Let’s see How to Choose the Best Mac for Music Production. Apple Computers are available from mid-range to most expensive; I assume you’ve heard about Mac Pro. Previously, graphic designers, studio owners, and music production companies don’t have comprehensive options because Apple was more focused on small-sized desktops and laptops; however, the time has changed now; from 13-inch MacBook’s to 27-inch iMacs, you’ve got plenty of options, it’s just, you need to make a list of requirements and find out the purpose, why you want to buy Mac. Get here six reasons why musician prefers mac.
This buying guide has compared almost all the Apple MacBooks and Macs to give an overall idea about their price difference and specifications. Here we present the best Mac for Music Productions for the studio, and on the go, you should grab without thinking twice (read the complete post and Choose the Best Mac for Music Production). You can also get here a shortlist of the best laptops for music production of 2023.
List of Top Music Production Apple Computer
1. M2 – MacBook Pro & MacBook Air
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Battery life: 18-20 hours
- Connectivity: Two Thunderbolt ports
- Special features: FaceTime HD camera, studio quality mics
i. Apple 2022 MacBook Pro Laptop:
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REASONS TO BUY
- Sustained performance
- Brilliant and bright display
- Versatile connectivity
- Includes studio-quality mics
- Long battery life
You can now enjoy efficient music production with the three-mic array available in this MacBook Pro laptop. It is equipped with up to 20 hours of battery life so that you can focus on your music production tasks without interruptions. With an active cooling system, this laptop maintains a powerful performance. It is suitable for tasks that consume much power of CPU and GPU. Moreover, the 13.3-inch Retina display supports P3 wide colour gamut and boasts 500 nits of brightness. You can place a quick Amazon order for this MacBook Pro laptop and start using its great features for music production.
ii. Apple 2022 MacBook Air Laptop
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REASONS TO BUY:
- Thin and portable design
- Large and beautiful display
- Broad device compatibility
- Advanced camera options
- Huge storage space
The latest MacBook Air laptop has a four-speaker sound system (supports Spatial Audio) and a three-mic array. These components increase the efficiency of your music production. The built-in Apple M2 chip boosts the overall performance of the laptop. The 13.6 inches large Liquid Retina display supports 1 billion colors to present dynamic image output. Its brightness is more than 500 nits. You can easily connect compatible devices through two Thunderbolt ports, a MagSafe charging port, and a headphone jack. This MacBook Air laptop can streamline your music production tasks if you place a rapid Amazon order.
2. MacBook Pro (M1 Pro, M1 Max)
Make your music editing and creation process much faster and simpler with all the MacBook Pro M1 Pro and M1 max. Both of these Macs possess best-in-class features that will be of great help to budding as well as professional musicians.
The MacBook has a Liquid Retina XDR display that helps lower the strain on your eyes while working on your music for prolonged periods and has 1 billion colors with True Tone technology making your music creating an experience more colorful and happening. The High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-canceling woofers offers crisp and crystal clear sound, empowering you to create pitch-perfect music that is tuned finely to the core. It also comes with a wired stereo sound that supports spatial audio when playing music or video with Dolby Atmos on built-in speakers making your Music sound exactly how the listeners would be able to hear it with the earphones on helping you balance the audio perfectly between the left and the right ear for enhanced music experience. The 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced supports high-impedance headphones and studio‑quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming allow the connection of external microphones, giving you the complete freedom to record your vocals most skillfully.
These Macs are equipped with an excellent 1080p FaceTime HD Camera in their notch design, giving you access to record your music cover videos in full HD Quality with out any external camera. The Mac comes with an enormous storage capacity of 512GB and 1TB of SSD, which can be expanded up to 2TB, 4TB, and 8TB so that you can save all of your files in one place without any worries. It also offers 32GB and 64GB of RAM, providing you with the ability to multitask between multiple applications without any render delays. It provides complete compatibility with external devices using its SDXC card slot, HDMI port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, MagSafe 3 port, and Three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports enabling you to transfer, cast, and render your musical projects from the MacBook to other devices effectively.
