MacBook Pro Mixing and Recording Setup: Studio Tips
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- Опубликовано: 15 окт 2024
- By request! In this video, I'll share the details of the recent switch to a laptop based studio setup + tips and recommendations to get quiet, cool and efficient performance out of your MacBook.
MacBook Pro Specs: Late 2016 Touchbar, 2.9 Quad Core, 16GB ram, 1TB SSD
Caldigit T3 Plus Thunderbolt 3 Dock: amzn.to/2CtkL3X
TG Pro Fan Control: bit.ly/tg-pro-sd
Turbo Boost Switcher Pro: bit.ly/turbo-b...
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I’m adding this to my watch later because I’m at school! BUT, I know this video is about to be fire. I’ll be right back. :)
Your 2010 iMac lasted 10 years? Mine started majorly going down hill within 5 years. Given, I don't think it was very top spec or anything. Now my current Late 2015 27" iMac 5K is still going strong after purchasing it in 2015 for $2,300. It's given me a good, good amount of time and still very usable. I current have a base model M1 Pro 14" MacBook Pro that I use on the side/to-go if needed. I'm wanting that sweet 30-32" iMac Pro with mini-LED. It may cost me ~$5k, but it will last me another 10+ years and having a mini-LED 5-6K display will be so worth it. What sucks is that it is very true that you cannot unsee 5K. Anything less it bleh to me now...
You very humble and helpful. Respect✌🏼
YES!
Man, when i see this i'm even more happy that i bought a Mac Pro 2019. It's expensive but i don't want to miss it anymore in my life! I'm very grateful that i have this machine by my side. It runs cool while being quiet! Which is the most important thing for me since i produce music as well. I also do video editing and graphic (web) design So i'm more then good with my Mac Pro. Even though i know it's overkill for what i do, i'm absolutely locked in for the next 10yrs.
But anyway, it depends on your workflow and what you want to do of course.
Nice set! Maybe a deepcool laptop tray would help your laptop. That SSL Fusion is sweet!
Can you do a video on how you set up every component of your studio and its routing into your Mac?
I'll see what I can do!
@sean divine : Hey I have a Stienberg 2.2 soundcard, sadly the connection wire it had was a USB 2.0 tech, which I used to connect to my older 2015 mac easily as older Mac's had USB 2/3 connection ports. But with these new age Macs with Type C connection has been a big problem for me. If I use a type C to USB 2/3 converter wire to connect my sound card, the recorded sound is never clear.
Please help. 🙏
honestly, Sean I would love to see you get a brand new 2020 Macbook pro 16" core i9 with 4TB of SSD and 32 to 64 Gb of Ram and future proof yourself for the next 10 years but if that works and we can still get our music production lessons from you then we all good. thanks for sharing.
I GOT A MACBOOk i9 , 2TB, 64gb ... and I’m in love. It was worth it
Oh, that is a powerhouse!
Hm?
hey Sean
test the new m1 MacBook Air/pro
no/just a little heat
battery life
AND
PERFOMANCE !!!!!
I’m running the same setup 2016 MacBook Pro 16gb, caldigit, and RME. Mine also started to get really hot especially with final cut running. I solved the problem by getting a cooling pad for the Mac. Made huge difference in performance.
RIALAS can you put an amazon link to your cooking pad ?
What do you think the RME USB 2.0 compare to Thunderbolt in term of latency.
I contemplating between both, thank you 🙏🏼
Dulistan Heman I have the ufx II. Latency is really low on it. But I now use hardware monitoring using totalmix, no latency. and it’s easy to set up presets for different situations, I haven’t tried thunderbolt interfaces.
Great vid and I know this video is old but I'm in the same boat right now. I can't afford to upgrade to a new mac pro to get the latest Logic/Pro-Tools or plug-ins but I have a macbook pro and been messing with it. I was wondering how much RAM you had in the laptop buy I get a feeling your set up is different these days lol
This is my current setup - ruclips.net/video/cln_ahNJHxo/видео.html 64gb ram
I have an imac 2011 and i need logic 10.5 badly but i do not want to upgrade. After seeing you do the upgrade now my mind is like ok i think it's time i do. Awesome video bro.
Did you eventually get an M1? The fan noise would drive e crazy
I did! ...planning to post an updated video soon :)
Great video man! Which external SSDs do you use? And what is your setup for on the road? Which hubs etc/dongles do you have to take with you? Cheers!
