq, Spitfire BBCSO, U-He's Repro1(and5) and a smattering of other brands. All seem to have made the transition reasonably quickly. Even Kontakt is now finally compliant.
There is some good and interesting stuff out there from small developers, and always worth supporting, in my book.
I also upgraded... kind of. I had a Macbook Pro 15inch 2015 with 16gb of RAM and 512GB of storage but it was too loud for my recording needs. I don't mix and master yet but on my old mac I could barely have a project open with 10-15 tracks and after 15 minutes the laptop started to sound like a rocket ship on its way to mars. I was considering the macbook air base model, 8gb/512gb or 16gb/256gb configurations and in the end went with the base model. I picked it both for finicail reasons but also because of reviews of people talking about how powerfull the M1 chip was.
Feels weird to go from something with the name "Pro" to something with the name "Air" and it's an upgrade and if you would have told me that 3-5 years ago I would have laughed at you.
8GB RAM is enough for my needs. My projects spand from 5 to 40(maybe 50) tracks and I don't add any plugins or effects since I hire other people to mix and master for me(for now). It can handle around 60-63 tracks of VSTs with plugins and effects so my guess is that it can handle 80-120 audio tracks with plugins and effects which is more than my needs. Probably wont need upgrade until the Apple Studio M3 Max comes out in 2026-2027 😅😂
What you said is important. You buy for YOUR needs no one else’s. 100%….
Great demo! 100+ tracks?!? Unbelievable. Apple keeps going beyond.
Thank you! Spoiler alert. I’m doing an update to this video. I think we can do better. It’s coming out next. Stay tuned!
Meanwhile, me with my 2013 MacBook air working it harder than ever utilizing all the possible tracks in garage band and Ableton live. Love daydreaming about the new Mac's though 🙂 would like to get one
Maybe one day!! Maybe one day :))))
So funny about AVID, I switched to Resolve studio within a couple days downloading the free version and never looked back. I absolutely hate subscription models (Protools, Universal Audio plug-ins, waves too sometimes) and I can’t tell you how many sessions I had in the past that were ruined by incompatibilities, software updates and plugin issues. Resolve just flat out works. I’m hoping to move all my audio to resolve at some point too. Fairlight is pretty amazing. Still kind of stuck on logic because I’ve been using it for so long.
Sounds like we are in the exact same boat! I hung onto Avid for so long. Mainly because I was so good at it but I thought it was the best. Less than one week trying Resolve I also purchased the upgrade and SOOO happy I did. Amazing how much better it actually is. And now I can also say goodbye to subscriptions. I may even buy a Black Magic camera down the line...that's why they do it ;) I'm also on Logic and staying with it for the same reason....good combo though but I'm slowly using Fairlight more and more....I need to master the edit side first though ;)
Turning off INPUTS is a HUGE CPU saver for sure! Next, try loading up as many Omnisphere Plugins as you can to see how it does ;). Pretty amazing for sure. great video.
It's a great trick if you need it. Thanks so much!!
Please also do the test other than Logic DAW like Ableton, Cubase, Protools, Studio one.
Because we already know as it is a Apple product the Logic pro is already so much optimised with their iOS so it will definitely perform finely.
Mainly we want to know how other DAW will Perform in this m2 ultra
Im on an ancient 2009 5,1 mac pro. I did some upgrades at the start of the pandemic so it still works well BUT its starting to choke on some of the virtual instruments. Im considering the M1 Max version. The idea of the migration without the migration tool or the ability to just swap out drives is something I’m dreading. I used to advise clean installs all the time , but i haven’t had to in years. Im still waiting since it isn’t an urgent matter but I definitely want one of these studios to reduce my bottle necks.
You are definitely due for an upgrade. I can’t imagine the issues you might be having. I was having a ton on the 2013 Mac Pro. The migration doesn’t have to be painful. It’s a great opportunity to purge Abdul de clutter. Feels great once done!
@@LonelyRocker I get a lot of work done still. The SSD’s and 63 gb of ram when i upgraded helped but when mastering with too many higher end plugins like izotope and some of the synth vsts it huts its limit. I never liked freezing anything or making decisions like that but I found some good work arounds. I comp my tracks in Maschine as loops and import into Ableton. This forces me to render out things I would have normally kept as VST’s. I also use samples much more than i ever did which don’t tax the cpu too much. All being said its time for an upgrade. Ive been using apple since 1992 and ive never heeld onto a machine for this ling. It’s actually a testament to apples mac pro architecture and being able to actually upgrade your machine versus the disposable machines apple makes now.