Some of the features that differ in both the MacBooks are listed below, which prove to be an essential deciding factor in the price and performance difference of the two variants.
- MacBook Pro M1 Pro-
Beautifully crafted, loaded with exceptional features, and the branding of Apple make this product the finest choice for Musicians. The MacBook M1 Pro offers two models of laptops with varying features.
The 14-inch variant comes with the latest M1 pro chip that has a 10 core CPU with performance cores and 2 efficiency cores. The 16-inch variant has the M1 Pro chip with a 10-core CPU with 8 performance cores and 2 efficiency cores so that you can run your heavy music editing software like Ableton Live, FL Studio, Logic Pro, and many more, at lightning-fast speeds and without any lag. The 16-Core GPU and 16-Core neutral engine offers even the most delicate details when you’re editing the videos of your songs, aiding you in delivering top-class Music Videos to song lovers.
This variant has a good battery backup of up to 21 hours of Apple TV app movie playback and 14 hours wireless web with a 70-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery so that you don’t have to worry about your projects being lost in case of electrical shutdowns. You can also work on your music while traveling on trains, buses, or even on a plane. With the Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW Video decode-encode engine, you can quickly render your videos and music files in real-time with ease.
- MacBook Pro M1 Max-
The engineering marvel of the laptop world is the MacBook M1 Max. This device has the M1 Max chip, the fastest and the most powerful chip in the world. It comes in only one variant of 16-inch, but the machinery of this device is truly exceptional. You can instantly fly through your working process of making music with the 10-core CPU with 8 performance cores and 2 efficiency cores that supervise your heavy-duty editing software like Reason, Garageband, Acid, Cubase, etc. It has a 32-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine that works 2x better than the M1 Pro Chip.
This variant has a great battery backup of up to 14 hours wireless web and up to 21 hours of Apple TV app movie playback and with a 100-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery so that you don’t have to stress about plugging it into a charger every now and then. The rendering speed of the M1 Max is beyond imagination as it has Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW along with the video decode engine and two videos encode engines, making it stand out in comparison to all the other devices that you were previously using to make incredible music on.
3. Studio Display & Display XDR (Product 2)
SPECIFICATIONS:
- Refresh rate: 60 Hz
- Connectivity options: One Thunderbolt 3 port, three USB-C ports
- Special features: Height Adjustment, Adaptive Sync, USB Hub
i. Apple Studio Display
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REASONS TO BUY:
- Immersive retina display
- Studio-quality music output
- Efficient power delivery
- Quick and easy setup
- Can tilt in different directions
Obtain an outstanding listening experience from the Apple Studio Display. It contains a six-speaker sound system that is implemented with Spatial Audio. The 27 inches large 5K Retina display supports 1 billion colors and a P2 wide color gamut. Its brightness is 600 nits. You can adjust the included stand in different tilt alignments. 12MP Ultra-Wide camera supports Center Stage functionality to provide a high-quality video calling experience. You obtain 96W of power output to charge a Mac notebook. Make sure to place a quick Amazon order for this Apple Studio Display if you aim to use its features for your music production.
ii. Apple 32-inch Pro Display XDR
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REASONS TO BUY:
- It supports a super wide viewing angle
- Easy VESA mount installation
- Includes various reference modes
- Various connectivity options
- Sleek and attractive design
You can enjoy an awesome viewing experience with this 32 inches large LCD that boasts a 6K resolution. The display’s important features include 1000 nits sustained brightness, 1600 nits peak brightness, 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, 10-bit colour depth, and P3 wide colour gamut. No ugly glow in the display. Moreover, the Superwide viewing angle offers the same viewing experience from any place in the room. The included power and thunderbolt cables can charge your MacBook Pro. This Apple Display proves to be of utmost benefit for your different music production tasks if you place a quick Amazon order.