Thanks DJ! I cover the setup here ruclips.net/video/6T1knnyTFRc/видео.html - the road setup is just the laptop and the 2tb external ssd
You can use the old mac for networking so that you can get some extra power for loading sample and using vst 🍇
Sean bro this video just saved me! Thank you man!!
Glad it helped!
My venerable Mac Pro is closing on it's 10th birthday. Like you I can't upgrade to 10.5 etc. I was talked out of buying a new Mac Pro by my brothers in January. However its time. I will buy a basic model and swap out for cheaper RAM & HDs. I'm looking forward to Thunderbolt. I use 2 X displays but I will buy an ultrawide display for Logic and keep the other 2 displays for other things. Not to mention my 2011 11" Mac Air and Ipad will be part of the system. Spending money this year.
it's not everyone's thing but ever considered hackntosh? I wanted to get a new mac as well and the 2019 mac pro was the only one that offered the upgrade ability I desired. Got a better mac pro built for literally half the price Apple wanted and threw OSX on it. And comparatively more powerful. 2 Thunderbolt ports, dual 10g ethernet, wifi 6 , 18 cores, 64gb ram, it's all here. All that money saved can add a lot to your studio. In my case it's also buying me an ultra-wide, a studio desk and room treatment for the price of one mac pro. Just throwing it out to you!
Humbleprogress i was considering going from MBP mid 2012 to 2020 Macbook Air. Sugguestions? Thanks.
djSonnyBlack hmmm my worries with MacBook Air is it may lack enough power in real world use. Also tried working on laptops. It’s tough if it’s your main computer and not your “on-the-go” computer. Heat, noise, etc...are all factors. I’d see if you could build a desktop and hackintosh that. Or if it’s an option just use windows (it’s improved greatly). Either way, you’ll have a lot more juice. Love the MacBook Air but power is not it’s strength...which will be critical when you start adding lots of vst’s/plugins.
Humbleprogress Thanks for ur detailed reply. My mac guy that does graphics, suggested an Air with a monitor and external drive over iMac 27in 2020.
I already have a monitor and the mbp 2012... Considering imac 27 or MBP 2020.. I’m still on Mojave too. I’m not as savy to for Hackintosh, I’m under the Mac spell.😉 should i just get the 2020 MBP?
@@dGb_music The 16 inch MBP is a legit piece of hardware, good for the studio. So is the imac 2020. Again, it were me I'd always go desktop/imac form over laptop for some of the reasons I mentioned above. Unless you're ACTUALLY making records on the go and take your laptop studio to studio, a laptop over desktop wouldn't make much sense. If you're stuck on a laptop and funds are a concern and you can get the 2013 MBP, but make sure you're getting the i7.
This is the video I was waiting on!! Cool workarounds with the fan.
glad to hear it bro. this transition was met with a lot of hesitation, followed by planning... so far, it's been well worth it!
I have a MacOs High Sierra and it won't let me upgrade to Logic 10.5. This video makes me feel comfortable about updating to Catalina. My main fear was the 64 bit moving to 32 bit only.. I am going to save to my hard drives again and pray that I am able to upgrade with ease... Thanks Sean!
Sure thing! I was hesitant about it also... outside of a few small hiccups and after updating plugins to the latest versions, everything is running smooth overall. Good luck 🙌
Yeah I’m staying on high Sierra
Wow! You're workstation setup is so clean and organized. Admire it much! 👍👍
Sean Divine. Killin like always.
dude i love your setup!!! keep it up! but the one thing I wanted to ask you is about the fan noise from the MacBook pro. When you load your project and heavy the cpu usage isn't it annoying???
it is... I suggested some workarounds in the video :)
All my respect for MacBook and Apple. I've been working on a top specs MacBook Pro 2015, but this year I finally gave up... OVERHEATING is the No.1 MacBook's problem, so I switched to Desktop PC. No regrets so far! I miss Logic, but the performance on the Desktop PC with proper cooling system is phenomenal. How do you handle overheating and Logic slowing down because of that?
haven’t faced any overheating issues or performance spikes in logic. The only issue I have is the loud fans, which I covered in the video :)
Change the buffer size
@@SeanDivine Good to hear that! Mac is the shT 😂
really loved your video. so helpful. thank you so much for the valuable video
🙌
Great setup, looks awesome - I purchased a CalDigit hub this week and it rocks!
finally a video that tells me what I need to know, Ive been looking for this information for sometime...thank you Sean.
