Recording, upgrade MacBook Pro?

So im gonna be using my 17" MBP mainly for recording. Occassional internet browsing and some pictures.
Has 4GB of RAM, 2.53GHZ i5 Processor, 500GB @5400 RPM

Im thinking of going with an external HD to save all the Projects from GarageBand/Logic and to save pictures from iPhoto.
What do you all think?

Whats a good Ext HD to use for what im gonna be using my Mac for? Should I even consider an EXT hd or go internal?
8GB of RAM?

Thanks

if you want to run sessions off an external i recommend a firewire hard drive, with a fast disk speed. usb 2.0 is too slow and your program will frequently crash. the internal is always the best, i have found, to run sessions off.

you wont need more than 4gb of ram unless you use logic in 64 bit mode, and even then you will only get a benefit if you are using a lot of sampler instruments. however, you can never have too much ram!

I do plan on getting Logic in a few months. Im using GarageBand for the moment to get to get use to the software to record. I understand GB is a good intro to using Logic?

Ill be using up 13 track at the most. Most of them will be mic'ed up. (drums-6, guitar - 1, Vocals - 2) Bass will be plugged in, MIDI keyboard for some piano/synth instruments)

What HD do you recommend (internal/external) since I will be using my MBP to record? Also, I only have 1 FireWire port so I imagine theres some sort of spliter so that I can have the interface and an external HD going via FireWire?

logic is a very good program. GB is a good starting point, but you have a lot more control with logic.

if your recording with that many mic'ed up instruments you will need a decent audio interface, with enough inputs to accommodate. (thats if you record them them all at the same time).

if you used a usb midi keyboard too, thats two usb ports gone (unless you decide to get a firewire interface).

however as for the hard drive, unless your running low on space, i would recommend using the internal drive in your mac book to host your sessions, then move them to an external when you have finished working on them.

sorry, forgot about the rest! i dont know anyone that uses a splitter, and ive never found a need for one. i dont even use a firewire device.

Well, simultaneous tracks will be about 7...
I just bought a PreSonus FireStudio Mobile to practice and start messing with GB. But im gonna move to an M-Audio 2626 or one of the PreSonus firestudios that have 8XLR inputs.

How, after I have had the song(s) recorded on my internal drive can I then transfer it to an external HD?
File: save as: (ext drive) then title of the song? or what? and then Delete it from the internal HD?

well, i usually just move the project from the finder. then i open the project from the new location, then it uses the files in that folder.

just remember that the data transfer rate is much higher in your internal, so its much better to just keep it on there until your finished.

I get ya... so open finder and search for the song title then slide it to the external drive?

the whole project folder, with the session file, audio files, fade files etc

hmmm... i guess i havent seen that.

when you search it in the finder, you use song title right? and its split up by the session file, audio files, fade files etc

or will it be in one folder then you can slide the folder as a whole and have all of it together?

well i use pro tools mainly, and thats what it comes out as. default for logic is user > music> logic, and then there are your session folders (all named with your choosing. if you named it the song name, thats what it will be) . you drag that folder, which you named when you created the session. this folder has the audio files etc in it.

ok, ill give it a shot.

I currently have a SeaGate 320GB portable ext HD... that should work for this.
Maybe even Time Machine?

you could use time machine to backup your data onto that harddrive, but only if you have less than 320GB on your internal. i use a 1tb drive for time machine and have 4 drives backed up to it.

however i have it partitioned so that i can store stuff on it too.

I was thinking of using my internal HD to store my music projects and the 320GB seagate ext to back up my HD with time machine. that should work right?

I was also considering getting an iPad for Itunes music storage and pictures so that I dont have any music/pictures directly stored on my Mac. Also, do some basic web browsing on it. Would that work? or is the iPad like a big iPod and its gonna want to sync with my MBP everytime I use it? and since I would delete the music/pictures on my MBP after they are transfered to the iPad, will it delete everything from the iPad since nothing is on my MBP?

hope this is not too late

Hi,

I just want to say that it is best to record audios onto a different drive then the one running your session. To do so you should create your project folder on a different drive.

The 2nd drive can either be internal or external, but in either case it should have 7200RPM or above, or it can be a Solid State Drive if you have the money to spare. If you choose to use an external drive, don't use the USB port. Use firewire, thunderbolt, or e-SATA (which can be installed onto the express card slot).

Good luck!