Strays Dave Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 I just happened to read a portion of a thread here. Some were saying that a certain generation of them were reliable/well designed etc. I'm thinking of buying a used MacBook (thanks for the MacOfAllTrades site I saved it) and trying a USB powered Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 with Logic Pro. I'm gathering that this will be a mobile setup and will allow me to try something new. I read that Apple makes Logic and there is a plug it in and go thing to be appreciated. Please correct me if this is a misconception. I was looking at the MacOfAll site and saw some (IIRC) mid-2015's. Are these advisable ? https://www.macofalltrades.com/shop/apple-macbook-pro-15-inch-2-2ghz-quad-core-i7-retina-mid-2015-mjlq2ll-a-very-good-condition-mbp-15-22-m15r-16256-1vc-b/#tech-specs Quote Dave's YouTube channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Can't help too much, I have a circa-2013 MacBook Pro...works fine, built like a tank, the keyboard works, and it will work if Catalina if I get up the courage to upgrade it But IIRC, MacBook Pros didn't have the dreaded butterfly keyboard until 2016, so you should be safe from that issue. They were used only on the entry-level MacBooks in 2015. Quote Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuruPrionz Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Using a 2014 Macbook Pro here. It has Thunderbolt 2 and USB 3 "legacy" stuff now. 15" screen and added a 27" LG (Goodwill - $30) so I run the Presonus Universal Control on the laptop screen and the DAW on the big screen. I like it. I checked your link, I've already got more than 256 gig of stuff on mine. Your mileage may vary but plan on getting an external SSD. I've got a Samsung that is small, light and fast. I also run a LaCie Thunderbolt drive off the socket on my interface. 16 gigs of RAM will serve you well. I surfed eBay for a seller who refurbishes Macs, found on with 15,000+ feedback and very high rating and went for it. That's been almost a year now. Came with a new 512 gb SSD, 16 gigs of RAM. It is doing well for me, no complaints. I chose a Thunderbolt 2 interface - Presonus Quantum. Latency has not been a problem at all, I like the sound of the preamps, the two front mounted mulit inputs (XLR, TRS and DI) and the two headphone amps (these are loud and clear!). Quote It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real MC Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Be aware that Apple laptops built after 2015 are not upgradable. You can't expand RAM or SSD capacity, they are soldered in at time of build. No sockets available for swapping out. But IIRC, MacBook Pros didn't have the dreaded butterfly keyboard until 2016, so you should be safe from that issue. They were used only on the entry-level MacBooks in 2015. I'm typing on a 2016 13" MacBook Pro and it does not have the butterfly keyboard. Has seen heavy use with no problem. I don't know which models have the butterfly keyboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Mein Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Can't help too much, I have a circa-2013 MacBook Pro...works fine, built like a tank,. My main MBP is also of this vintage and continues to be a strong performer. While I was still in the band I used a MOTU 828x thunderbolt interface and connected keyboards via a USB hub while running Digital Performer/Reason Rewired. Never had a problem or glitch and it continues to be my main laptop although I've refrained from upgrading beyond 10.13.6. Quote https://www.facebook.com/Meinfield-346702719450783/ Songs on SoundCloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Be aware that Apple laptops built after 2015 are not upgradable. You can't expand RAM or SSD capacity, they are soldered in at time of build. No sockets available for swapping out. I never like it when an "upgrade" removes capabilities... Quote Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoodyBluesKeys Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 My 2011 MBP still holds its own well (although High Sierra is last OS for 2011 models). quad i7 processor, 16g RAM, and I installed a 1TB Crucial SSD. Easy to replace battery when it goes. My main desk has a HP workstation running Win 10, the MBP running both Mac OS and (using Parallels) Win 10 and Mint Cinnamon Linux virtual machines. Both use HDMI feeds to a 32" Samsung HDTV with 1080p capability. Even if I updated to the newest MBP, there wouldn't be a lot of performance gain unless went total high end with an i9 processor. I searched Ebay for months, found a listing from a well rated seller on a computer that had just gotten back from the Apple Store in Raleigh and had the mainboard, battery, and power connection board replaced under warranty (extended warranty due to problems with the high resolution external video which had been a problem with that series of Mac). So, in effect, I got a new Mac except for screen keyboard, touch pad, and case. It does have USB2 instead of USB3. Have a Focurite 18i8 MIDI/audio interface for it that works flawlessly, although just the direct output works well for playback. Quote Howard Grand|Hamm SK1-73|Kurz PC2|PC2X|PC3|PC3X|PC361; QSC K10's HP DAW|Epi Les Paul & LP 5-str bass|iPad mini2 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strays Dave Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 I watched a YT video to understand what a butterfly keyboard is. I found the list below with the MacBooks Apple with replace the keyboards on - for free. Regarding upgradability, I figure if I got 4 or 5 years out of it, that'd be a good run. I dunno. Does anyone here anticipate some huge jump in proscessor/memory needs in the next 5 years ? Impossible to say ? https://9to5mac.com/2019/05/07/check-macbook-keyboard-replacement/ MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015) MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016) MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, 2017) MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018) MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports) MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports) MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016) MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017) MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018) MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019) Quote Dave's YouTube channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strays Dave Posted January 9, 2020 Author Share Posted January 9, 2020 I did order that MacBook Pro yesterday. It's funny, once I did a few searches on MacBooks, adds started showing up in my FaceBook feed. And YouTube videos showing up on the Google news feed on my phone. I watched one YT on my phone where a guy attempted to upgrade his SSD (on a MBP) to speed up his Mac. He knew what he was doing, but getting the SSD to fit in the tight "puzzle piece" (my word) space was very difficult. Then once he got it plugged into the connector and put everything back together...it didn't boot up. So he had to open it back up and redo the whole effort. Not for me. I want to spend my time playing and singing - musicianing. Thanks for the feedback. Quote Dave's YouTube channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real MC Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 I did order that MacBook Pro yesterday. It's funny, once I did a few searches on MacBooks, adds started showing up in my FaceBook feed. And YouTube videos showing up on the Google news feed on my phone. I noticed the same thing, very annoying. Google and Facebook share info, it would always happen when I searched anything on Google. I started using duckduckgo instead of Google, they don't share search info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real MC Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Does anyone here anticipate some huge jump in proscessor/memory needs in the next 5 years ? Impossible to say ? Impossible to say, but suffice to say that my 2016 MBP has been sufficient since I bought it new. Frankly if you need serious horsepower or memory - like plugins and large sample library - a laptop won't be enough. That's where iMac and Mac Pros come in. Back in 2013 I bought a new 12 core Mac Pro and recently upgraded it to 128GB, some serious horsepower in that machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Does anyone here anticipate some huge jump in proscessor/memory needs in the next 5 years ? Impossible to say? There are a lot of blue sky technologies with memory and processors. Hard to say if any of it is feasible, and if so, whether the market is big enough to develop it. Desktops aren't going away because they suck, they're going away because most people can do what they need to do on a smartphone or tablet. I predicted years ago in my Pro Sound News column that desktop computers were going to become more like mainframes for people who really needed the horsepower, and it seems like Apple is doing their best to try and make me look good Quote Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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