🔥🔥
Great video! Thanks for the info as I have been considering upgrading my system. But 140 tracks seems low for a 2022 mac and will not be adequate for my post work. My Early 2009/Nehalem" Mac Pro paired up with my old (2010) HD6 TDM HD will do 192 tracks @ 48khz and still have 6 empty Accel cards left over to run hundreds of TDM plugins without so much as a hiccup, absolutely zero errors. (RTAS and AAX would tax the system but I rarely use them.) I'm running one of the most solid versions of ProTools HD ever made,10.3.8, with an Avid IO. These newer computers are great for rendering video but don't seem like they can hang with outboard audio processing. IMHO, just use the computer for email, clock, graphics and spreadsheets, leave the heavy audio lifting to outboard processing like the HDX cards or maybe even Avid Carbon.
Thanks! I actually did 3 of these videos exploring different tests and determined I could not determine an actual number of tracks when the variables change wildly between users. But you are right. For real heavy lifting you still need the support of external processing. It’s too much for just the computer to handle. Even though it’s far better than it used to be.
I remember an old DAW 'SAW' that recorded 40+ audio tracks without any dropouts on live recordings on very old computers (PC). Recording and playing multiple audio files is not an issue in computers. Running many virtual instruments is the bottle neck for most computers. Now many of us have more of home studios, use many virtual instruments. Adding reverbs, Eq to tracks was never a problem. Please make a video showing CPU hungry virtual instruments with number of tracks. Regards.
I've actually done a couple of follow ups to this video. Including testing virtual instruments. Search "Mac Studio" on my channel and you'll see them....
Hey Thanks for this information. I don't know if anyone else has commented similarly, but I love the track! Where'd the drum tracks come from?
Awesome! Glad this still helps! And glad you enjoyed the track too! Much appreciated. I generally build my drums through a combination of things. I did a video about it here: ua-cam.com/video/O6-aErrmswI/v-deo.html
I bought a 16 inch MacBook Pro 10 core 16gb ram. No problem here. Works like a charm. I came from a 2012 Mac Pro still in use. But I’m looking to get ride of it. Sucks up 1000 watts. Where my MacBook is basically nothing. I just gotta spend 200 for logic x. It’s a shame apple does that. I already have logic x but it won’t run on my M1. I’m also not happy that my dm4800 can’t be used on apple silicon.
I thought Logic Pro has free updates? Try downloading the latest version....
Thanks for the video Dan, honestly the most informative and influential among a sea of hype. I've also always had an Apple workflow and I feel I am concerned that I will end up upgrading sooner than I want to. I have a 2013 Mac Pro 6-core 1TB, 32gb RAM. I have been eyeing the Ultra but worry that the benefits provided by the Ultra may not be justifiable for me. I do production, mixing and mastering for myself and clients as well as for myself. For this reason, I have been eying the M1 Max version with the 1TB and 64gb.. which ends up being about $1000 less. Now I need to determine if its worth the $1000 to upgrade and if that would give me an additional 3-4 years. I 'm looking for 7-8 years with the machine.. 10 would be awesome but eh. Side note, money isn't the biggest concern. I have a friend who works there who will get a higher than the education pricing discount and about $1000 in Apple store giftcards (my family knows I like Apple lol). Do I bring the base ultra down to about 2799, or get the max for dirt cheap.. I hate to ask because the answer will always truly be "it depends" and there are so many factors but... what do you think?
Hey man, thanks for your thoughts. I can easily give you my 2 cents because it sounds like we are in a similar position. I Loved the old Mac Pros knowing I could get inside and make updates to them. But all I ever added was hard drives and maybe RAM. That's it! BUT the upgrade limitations hurt me on my 2013 Mac Pro because I couldn't safely upgrade the internal SSD and that crushed me as well as the insufficiency of the GPU. So, unless we wait for what will be insanely expensive new Mac Pros, it's the Studio that will be our best option. Knowing you can't upgrade anything you should try to max it as much as you can afford because you WILL kick yourself later if you don't. An extra $1000 today is really only $200/year over 5 years. I used my 2013 Mac Pro until this year, that's 9 years. A suped up Mac Studio should last longer than that, but I said safely 5 years as new tech will be tempting by then. Don't go broke doing this but keep that cost equation amortized over 5-7 years and I think you'll have your answer. Good luck!
