Cakewalk Sonar X1 Free Download For Mac
Forkol Hm, I've been thinking about this lately, and I'm thinking that with the current Sonar, no, they should not port it to MAC. However, if there's a newly re-designed version, then YES.
Sonar X1 Download
I feel it's an Marketing/Exposure kind of thing. For example, AFAIK, pretty much all new Daw's that have come out recently are dual platform, and even Digital Performer went from Mac to PC as well. I think that it's only Sonar and FL studio that are the Major DAW's that are PC only. Unfortunately, it's seen as serious music is only being made on a 'MAC' by a lot of the bedroom artists.
(Yeah, I can hear the arguments coming.) But, since quite a few of them are starting out, they may only have a PC, so you have the best chance of getting both by having a port for both. The amount of 'buzz' that a DAW has translates directly into revenue generation, which leads to new feature development. Cakewalk used to have a Mac product (Metro). I guess that somehow it wasn't worth pushing in that direction as they let it go. The example of Digital Performer now offered on the PC could be taken as an indication of how the Mac platform is not necessarily a gold mine for developers.
Apple sells Logic Pro for $200 - even less than a pro license for Reaper. Since anyone staring out on a Mac is likely to try Garage Band by default, upgrading to Logic is probably the most likely next step one would take. It is familiar, it has all the bells and whistles the other top dogs have and it's available at a fraction of the cost. Rain Or then you buy a Mac. More expensive BUT - that's what people systematically omit when they say PC is cheaper - Mac have an impressive resale value. Even the most expensive custom PC you can order will lose its value in a few year.
So after a few years, when the time comes to buy a new machine, if you went PC, you'll start from scratch. If you went Mac, you resell it and cover for a big part of the upgrade. The initial investment pays off.
I have both Mac and Windows machines, and use them both about equally. To me, the resale value of a PC is not an issue because I usually 'recycle' a Windows machine. I just had a machine from 2005 updated to an i7 hex physical/12 hyperthreaded-core machine and basically, it meant replacing the motherboard and CPU (and adding some memory too - hey, why not?). I've basically gotten a new computer for a fraction of the cost of buying either a new PC or Mac.
If you total the cost of the original computer with the cost of the upgrade and amortize over the aggregate useful life of the two machines, it's waaaay cost-effective. When my Quad Core Xeon Mac becomes irrelevant, a good resale value will help defray the cost of a new machine, but I'll have to start over from scratch. I don't know of any easy way to retrofit Macs. I do have one caveat: I require a bleeding edge Windows machine not because I want to be the biggest and baddest, but because I do a huge amount of commercial video work, and time is money. A properly-tuned Windows machine can do video faster and less expensively than a Mac, but there's a very limited universe of people who really need that kind of horsepower. For audio, I could get by with a whole lot less (although I must say that if a computer does good video, it absolutely smokes for audio!). Being intimately familiar with both platforms for decades, I think there's no escaping the conclusion that each has strengths and weaknesses, and all that really matters is defining your needs precisely enough to figure out which set of strengths is most congruent with your needs.
My needs require having both, so both it is. In terms of user experience, I really see very little overall difference between the two. I have no trouble hopping from one platform to another without missing a beat. Scott Lee Guitarpima I never understood the fascination with macs. Gestapoware at it's worst.
I went into the applestore and was seriously considering mac. I went up to a machine with this huge 32 inch or better screen.
After 10 minutes of looking for the pointer then moving it to the file menu I asked the worker why can't this be easier to see. None of them have a clue.
You can't make it so you can see it so why bother with crap? Expensive crap at that. 10 mins isn't a long time to judge a computer guitar let alone try using it without finding the pointer. I think it takes the right person to sit-down with you and show the benefits correctly. Again, not here to do a Mac vs PC anything.
I use both Just some posts come across as 'well I read this in a forum. Never can really judge a car without a test drive It appears you lack powers of deductive reasoning or you think everyone's brainless.
Why would anyone spend ten minutes looking for the pointer? Umm let me guess. Maybe said someone can't see that well?
Could that be a reason. Never mind the fact I asked someone to help me make it so I can see it. I would love to see what a mac can do but at present, gestapoware prevents me. Why are the employees at the Apple store so clueless about their product? You might like staring into a light but I prefer to make it easier for the remaining sight I have. BTW - Even with my limited eyesight, I still build and maintain my own machines. Let me ask you then. Can a Mac's appearance be a black background with white letters and bigger?
