So there you have it, a small review of 10 best laptops for music production and recording in 2018 ranging from Windows 7 to Mac OS X. Though you can find plenty of laptops in Amazon with high specification and the latest hardware, they are definitely going to cost more. The new 15” MBP is great for audio production. I run many instances and VST’s with countless effects and plugins with no stall or issues. The only reason why you’d need an iMac is if you are doing post-production with large video files. By keeping it a “Mac only” platform, Logic users are assured that virtually any audio interface compatible with Mac OSX will work with Logic as well. And since these days Macs are so damn popular with musicians Audio interface makers know that OSX compatibility is a MUST. Ultimately this means a TON of interface options for the end users.

While you can certainly download any, arm a track, hit record and play your heart out into your laptop’s built-in microphone, you need an external audio interface to step up your sound quality. An interface replaces your computer’s built-in sound card, giving you analog and/or digital inputs and outputs for microphones, electric instruments, monitor speakers, headphones and external gear to and from your computer. These interfaces come in all sorts of sizes and configurations, from smaller boxes geared for singer-songwriters who only need a couple of inputs to much larger interfaces with 16 mic preamps and onboard DSP effects.

At Reverb, we’ve had the good fortune to try out a number of the industry’s current offerings, and are more than happy to give our 2 cents (well, 7 cents) as to the absolute best options in every price range. Model Type Best For Price On Reverb Mac / PC The hobbyist. $75-$120 Mac / PC The band on the go. $175-$250 Mac / PC Pro recording on a budget. $450-$600 Mac / PC Standalone mixing sans computer. $650-$1000 Mac Recording a full band in one take. $900-$1300 Mac Audiophiles demanding clarity and stereo imaging.

$2000-$2500 Mac / PC The engineer who needs everything. $4500-$5000 Tascam US-1200 Just because you’re low on dough doesn’t mean you’ve got to be short on microphone inputs. The simplicity, amount of I/O and incredibly low price point make the Tascam US-1200 the Portastudio of the computer recording world, perfect for the hobbyist or beginner looking to dip their toe into recording their band. The is a rackmountable USB interface compatible with both Mac and PC computers and is about as straight-forward as it gets. Pdf to word converter for mac.

All of the US-1200’s inputs – four mic pres and two line/instrument inputs – happen on the front panel, making it ideal for a home or project studio where different gear is frequently being connected and disconnected. A single headphone amplifier with level control and a set of balanced outputs to connect your monitors round out the I/O. An onboard DSP mixer with software control lets you monitor with low latency, add effects in real-time, and even stream the stereo mix for live podcasting. PreSonus AudioBox 44VSL For artists and bands that are constantly on the move, the for Mac or PC is a compact solution built into a rugged enclosure with four mic inputs and PreSonus’ Studio One Artist DAW software to get you recording post-haste. The Class-A XMAX mic pres are fast and detailed with a wide gain range to cover your hottest condenser mics and your quirky old dynamics with much lower average output level.

For zero-latency monitoring, the AudioBox 44VSL has a blend control that mixes the analog input signals with the playback from your DAW, getting rid of any delay inherent to doing an A/D and D/A conversion and monitoring through your software. The headphone amp is actually quite loud and clear, whereas other interfaces in this price range tend to lack “oomph” in that category. Rounded out by line outputs for connecting external gear and MIDI I/O for synths, controllers and DJ gear, the AudioBox 44VSL is about as fully-featured as you can get for an interface this small and this inexpensive. ZOOM UAC-8 This is where it starts to get interesting. The is a USB 3.0 interface for Mac or PC with blazing fast low-latency performance and eight mic preamps that let you cut the entire rhythm section at once. This feature-laden interface packs plenty of I/O into a single rackspace, including a software-controlled DSP mixer with effects, eight analog line outputs, balanced monitor outputs, MIDI I/O for control surfaces and external MIDI gear, and digital I/O via ADAT optical and S/PDIF for a total of 18 inputs and 20 outputs. What sets the UAC-8 apart from other interfaces in this weight class, however, is the sound quality.