Audiobus: Use your music apps together.

What is Audiobus?Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.

Download on the App Store

Audiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.

Any new Mac Mini users?

I’ve just had a stressful four hours fixing a knackered startup on my 9 year old Win 7 PC. Finally fixed it, but heeding the warning that I need a new desktop.

Not a fan of Win 10, so interested in the new Mac Minis.

Anyone using one? Be interested to hear what you think.

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Comments

  • edited February 2019

    they still have no dedicated vram, so would suggest an imac. but then i've never tested reason nor logic on a mac mini. :#

  • edited February 2019

    I run Logic just fine on a quad core late 2012 Mac mini. I’m sure you’d be fine with a new one.

    You might be better asking at logicprohelp.com/forum

  • edited February 2019

    4 hours isn't too bad on that Windoze box... :D
    Can't comment on the new Minis, but whatever kind of you choose: an SSD is essential.
    I recently exchanged the internal HD of my 2011 Mini (bit the High Sierra bullet) and the SSD really propelled the machine - though it's a lame duck compared to current ones.
    So don't care that much about CPU specs, but provide lots of RAM and a fast drive.

  • I am a new Mac Mini user, but it’s new to me used off eBay 2012 Mac mini for $245 USD after shipping. I’m coming from a 2012 Windows 7 computer, but I barely ever used that one for music. Windows 7 support ends in January 2020 anyway. I swapped it out for an SSD and it’s running pretty well, but I haven’t done much music with it yet. I’ve been so used to iOS I’m not ready to make the jump quite yet.

    The benchmarks aren’t anything amazing on it, but for the price it seemed like a good idea. The new Minis have pretty good benchmarks, but quite a bit higher price and look like they aren’t user upgradable except maybe ram.

  • I have one, but dont use it for music stuff. It works fine for regular web browsing etc. but is not very powerful(i have the cheapest one).

  • @kingvidorfan said:
    they still have no dedicated vram, so would suggest an imac. but then i've never tested reason nor logic on a mac mini. :#

    I’d like an iMac, but they’re due a refresh...general advice seems to be to wait. They are nice though.

  • edited February 2019

    @Telefunky said:
    4 hours isn't too bad on that Windoze box... :D
    Can't comment on the new Minis, but whatever kind of you choose: an SSD is essential.
    I recently exchanged the internal HD of my 2011 Mini (bit the High Sierra bullet) and the SSD really propelled the machine - though it's a lame duck compared to current ones.
    So don't care that much about CPU specs, but provide lots of RAM and a fast drive.

    They’ve all got SSD’s now - I could only afford the 256gb, but I’ve got a couple of external SSD’s I can connect to it.

  • @ToMess said:
    I have one, but dont use it for music stuff. It works fine for regular web browsing etc. but is not very powerful(i have the cheapest one).

    Ah right, that’s not good then.

    I’d get the model up - 256gb 8gb with the faster processor.

    I’ll mostly be using it for work - general office stuff, graphics and online editing.

    The benchmarks aren’t that inspiring - about the same as my 9 year old PC, but I’m on a limited budget.

  • @DMan said:
    I am a new Mac Mini user, but it’s new to me used off eBay 2012 Mac mini for $245 USD after shipping. I’m coming from a 2012 Windows 7 computer, but I barely ever used that one for music. Windows 7 support ends in January 2020 anyway. I swapped it out for an SSD and it’s running pretty well, but I haven’t done much music with it yet. I’ve been so used to iOS I’m not ready to make the jump quite yet.

    The benchmarks aren’t anything amazing on it, but for the price it seemed like a good idea. The new Minis have pretty good benchmarks, but quite a bit higher price and look like they aren’t user upgradable except maybe ram.

    Yeah they’re pretty basic. I’d really like an iMac, but they’re overdue a refresh, and I need to sort out a replacement work machine soon.

  • @qryss said:
    I run Logic just fine on a quad core late 2012 Mac mini. I’m sure you’d be fine with a new one.