Can the mouse pointer be larger? This whole looking at a white screen thing is stupid. You are all going to have eye trouble later in life because of it. Enough with the white backgrounds. X1 was useless to me until Panup made his mods and was able to use it. I'll take functional over aesthetics anyday. Dave Computer: Intel i7, ASROCK H170M, 16GB/5TB+, Windows 10 Pro 64-bit, Sonar Platinum, TASCAM US-16x08, Cakewalk UM-3G MIDI I/F Instruments: SL-880 Keyboard controller, Korg 05R/W, Korg N1R, KORG Wavestation EX Axes: Fender Stratocaster, Line6 Variax 300, Ovation Acoustic, Takamine Nylon Acoustic, Behringer GX212 amp, Shure SM-58 mic, Rode NT1 condenser mic.
Outboard: Mackie 1402-VLZ mixer, TC Helicon VoiceLive 2, Digitech Vocalist WS EX, PODXTLive, various stompboxes and stuff. Controllers: Korg nanoKONTROL, Wacom Bamboo Touchpad. Today i brought bof laptops.and student were acting: 'damn '.the mbp looks like a toy.lol talkingabout thequality and resistance.and they own macs. Hi Jim, Actually Rain nor I said anything about a Mac vs cheaper PC.
What originally got both of us interested on this thread - to have a OSX version of Sonar. Im sure some of the folks will down play that idea, but take this into consideration for a moment. In 2006 I worked exclusively in Sonar composing 4 full songs for a 'known artist' at Capital Records off Vine in Hollywood, Ca. Right out of the gate the.OMF conversions where having issues with automation and some bus routing.
I had to the stem out my audio tracks to the Mac, which of course, we couldn't modify the songs in the studio on the Mac side for a possible remix or change due to the audio mixdowns. Looking forward, we effectively need to deal with the jobs that create business and work for us artists.
In real world situations high end clients do not want technical hiccups, let alone, content without flexibility. This has been the fact I've deal with over a long musical career living in Hollywood, Ca. A cross platform Sonar could fix this. What was also said in this thread was the Macs were not good audio workstations, which of course is the reason Rain and I have chimed in.
Disclaimer: no inexpensive versions of the PC where hurt in this conversation I understand having control over peripherals is attractive to some Jim but there is a nasty double edge sword to that system control for the end user. If you gamble and 'choose' the wrong vendor/make/driver it could create a slue of issues for an audio workstation.
Not everyone is as technically savvy as you I have a few major gripes with the windows architecture and direction and is why I switched from using a PC more then 20 years. The problems? Windows integrates software directly into the sea of dlls and drivers the core OS uses. Microsoft has used a bandaid method attempting to seperate further the software and OS, but still share the fundamental problems - thats how windows was designed. Without a full re-write, you are still building from a DOS/windows hybrid OS. Secondly, I think metro aka windows 8 will be a horrible mistake for MS. Locking people into a touch screen gui meant for smartphones I believe will have a lot of folks in an uproar.
Will businesses adapt and teach its employees the new interface? I just see a 2013 Windows Me on the horizon. In conclusion, I don't want to push against my OS developer, I want to aline with them. The Mac was a more expensive purchase sure, but what exactly did I get?
On my original PC systems I built 2 computers. One was a dedicated audio workstation beast without internet, another was one just for internet and general usage. That alone costs me a Mac Pro in price on top of the virus, malware, times to fix things cost (we all know time is money) My current investment into a Mac Pro allows me to have a full workstation in OSX and another full workstation PC. If I were to lets say 'just buy' the same hardware and stick with a PC equivalent, I would lose the ability, especially in the audio world, an enormous amount of high end audio tools that are OSX exclusive. Free plugin for the guy that make me do this: I want to put a windows already installed on a hdd.(like taking this from a laptop to the mac) and boot from it, then instal drivers.i already done this with pc's. With the mbp i got a blue screen of death.yes.lol So i insert the windows cd and try a repair.same.
Booting in safe mode and other option: same I also tried to isntall bootcamp drivers first then put the drive in the mbp (drivers installed via another comp).no go The only way is to make a clean install.but with all i have to install.no time. If somebody find me a way to do it like i want, free plugin;). I know guz that's why i tried booting up from window cd and make a repair is see it's loadings files, those low level, but then still the same thing. All i can say is i used to do it, but will do it more: i'm seriously trying to minimise my set up.too many plugins!!!
