Best Laptop to run Virtual Instrument

[ChrisNabil]

Hi guys,

At some point, I want to invest in Keyscape or something similar. From experience what are the best laptops to use? I was thinking Mac's so I could use Mainstage? also maybe it being touch-screen would be beneficial?

Many thanks for any help given!

Chris

 

[anotherscott]

You've hit the exact dilemma, as I see it, between the type to get. Macs are less finicky and Mainstage is great... but the touchscreen/tablet format is really nice for live use, and they don't a Mac like that. (Short of maybe using an iPad to access your Mac's screen.)

 

[ChrisNabil]

You've hit the exact dilemma, as I see it, between the type to get. Macs are less finicky and Mainstage is great... but the touchscreen/tablet format is really nice for live use, and they don't a Mac like that. (Short of maybe using an iPad to access your Mac's screen.)

It's not an easy thing to work out, is it!... Like everything these days lol

 

[SeaGtGruff]

I think Windows or Linux should also be fine for running DAWs and virtual instruments, but obviously the choice of OS can be a matter of strong personal preference, and I'm not trying to talk you out of a MacBook, just suggesting that you not overlook other options.

If you go with a Mac then Mainstage will be a plus, but you might want to look into Cantabile to see if it might also suit your needs.

Regardless of which OS you go with, the important things will be processing power, storage space, and sound card.

You might want to use an external SSD so you don't need to worry about filling up the internal storage with virtual instruments, but most laptops these days have large internal drives, so that's up to you.

If you're going to use a laptop then you might also want to use an audio/MIDI interface, since it will almost certainly have a better sound card than the laptop's internal sound card.

 

[anotherscott]

To pick up on some of SGG's comments... Mainstage and Cantabile are not fully equivalent, since Mainstage includes a huge library of sounds, and Cantabile does not. If you intend to be using other instruments anyway, other alternatives to Cantabile are Gig Performer and Camelot Pro, both of which are available for either Mac or Windows.

Macs probably will not require an audio interface (unless you're recording audio from external sources), latency and audio output quality of the Mac's built-in sound card will probably be sufficient. Windows laptops probably will require the audio interface.

For Mac, for now, I'd probably stick with the older models that are Intel based, rather than the new ARM based ones, where you may run into issues running some of the existing software. Though it may depend on your needs. Apple's own Logic Pro and Mainstage are already fully updated/optimized for the new processor. Honestly, though, I don't know much about the new systems.

 

[ChrisNabil]

Thanks for the info guys. I was concerned about the amount of GB's that would be needed to use Keyscape but I presume most laptops would have enough power? I don't use a laptop for anything else so it could a dedicated laptop just for my music needs.

 

[Biggles]

I would leave buying a Mac laptop for a year for the Arm based chips to settle and any OS or other bugs to be cleared.

Generally I personally avoid mark 1 versions, I much prefer to let others debug the product first.

Mainstage btw was a 6 Gb install on our iMac.