Wow, was looking to do this same setup but might hold off, mac pro is still running strong.
The future of your work flow!!
I see you Sean 👀
Looking forward to it ♥️😊👍👍
Yo man, I'm Subbed- saw your older stuff from 2017 older camera view .. this one knocked it out the water with this new angle and setup .. like your stuff bro. Keep them coming!
Appreciate it man!
great gears do you think I should get the same to improve my sound , by the way the end track is so banger
Thank Sean!! Always a pleasure following you on youtube!! I was wondering, since I have a similar setup, how are you managing your Logic data? Are you keeping your project files and sounds library on your external G-Drive or on your internal ssd? I'm having some big latency issues right now and I'm curious to know. I'm having a late macbook pro 2014. Thanks :)
🙏 yes! sounds, projects and session / audio files are on the external ssd. that leaves the internal to run the DAW and keeps things more snappy in my experience :)
@@SeanDivine Thank you very much Sean!! :)
Hi and thanks for the video! Any chance you could post a link to your MacBook Pro holder? It looks great!
seandivine.com/studio
Im watching your videos right now, but im suppose to be fixing my mix, lol, Great work SD
Always supporting you sean! Again & again 💚
🙏
Blessings for the knowledge, tutorials & information bro, real talk! Much love from The Bahamas g!
You could use dosdude1 to upgrade your iMac to latest os
Would love that hub looks awesome
So nice to watch a vido like this, Thanks Sean!
Hey very interesting video thank you so much I would like to ask you what software do you use to make the tutorial video it look very clear the screen ...
complimenti per lo studio ,componi musica elettronica? io con il macbook e' da anni che e' stato abbandonato con un desktop per fare musica orchestrale ecc
Great Studio ever seen Man,,,
what's the stand you using fort he Mac? DOPE STAND!!!!
seandivine.com/studio
Thx again for the great video . I just want know is the dante hybrid mixing good as ad/da hybrid mixing ?
Excellent setup, very similar to mine. Thanks for the heads up on that thunderbolt hub! p.s. if you have an iPad use sidecar and you can drag a dedicated analysis plugin on that screen 👌🙂
sure thing! I've been wanting to use sidecar but will have to update the ipad as well eventually as it's not supported 😂
Sean Divine damn Apple and all these updates 😂😀🙏
@@ZAYAZOfficial I'm not mad about it, had plenty of use... hopefully the next gen lasts as long!
Hey Sean.. quick question.. do you keep the power cable connected always while working . Or do you charge and unplug? Let me know. Thanks
I have it connected to the thunderbolt hub... that stays connected and also provides power to the MBP. The newer OS updates will pause charging at 80% to optimize the health of the battery.
How are you connecting those audio interfaces? Just switched my Pro Tools rig over to my laptop as well with an additional 32in screen!
have a video on all the connections coming very soon 👍
@@SeanDivine Cool, thx!
cool... i just got my first mac lol... the 2020 4 port quad lap with 10th gen intel and 16gb RAM. been on Window$ since the advent of 3.1 (yeah i am an old fart) will look into the hub... got a simple anker as of now. btw... what make is that lap stand? about ready to get me a larger monitor... have a 24" 'cause i am thinking to run in clamshell... been reading the system may run cooler. not real sure but i think i may be able to use my ipad as a second monitor as opposed to the lap but all this is 'greek' to me as of yet. cheers
p.s. also been demo'n logic pro x and will probably go ahead and purchase when the demo runs out (90 day) although i have other DAWs... since i would think logic would be more optimized to the macOS.
Sean what did you do with iMac? is it just sitting in a corner now? or you plan to sell it or do something else with it?
trade it in for an apple gift card to put towards your next unit
I like your setup by the way.
Thank you Mr. Beast
Hi Sean is the Mac mini M1 8gb good for music production
Kapan yah bisa punya alat seperti itu?
Mantap bang
Mad setup
Same thing happened to me, I just decommissioned my 2010 iMac’s and upgrading to newer Macs. MacBook Pro’s as well. So my 2 iMacs will be replaced with duel computers monitors. Also faster processing and more ram. Yeah usb 2.0 was slow. USB 3.0 or better and thunder is the way forward.
Always try running your sessions off a external ssd like the sandisk pro ....