I have a lot of NFR.its cool but a pain then to re install.re authorize.ect. By the way osx side is very cool for multimedia side, browsing ect.had to install chrome for youtube full screen video ability as it was impossible to disabable harware acceleration for flash compatibility. Alos for those who want to know windows firewire 800 driver are working ok.no need to go legacy with the fireface.with other soundcard that might be another story. Removing hdd is simple.dealing with the dvd to remove it.another story.
I recently made the switch to Mac after nearly two decades of using windows PC. I definitely appreciate apples attention to quality and design.
They support firewire which is a must have for audio interfaces. In general I think OSX is a better environment for creating music. I can not give up windows because I am a windows software developer. The good news is you can run both on a mac! I run Parallels on my MacBook Pro and run a VM instance of Win7. I can even run SonarX1 in my Win7VM and it works great!
I still think Cakewalk should come out with a OSX version of Sonar because I think it is superior to Logic. Take a look at this: This translate osx bad dpc latency: os polution of cpu's! Yes mac +PT on studios but they use HD and DSP card: translation: dedicated cpu.witch is like skipping the os polution!! So even i soanr mac will exists and even if i own a mac, i will use it under windows like all other software.cause Windows is better for audio than osx.i tested Abelton, cubase, studio one.ect.40 tracks including tsar eq of differnce each time!! Reciving a MBP 17 I7 2760qm tomorow specialy for stress test versus my hp elitebook, the winner will stay! Zo take a look at this: This translate osx bad dpc latency: os polution of cpu's!
Yes mac +PT on studios but they use HD and DSP card: translation: dedicated cpu.witch is like skipping the os polution!! So even i soanr mac will exists and even if i own a mac, i will use it under windows like all other software.cause Windows is better for audio than osx.i tested Abelton, cubase, studio one.ect.40 tracks including tsar eq of differnce each time!! Reciving a MBP 17 I7 2760qm tomorow specialy for stress test versus my hp elitebook, the winner will stay! And in spite of it all, I've never been happier making music on a computer than since I've made the switch. In fact, I've never cared less about benchmarks, statistics, graphics and curves. All the computer talk is a thing of the past - I'm a musician again.
As far as I'm concerned, the proof is in the pudding - I, as a Mac user, am thinking music. You are thinking statistics. Now, as a musician, if I end up thinking statistics, something's not working as it should.
No matter how much better that system is in theory - it has failed in it's primary goal - to be transparent, not a source of preoccupation but a simple mean. Is a PC w/ W7 'superior'? Quite probably it seems.
Is it 'better'? That's a different story. Though I've said it before and I'll say it again - I don't think it'd be a wise move for Cakewalk to waste efforts and money developing on the Mac platform. Rain Zo take a look at this: This translate osx bad dpc latency: os polution of cpu's!
Yes mac +PT on studios but they use HD and DSP card: translation: dedicated cpu.witch is like skipping the os polution!! So even i soanr mac will exists and even if i own a mac, i will use it under windows like all other software.cause Windows is better for audio than osx.i tested Abelton, cubase, studio one.ect.40 tracks including tsar eq of differnce each time!! Reciving a MBP 17 I7 2760qm tomorow specialy for stress test versus my hp elitebook, the winner will stay! And in spite of it all, I've never been happier making music on a computer than since I've made the switch.
In fact, I've never cared less about benchmarks, statistics, graphics and curves. All the computer talk is a thing of the past - I'm a musician again. As far as I'm concerned, the proof is in the pudding - I, as a Mac user, am thinking music. You are thinking statistics. Now, as a musician, if I end up thinking statistics, something's not working as it should. No matter how much better that system is in theory - it has failed in it's primary goal - to be transparent, not a source of preoccupation but a simple mean.
Is a PC w/ W7 'superior'? Quite probably it seems.
Is it 'better'? That's a different story. Though I've said it before and I'll say it again - I don't think it'd be a wise move for Cakewalk to waste efforts and money developing on the Mac platform. I'm testing it since this afternoon!!! And my tests are not only benchmrk but a project with 41 tracks and 82 percusiion strip.UA1G, so a real situation. Will post results and conclusions if you guyz want.
All i can say is that i want the mbp bad, but for now.not better, if not worst. I just got a new pc from Jim Roseberry this past week. I7 w/Sandybridge 2600K OC @ 4.5, 8gb ram. Loaded up Steven Slate Drums 4 (which everyone says is killer on ram), 3 instances of Kontakt 4 running, B4II, Kirk Hunter Strings, and Sampletekk 7 Seas Grand, plugged in 2 guitars through Revalver and Amplitube, and a bass through SVX. Steven Slate VCC, UAD Studer 800, and Neve 88RS on every channel and buss, UAD MAssive Passive and Steven Slate FG-Xon the master.
