A Change in Hardware
For as long as I can remember, I have been making music. For the most part, I do this for personal enjoyment. I have released selected works through a distribution service for streaming platforms and youtube, etc.. However, I never grew a base of listeners, and so it flies under the radar.
I have always used a desktop PC as the core of my home studio. I am musician and composer in my private time, focusing on guitar and electronic instruments.
My first choice in software has always been Steinberg Cubase.
One of the strongest memories I have of childhood is playing around with and learning how to use Cubase VST, and so I have stuck with it happily over the years.
Back in the UK I was using a considerably powerful custom built, Microsoft Windows powered PC. I had a large audio interface and a modest but versatile selection of both acoustic and electric guitars and a bass. This worked really well for me at the time.
However, now I do not have that luxury. I currently do not have a static desk space and certainly couldn’t bring my instruments with me. Foreseeing this, before I left the UK I decided to make some radical changes to my workflow and the hardware used in music production.
A life-long Windows user.. For a moment I considered buying a powerful Windows based laptop, but I decided to try something new.
Along with video editing, music production requires a decent level of performance in a computer. So, I made possibly the greatest change a computer user can make.. I switched to Apple Mac!
Macbook Pro
I have always appreciated that I was atypical in this field. For most creatives, Apple MacOS has long been the standard. In fact, many professional recording studios are powered not my Microsoft Windows, but by Apple MacOS. I started on Windows as a small child, and they do say stick with what you know, right? But my circumstances required this change.
I need the same power and performance as my desktop PC, but in a portable form factor. The brutal and honest truth is that Windows powered laptops, just simply do not deliver this. YES, you can get powerful Windows laptops, but they run hot, have loud fans, are heavy and from my own personal experience, do not last long. The last time a Windows laptop of mine reached the end of it’s short life, I vowed never again!
I researched Apple hardware and very quickly learned about their new Apple Silicon chips, the current generation being M3. Fortunately, my close friend, and brother in law, uses and has used MacBook Pro laptops for a long time. I sought his advice and very generously he allowed me to take a look at his M3 Pro MacBook Pro.
The M3 Pro MacBook Pro impressed me instantly. The shear power on offer inside this silent, cool to the touch, durable metal chassis is simply unparalleled in the Windows laptop world. Not only the performance, but the build quality and tactile feel of the keys and responsiveness of the trackpad was astonishing to use for the first time. Quite simply put, I was blown away by this machine.
I checked that all my software would work with MacOS – Steinberg Cubase, DaVinci Resolve, Office, graphics and other design software. Every box was ticked! Very soon after, I found myself on the website, configuring my new machine.
A short, but slow-feeling two weeks later, I had my MacBook Pro!
The Specs
Apple M3 Pro MacBook Pro 14″ – In “Space Black” (of course)
M3 Pro Chip
12 Core CPU
18 Core GPU
36 GB Unified Memory
1TB SSD
The Good
My first Apple unboxing experience probably wasn’t what they had in mind. The carefully wrapped laptop and accessories, in such a pristine box surely encourages one to savour the moment, but not me. I scrambled to open the box as fast as I could, ripped through the paper and flew the lid of the laptop open, I couldn’t wait to test out my software on a new platform. With the box unceremoniously tossed to the floor I got stuck right in!
Running Black Magic Design’s test software, I wanted to see just how far I could push this machine. To this day, running that test is the ONLY time I have heard the fans spin up on this laptop! Even so then, they were plenty quiet enough to work with. For a Windows user, this is unheard of.
The display is stunningly beautiful. Sharp and crisp, bright, no visible pixels and the blacks are truly black. This display is a visual designer and video editor’s dream come true.
The speakers are without a doubt the BEST speakers I have ever heard on a laptop! These things are good, and I mean really good! The bass is phenomenal and they can reach a decent volume without any distortion. As a music producer, with my previous machine I used professional studio monitors, and of course the MacBook Pro cannot quite compete against those.. However, I am so pleased to discover that I actually wont have to always use headphones. These speakers ARE good enough for roughing out my tracks.. I will still use my headphones for mixing.
The keyboard is a delight to use. Granted the slightly different layout took a bit of time to get used to, and for a few days my typing speed was considerably slower using the MacBook than it was using my old Corsair mechanical keyboard, but I got used to it quickly. The keys feel great and now I can fly through my typing just as I did before.
The performance so far has left nothing to be desired. This thing keeps up with my workflow as good as, if not better than my desktop Windows PC. Not much to say here.. It’s fast, always ready for my next task. MacOS has an incredibly efficient approach to memory. It never hangs, it never crashes and no matter what I throw at it, it simply begs for more!
The Bad
There’s not much to say here, but I will say this.. If you decide to purchase a MacBook Pro, understand this. Get your configuration right from the start! Because unlike most other machines, it is NOT upgradeable.. The memory you select during the ordering process is the memory you will be stuck with for the entire time you use this laptop. The SSD space like-wise, not upgradeable. For whatever reason, possibly performance, possibly something else Apple now solder everything directly to the board. You cannot simply pop the back off and switch things out! What you get, is what you get!
I am not concerned about the 36GB memory. However, I still feel slightly restricted by the 1TB SSD, but it’s the best I could afford. Not only does it encourage the user to be more mindful of installing too much software, downloading too many files, etc.. But SSD’s do have a finite number of write cycles. One day this SSD WILL fail, and on that day the laptop itself will become entirely useless.
Portable USB SSD drives are ESSENTIAL if you are regularly working with temporary project files in video or audio production.
Conclusion
For the longest time, as a Microsoft Windows user, like many others I saw Apple hardware as some kind of over-priced members club. The aesthetic although appealing seemed to suggest a superficial approach only. How wrong I was. You can be forgiven for looking at the price and thinking “woah, that’s a lot” but honestly, you could easily spend more for far less with a Windows based laptop. Yes, the OS is aesthetically pleasing, but underneath the hood, it is a powerhouse! The M3 Pro MacBook Pro is both a sprinter AND a long distance runner.. No matter what I throw at it, it not only keeps up but begs for more. I am not only satisfied, but amazed at just how good this machine is.
I miss my large audio interface, I miss my selection of physical instruments, but a reflection on the platform this is not.
I am in my mid thirties and have been using computers since the day I could talk. Never before have I enjoyed a user experience like this. To quote the late Steve Jobs, “It just works”.