How did you connect your speakers? I know you have to have like a audio interface or some. But from where? Is the audio coming from your monitor to your interface to studio speaker or from macbook to interface to studio speakers?
Hi Sean how you have connect (insert) your HW FX into the DAW. Do you use the RME or another gear? Thank's in advance. Jan
Hi, thank you for the video! I have a similar setup and I was struggling with the usb dock hub too. What hub do you use when you are on the road and you don't have any electrical outlet nearby (as I understand Caldigit T3 requires some power) but you want to connect your hard drives?:) Thank you
I have a lenovo 4 port usb 3 for travel (no power required)
@@SeanDivine Thank you!
Super Sir
Hey I want to get into recording music and I'm looking for a cheap affordable MacBook pro do you think the 2016 will be a good choice and will it have input delay, I kind of hate input delay when I'm using monitoring. Thank you
It's a good laptop and depending on specs, you should have plenty enough power to do low latency monitoring. As I said in the video, fan noise in the 2016 can be an issue :/
@@SeanDivine thank you so much. Life saver
I haven't seen anyone talking about those ADAM Audio headphones. What are you thoughts on them? Considering upgrading from my DT770 80ohm's.
ruclips.net/video/PGfh8DuSZo4/видео.html
Sean Divine it’s like you had this ready to go this whole time ahaha. Thanks, I’ll check this out!
Hello Sean I have a very brief question, when you connect de Mac to the Cal Digit dongle with everything connected like the monitor, the keyboard, the speakers etc... does the Mac consume more CPU or it doesn’t affect it or not at all (but with the screen closed) I hope you could answer me because I want to make a studio and know the pros and advantages please
It does and unfortunately, the current macbook pro has some serious heating / fan issues hence the workarounds in this video... high hopes for the new apple silicon MBP :)
@@SeanDivine thanks a lot!!!
So just for recording vocals over some beats, can I just use like a decent USB mic an mixing software on a MacBook pro?
sure can!
Is your audio interface hooked up to the CalDigit or to the Macbook Pro?
everything is connected to the caldigit :)
Nice, but why don't you get another 27-inch monitor?
no room for it :)
@@SeanDivine Aww.. Would love to pick your brain on additions to your new MBP.
Do you ever unplug your Macbook Pro from power or always leave it in?
when I'm at the desk, it's plugged in as it's one cable for everything, power included :)
1st like then watch that’s what I do to watch Sean bro videos
Hello sean, I want to buy a 2012macbook pro, is ok for the last update from logic and ios ?
Hey I have a Stienberg 2.2 soundcard, sadly the connection wire it had was a USB 2.0 tech, which I used to connect to my older 2015 mac easily as older Mac's had USB 2/3 connection ports. But with these new age Macs with Type C connection has been a big problem for me. If I use a type C to USB 2/3 converter wire to connect my sound card, the recorded sound is never clear.
Please help. 🙏
cutting my teeth with mac and logic at the same time for almost a year now on a mac mini late 2012 that I upgraded with max ram and ssd and it was working well byt the last few months its been lagging and other things more and more.
I just got a macbook pro and im trying to record music in logic pro X with an external microphone but I can't get the input and output to work at the same time... This is frustrating because I want to hear the music in the headphones while I record through the microphone. What am I doing wrong? Do I have to have an audio interface? Can somebody let me know what equipment I might be missing
Couple quick things: 1) Yes, the fan in the laptop runs hot and pretty much all the time. Adjusting it in the settings is an option, but the more you drive the software with all the plugins, it will run hot and the settings adjustment may not keep up with the need for cooler air. An inexpensive fix might be to add a separate fan plate that plugs in via USB where it will force cooler outside air against the entire bottom of the laptop. Mine REALLY helps with this issue. 2) You mentioned having Catalina as your OS on your laptop. Everyone MUST make sure that this OS will work with your software. It has been a MAJOR source of frustration and incompatibility with many of the software environments, including plugins. So maybe one thing will work with this OS, but another thing that used to will not. And some have said that they cannot get any music/production software to work at all. Developers are working hard on this but it is a slow process for some. So DOUBLE make sure your software that you use, including the latest version, WILL in fact work with Catalina. One thing I wold strongly suggest is that if you are going to go with Catalina, install ONE piece of software at a time to make sure it works. Test and retest before adding another app. Just a word of advice from a myriad of producers/musicians. Good luck!
