Regular SOS contributor Mike Collins blows the trumpet for the Apple Macintosh, whilst sounding a note of caution to those musicians considering the Mac as a work platform today...
I have worked with an Apple Macintosh computer, Digidesign audio hardware, and a wide range of 'MIDI plus Audio' software since the introduction of all of these products, and people often ask me why I choose this particular gear for digital audio recording. The crucial point is that the Macintosh seems to me the best choice of computer, compared with the Atari which is essentially a games machine, and the PC which still lacks reliable, integrated 'MIDI plus Audio' software. DOS was a nightmare, and even Windows has inadequacies as an operating system.
In addition, I believe the Mac platform has attracted the most innovative developers since its inception. Mac music systems grew rapidly from simple MIDI sequencers to include multi‑port interfaces capable of controlling large professional MIDI rigs. Stereo digital audio capabilities followed swiftly, in the form of Digidesign's Sound Tools, and this was in turn integrated with the powerful MIDI sequencers already on offer. Meanwhile, Apple had scarcely been marking time on the development front; the 680x0 processor models evolved into the Quadra range, including the 950 with its five available NuBus slots, and the 840 A/V — the fastest 680x0 Mac ever — which also has the fastest NuBus implementation of the range. The 680x0‑based Macs were then superseded by the Power Mac range (of which, more in a moment).
Digidesign went on to expand Sound Tools into a range of products; the entry‑level AudioMedia and Session 8 systems right up to Pro Tools I and then the Pro Tools III multitrack systems, which are expandable from 16 to 48 tracks. Even better, the sequencer packages like Opcode's Studio Vision and Emagic's Logic Audio were developed to integrate with Pro Tools III, to allow integrated multitrack audio mixing/editing alongside MIDI sequencing. Finally, third‑party software companies developed software versions of studio outboard processors as plug‑ins to run on Pro Tools III systems via the TDM buss, using DSP processing cards connected to the Mac's NuBus slots. This is an extremely significant development, paving the way for a future in which much more powerful audio processing will be available — all integrated via software. As a result of all this development activity, Mac‑based Pro Tools III TDM systems are ahead by quite a margin compared with systems on other platforms.
Having heard my reasons, people frequently ask me what they should buy if they are to go the Mac route. Here's how I see it. If you want the best performance from a 680x0‑based system, you need either a 5‑slot Quadra 950 for a Pro Tools system with a few additional cards, or, for fastest performance, a Quadra 840 A/V with just three NuBus slots. A NuBus expansion chassis gives you more slots, although this adds a fair bit to the cost. If you don't need more than four tracks, the Pro Tools I (maybe with a TDM upgrade so you can use plug‑ins) or Sound Designer II systems are first rate, and will let you burn CDs via Digidesign's MasterList CD much faster than a Pro Tools III or Session 8 system. If you need eight or 16 tracks (or more), then you need Session 8 or Pro Tools III.
One of the real problems for musicians looking to purchase Mac‑based digital audio systems at present concerns the new Power Macs. You could run your digital systems using one of the recently‑discontinued Power Mac 8100/7100 series, for example, but these are less suitable choices than the 680x0 machines in many ways, as much of the available software still doesn't use Power Mac native code, instead relying on software emulation of the 680x0 instructions, which slows them right down. Also, the NuBus implementations are not as efficient as on the Quadra 840 A/Vs, for instance. The latest Power Macs use the newer PCI slots instead of NuBus, but no Digidesign cards are available to connect to these as yet. And, unbelievably, Apple have stopped manufacturing all their NuBus‑based models, and even the newer Mac clone manufacturers (see last month's SOS, page 38) are planning to drop their NuBus models shortly. This means that you'll have a very long wait for a NuBus Mac, so you will have to consider buying second‑hand — or wait for the release of PCI versions of the Digidesign cards and get a new PCI Mac. However, as a result of this changeover from 680x0/NuBus‑based to Power PC/PCI‑based Macs, and the inevitable shakeup which will take place when Digidesign launch their PCI‑based systems, the software companies will have to re‑jig all their software — leading to a period of instability before the new systems settle down with all the bugs ironed out.
As if all that weren't enough, now there are financial questions over the future of Apple — it's rumoured that they may have finally lost the battle with the PC, in the face of the overwhelming success of Windows 95. All the leading Macintosh MIDI and audio product manufacturers are hard at work developing for the PC — so you could wait and see what comes out on the PC!
One thing is clear: due to the speed with which all the manufacturers involved are making relatively recent hardware obsolete, you have to exercise extremely careful judgement as to what and when to buy. It's easier than ever to get stuck with yesterday's soon‑to‑be‑unsupported hardware systems!