    You might be better asking at logicprohelp.com/forum

    I’m running loads of music kit off my 2012 MBP. I’m guessing the Mini is faster than that...need to check the specs...

  • @MonzoPro said:

    @ToMess said:
    I have one, but dont use it for music stuff. It works fine for regular web browsing etc. but is not very powerful(i have the cheapest one).

    Ah right, that’s not good then.

    I’d get the model up - 256gb 8gb with the faster processor.

    I’ll mostly be using it for work - general office stuff, graphics and online editing.

    The benchmarks aren’t that inspiring - about the same as my 9 year old PC, but I’m on a limited budget.

    The gpu is maybe the weakest point of it. Not sure if the better mdels have better gpu tho. Anyways you might want something with a better gpu for graphics. However you can hook up an external gpu to it. They dont seem to cost THAT much

  • edited February 2019

    The 2018 Mac Mini is the best Mac available right now by my opinion.

    Buy the 3.2ghz i7 processor. Geekbench scores say it is faster than any MacBook Pro or iMac. (Except the iMac Pro)

    if you need graphics you can build or buy a very powerful external GPU. And upgradeable RAM. And add a fast external SSD if you need more storage

  • @ToMess said:

    @MonzoPro said:

    @ToMess said:
    I have one, but dont use it for music stuff. It works fine for regular web browsing etc. but is not very powerful(i have the cheapest one).

    Ah right, that’s not good then.

    I’d get the model up - 256gb 8gb with the faster processor.

    I’ll mostly be using it for work - general office stuff, graphics and online editing.

    The benchmarks aren’t that inspiring - about the same as my 9 year old PC, but I’m on a limited budget.

    The gpu is maybe the weakest point of it. Not sure if the better mdels have better gpu tho. Anyways you might want something with a better gpu for graphics. However you can hook up an external gpu to it. They dont seem to cost THAT much

    For music, the GPU and vram aren't super consequential -- they make a big difference for gaming and realitime graphics/animation and video applications.

    The flavor of CPU will make a big difference, however. A multi-core i7 will have a lot better realtime performance than an i5 with similar or fewer cores. Processor speed without taking the processor type or number of cores into consideration can be misleading. (A "fast" i5 might in practice be slower than a lower processor speed multi-core i7).

  • hehe I just bid on a 2012 iMac. That’s about as current as I can go.

  • @MonzoPro said:

    @Telefunky said:
    4 hours isn't too bad on that Windoze box... :D
    Can't comment on the new Minis, but whatever kind of you choose: an SSD is essential.
    I recently exchanged the internal HD of my 2011 Mini (bit the High Sierra bullet) and the SSD really propelled the machine - though it's a lame duck compared to current ones.
    So don't care that much about CPU specs, but provide lots of RAM and a fast drive.

    They’ve all got SSD’s now - I could only afford the 256gb, but I’ve got a couple of external SSD’s I can connect to it.

    yes, my hint was into the direction to get an an older model and replace the lame HD. ;)

  • @ToMess said:

    @MonzoPro said:

    @ToMess said:
    I have one, but dont use it for music stuff. It works fine for regular web browsing etc. but is not very powerful(i have the cheapest one).

    Ah right, that’s not good then.

    I’d get the model up - 256gb 8gb with the faster processor.

    I’ll mostly be using it for work - general office stuff, graphics and online editing.

    The benchmarks aren’t that inspiring - about the same as my 9 year old PC, but I’m on a limited budget.

    The gpu is maybe the weakest point of it. Not sure if the better mdels have better gpu tho. Anyways you might want something with a better gpu for graphics. However you can hook up an external gpu to it. They dont seem to cost THAT much

    I’d hook it up to my old Dell monitor for now, though would need some kind of adapter to connect it.

    Not doing anything too graphically demanding - using Affinity Photo/Designer is the most I’d be doing - no video or gaming.

  • edited February 2019

    @Hmtx said:
    The 2018 Mac Mini is the best Mac available right now by my opinion.

