Surprising, but you really don't even need an M1 for those programs. You want fast external SSDs, though. I use the last Intel Mac mini for audio things, and it's fine.
Only if you're mixing audio tracks with minimal processing or using lots of sample libraries. Modern virtual analog synthesizers or guitar amp emulations like the Archetype Nolly mentioned in the article use a ton of CPU and require almost no disk I/O.
For example he mentions FL Studio can handle 70 tracks of Nolly. The latest FL Studio version's tutorial project has 98 tracks and can run on an HDD if your CPU is fast enough. The effects being used are lighter than the Nolly guitar amp effect. But they're still more cpu heavy than I/O heavy.
Oh, interesting. I'd probably never use something like Nolly. So, out of my range. I do use the synth stuff, and I can get the Intel mini to like 50% with some effort, but it's never been a real problem.
The SSD matters for picking the sounds, in my experience. So you're going through listening to a bunch of drum hits, for example. If the drive is slow, this stalls.
Plus, isn't he simultaneously playing 70+ tracks with a CPU-intensive filter on each one? That's not a realistic workload.
squeaky-clean|2 years ago
For example he mentions FL Studio can handle 70 tracks of Nolly. The latest FL Studio version's tutorial project has 98 tracks and can run on an HDD if your CPU is fast enough. The effects being used are lighter than the Nolly guitar amp effect. But they're still more cpu heavy than I/O heavy.
sayrer|2 years ago
The SSD matters for picking the sounds, in my experience. So you're going through listening to a bunch of drum hits, for example. If the drive is slow, this stalls.
Plus, isn't he simultaneously playing 70+ tracks with a CPU-intensive filter on each one? That's not a realistic workload.