@@LonelyRocker You said everything that I needed to hear and I 100% agree. I'm glad I came across your channel by chance looking at Mac Studio content, I try to be as objective about my purchases as possible and not just buy into hype and your reviews and explanations have helped tremendously. Consider me a super fan now haha! I will watch every video you put on moving forward :). Also p.s. You spoke about the Clarett in one of your other videos (and in this one) and it also got me to pull the trigger on it! I'm coming from UAD.. just feels like over the years they get more and more tedious to work with. Thanks again!
Glad I could provide the info! And happy to have you here! Oh and I have some swamp land to sell too...just kidding ;). Enjoy your gear...some great stuff there!
My only wish for this video was that you had the CPU monitor running in Logic so we could see the actual utilization. Personally I have yet to pass 35% on my 2010 Mac Pro so I can't even imagine the headroom with an M1 chip...
I got you...I followed up this video and that's exactly what I did..check it out: ua-cam.com/video/r7AR9uXoDsc/v-deo.html
Nice Video Man i Am Still Having a Problem and Conflicted on The Mac Studio Having every thing Being hard weird and No Upgradability What you Get Your Stuck With i Am Waiting To See what there going to do with the new Mac Pro and see if there will be upgradability or Not i am not going to hold my breath Though i don't mind paying more for a Mac Pro but it is going to have to last Me Though 8 to 10 years will see Thanks for the video
My pleasure! Thanks for checking it out. I was in the same boat. But as I’ve said in my videos this is the middle tier desktop solution from Apple. The Mac Pros will be insanely expensive like the last ones. Keep in mind, the 2019 Mac Pros, while still powerful, are already old tech in just 3 years. While still supported for now Apple is all in on their own chips so Intel support will wane. Paying more for longevity with Apple is not always the right move. That’s why I went Ultra. Hoping to get at least 5 years but it likely will be a good box for even longer than that. I’m just preparing myself in advance this time 🤣
@@LonelyRocker Ya iF They Are To Much Then i Am Going To Have To Go With a Mac Studio i HOPE NOT
There is one test that you could do to actually see how good is the M1 ultra...
recently Bitwig studio released an M1 native version of Mac, so you can use the demo to actually make a 1 to 1 comparison between Bitwig performance in the M1 ultra mac compared to Intel windows, because Bitwig also haves the same version on the windows platform...
I would be very interested in see a side by side comparison in cpu usage and overal performance of bitwig in mac vs windows
(obviously using only internal plugins, since most of vst's would require roseta translation and that would put the mac version under unfair comparison)
Would be interesting but I’m not a bigwig user. Nor do I have a PC to compete with my Mac. I am evaluating other tests though….
Hi Dan, thanks for the in depth video, out of curiosity what configuration of Mac Studio are you using ie Chip / Processor / Cores / Ram and internal SSD? as there are many variations to choose from and sometimes the low spec versions are not so capable.
My pleasure! Mine is the M1 Ultra 48 Core 64 Gb RAM and 2 TB SSD. Now that the M2 version is out you get even more of a boost. But this has been a stable machine. Some choppy playback on the video side but I wonder if that is caused by a peripheral. Still trying to figure that out. But overall this machine has been doing the job for me...
Very good to see. What plugins that are currently compatible with Apple M1 OS Monterey?
There are a lot of plugins M1 Compatible. United Plugins, Fuse Audio Labs, FabFilter...lots more...just check with the companies you are interested in....
never mind I see it 48hkz
Hmm, saves you 1 hour / working day: let's say you earn USD 15-20 pr. sellable hour ( after taxes and interests ), with a mac Studio price of USD 4,500 you'd be at break even by 2 months. Pretty sweet business case 🤩.
If you are in business it is a no brainer for sure!!
I was able to open around 800 tracks inside a showroom, in addition to billie eilish's existing project tracks
Wow! That’s nuts!
Hey , as a 28 year Mac user, I noticed that you used duplications of tracks VS unique tracks. It's the separate instances of audio and plugins, that puts a heavy load on the machine. So I'm not sure that this is a really fair test. I have a I Mac Pro, (and have had almost every Mac made from 1991 until now except the 50k cheese grater) and I max out these machines ALWAYS. I always find the end. I'm also a Video producer and always max out the CPU's, drives, and GPU's.