4. iMac 24-inch (M1)
Professional Musicians often tend to work in their studios and prefer all of their equipment to be in one place for easy access. The iMac 24-inch (M1) will fulfill this need of yours as it occupies less space and can easily fit on your desk with other equipment and assist you in creating the music that you love. The iMac has a massive 24-inch retina display with 4.5k video resolution with support for the brightness of 500 nits and 1 billion colors. Its True Tone Technology will enable you to observe every inch of the detail while creating and editing the videos of your songs. It has built-in speakers with a High-fidelity six-speaker system with force-canceling woofers and Wide stereo sound, which give an output of fine quality audio, helping you work on your music projects with better efficiency.
The device also embodies Dolby Atmos, which supports spatial audio when playing music or video to give a surround sound experience for better sound filtering. It has a built-in Studio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming and high signal-to-noise ratio so that you can record the best quality of audio and vocals without having to worry about the background noise. The device also supports “Hey Siri”, allowing you to use the handsfree voice assistant as per your needs. The iMac has Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports and a 3.5 mm headphone jack that allows you to connect external microphones and headphones for the best music experience. It also offers connectivity for Gigabit Ethernet using Two USB 3 ports offering internet speeds of up to 10Gbps so that the upload and download of your content are smooth and quick.
The M1 chip offers world-class processing speeds using the 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores so that you can make music using even the bulkiest software like Ableton Live, FL Studio and Logic Pro effortlessly. The 7-core GPU and 6-core Neural Engine allow you to multitask and render your musical projects without delay and lag. You need not worry about storing your files on an external hard drive as the iMac has a decent storage capacity of 256GB or 512GB SSD, which can be upgraded to 1TB or 2TB according to your requirements.
The iMac supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and up to 6K resolution at 60Hz one external display simultaneously so that you can work on the music production in one display while researching things for your music on the other, making it the most suited for professional musicians and editors.
5. iMac 21.5-inch and 27-inch: Best Mac to Work At Desk
Apple iMac can be the best option if you tend to work at your office desk or so-called created locale office in your home. It’s very efficient and worth a shot; the reason is, it is affordable and powerful to handle heavy software. Since you are buying one of these Macs for your Music Company, it can be trusted.
If we compare performance-wise, it comes with a 2.3GHz dual-core, Intel i5, and 7th Generation processor to boost up your productivity without any damage or lagging to the PC. In addition, to store 4K OR 8K videos, it offers a 1TB hard drive that can, of course, be expandable depending upon the model. Finally, for high data rates and transfer speed, it is packed with two thunderbolts 3 ports.
We are happy to say that there is a total of six options available in iMac, three are of 21-inch Display Size and three are 27-inch, all of them have different prices and specifications, the basic model of 21-inch can cost around $1099 likewise, the 27-inch iMac starts from $1799.
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#6. MacBook Pro: Best MacBook for Music Production
If you are ready to spend more money or play music in concerts, then MacBook Pro is your right hand and have you covered while you play. Which is the best, iMac or MacBook? Is a MacBook good for music production? Both have an extreme difference in their specifications and prices, of course. MacBook is made to work remotely, anywhere, anytime; you don’t need any excuse not to work on the go if you have one of these best MacBooks for Music.
Apple has broadened the range of MacBook Pro, and there is a total of four options available in 13-inch MBP and two 16-inch MBP, and all of them are with Touch ID and Touch ID to grab handy features while playing or making music for your audience. Not to mention 13-inch models are quite cheap compare to MBP 16-inch; however, if you look at the specifications, under $2000, the MacBook Pro 13-inch can do much more for you.
MacBook Pro 13-inch features, 1.4GHz Quad-Core Processor with Turbo 3.9GHz processor, and 128GB SSD Storage to hold large audios/videos on MacBook Pro. However, if you want a large screen size because the music production software can’t fit in a 13-inch MacBook, then extend your budget and grab 16-inch MacBook Pro, which I think is way better than Windows PC.