Press record, play live all at once (room was full of friends). At 32 samples, it doesn't break a sweat, let alone make me think about anything other than music. You don't need a Mac to be able to 'be a musician'.
Just a smart builder using the right parts. Jshep0102 I just got a new pc from Jim Roseberry this past week. I7 w/Sandybridge 2600K OC @ 4.5, 8gb ram. Loaded up Steven Slate Drums 4 (which everyone says is killer on ram), 3 instances of Kontakt 4 running, B4II, Kirk Hunter Strings, and Sampletekk 7 Seas Grand, plugged in 2 guitars through Revalver and Amplitube, and a bass through SVX. Steven Slate VCC, UAD Studer 800, and Neve 88RS on every channel and buss, UAD MAssive Passive and Steven Slate FG-Xon the master. Press record, play live all at once (room was full of friends). At 32 samples, it doesn't break a sweat, let alone make me think about anything other than music.
You don't need a Mac to be able to 'be a musician'. Just a smart builder using the right parts. Shep No arguing w/ that. If I wanted a PC, Jim is probably the first guy I'd turn to. And yours looks like a killer machine indeed.
On the other hand, ordering a custom made dedicated PC from a specialist is a whole different thing than buying a PC and hot-roding it yourself, or putting one together from scratch. You're having someone taking care of everything for you. It's much closer to the 'Mac user experience' philosophy. That's where all the line between the arguments begin to blur. A PC like that, though certainly not overpriced, is more expensive than just a PC.
There's no magic - you either spend the money or the energy. One could argue that they're still way less expensive than a Mac, but that's omitting (as is always the case in this type of discussion) that Macs have an astonishing resale value. So, no doubt you can 'be a musician' on a PC, but there's a lot of fine prints that many tend to overlook when the age old debate starts.
Zo I'm testing it since this afternoon!!! And my tests are not only benchmrk but a project with 41 tracks and 82 percusiion strip.UA1G, so a real situation. Will post results and conclusions if you guyz want.
All i can say is that i want the mbp bad, but for now.not better, if not worst. Hope it works for you, mon ami.:) It'd sure be interesting to read. My own humble road setup is based around a late 2010 MacBook Pro. Projects here usually sit somewhere between 30 and 40 tracks. To be honest, I tend to render most virtual instruments early in the process - not because my machine hits its limits but because that's how I work - so I can't say that I really push it.
Of course, once I switch from tracking mode to mixing mode, I discard low latency as I don't really need it. But I can't say that I had to compromise in the tracking process so far. For my purpose at the moment (songwriting + demoing), this machine has been up to my expectations. I use EQ and compressors on almost every track (fortunately for me, not only are Logic's own particularly efficient, but that compressor is my absolute favorite all around), as many busses as I need, usually a couple of reverbs, delay, and plenty of automation. And the beautiful things is that the experience has been consistent from day one, off the shelf, w/o me worrying about system tweaks and optimization. In fact, since I'm on the road, this machine serves many purpose, so often, I'll be listening to a mix while surfing the web, w/ iTune, mail and other apps running in the background.
The experience has been so pleasant that the minute we settle down back home, I'm getting a Mac Pro for the studio. No matter if it is not as powerful as the biggest PC out there.
At this point, I can't imagine how that could prevent me from bringing any full scale project to completion. It reaches a point where its all theoretical. Jshep0102 I just got a new pc from Jim Roseberry this past week. I7 w/Sandybridge 2600K OC @ 4.5, 8gb ram. Loaded up Steven Slate Drums 4 (which everyone says is killer on ram), 3 instances of Kontakt 4 running, B4II, Kirk Hunter Strings, and Sampletekk 7 Seas Grand, plugged in 2 guitars through Revalver and Amplitube, and a bass through SVX. Steven Slate VCC, UAD Studer 800, and Neve 88RS on every channel and buss, UAD MAssive Passive and Steven Slate FG-Xon the master. Press record, play live all at once (room was full of friends).
At 32 samples, it doesn't break a sweat, let alone make me think about anything other than music. You don't need a Mac to be able to 'be a musician'. Just a smart builder using the right parts.
Shep I use a mac to be a full time musician, not 50% musician and 50% tech. Been a PC guy for the last 20 years, A+ certified and Microsoft certified.