They all have a limit , and is usually maxed out before every single bell and whistle is applied. In Logic, it is very easy to max out, even with 10 cores . I have friends with the M1 and they hate it, that it is super buggy and freezes and crashes a lot, losing what they worked on, so I'm not in a rush to get it. I am interested in trying my own real world test, but haven't gambled on buying an M1 machine. I think Apple is blowing it by phasing out the Intel processors, because they are super stable with years of refining the well proven processors. In the professional world, stability is the only thing that matters. one more thing, is that as the CPU's and all the other aspects of the machines "improve" , so does the load put on them by the software developers. So if I had a 1996 Dual Core ( I think that's when it came out) with software from that time, it runs amazingly fast , but if it's upgraded with the newest and best, it becomes too slow and chokes. So it's really from that perspective that I look at new hardware.
I actually re-ran this test in a follow up video. As for duplicate tracks, I’m sure there are some efficiencies there but creating hundreds of unique tracks was not going to happen. There was a major point I missed mentioning in this video that i discuss in the follow up. I’m finding the machine mostly stable. I’ve had the odd crash but I can yet attribute that to the processor. I know software is catching up and often crashes seem to be related to non M1 native apps. As for upgrades, I’ve long suspected Apple intentionally kills performance on old machines. You don’t become the biggest company in the world by being 100% honest 😂😂
@@LonelyRocker exactly. I'm looking forward to more of your vids
Look forward to hearing from you again!
So glad You're not looking back.
Oh, I’m NOT looking back 😂😂😂😂
With system on a chip you would not want to have components like memory or ssd drives be removable. the idea is that the traditional processors with a motherboard there is a process “bounce pass” to memory to the GPU and to the ssd drive and back that eats up some of the speed. With the direct connection this process copying ounce pass goes away and throughput is waaaaay faster. Also with a world of more and more savvy hackers, introducing a third party drive or gpu ads doors to potential threats.
Actually, this is a great point. We lose flexibility but gain the ultimate performance. You just need to configure ir right on order...no turning back!!!
What about plug-in load on the cpu? That’s what I would really like to know. Audio tracks don’t put a heavy load on like plug-ins do. Thanks
I’ve done a few videos on this. Check out my follow ups.
Hi great video, how much RAM, and what size hard drive are you using please
Thank you!! I covered that in part one. It's the M1 Ulta 48 Core, 64GB RAM and 2TB SSD. I have an update to this test coming out Monday. Make sure to check it out...
Hi, nice video. The Mac Studio M1 Ultra for music production, in comparisson with the Mac Studio M1 Max worth the twice price?
It depends what you want. I priced out a Max and added some upgrades and the price started creeping up towards an Ultra. So for a bit more I went to an Ultra hoping the machine would last me longer. But the base Max can get the job done for music.
Love your channel.
Do you believe the base Mac Studio is enough to run light use Logic ?
Thanks so much! Absolutely. Now I don't know the types of projects you are doing but I ran Logic on an old trash can with 40-50 tracks. A base studio smokes that computer. The only limitation is if you run a system that requires cards because the Studio has no expansion slots. But it has lots of IO for drives and external gear. Hope that helps!!
@@LonelyRocker perfect!
Thanks so much !!!
I’ve been using a Mac Air 13.
Early 2014 model up until now and it’s reached it’s end.
3 albums later of course.
The video rendering difference from 20 minutes to one is a big difference… is there the same difference when rendering AUDIO that it goes that much faster?
Or how about when loading big projects? That much notably faster too?
Loading apps and projects is way faster. And running multiple apps is super smooth. Bouncing a mix actually doesn’t seem faster funny enough. That is an observation I had. Wonder if there is a relationship to real time there.
Dude good video, but what did you go with? Spec wise?
Thanks! I outlined the specs in part one and I did a follow up to this. You might one to check it out. But I got the 48 core Ultra, 64 gb Ram and 2 TB SSD.
How much Ram do you have on the Mac Studio? Is 128 GB worth the extra $
I have 64gb. For what I do that’s more than I’ll ever need. 48gb is generally more than enough for audio.
Hi.. thanks for the test.. I’m wondering if the 140 tracks are all mono, Are some are stereo tracks?
My pleasure....you know, as I was doing this test I kept thinking of more and more variables but didn't want to make this too complicated. But yours is a great question I should have touched on. It's a mix. The audio tracks are mono but the VSTs are stereo. Hope that helps!
