It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Subscribe to our Patreon, and get image uploads with no ads on the site!
Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
Comments
Ideally 32GB or more but I know that model doesn't do it.
I have an 14" MBP M1 Max with 64GB and a Mac Studio M1 Max with 32GB.
I wish I had more RAM in the Studio.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Why do you need more RAM, out of interest? The only reason I can think of is that you're loading samples in plugins. For anyone who isn't using orchestral sample libraries that load into RAM (i.e, band stuff and post-production mixing) 16GB is probably enough right?
Website || Feedback Thread || PayPal
Also, the more you have, the snappier it will be now and the longer you will be able to use that machine.
For instance, here is my memory usage right now on my Mac Pro (main system):
I have Chrome, Mail, Logic, Melodyne and VSL, Zotero, DADMAN (audio router/monitor controller app), Trinnov (Room correction monitor app) and Eucontrol open.
It is using 47GB of physical RAM.
I have a lot of overhead and never need to close one thing down to open up another thing.
If I had 32GB on this system it would all still run but there would be more memory swapping going on which slows things down.
On my modular tracking computer (Mac Studio/32GB) the memory use is this:
I have Chrome, Mail, Logic, VSL, Rednet Control, Trinnov, Eucontrol, Zotero open.
It is using 22.98GB of physical RAM.
I don't have that much overhead here, but enough.
Now I AM using VSL but most of the sample libraries are on other computers, VSL Ensemble networks them all together and I use the RAM/processing of the offline computers to do the calculations, these two systems don't do much.
The M1Max manages memory much better than the 16 Core Xeon Mac Pro but I would still go for more than you need now.
I would have bought the Mac Studio with 64GB if I could have, but I needed it for my research project and the delivery date was well into November when I was ordering. I am likely to sell it once the new Mac Pro comes out.
Now, with both the graphics above the crucial thing here is wired vs app.
Wired cannot be paged/swapped to disk.
So both systems will run with considerably less than 16GB.
The Studio will work ok with 8GB but just have to page a lot.
The Mac Pro won't work well with 8GB RAM with how I have it currently running.
Adding more RAM to a machine is where you get the biggest performance difference- apple have a design approach so that adding RAM is impossible on most of their machines.
You can't use 'external RAM' like you can use an external disk.
IMHO you should always put as much RAM in a new Mac as is possible given all the other factors.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
For which the 8GB RAM of the basic model is plenty. A low-latency interface is really all you need (see Julian Krause's YT channel for examples - I think the EVO range is pretty good and affordable).
OP, you may find MacOS' Garageband enough. Apple keeps sneaking more and more capability into it, and with the AI drummer tracks, it's super easy to get a traditional guitar-based song started.
Bitwig was great with the M1. Ableton now native too. Native Instruments are slow on the M1 having to use Rosetta. Apple Logic is a bag of shite on my Studio M1 Max…. Go figure.
Pro Tools minimum RAM is 16GB.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
System usage only goes one way and getting the bare minimum RAM because that is all you need now is just not sensible when it means you have to sell the machine.
The extra 8GB is £200 on the M1 Mini.
You will lose more than £200 when you are forced into an upgrade, or you have to live with a machine that doesn't do what you want it well enough to do it.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Even with 8GB, these are still really, really capable machines. It's never felt slow.
How long will it perform at this level? Dunno, but it cost £650 brand new w/edu discount and at that price, I feel comfortable not paying for Apple Care.
Using a PC / Mac to create very complex sounds via virtual instruments can use a lot of processing power and some reverb and modulation plugins can also be very CPU cycle intensive.
But recording and mixing actual audio captured from an interface is not a taxing thing for even old computers.
Very few people multi-track 32 channels at once.
I do and overdubbing acoustic drums mid session with loads of plugins is a fucking nightmare without HDX.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Bit of a diversion but I wrote this article a couple of years ago regarding Applecare.
https://www.pro-tools-expert.com/production-expert-1/2020/2/11/applecare-is-it-worth-the-expense
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Remember with the M1 it's a system on a chip, any fault means a new motherboard.
@octatonic your article is focused on high end gear, and I totally accept your points, but that's my point, at the low end, the argument for Apple Care is much less compelling.
I'm not trying to argue with anyone here, I'm really just trying to make a case that the 8GB mac Mini is a little powerhouse, and there is strong case for 8GB, no Apple Care.
https://www.studiowear.co.uk/ -
https://twitter.com/spark240
Facebook - m.me/studiowear.co.uk
Reddit r/newmusicreview
The extra £200 will be quickly forgotten, imho.
Living with a machine that in 2 years time is starting to slow down will be a pain.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
IIRC, the speed of your system is paid for by the money you earn from it? So it's entirely sensible that you throw as much £££s as needed at it. Time is money, etc.
The rest of us mortals don't get any income from unused GB/GHz.