I've been searching around for the right specs, and I'll see people say you need 196 GB of RAM or a 6k Mac Studio to run orchestral sample libraries, but that can't be it. I'm glad to see the 16gig M1 run as smoothly.
I have been looking for a well conducted test of the M1 mini with orchestral scores, and with your other test, I finally found it!! And a test against the MBP as a reference! AND here we have a useful update on native performance...... Thank you for taking the time to do this. Greatly appreciated Needless to say, I'm Impressed !! PS, your music is extremely good :)
A guy from the UK, Mark Payne did an in-depth CPU test on Apple Silicon. He shows how he could get projects to play with tweaking settings, compared to leaving them at "stock". Well worth a watch. Your Mac Mini I assume was doing the video recording at playback - so that could explain the audio variations.
Yes you are correct re Logic sandboxing plugins… however, the one’s that won’t work this way are any of the ARA plugs, such as Melodyne and the ARA Izotope etc etc
GrizzledMusician, saw both your videos on Mac mini. I have an old iMac 2015. 32gb ram. I like to get MBP M1, but if I get a Mac mini, does it carry 32 ram? The only reason I’m getting this new Mac is because I leave a lot from home and I can carry a MBP with me for composing or doing music, but I don’t see carrying the mini because I have to get a monitor to carry. Sorry, got the question but, yes, save money for the mini, but would MBP be a better for me? Thanks ahead.
Any machine with an M1 is unfortunately limited to 16 GB of RAM. You have to go up to the M1 Pro to have 32 GB. One of my biggest disappointments with the M1 is the lack of memory options; An M1 mini with 32 GB of RAM would have been glorious. But unfortunately we don’t have that option. If you are considering doing anything on the go then the laptop would be a better choice in my opinion. I only write at home so a desktop is better for me because they run cooler and quieter. But I used an Intel MacBook in my studio for a few months so a desktop is not necessary and you at least have the option of portability with the laptop. Another thing to consider is if you are wanting to replace your iMac, or just have a portable computer for sketching ideas while you are away. If just for sketching, you may not need as much. I know a lot of people put something small like Spitfires BBC SO discover on laptops and sketch using it then transfer it to their main studio machines later. Hope that helps!
Hi I am about to buy a new MBP M1 or M2 (coming from an Intel MBP) and I am torn between 16 and 32GB. I have read that for orchestral work 16 is not enough but looking at your video you are doing fine with a non-proM1 and 16GB and I suspect that the 16GB limit applies actually to intel chips. I saw in the comments that you'd prefer 32Gigs - but if you survive with 16 then probably anybody does when they are not doing orchestral work?
If you aren't doing anything that requires a bunch of samples loaded in memory 16gb I think would probably be fine. For just working with audio and maybe a handful of virtual instruments like drums, I see no reason why 16gb would be a bottleneck. The non-pro m1 I believe would handle that easily. It's still a fantastic chip, even with the newer models surpassing it. For orchestral work (or anything requiring a lot of samples in memory) 32gb is quickly becoming the standard with 16gb being the minimum. Some would even push that and say 32gb is the minimum. You can get by with less, but you'll need to make some trade offs. You won't be able to use a large number of mic positions and you'll likely need to bounce tracks to audio and disable instruments when you reach your memory limit. Memory is memory, regardless of whether its an intel chip or an apple chip. Apps running natively may use memory more efficiently or not as much depending on optimizations, but it is still finite. When you approach the memory limit the system will swap that memory to disk. The SSD in the m1 machines is extremely fast, so it can give the illusion that you can use more memory on an m1 than an intel machine (that gave rise to the whole "16gb on an m1 is actually like 32gb on an intel machine" argument people had when they came out). But I have personally seen Logic Pro and virtual instruments act weird when I've got a lot of swap being used. Had the 32gb option been available when I bought this machine I'd have gotten that. It wasn't, and I wanted to just test compatibility knowing I would have to upgrade/change later. I've since moved to a hybrid Mac/Windows workflow using Vienna Ensemble Pro that I plan to do a video on at some point, so how much memory my Mac has is not really a problem anymore for me personally. Hope that helps some.
I'm also on market for new Mac for mainly Logic Pro use. I think for me M2 Mac Mini base model with 24GB is best choice without breaking the bank. I have lots of Spitfire sample libraries so RAM is very much needed.
@@thegrizzledmusician Thanks! I was basically asking because 16GB on my Intel is barely enough (pressure shows orange) but I am wondering if with an M1pro that would be a different story, considering my current main issue with Logic Pro being the CPU.
I just ordered a mac mini after 30 years of being on a PC. I know I will probably lose the usage of a lot of plugins but I'm going to keep my PC and use Vienna Ensemble Pro on it to retain functionality and just run native arm plugins on the m1. I dunno if that's a good strategy. We'll see.
I’ve thought about doing the ensemble pro thing. It would get around the mini’s lack of RAM configurations which I’ve been running into some. I just finished setting up a new template and the thought of having to go back in and modify it again gives me pause, but I probably should try the demo and see if I like it. Hope you enjoy your new Mini!
