Brand new user to Macs, professional musician

[apdamron]

Just got one, I'm totally new to platform and looking to implement it in with my bass playing and live performances. MIDI, DAW, synth, loops/live samples, etc... what programs, interfaces and whatnot should I be looking at to get started?

Another concern I have; It was a Christmas present and was the 13" MacbookPro, which I immediately noticed didn't have the audio in/out 1/8" jacks like the 15" Book does. Will this be a large obstacle to overcome, or will the Thunderbolt/USB/Firewire connections, is it really small potatoes? If necessary, I could use gift receipt and upgrade it myself but I wanted to get opinions first.

Basically my eventual gameplan is so run from my bass guitar, into my pedalboard (possibly split the signal first and send the clean signal to the MacBook), into my amp. I would like to use certain plugins such as synthesizers to modulate my bass guitar tone, then run back out into my amp from the computer. Additionally, have been experimenting with the idea of doing live loops/samples with the heart being the MacBook rather than a physical loop pedal, and having some sort of MIDI/DAW controller mounted directly onto my instrument to trigger the samples (hopefully beat-synced) and/or act as a X/Y controller.

Am i being overly ambitious or is this all possible? I really need to know if I should upgrade to the 15" before I get too far in... Thanks for any help

 

[TattooedMac]

Sorry can't help, but it is times like these i wish my mate 6string (banned) was still around to help out. He uses a MBP teaching guitar.

Im sure someone will drop in and help you out. Good luck and welcome to M-F

 

[Groovetube]

My advice would be to invest in an audio interface. There are lots of choices out there, I use an m-audio fast track that I love, You can get smaller one input interfaces for maybe 150 bucks. Some of them will even come with music software.

The 13 is a wicked laptop. Though the 15 is a thing of beauty (what I'm running).

 

[Guitar John]

One of my Christmas presents was a Presonus Audiobox USB which integrates very well with Garage Band. It comes with software for an additional DAW if you can spare 10 GB, but it is not necessary.

It works with XLR mic's or 1/4" jacks.

This or something similar will have you creating new stuff in no time.

 

[Adric]

You should look into getting Logic Pro and also look into Mainstage if you play any live shows. It can do some cool things in that arena and its only around 20 or 30 bucks I think. Logic Pro is $200, both available on the App Store

You should not be concerned about the lack of the 1/8" jack. Someone in your position and skill level should just go ahead and get an audio interface anyway. The Presonus Audiobox is pretty good without breaking the bank (it's a really good interface if you just need something basic) or you can step up to the beautiful Apogee Duet. The M-Audio Profire 610 is a good one too if you need a lot of outputs and it has really good preamps in it too.

 

[chas_m]

Was just going to suggest the Apogee Duet but Adric beat me to it.

The lack of analog in/out isn't that big of a deal in a digital world. USB or TB or FW800 makes for better digital sound anyway IMO.