Hey LR I'm just wondering (you mention the figure 10k somewheres) if you were going to spend 10k today and you wanted to record voice, base, guitar(s), drums. Is that possible to build a home setup for 10k? Assuming I already have instruments and amps, but no PA, no mixing board etc... Can you lay out a solution for 10k? Can I get there with the M1 Ultra and what peripherals do i need. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
That's a VERY difficult thing to discuss in the comments. I said I wouldn't spend 10K on the computer. I've spent WAY more than that over the years on my studio. But you can start small with just the essentials and add gear over time. You can start with a decent laptop, basic interface and headphones and get started. You can probably do that for about 3K. There are free DAWs and plugins you can start with. Add a mic if you need and any accessories. You should be able to get recording for under 5K. I did a home studio starter guide a few years ago. I think it's still relevant. ua-cam.com/video/p3fIYoCRuFo/v-deo.html
What thundbolt to USB hub? I have so many of hardware synths that like USB
I got the OWC Thunderbolt Dock....
Are you recoding at 44.1k, or hopefully, 96k? If you’re recording for film and/or TV 96k is necessary
I stated the specs in the video. 48k.
What daw controller is he using? It looks like Mackie, but do they come in black?
Those are Icon controllers. I have videos on these on my channel. QCon Pro G2 and the QCon Pro X with extenders.
The 2019 Mac Pro is going to be the modern day equivalent to the PowerMac G5, except 3 times the price.
You might just be right 😝😝
How are the Mac studio M1 Max compared to Mac Book pro M1 Max 16” the hole point of the M1 processor is that it’s very energy efficient and doesn’t get hot when working hard whit max’ed out projects mixing film + Audio in Logic Final Cut Pro. A box format are always going to have better cooling of the processor hard drive and Ram memory GPU graphics card. But maybe Apple have solved that issue with the M1 processors and the Mac book pro M1 Max gets you the same power as the Mac studio + the option of total mobility with battery power. If it,s not any or small differences in performance then the Mac book pro Max is the obvious choice. Price wise you get more for your money whit the Mac studio option whit a form factor that’s pretty portable.
M1 is getting rave reviews in all of the machines. It comes down to your specific needs really. I know pros using the M1 mini. Great options now at different price points.
Mate, I wonder if something is wrong with your m1 ultra chip. Normally it should perform with much higher load.
I address this in my video coming out tomorrow. Check back in with me if you watch it!
what bite rate were you using?
I think I said so in the video
As a PC user, I take this video as a challenge! May need to do a 'reply' video :p
Bring it on!!! Word is I should have been able to do more!!! ;)
I've been able to get 512 stereo tracks in Studio One on a Dell laptop. I'm certain that it can do more than that, but who really needs more than that?
Creative Sauce, do it!
I'm an orchestral composer.. Can i know how much is your RAM?
I have 64GB of RAM...
Do you really think a Mac Pro will be coming out any time soon? I can't see them putting out a new Intel based Mac Pro and I can't see them putting out an M1 Mac Pro until they can handle PCIe.
They mentioned it at their last event saying there is one product left to get Apple Silicon. Mac Pro. So it’s coming. Maybe the rumoured M2 or next gen Silicon chip that will address the needs of pro users. It will have to be modular but it will be crazy expensive like the last ones.
@@LonelyRocker, I'm sure they'll get there, eventually. It just seems like they haven't reached the point where they can implement all of the requirements of Mac Pro users.
What are the system specs? RAM? IMPORTANT details... Audio guys or not.
I covered that in part one...it's linked in the description. M1 Ultra 48 Core - 64 gb RAM
is this the base model or did you max out the specs?
It’s an ultra with 64gb of ram.
@@LonelyRocker thanks buddy I just ordered mine. I found you 6 months ago looking for my Icon V1-M Controller. Thanks for all your help. And you're a beast on the guitar 🎸 too my man 👍💯👑
@@MarqNash Thank you so much!! Means a lot!! Enjoy your machine! I wish you many years of creating great music on it!!! Cheers!
Linux and WIndows is offering so much more for the money. They used to innovate soooo much.
