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It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes.

RE: Pro Tools /Apple laptop?

Macbook Pro, 2009 and later, work well. (My late 2009 MBP still runs PT just fine.) Although PT 10 can run on the internal DAC/ADC card, you're much better off getting a firewire interface to handle the digital conversion. Interfaces are DAC/ADC units with either mic preamps or line inputs, and all FW interfaces support 18 channels in/18 out. You will need an available USB socket for the PT dongle.

Avoid the current versions of OSX and PT. There are always some things that don't get implemented right away.

Bear in mind that if you start putting inserts (EQ, compression, reverb, effects, etc.) on the channels, FW can very quickly bog down.

An interface that offloads some of the processing duties, like the Metric Halo units, can offset some of the FW and CPU limitations. The MH boxes come with terrific inserts, and they all run on processors in the MH boxes. The Universal Audio UAD-2 Satellite add-on boxes also run some pretty great inserts without bogging down your CPU. They have EMT 140, Manley Massive Passive, Studer and Ampex tape emulations, and many of the classic compressors. I was able to run some pretty big sessions on an MBP as long as I stuck to inserts running on either the MH interface or the UAD Satellite.

MH and UA gear isn't cheap; used gear can be a good way to start if you don't have deep pockets. More conventional interfaces, like Avid or Behringer, won't have the capacity of the Metric Halo/UAD combo, but will at least get you started, and may be all you need.

For everything you need to know about ProTools, other DAWs, and computers, register on Gearslutz and start searching/following the "music computers" forum. Other good forums there are "so much gear so little time," "high end," "newbie," and "geekslutz." Slutz is almost all recording and sound reinforcement professionals, so keep it professional, and keep your posts concise, so they actually get read. People there are very helpful.

Also use the Slutz music computers forum to research which versions of PT run reliably on which versions of OSX. Given that it's not always possible to downgrade your OSX version, research what you're getting before you get it. Also bear in mind there are working studios happily running PT 9 on Snow Leopard. Every new PT adds features, but the core functionality exists in pretty much everything.

Feel free to email me if I can help: bill@billway.us.

Good luck,

WW
"Put on your high heeled sneakers. Baby, we''re goin'' out tonight.


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