What model is your monitor?Is it 4k?
it's an lg 4k
Have you ever had any issues with your MacBook overheating (so that Logic Pro stopped working)? And do you think the laptop stand makes a big difference in that?
overheating? never. fans going constantly... yes. the stand does help, although it doesn't keep the fans from working hard to keep up with me 😁
Is cool to recording vocals with this model of mac in the same room ? The fans goes noisy ?
they do get noisy, that's why I use the tools in the video to help keep it quiet :)
@@SeanDivine Thank you, have a nice day !
Just wanted to say that it not the same cpu as iMac 2010.
This is one is a 6th generation 6770 CPU where the iMac is propably 1st generation Intel ...
My question is about "sdds " what did you mean with that ? What is your external hard drives setup?
Thank
right, I just meant they're the same specs on paper (2.9 quad core / 16gb ram). SSD - solid state drive. I'm using 2 2tb gdrives (one is a clone backup)
So he's referring to "Solid State Drives" with which he's able to offload a lot of his sounds and essentially lighten the load his computer has to carry! hope that helps
@@J_Costa15 what kind of drives ? What are gdrives ? How can you use external SSD drive ? Thanks
How did you transfer your old projects and projects with synths from the old set up to the new?
I save all my sessions / sounds to an external HD, so it was pretty straight forward!
Aaahh gotchu so you bounce them as a wav more or less ?
what's the brand macbook stand?
have you compared the SSL Fusion against its plugin version? (Acustica Audio Celestial)
nope! love the fusion tho :)
Why didn't you go for the 16 inch 2020 models? The 2016 have issues with thermal throttling and faulty keyboard.
I've had this mbp only for a few years now and hope to get more mileage out of it! the 2020 is obviously a lot more powerful. I'd love to see new processors (10-12 core) and an updated camera to make it more appealing 😊
@@SeanDivine You can get something like Elgato HD60 S to capture your in display tutorials. That should keep your laptop from ramping up.
Hey Sean, I've been wondering how the 16 gig MBP would hold up for mixing, are you experiencing any issues?
nope, so far so good!
Man 16gb is MOOOORE than enough don't fall into that trap you need 64gb of ram or whatever
Thanks Sean for the reply.
T. I. N Mateus appreciate the tip. Everyone saying I need at least 32 gigs.
@@savanaviolenta would a 2017 mbp 8gb ram and 500gb ssd be good for just logic pro use? beginner to intermediate experience
Do you have the Macbook plugged to the power outlet constanly.??? For hours ??
The single thunderbolt connection also provides power :)
@@SeanDivine yes sean but do you leave ir always plugged even if battery ia 100% full?? For hours??
@@SeanDivine ill need to get that hub that supplies power as well. To connect everything then. Thanks
May I ask what is that small monitor got spectrum analyzer? I always saw that but don't know the brand.
ruclips.net/video/NGTjtBkBMng/видео.html
What's the name of the monitor?
the screen or the speakers? :)
@@SeanDivine screen !
Hey Sean what laptop stand is that?
seandivine.com/studio/
what audio interfaces do you have in your setup?
rme ufx
my only issue of my MacBook Pro is that the fan is too noisy, especially I record vocal in the same room......
I have heard about that too. Does a cooling fan under the laptop help?
Dope
Man I use a MacBook Pro for everything and I suggest you tu buy a stand with fans, it will keep your laptop cooler, improve performances and avoid degradation in a long term.
Also, little technical thing, even if your old iMac had a quad-core processor, it's not the same processor of this laptop!
Wait what tips?
what monitor are you using?
lg 32 4k
Tell me please, what is your video monitor ?
seandivine.com/studio/
Sean Divine Thank you man !
@@SeanDivine Do you have the model number ? I have 2018 mbp i heard of some issues with lg monitors and mbp connectivity
Bro what stand is that for the MacBook Pro?
seandivine.com/studio/
Sean Divine thanks bro 🙏
dope
Hackintosh, i9 18Core, water cooled, 64Gigs of RAM, plenty of space, excellent cooling, tons of connections, that’s all you need. Apple should sell OSX separately for any hardware. Their hardware is really limited.
Good❤👍
is the cpu i5 or i7?
i7
Same specs as your imac? Nah dude your imac was ten years old. An i7 from ten years ago compared to an i7 today is absolutely no match
CheesyEZ very true!
So it seems :)
Yo I need help on this setup my g! Hit me back please
Try to use a cooling pad for your MacBook
Good looking out!