It’s apples and oranges. Mac offers a completely different experience. Some just want a turn key experience.
it all depends. I use both and am platform agnostic. windows machines for 3d and compositing, and Mac M1 for audio. I would NEVER use a windows machine for audio, and anyone who has compared the two systems know exactly what I mean. plus the M1 architecture is completely different than intel. it is orders of magnitude more efficient than intel. so much so that its scary. I would never animate on my Mac, and I would never do audio on my PC. even worse is Hackintosh monsters. went that route and never again
@@flipnap2112 Using windows for audio is very nice though. So much better than in the PCI sound card days. It all depends on your sound interface. A basic focusrite will give you CD ready sound unless one believes they are bob clearmountain and monitor on ATC's😃.
@@busywl69 no I hear ya. I was on cubase with windows some years back, ASIO4ALL and running clean. my problem is more with windows in general. if they made a stripped down windows for audio/video production only it would be awesome ha ha. mainly running into driver issues and such. trust me, ive had my nightmares on Mac too. like when they decided to change over to APFS and nobody knew the headaches coming. alias stuff and Time Machine crap. anyway, have a great week bud
Now all you have to do is to move away from Protools and go with Logic Pro… so you will never have to deal with a DAW that is not up to date. I did it and I’m absolutely not regretting it.
ummm I am on Logic...never use PT...
@@LonelyRocker I think I need to take a break from the internet and get some sleep.... lol. Probably watched two videos in the same time and mixed up comment. So don’t pay attention... ;)
about 12 reverb plug ins will choke it no problem, maybe 16.
Ha! Maybe...or maybe not ;-)
@@LonelyRocker load em up.....use something like abby road chambers, or Sunset sound from IK multimedia....gotta see how well it works against the ball hogs.
I still don’t understand how your Qcons are working with the mac studio directly plugged in. My Qcons kept freezing when directly connected to the Mac studio USB A port, and it’s not the USB A ports as I’ve tested them with other equipment and they work flawlessly. My work around is to send my Qcons to an OWC TB dock by USB A then out as TB to Mac Studio TB 4 port to get the Qcons working properly. Now I lose a TB 4 port on the Mac studio which sucks. The only other thing I can think of is using a one hub, but they are expensive and retailers charge restocking fees in Canada if it doesn’t work and need to return. Frustrating.
I thought I told you. I use the One Hub. The One Hub plugs directly into the Mac Studio. Doing it that way everything has been smooth. I tried plugging the One Hub into my Thunderbolt dock and 2 stopped working. I can't say my experience is gospel but 4 controllers through the One Hub and everything is working fine....
@@LonelyRocker cool thanks Dan, maybe I should give the one hub a try then! Great vid again btw, always look forward to your vids!
I wish I could tell you it will solve your problems. It does honesty work here. Thanks for your thoughts. Always happy to hear from you!
I can get 68 tracks on my Intel based MacBook Pro (2019) so I was hoping that the Mac Studio would manage way more than that. Although not sure how much RAM you've got in that Mac Studio?
Let me tell you. I’m addressing that question in my next video. Let’s just say I missed a big part of the story. But I think you will be pleased. Will be out over the next day or so. Don’t miss it!
Hi!) How U open CLA Guitar or CLA Buss in Logic?
And what version of EZDrummer U use ?
Thanks) U very rich Lonely Rocker ))
I don’t use those two plugins but you just load them as regular plugins. I just got EZDrummer 3.
@@LonelyRocker no, CLA, unfortunately , not load in logic, even through CLA Rack
Hi Dan were you using Logic Pro in Rosetta mode due to old plugins that are not m1 native compatible?
Spoiler alert. I’m doing a follow up to this video and talking about this exact thing. Will be out by Monday. Stay tuned!
Dan and please show some proof that you really have Mac m1 Ultra
Hahahah!!! I was thinking about that. In part 1 of this series it's clearly in my room. But since I installed it in my utility room which keeps it out of view of the studio. I'll take a shot of it for the next video just for you!!! :)
not 100 percent sure, but I think logic itself runs native, but the plugins will run in rosetta, automatically if theyre not native for M1
Are you facing any high fan noise/coil whine issues with mac studio?
Not that I have noticed. My computer is in a utility room and not near my desk. I check it occasionally and it seems quiet but I’ll try to pay attention to it.
@@LonelyRocker Thanks man for the promp reply. I have been thinking to get myself a mac studio m1 max (can't afford ultra). But seen some users reporting high pitched noise coming out of the mac studio so I decided to wait.