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#7. Mac Mini: Best Cheap Mac for Music Recording
Is Mac mini good for music production? Yes, if the fund is limited for you and are you only go with the Apple MacOS when the Mac Mini is highly recommended. It comes small, quiet in size. In addition, generally, the music producer uses USB audio interfaces.
Let’s see the mac mini for music production. If a 16-inch MacBook Pro is not big enough and can’t afford to buy 27-inch iMac, what comes next? It’s a Mac Mini. Mac Mini is an incredible machine, power-packed, built with hundreds of benefits, and the first one is a cheap cost. You can buy the best monitors for Mac Mini and create your own personalized desktop in your own budget.
Speaking of performance, it is built with Intel UHD Graphics 630, 3.6GHz Quad-Core, the latest 8th Gen Intel Core i3, and 256GB PCIe SSD Storage. This was all about the first model of Mac Mini. These specifications vary from one to another Mac Mini.
However, if you own a keyboard, mouse, and other necessary accessories, there is no need to buy, otherwise, order Mouse and Keyboard in your budget and complete the set to make it the best Mac for music production.
#8. MacBook Air: Best Cheap Music Production MacBook for Beginners
MacBook Air is another notebook for Music Production in the budget. MacBook Air is recommended for entry-level music producers or graphic designers; compact size, low price, and powerful performance will boom your studio once you make music with MacBook Air. You might be having a question, what is the difference between MacBook Air and MacBook Pro? The very first difference is MacBook Air is available in only one size, 13.3-inch, while MacBook Pro is available in 13-inch and 16-inch models.
If you are more concerned about the display size, then go for MacBook Pro 16 or iMac 27; otherwise, read the following specifications of MacBook Air. Being a small-sized notebook, it won’t bother you with its screen quality and resolution, as it delivers 2560×1600 native resolution at 227 pixels and consists of the following scaled resolutions: 1680×1050, 1440×900, and 1024×640.
Performance-wise MacBook Air is not that heavy; it is packed with a 1.1GHz Dual-Core Intel i3 Processor, 256GB SSD Storage, and Intel Iris Graphics. I think it’s enough for a MacBook Air; if you wish to buy MacBook Air, check the detailed specifications.
#9. Mac Pro: Best But Expensive Mac for Music Production
I’m not making fun of you or anyone by including Mac Pro in this list. I know, Mac Pro can cost more than anything; it’s a fact that, for middle-class people, Mac Pro is a dream; however, if you own a big music company and looking for an efficient machine, consider Mac Pro. After launching this big bang Mac, Apple has made quite a reputation in the tech world, and I can assure you that every geeky person has laid an eye on this Mac Pro, but after looking at the price, you know the reaction!
While looking at its design and material, the CPU is made up of a stainless steel frame with feet and a chamber that dissipates the heat and keeps the system cool. The Mac Pro ships with an advanced 3.5GHz 8-Core Intel Xeon W processor, 32GB DDR4 ECC Memory, Radeon Pro 580x 8GB DDR5 Memory, and 256GB SSD Storage. This is the basic model of Mac Pro, which costs around $5999, and dozens of customization options are available, but they can increase the price.
What is the best Apple Computer for Recording Music?
If I were you and want to buy the best Apple Computer for Recording Music, I’d love to go for iMac 27-inch. Looking at its compact size and system specifications, you can accomplish faster results than any other PC. In addition, the iMac is ideally designed to use at your office desk or your home and equipped with all the necessary hardware to keep up the Mac while you work on heavy music software.
Besides, if you work remotely and have a reasonable budget to spend on Mac PC, the MacBook Pro 16-inch is a good option. Though you have three options available while buying MacBook Pro, all of them are priced differently. If you want a windows pc for music production, click here to get the top list of the Mac alternatives for music production.
Is Mac better than Windows for Music Production?
There is nothing much to say while comparing Mac and Windows for Music Production. Macs are the most adaptive PC for music production, graphics designing, video editing, and more. Other than gaming, I’d recommend Mac for anything.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Which Mac is good for music production?
