Mac vs PC for Audio Music Production: Who’s the Winner?

A computer is at the heart of most music production studio setups. But then what is more suitable for recording music & audio – Mac or a PC computer?

Both Have Pros & Cons

Irrespective of what you hear about this debate, the fact is that this is a matter of preference, as both of them are totally different beasts.

PC / Windows is quite open, whereas Mac has a closed and proprietary architecture. So, whereas Mac is expensive and requires less/no tweaking at all, with windows you have to ensure that you have the right drivers and so on.

Many feel that PCs are cheaper than Macs in the short and long term. But there are several more considerations:

While PCs may have lower initial price, one year down the line an old Mac would still be worth around 75% of it’s purchase price whereas a 1 year old PC may not be worth much (in case you’re selling it).

But, when you buy a great PC, you can actually stay with it for a while. And even if you decide to upgrade your computer to something more powerful, it would still be cheap. And in all probability, there would not be any need for you to upgrade if things are working well.

Is Price a Factor?

It is, at least when you are starting out!

Established music producers want to just focus on the music part, and not get bogged down by the intricacies of hardware & drivers, so most of them have Mac.

For others, cost does play a part and so they try to work with a PC.

Remember, a good software program is of no use if you don’t have good hardware. And that is where a PC scores, as you can have better hardware at lower costs.

Lesser cost on the hardware means you have the budget to purchase professional software, and purchase additional peripherals for your work.

There are many who build PC’s at almost half the price of a Mac, add a good sound card, get good software, and are producing great music.

Make music using these computers that have been optimized for audio; these have the processing power and memory necessary to easily run your music software.

Pros Prefer Mac

Most professional prefer to use Mac for the following reasons:

While recording, you want a computer that is fast, that can quickly process audio, and has enough space to record and save your work. You’ll need a computer with with lots of processing power, RAM, and storage.

While there are plenty of DAWs such as ProTools that lets you record on PC, Apple computers offer a level of flexibility that Windows cannot match. If need be, you can even run Windows applications on a Mac through Bootcamp or by using an application like Parallels Desktop.

Mac computers also come with GarageBand — a free, consumer-grade DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). Additionally, Logic Pro X, a professional-grade DAW that the Afro Celt production team uses heavily, works only with OS X (Mac’s operating system).

Feel free to checkout the various tutorial programs on how to use these recording programs. Can’t afford to buy a new computer right away? You may also consider buying an old/used one.

To Conclude

The PC computer has come a long way, and the recent crop of powerful processors means you can find them in most studio setups, and many musicians successfully use them to create music. However, there is no clear cut winner and there are advantages and disadvantages of both the platforms – Mac and PC.

It finally boils down to things like how much you are willing to spend, what sequencer you prefer working on, and how productive you want to be.

Till a few years back, most experts would say that Mac is a more stable machine for these kind of work but now even the PC has been accepted as a machine fit for serious recording work. The recent operating systems on the PC have made it a far more reliable machine. Even most of the audio software that are being released nowadays have versions for both the Mac as well as the PC. The only reason probably someone might stick to a PC or a Mac would be because they have been used to its working and do not want to learn a new thing from scratch.

KeytarHQ Editorial Team

KeytarHQ editorial team includes musicians who write and review products for pianists, keyboardists, guitarists & other musicians. KeytarHQ is the best online resource for information on keyboards, pianos, synths, keytars, guitars and music gear for musicians of all abilities, ages and interests.