My pleasure...honestly...never heard a high pitch noise...I think that I would notice...good luck with your decision!
@@LonelyRocker Thank you so much. Really appreciate the help.
Same thing is true of Windows. New CPU's New GPU's ...We always outgrow and need to buy new setups. It's the nature of technology and just a cost of doing business.
You got that right!
difference is in the M1 chip. its an entirely new architecture with shared memory, out of the intel instruction sets. its a completely different way of handling data.
How much ram do you have ???
64gb
@@LonelyRocker should of opted for 128 lol
@@LonelyRocker thanks. Subscribed.
@@tommymai3062 My pleasure and thank you!
Does a lot of Apple stuff just fizzle out over a few years?? If so, why??
💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵
Generally not. My 2009 Mac Pro was still going strong until my Mac Studio arrived last month. iPhones and iPads generally last forever and get software support for a long time too. That said, there are unfortunately rare lemons like the 2013 Mac Pro and the iPad 3 which were just compromised from day one. (And the MacBooks between 2016-2019 weren't great either, but Apple seems to have turned a corner with the new Apple Silicon models)
@@wootube Hoping you're right. They certainly have made a major commitment to their new chips while locking you into sealed boxes. Hope these computers have some longevity. If not, it could cost Apple...
@@LonelyRocker Sealed boxes don't necessarily mean shorter longevity. For example, I recently laughed out loud when I saw a screenshot of an original 21-year old iPod connected to a Mac Studio (via a series of adapters). macOS Monterey even displayed a high resolution icon of that exact model of iPod!
Also, we're fortunate that professional music production really isn't a creative field where you need to stay on the cutting edge of the absolute latest and greatest gear. Stability and knowing your tools is way more important. Like musical instruments, if a computer is enough to make your music today, it's probably easily enough for the next 10 years.
Sealed just means you can't replace components as the computer gets older. Yes, these Macs can last a long time. Some of my old Macs are still going but I did have a dud too. The sealed machines just mean you can't upgrade in the future and I don't like that....
Kein monster, man kann damit gut arbeiten mehr nicht, aus meiner Sicht als jemand der nur virtuelle instrumente nutzt könnte der Ultra gerne die doppelte performance haben für absolut sorgloses arbeiten. Meiner kommt bei fast jeden Song an die Grenze, schnell ist also relativ.
More importantly...How many plugins on bus chain....answer? 50 and my max shits the bed.
Thnx for sharing! 😎
I would go with windows as I left apple thank goodness and never looked back at their dire proprietary rip-off garbage.
I flirted with the idea. But I just couldn’t bring myself to go back to PC. I guess whatever works for us is better….as long as it gets the job done.
No PCIe? This is not for me. PCIe interfaces are the best
Then the Mac pros ate for you. But the speed bumps with these machines could make pci unnecessary. Depends on your needs. I do miss the interchangeability though.
@@LonelyRocker I didn’t realize the towers had pci
So no PCIe cards how you people are working
Not everyone needs overpriced protools cards.
@@LonelyRocker 🤣 then why buy a new computer why updated software ??? not a very good question, for the better quality no latency issues i can tell for sure you don't know if your tracks are lined up as you think thy are just do a wave form zoom and you'll see /if you ever questioned why it doesn't sound as good as you thought it should it's because of your sound card.
My 2014 Mac dies at 5 tracks😂
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
did ya give it mouth to mouth cpr? 😂
When r u guys gonna figure out that track count is a useless measure? Virtual instruments are memory hogs not cpu; It takes no cpu power, load up linear phase eq’s and see what the cpu can do in NATIVE use or it’s just a waste of time
I really wish you'd have been more methodological about your testing.
It's impossible to derive any meaningful conclusions about this test because you didn't report what effects and instruments you used, and how many instances of each.
If you were to play back just raw audio with no processing you could certainly add many hundreds (maybe thousands) of tracks before noticing any issues. Knowing _how many_ of _which_ processors you added to your audio tracks is essential to understanding the limitations of this machine.
Same with virtual instruments. Every VI has a different impact on performance. Which instruments did you use? No mention.
Also, you didn't use buses (aside from the reverb bus). Depending on the DAW, buses can significantly impact CPU scheduling and therefore realtime performance, especially noticeable when overdubbing into a busy session.
Watch the video I just released today. I discuss all of this.
@@LonelyRocker Ha! How's that for serendipity.