I use to spend my time fixing, tweaking, updating and all the other thrills that come with the world of windows. Now I dabble in photography, film as well as my music of course. If that is what you enjoy, hats off to you!! Im enjoying spending more time creating content and being a full time musician. Thanks for the specs and data sheets, I have 3 pcs and 1 mac pro to tell my own conclusions.
The Mac/bootcamp PC was the best purchase I have made since the Amiga 3000T in 89 w/ lightwave. Stick with that works, Im not out to sell you anything.
Just sharing my amazing experience thus far. I have both Windows (PC tower) and Mac (Mac Book Pro). Would it be cool to have Sonar on Mac?
Would it be as stable as Sonar on Windows? Probably not. Sonar was made with the Windows platform in mind. Their programmers work closely with MS to stay in spec.
Other DAWs are just ports and don't work as well. Cubase on Windows is a port of a port (Atari ST to Mac to Windows). On my Mac, I run PreSonus Studo One v2. It's pretty good, though not quite as good as Sonar. It's still a new DAW and I'm hoping for a lot of future features that Sonar already has. For instance, it lacks instrument definitions for hardware synths. But it works great as a secondary DAW, and is not as lamebrain as Pro Tools or as confusing as Logic.
Studio One is cross-platform, but nothing can beat Sonar on the Windows platform! Scott Lee jshep0102 I just got a new pc from Jim Roseberry this past week. I7 w/Sandybridge 2600K OC @ 4.5, 8gb ram. Loaded up Steven Slate Drums 4 (which everyone says is killer on ram), 3 instances of Kontakt 4 running, B4II, Kirk Hunter Strings, and Sampletekk 7 Seas Grand, plugged in 2 guitars through Revalver and Amplitube, and a bass through SVX. Steven Slate VCC, UAD Studer 800, and Neve 88RS on every channel and buss, UAD MAssive Passive and Steven Slate FG-Xon the master. Press record, play live all at once (room was full of friends).
At 32 samples, it doesn't break a sweat, let alone make me think about anything other than music. You don't need a Mac to be able to 'be a musician'. Just a smart builder using the right parts. Shep I use a mac to be a full time musician, not 50% musician and 50% tech. Been a PC guy for the last 20 years, A+ certified and Microsoft certified.
I use to spend my time fixing, tweaking, updating and all the other thrills that come with the world of windows. Now I dabble in photography, film as well as my music of course.
If that is what you enjoy, hats off to you!! Im enjoying spending more time creating content and being a full time musician. Thanks for the specs and data sheets, I have 3 pcs and 1 mac pro to tell my own conclusions.
The Mac/bootcamp PC was the best purchase I have made since the Amiga 3000T in 89 w/ lightwave. Stick with that works, Im not out to sell you anything. Just sharing my amazing experience thus far. Man, you're up early. What time is it down there in California, 5 am?
Lol I don't have the certifications, but I've been a PC guy from the start and learned a whole lot of things I didn't want to learn. I became knowledgable enough to be the IT guys' best friend where I used to work because I spared them a lot of job, troubleshooting and fixing things for the staff. So I guess it was valuable. For as long as we had to squeeze everything out of our machines to get where we wanted, I think the PC was the better option.
At this point in the game however, with all the overhead, it's theoretical. The machines have caught up w/ our needs. Most of my buddies who operate studios back home aren't even using hardware-based Pro Tools rigs.
In fact, the majority are using Logic. And they're pouring out records. So I guess it works, at least as good as anything else. Same here on the road w/ us. They're all Mac based, and native. Elsongs But it works great as a secondary DAW, and is not as lamebrain as Pro Tools or as confusing as Logic.
May I ask what version it is that you tried? In the past, I know it was complex w/ the environment and all, but it's now pretty easy and intuitive - so much that Studio One pretty much 'stole' their GUI and a lot of its functionality form Logic. And There are some striking similarities between X1's design and Studio One. But, as a Logic user, I can only agree w/ you.
The tighter the relation between your DAW software and the OS, the better. And Cakewalk have always been know to work closely w/ Ms. Scott Lee jshep0102 I just got a new pc from Jim Roseberry this past week. I7 w/Sandybridge 2600K OC @ 4.5, 8gb ram. Loaded up Steven Slate Drums 4 (which everyone says is killer on ram), 3 instances of Kontakt 4 running, B4II, Kirk Hunter Strings, and Sampletekk 7 Seas Grand, plugged in 2 guitars through Revalver and Amplitube, and a bass through SVX. Steven Slate VCC, UAD Studer 800, and Neve 88RS on every channel and buss, UAD MAssive Passive and Steven Slate FG-Xon the master. Press record, play live all at once (room was full of friends). At 32 samples, it doesn't break a sweat, let alone make me think about anything other than music.
