Hey guys!
My production computer crashed two weeks ago. I'm starting an electroacoustic bachelor and I asked one of my teachers what should I buy so I can avoid buying something for nothing and buy something else later. The choice was quite clear that I have to make the move on a Mac.

Now I'm a bit of confused... I don't know which one to choose between the iMac (20"screen)(1399Can$ before taxes) or the Macbook Pro (15"screen)(1799Can$ before taxes).
I'm working on a legit Cubase 5 version I bought and most of my favorite VSTs are free (TB Peach, Dblue Glitch, etc...).
Now I'm wondering which one I should buy?
- I have an another screen so I can easily produce on both of them.
- I already have a small laptop which helps me to take notes during courses and do some research on the internet.
- I WANT to do some Live Acts. Actually, it's in my future projects. Thing is : My course starts in September and I will have to buy my stuff for my 3 years course (maybe I'll need to buy a Max/MSP version, new field recorder, microphone, monitors, whatever I need to do my course) so I can't afford buying some Midi controllers and Ableton Live right now. My friends told me that I can bring the iMac since it's quite easy to move it but less easier than the macbook pro....(obviously )
- Most of my studio will stay at the same place. I mean...I'm not thinking of moving my midi keyboard controller all over the place, nor my soundcard or monitors.

So..what should I do? Pay less for a quite good performance and have some difficulties bringing my computer for live acts (It's kind of weird to see myself bringing a whole computer to a party but it would be definively me :P) or pay more for a computer with less performance but easier to bring around to do live acts?

Oh and I'm thinking about it : I should say that my university has Macs over there. So if I need to work on my stuff I started at university, I can : (iMac option) bring a USB memory stick and it will work perfectly (Macbook pro option) bring the whole laptop.

And I'm not seeing myself working on my songs in the subway because the risks to be stolen are too high...

One thing is sure in both cases: you can forget most of your free vsti synths, as they all were made with Synthedit or Delphi, or the guys don't have the money to buy a mac and code a mac version, so there's no Mac version. You'll need to find replacements, some of them are free, many others will set you off a few $. So you know.

Hardware-wise, I can talk, I had in total more than 20 mac computers, including the aluminium iMac, and now it's sold, the Macbook Pro, and made live PA's with both basically.

As you will work with audio keep this small advice in mind before you make the right choice for you. Although you will keep everything safe as you'll be using time machine for regular backups (it's in mac os X), any replacement of the iMac's internal HD outside the warranty period will cost you a lot more if your drive crashes. First of all you'll stand weeks without any computer, secondly working hours at Apple cost money :-(, and many people tell on the web how hard it is to dismantle the iMac, so forget the idea of doing that on your own!
On any macbook (white too!) or macbook pro with the proper screwdrivers, you can replace the hard drive on your own, which means you won't have to ship your mac and wait for 3 weeks (average time, might be quicker though).

To be honest I've seen a HD failure on the iMac only once in my lifetime, while two ibooks of my wife crashed after 3 years of use, and replacement of the hard drive on those machines is a real pain (50 screws, the entire machine must be dismantled).

I think that sums it up. The iMac is an excellent computer, highly reliable, and lightweight. But totally hermetic to any hardware finetuning. The Macbook Pro is a very good computer, more fragile as it's a laptop, but you can put you own ram and hard drive in it, and it has an express34 slot, well at least mine has one. By the way, if you're not after cpu power, ask for a previous generation macbook pro, that has an express card slot, that will be a lot more helpful than a memory card reader (on the latest macbook pros).

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Thank you for your tips!

The Mac Mini seems interesting too as an economic solution. Is it good to do some music production or it's not that great?

I wouldn't recommend the Mac mini as it is. Okay 499 or 599 sounds cheap, but you need extra's. You end up with a bill close to 800$ minimum with the right hard drive and ram, and let's not forget that if you do that on your own, you can forget about your warranty. And a pc keyboard on a mac, is like the ice cream without the cream,even though it works.

I strongly recommend the refurbished items on the apple store instead. This way you can make great deals on computers that are simply NEW most of the time, and that come witha FULL warranty. A refurbished macbook pro for example... or an iMac... with 21% rebate, or up to 30% sometimes.

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Http://www.airwave-music.com is my new site. Djairwave.com is no more. A new era has begun

What's your actual budget ?

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My Mixes (20/10/2009)

Something between 1500 and 2000Can$.
I'm thinking about it and I guess I can wait for my live acts since I need to produce more stuff before :P

perhaps spend extra money on the apple care...

my macbook died for no reason one day and they switch out the logic board for me in just 3 days, with shipping fees included. Pretty much you pay nothing.

Go for the Macbook Pro if you want something to take around with you and for live use. Looking at the specs a $2000 iMac wouldn't be much faster than a $2000 Macbook Pro.

Get Apple Care too. It's a few hundred extra but worth it for peace of mind. I haven't needed it but my mates iMac had a screen failure and they fixed it and had it back to him in less than a week.

Oh and get Logic if you can afford it

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My Mixes (20/10/2009)

the new macbook pro 13" is fucking awesome!! and cheap!

Laptop = Macbook Pro
Desktop = Build your own (PC, or hack-in-tosh if you're feeling brave...)

That's just the way the universe should work

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