The Mac Pro boasts the most powerful processor; therefore, it is an ideal choice for music production. It houses an Intel processor with 28 cores to support multitasking and efficient performance. Moreover, its built-in graphic card is powered by Final Cut, which is most suitable for music production and editing. The plugins like Native Instrument Massive, 5 TB memory, Apple Afterburner, and 360° view are some more features that justify its usefulness for music production.
2. Which is the best Mac for making music?
The best Mac for making music is the Mac Pro. This is because it incorporates the most powerful processor. Generally, this business requires a reliable computer with ample storage and memory. Mac Pro fulfills this requirement. Moreover, its built-in powerful processor allows it to drive large music programs reliably. Mac Pro allows users to lay multiple tracks fast and operate large programs without compromising speed. Its specialties, like up to 64 GB memory, Retina display implemented with True Tone technology, and high core count, make it suitable for making music.
3. Is MacBook Pro M1 good for music production?
The 16-inch Macbook Pro M1 is, till now, the best Mac designed for music production. It boasts an excellent combination of performance, power, and reliability. It presents a portable and powerful music production studio suitable for professional music production. Moreover, it is equipped with updated music production software to work with the M1 chip. Still, M2 MacBook gives a commendable performance.
4. Is the MacBook Air M1 good for music production?
The latest MacBook Air M1 is an excellent music production and editing notebook. Its price is worthwhile for its features designed for music production. One of the reasons why the MacBook Air M1 is good for music production is that it has no fans. Hence, consider this device if you are recording in a studio and want silence. Moreover, it comes with spacious storage space and RAM to let you focus on music production without worrying about speed and storage space.
5. How much RAM do I need for Mac music?
The amount of RAM you require for Mac music depends on the level of music production you intend to achieve. Usually, 8 GB of RAM is enough to accomplish most music production-related tasks. This is the minimum necessary to ensure successful music production in most applications. Moreover, this much RAM is enough for most beginners. Moreover, it supports 5 to 25 music tracks with multiple plugins and virtual instruments.
6. Is MacBook Air M1 8 GB enough for music production?
With 8 GB of RAM, your music production system can effectively handle basic music operations at a moderate speed without compromising performance. It is considered the best option if you don’t use several third-party plugins and need a reliable computer/laptop for music production. Moreover, 8 GB of RAM can accommodate effects like reverb, equalization, compression, delay, etc.
7. Is the MacBook Pro or Air better for music production?
MacBook Air can serve the fundamental music production needs. However, as your demand for the processor increase, you will notice the computer’s limitations. If you want a simple music production with the least number of third-party software or plugins, then using MacBook Air will ensure flawless working of your computer. On the other hand, Macbook Pro beats the MacBook Air on a single as well as multi-core performance. It implies that for music production, MacBook Pro is better than MacBook Air in terms of performance and processing power.
8. Why do musicians prefer Mac?
One of the prominent reasons why musicians prefer Mac is that it offers compatibility with high-end devices and applications in music production. It is prevalent as the go-to computer for musicians because it guarantees superb sound quality and an intuitive interface.
Macs are known as closed environment tools with an advanced ergonomic feel and fixed hardware compared to other computers. So, more stability is guaranteed. Moreover, Macs are suitable for experienced musicians because they need more time on music than solving issues. Each Mac computer is prepared from the same parts, so any problems (if they arise) can be easily solved.
9. How many cores do I need for music production?
A minimum of 4 cores is necessary for music production. However, if you have enough financial resources, it is better to go for 6 or 8 cores. If you want to future-proof your device for music production, then 16 cores are a better alternative. The music production will be better if the core count is higher. With more cores, it is easy to load various effects and instruments without compromising on system performance. Moreover, you also need to check the clock speed because the music production is better if the clock speed is higher. You will need more than 16 cores if you are working on huge music production projects and planning to load several plugins simultaneously.
Final Spell Out!
We are wrapping up the article! I hope you’ve got the answer to your question. We can help you if you want to explore any of the Mac. Just tell us your requirements, and we’ll recommend the Good Apple Macbook for Music Productions.