You don't need a Mac to be able to 'be a musician'. Just a smart builder using the right parts. Shep I use a mac to be a full time musician, not 50% musician and 50% tech. Been a PC guy for the last 20 years, A+ certified and Microsoft certified.
I use to spend my time fixing, tweaking, updating and all the other thrills that come with the world of windows. Now I dabble in photography, film as well as my music of course. If that is what you enjoy, hats off to you!! Im enjoying spending more time creating content and being a full time musician. Thanks for the specs and data sheets, I have 3 pcs and 1 mac pro to tell my own conclusions. The Mac/bootcamp PC was the best purchase I have made since the Amiga 3000T in 89 w/ lightwave.
Stick with that works, Im not out to sell you anything. Just sharing my amazing experience thus far. Hi Scott;) My big issue with people is that they compare MAC (witch is like one brand line) to billions of PC.models!! While we should compare it to one particular brand and line!! Comparing mac and the elitebook HP line or Precision Dell Line is what people should do.but of course nobody or fiew do this!! YES, macs are an excellent buy for musicians and it's not like hit and miss like the pc world for people that don't know nothing about comp or don't have the time to investigate! IT is, for sure, not the best engine for music, and this where i tend to be kinda upset, because people act like it's the holy grail until i bring a 3 years old lappy that run 600 tracks with a core 2 duo.lol.
I 'm doing, as i said,a heavy real situation testing now.bootcamp 4, win 7 32, mbp 17, i 72760QM.and a lot of things i noticed that are not cool.(not bad, but not cool) Few exemple that i will developpe on a special future comp thread: 1/ Tempeature 92 degrees of 50% use of cpu while 72 on the hp 60% use of cpu project: 20 degrees is hudge man!!especially when i hit the road in Htown or NO during summer!! 2/ During stress test (wprime)100 cpu temp reached an alarmous 98 degree then the clokc went down to prevent damage, so instead of staying at 3.1GHZ, it went down at 2.7GHz.Apple really reached the limit with the design and the poor power supply.this translate that the i7 2760QM performs like my I7 2670QM, so on a mbp cpu performs like 10 or 15% less good than the pc equivalent, not a big issue but to be noticed!! 3/on a stress test with an external hdd, i experienced some strange thing and memory violation issue, streaming hang out ect.seems that the I/O operations are less good: bootcamp drivers here are in cause i stop for now.(will treat the waranty, support, ports distributions, docking options ect.), of course the mbp wins in other areas.and of cours wht's tru for the mbp is not for the Macpro witch is a beast wand well designed (not the externall look;)) So if i had to sum up my feelings that will be updated after those dayz of tests: IS the mbp a great comp: hell yeah!!
Is it the best comp for pro's: hell no!!! Is it the most balanced comp for multimedia use: no but really close, i could say yes, but not conviced by the ati gpu that performs less good than my poor Quadro 1000 m, might be bootcamp drivers, have to double check. Is it a good buy for people that no nothing about comp and want to do music: YES.is the best buy so: NO take an elite book, and you're good to start straight out of the box. I'm imprressed in some others areas.the real deal is to be able to be (without hakintosh) to use osx and win on the same lappy The use of osx for pro audio: well this will be not my otion but defintly one option, one solid one,and a safe one! One thing to consider also for people who like to switch lappy a lot like yoyr friend Zo: the resell value of the mbp is damn good vs other brands. I appreciate the great spirit in this conversation. The fact that I could chime in and have a different take, and not be maligned is awesome.
I totally get what you guys are saying about your experiences w/ Mac. For the 1st time since starting pc recording, transferring all my apps and files has taken longer than making my DAW usable - and it hasn't any of the 'issues' of the past for a second, and considering it's brand new - wow. I'm one of the guys who is very busy w/ a day job (how I afford my musical joy) and 3 grandkids and a great life outside both work and music. I now have what I consider a truly top shelf DAW, and I didn't have to learn a new OS or buy into all the HD and accelerator stuff to get there ($1700 and I have the best tech guy I know should I need one - for 2 years!). There is finally some joy for this pc user.
Thanks for the great chat!