@@thegrizzledmusician cheers. I just picked it up today and I'm setting it up. The thing that annoys me about VSL is that they use iLok. So now you needa an iLok for the machine running the VEP server and another in case you ant to run other iLok plugins on the client machine? something to think about. I haven't had a chace to run any VEP tests yet.
That really depends on how you go about it. If you want to have every patch loaded at all times, you'll probably have some trouble at some point. I loaded every Spitfire Symphony Orchestra patch I have in my template (Woodwinds, Brass and Chamber Strings) and ran out of memory very quickly to the point that Kontakt wouldn't load all of the samples. Removing the extra patches (like Legato and Decorative techniques) put me at around 17 GB of memory usage. This seemed to work, as the instruments played, but it puts you right at the edge with very little room to add other libraries. That's why in my template everything is disabled unless I need it at which point I turn the track on. If you go about it that way, you can fit them all in one project and just have them waiting until you need them. I assumed you were talking about the Symphony Series from Spitfire based on your question, but I also did the test with BBC Symphony Orchestra and with no Legatos loaded it sat at around 11 GB used. So it was more reasonable than SSO. Hope that helps!
This is exactly why i maxed out my M2 Mac Mini Pro to the full 32GB OF RAM - the higher 12 CORE CPU - 19 CORE GPU - and 2TB INTERNAL SSD - also the gigabit Ethernet- i just got my OWC THUNDERBOLT TB4 HUB which has 4 extra ports of TB4 and 4 USB 3.2 and Gigabit Ethernet so now I’m on par with the MAC STUDIO - i am setting up my home studio and have been waiting too long with my 2012 Fully Loaded Mac Mini and my MBP 2011 (yes i have been waiting a long time and not waiting for the M2 MAC STUDIO because I’m hearing APPLE MIGHT NOT UPDATE IT at all or not until 2024/2025 so can’t wait no more - but i don’t want to be turning things “OFF” so that it runs smoothly IMHO
I've been searching around for the right specs, and I'll see people say you need 196 GB of RAM or a 6k Mac Studio to run orchestral sample libraries, but that can't be it. I'm glad to see the 16gig M1 run as smoothly.
I have been looking for a well conducted test of the M1 mini with orchestral scores, and with your other test, I finally found it!!
And a test against the MBP as a reference!
AND here we have a useful update on native performance......
Thank you for taking the time to do this. Greatly appreciated
Needless to say, I'm Impressed !!
PS, your music is extremely good :)
Glad you found it helpful! Thanks for your kind words!
VERY helpful! Thanks for giving us your observations.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
Your composition is nice, and the orchestration is convincing.
Thank you!
A guy from the UK, Mark Payne did an in-depth CPU test on Apple Silicon. He shows how he could get projects to play with tweaking settings, compared to leaving them at "stock". Well worth a watch. Your Mac Mini I assume was doing the video recording at playback - so that could explain the audio variations.
Interesting, will have to check that out. All recording was done externally though so no extra load from that.
I need ech instrument with all articulation please suggest me to best mac for me
I love your track "Hoist the sails" 😇
Love from India🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳.
Thank you for your kind words!
Yes you are correct re Logic sandboxing plugins… however, the one’s that won’t work this way are any of the ARA plugs, such as Melodyne and the ARA Izotope etc etc
Came to check the performance of the m1…. But your composition made me click subscribe ….geez…. Beautiful stuff
Thank you for the kind words! This track was recently released as “Beyond the Shaded Weald” if you want to hear the finished project.
GrizzledMusician, saw both your videos on Mac mini. I have an old iMac 2015. 32gb ram. I like to get MBP M1, but if I get a Mac mini, does it carry 32 ram? The only reason I’m getting this new Mac is because I leave a lot from home and I can carry a MBP with me for composing or doing music, but I don’t see carrying the mini because I have to get a monitor to carry. Sorry, got the question but, yes, save money for the mini, but would MBP be a better for me? Thanks ahead.
Any machine with an M1 is unfortunately limited to 16 GB of RAM. You have to go up to the M1 Pro to have 32 GB. One of my biggest disappointments with the M1 is the lack of memory options; An M1 mini with 32 GB of RAM would have been glorious. But unfortunately we don’t have that option. If you are considering doing anything on the go then the laptop would be a better choice in my opinion. I only write at home so a desktop is better for me because they run cooler and quieter. But I used an Intel MacBook in my studio for a few months so a desktop is not necessary and you at least have the option of portability with the laptop. Another thing to consider is if you are wanting to replace your iMac, or just have a portable computer for sketching ideas while you are away. If just for sketching, you may not need as much. I know a lot of people put something small like Spitfires BBC SO discover on laptops and sketch using it then transfer it to their main studio machines later.
Hope that helps!
Hi there, I see you have some 400 tracks in your session, how are they all loaded? Using MIDI or does each track use its own instance?
Each is its own instance. They are disabled unless I choose to use them
Hi I am about to buy a new MBP M1 or M2 (coming from an Intel MBP) and I am torn between 16 and 32GB. I have read that for orchestral work 16 is not enough but looking at your video you are doing fine with a non-proM1 and 16GB and I suspect that the 16GB limit applies actually to intel chips. I saw in the comments that you'd prefer 32Gigs - but if you survive with 16 then probably anybody does when they are not doing orchestral work?
