Now my band is back together, I'm looking at sorting out my recording rig so we can lay some demos down for new tunes we've all brought to the table.
Previously I've been recording Amps into my Focusrite Scarlett into Logic or using a kemper. Now have an Iridium and a HX Stomp instead of the Kemper so for when I can't mic an amp I'll use one of these.
Problem is my old macbook has had a bit of a funny 5 minutes and doesn't seem to want to run much. So I'm sending it off for a health check, hopefully a ram upgrade and installation of a SSD. In the hopes of giving it a bit more of a fighting change. Was also thinking about picking up a Universal Audio Apollo to take some of the strain in terms of running plugins. But given how Apple likes to change their shit around so often rendering bits of equipment obsolete I don't know which model I'd need.
Macbook is a late 2012 Quad-Core i7 2.3ghz. Only 8gb ram, which I'm pretty sure can be upgraded to 16gb. Has a thunderbolt port and usb, guessing thunderbolt would be best to use?
Are the new ones like this compatible?
https://www.andertons.co.uk/brands/universal-audio/apollo-audio-interfaces/universal-audio-apollo-twin-mkii-duo-heritage-edition-thunderbolt-2-interfaceIf not what would I be looking at and would they actually help the cause? I'd be recording guitars, bass and vocals through it. Will stick to the Focusrite for drums as need 8 mics.
Comments
That Apollo is Thunderbolt 2, it works fine with TB3 laptops but you need a TB2 -> TB3 converter.
You can expand the Apollo with an 8 channel ADAT converter and get 10 inputs for your drums by the way.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
In terms of performance....how much of the processing does the Apollo unit handle? Is it purely plugin running?
Did you mean 2012?
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
I meant 2012 ffs!
Sorry!
Apple are pretty good though, but UA will likely publish a list of compatible devices.
If you are buying with distance selling rules you can always return it if it isn't.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
I'm pretty sure the max supported memory is 8Gb, although you can fit 2 x 8Gb to get 16Gb you might find it will panic kernel a lot ... these machines are quite fussy about their ram
If you have a 2012 Retina then ram is non upgradable and drive is already an SSD
We have a local Mac expert so I’m going to drop it into them to see what they can do