    Buy the 3.2ghz i7 processor. Geekbench scores say it is faster than any MacBook Pro or iMac. (Except the iMac Pro)

    if you need graphics you can build or buy a very powerful external GPU. And upgradeable RAM. And add a fast external SSD if you need more storage

    Would it be ok for Affinity Photo/Designer stuff? Wouldn’t be doing video or gaming. This is the spec I’d go for:

    3.0GHz 6-Core Processor with Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz
    256GB Storage
    3.0GHz 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor
    Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz
    8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    256GB PCIe-based SSD storage1

    I’ve got two fast external SSD’s to hook up to it.

  • @Telefunky said:

    @MonzoPro said:

    @Telefunky said:
    4 hours isn't too bad on that Windoze box... :D
    Can't comment on the new Minis, but whatever kind of you choose: an SSD is essential.
    I recently exchanged the internal HD of my 2011 Mini (bit the High Sierra bullet) and the SSD really propelled the machine - though it's a lame duck compared to current ones.
    So don't care that much about CPU specs, but provide lots of RAM and a fast drive.

    They’ve all got SSD’s now - I could only afford the 256gb, but I’ve got a couple of external SSD’s I can connect to it.

    yes, my hint was into the direction to get an an older model and replace the lame HD. ;)

    Might look at an older model if I’m not sure about the new ones - would keep me going until the iMac refresh.

  • Thanks for all the replies, very helpful :)

  • @Telefunky said:
    4 hours isn't too bad on that Windoze box... :D
    Can't comment on the new Minis, but whatever kind of you choose: an SSD is essential.
    I recently exchanged the internal HD of my 2011 Mini (bit the High Sierra bullet) and the SSD really propelled the machine - though it's a lame duck compared to current ones.
    So don't care that much about CPU specs, but provide lots of RAM and a fast drive.

    I don’t know man. The gpu packed up on my iMac recently and I went for a lower spec’d CPU (3.2gb vs 2.5) Mac Mini 2010 but with more ram (8 vs 4) and same ssd drive and my old IMac (2009) is faster. I’ve since managed to reflow the gpu so it is running again.

    So, do not underestimate the power of the CPU.

    I have since sold it and I’m back on my iMac.

  • @MonzoPro said:

    @Telefunky said:

    @MonzoPro said:

    @Telefunky said:
    4 hours isn't too bad on that Windoze box... :D
    Can't comment on the new Minis, but whatever kind of you choose: an SSD is essential.
    I recently exchanged the internal HD of my 2011 Mini (bit the High Sierra bullet) and the SSD really propelled the machine - though it's a lame duck compared to current ones.
    So don't care that much about CPU specs, but provide lots of RAM and a fast drive.

    They’ve all got SSD’s now - I could only afford the 256gb, but I’ve got a couple of external SSD’s I can connect to it.

    yes, my hint was into the direction to get an an older model and replace the lame HD. ;)

    Might look at an older model if I’m not sure about the new ones - would keep me going until the iMac refresh.

    Older models are fine, just make sure you get one with hdmi out or you might have headache with screen resolutions. HDMI just works on any old monitor or led/lcd tv.

  • @supadom said:

    @MonzoPro said:

    @Telefunky said:

    @MonzoPro said:

    @Telefunky said:
    4 hours isn't too bad on that Windoze box... :D
    Can't comment on the new Minis, but whatever kind of you choose: an SSD is essential.
    I recently exchanged the internal HD of my 2011 Mini (bit the High Sierra bullet) and the SSD really propelled the machine - though it's a lame duck compared to current ones.
    So don't care that much about CPU specs, but provide lots of RAM and a fast drive.

    They’ve all got SSD’s now - I could only afford the 256gb, but I’ve got a couple of external SSD’s I can connect to it.

    yes, my hint was into the direction to get an an older model and replace the lame HD. ;)

    Might look at an older model if I’m not sure about the new ones - would keep me going until the iMac refresh.

    Older models are fine, just make sure you get one with hdmi out or you might have headache with screen resolutions. HDMI just works on any old monitor or led/lcd tv.

    Ah ok cheers.