If you aren't doing anything that requires a bunch of samples loaded in memory 16gb I think would probably be fine. For just working with audio and maybe a handful of virtual instruments like drums, I see no reason why 16gb would be a bottleneck. The non-pro m1 I believe would handle that easily. It's still a fantastic chip, even with the newer models surpassing it.
For orchestral work (or anything requiring a lot of samples in memory) 32gb is quickly becoming the standard with 16gb being the minimum. Some would even push that and say 32gb is the minimum. You can get by with less, but you'll need to make some trade offs. You won't be able to use a large number of mic positions and you'll likely need to bounce tracks to audio and disable instruments when you reach your memory limit. Memory is memory, regardless of whether its an intel chip or an apple chip. Apps running natively may use memory more efficiently or not as much depending on optimizations, but it is still finite. When you approach the memory limit the system will swap that memory to disk. The SSD in the m1 machines is extremely fast, so it can give the illusion that you can use more memory on an m1 than an intel machine (that gave rise to the whole "16gb on an m1 is actually like 32gb on an intel machine" argument people had when they came out). But I have personally seen Logic Pro and virtual instruments act weird when I've got a lot of swap being used.
Had the 32gb option been available when I bought this machine I'd have gotten that. It wasn't, and I wanted to just test compatibility knowing I would have to upgrade/change later. I've since moved to a hybrid Mac/Windows workflow using Vienna Ensemble Pro that I plan to do a video on at some point, so how much memory my Mac has is not really a problem anymore for me personally. Hope that helps some.
I'm also on market for new Mac for mainly Logic Pro use. I think for me M2 Mac Mini base model with 24GB is best choice without breaking the bank. I have lots of Spitfire sample libraries so RAM is very much needed.
@@thegrizzledmusician Thanks! I was basically asking because 16GB on my Intel is barely enough (pressure shows orange) but I am wondering if with an M1pro that would be a different story, considering my current main issue with Logic Pro being the CPU.
How are you running just the plugins in a compatibility mode?
It’s a function of Logic Pro. It’s done automatically.
I just ordered a mac mini after 30 years of being on a PC. I know I will probably lose the usage of a lot of plugins but I'm going to keep my PC and use Vienna Ensemble Pro on it to retain functionality and just run native arm plugins on the m1. I dunno if that's a good strategy. We'll see.
I’ve thought about doing the ensemble pro thing. It would get around the mini’s lack of RAM configurations which I’ve been running into some. I just finished setting up a new template and the thought of having to go back in and modify it again gives me pause, but I probably should try the demo and see if I like it. Hope you enjoy your new Mini!
@@thegrizzledmusician cheers. I just picked it up today and I'm setting it up. The thing that annoys me about VSL is that they use iLok. So now you needa an iLok for the machine running the VEP server and another in case you ant to run other iLok plugins on the client machine? something to think about. I haven't had a chace to run any VEP tests yet.
Thank you! Q: would 16 gb be ok to run complete Spitfire Str/Brass/Woodwind? Or do I need 32 gb (mac studio)?
That really depends on how you go about it. If you want to have every patch loaded at all times, you'll probably have some trouble at some point. I loaded every Spitfire Symphony Orchestra patch I have in my template (Woodwinds, Brass and Chamber Strings) and ran out of memory very quickly to the point that Kontakt wouldn't load all of the samples. Removing the extra patches (like Legato and Decorative techniques) put me at around 17 GB of memory usage. This seemed to work, as the instruments played, but it puts you right at the edge with very little room to add other libraries. That's why in my template everything is disabled unless I need it at which point I turn the track on. If you go about it that way, you can fit them all in one project and just have them waiting until you need them. I assumed you were talking about the Symphony Series from Spitfire based on your question, but I also did the test with BBC Symphony Orchestra and with no Legatos loaded it sat at around 11 GB used. So it was more reasonable than SSO. Hope that helps!
This is exactly why i maxed out my M2 Mac Mini Pro to the full 32GB OF RAM - the higher 12 CORE CPU - 19 CORE GPU - and 2TB INTERNAL SSD - also the gigabit Ethernet-
i just got my OWC THUNDERBOLT TB4 HUB which has 4 extra ports of TB4 and 4 USB 3.2 and Gigabit Ethernet so now I’m on par with the MAC STUDIO - i am setting up my home studio and have been waiting too long with my 2012 Fully Loaded Mac Mini and my MBP 2011 (yes i have been waiting a long time and not waiting for the M2 MAC STUDIO because I’m hearing APPLE MIGHT NOT UPDATE IT at all or not until 2024/2025 so can’t wait no more - but i don’t want to be turning things “OFF” so that it runs smoothly IMHO
Is there a reason to run playback at such a low buffer size? I just turn it up as high as possible and don't see any problem.
Just for lower latency, but no 32 is overkill. I did it for this video just to show what was possible. I usually run at 256.
Is 8GB Mac mini will be adequate for orchestral work ?
In my opinion, no. 16 is the minimum for me.
Why this handle heavy projects
thanks good video
so 16gb ram was enough to run 400 track project. damn