  • I got a mac mini 2012 with the 2.6ghz i7 quad core, and SSD, for music production, and it is great. It wasn't as enticingly cheap as the lesser spec'd minis, but it works like a new computer. The benchmarks are much better than the 2014 model, which only came with 2 core processors. I think the key spec is the number of cores, 4 is great for running big sessions with lots of tracks and plugins, 2 cores seem to choke on big, indulgent projects. The other key thing is the SSD. Without those things I wouldn't bother with a used mini, for music production.

    The only thing it can't do is drive a 4k monitor, like the new ones. The max is like 2560x1600 pixels from the displayport/thunderbolt port, and 1080p from the hdmi port. There are plenty of big 2560x1440 monitors. Couldn't find any slightly taller 2560x1600 monitors that were nice and big, it is an odd size.

  • I know and for this reason i said that he might want better gpu for graphics work

  • It depends on what you do with affinity. For complex stuff using tons of layers of large files, it might not run smoothly(which you might want at least if you do actual work on it), but can definitely handle basic stuff on it.

  • SSD is vital and easily installed yourself. My main advice is to stay on High Sierra - Mojave is not a happy thing IMHO.

  • @MonzoPro said:

    Might look at an older model if I’m not sure about the new ones - would keep me going until the iMac refresh.

    The old Minis are underpowered, unloved and were left in limbo without being updated for years. The 2014 update made the Mini worse (they even got rid of all the high end CPU options completely). It looked like Apple were abandoning the mini.

    So the new minis came as a surprise as they are properly good. They've got a really good selection of ports, have a good architecture (T2, SSD, 6 core i7, 32GB RAM available etc.) and the only part that isn't top notch is the GPU. You can upgrade the RAM (which shouldn't be a surprise, but is!) and it can drive a 5K display out of the box. It's also nearly silent.

    For audio and 2D graphics work, you won't notice the GPU.

    It's also properly fast. The 6 core i7 outperforms the 10 core Xeon iMac Pro in single-core performance.

    Unless you need a powerful GPU (and if you don't know if you need one, you probably don't) the new Mini is a great machine.

    The old mini isn't.

  • @klownshed said:

    @MonzoPro said:

    Might look at an older model if I’m not sure about the new ones - would keep me going until the iMac refresh.

    The old Minis are underpowered, unloved and were left in limbo without being updated for years. The 2014 update made the Mini worse (they even got rid of all the high end CPU options completely). It looked like Apple were abandoning the mini.

    So the new minis came as a surprise as they are properly good. They've got a really good selection of ports, have a good architecture (T2, SSD, 6 core i7, 32GB RAM available etc.) and the only part that isn't top notch is the GPU. You can upgrade the RAM (which shouldn't be a surprise, but is!) and it can drive a 5K display out of the box. It's also nearly silent.

    For audio and 2D graphics work, you won't notice the GPU.

    It's also properly fast. The 6 core i7 outperforms the 10 core Xeon iMac Pro in single-core performance.

    Unless you need a powerful GPU (and if you don't know if you need one, you probably don't) the new Mini is a great machine.

    The old mini isn't.

    Ah ok, thanks for the info.

    I can't really stretch to an i7, I'd be going with the 3.0GHz 6‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz) option - I haven't checked out the benchmarks yet (busy backing up my ailing PC before it conks out again), but guess it's pretty fast too.

  • @ToMess said:
    https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/comment/609678#Comment_609678
    It depends on what you do with affinity. For complex stuff using tons of layers of large files, it might not run smoothly(which you might want at least if you do actual work on it), but can definitely handle basic stuff on it.

    My current PC is struggling with Affinity to be honest, so I'm probably used to it! I'm going to check out some benchmarks now...

  • edited February 2019

    @MonzoPro said:
    My current PC is struggling with Affinity to be honest, so I'm probably used to it! I'm going to check out some benchmarks now...

    Here’s this from https://browser.geekbench.com/mac-benchmarks both the i7 and the i5 seem to be at the top of the list, so CPU performance should be no problem. It’s just a question of how much GPU you need

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