Best Macs For Music Production In 2024

These days, Mac computers can be used for pretty much anything, from basic uses like word processing and entertainment processes to technical applications like graphic design and code writing. Macs are also very popular among artists for music production due to their speed, ease of use, and appealing design and aesthetic.

Additionally, what sets Mac apart is that you can hook up interfaces, launch pads, and nearly any old or new software that you need for your work. With its high compatibility and more-than-capable CPU, you can focus on your work rather than worrying about whether the software will crash on you mid-work.

What might be difficult with Macs is choosing which model and configuration to get rather than whether it’s a good choice. This owes to the fact that Apple offers a vast variety of models that differ in various things like CPU speed, battery life, and number of ports. 

That’s why it’s crucial to know which Mac is the best Mac for you in terms of budget without sacrificing the essentials necessary for music production.

The 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro Offers The Best Bang For Buck

At the end of October 2023, Apple announced the new and exciting M3 chipset during their ‘Scary Fast’ event, and scary fast is accurate, to say the least, with the new chipset performing convincingly faster than its predecessors. The M3 is around 50 percent faster than the M1 and 15 percent faster than the M2, making it one of the fastest chipsets available, if not the fastest. 

The M3 chipset aside, the M3 MacBook Pro is a significant improvement over the M2. The M3 Pro boasts an 11-core CPU, a 14-core GPU, 18GB memory, and 512GB SSD storage. Options include a 12-core CPU and an 18-core GPU upgrade for an extra $400, 36GB memory for $400, and 1,2 and 4TB SSD storage for $200, $600, and $1,200, respectively.

I wouldn’t recommend the base M3 Pro, though, as it doesn’t perform too well with Logic, Ableton, and other programs that don’t use Efficiency cores. Instead, I’d go for the 36GB memory option and preferably invest in an external drive, considering that Logic Pro alone takes up 72GB of space. 

Depending on your preferred storage option, these configurations cost $2,400 and $2,600 on Amazon, respectively. With either configuration, you can run any DAW or music production software smoothly and get better battery performance than an M2 or M1 with the M3’s 22-hour battery life. Overall, It’s a solid investment as it will last you a long time without needing to change laptops.

Affordable yet capable is the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air

The “Air” line of the MacBook is the definition of the saying, “Good things come in small packages.” Despite being thinner and lighter than its sibling Pro and Max models, the MacBook Air is an elegantly powerful machine that can handle music production software and taxing games with relative ease.

The M2 Air comes with an 8-core CPU and GPU, 8GB to 24GB memory options, and 256GB to 2TB SSD options. As with the M3 Pro, I’d still suggest getting at least 16GB of memory.

The base M2 MacBook Air is currently available at $1,100, with the necessary storage upgrade to 512GB costing $200 and the recommended 16GB memory option costing another $200, the total will come out to $1,500.  Click here to purchase one on Amazon.

The M2 Air has decent battery life, too, with 12-18 hours of battery life, depending on your use. It’s also important to note that Macs need to index during the first one or two weeks, which drains the battery heavily. So, if you decide to get the M2 Air or any Mac, don’t be alarmed at the short battery life during the early days.

If you’re on a budget and looking for a capable laptop that can handle almost any program for hours on end, this is a no-brainer, given what you get for $1,500. Moreover, with its brilliant fanless design, you’ll never hear annoying rumbling noises.

The M2 Ultra Mac Studio is the best today’s tech offers

If budget and mobility aren’t your concerns, then the M2 Ultra Mac Studio is the best thing available on the market right now. The Mac Studio is an all-capable machine with immaculate performance that can eat Logic Pro for breakfast and still go for brunch afterward. The M2 Max model is already a workhorse that can handle more than 200 tracks with other heavy programs open in the back, with the CPU load barely going higher than 30-50%.

The M2 Ultra brings the performances of two M2 Max chips summoned together. The M2 Ultra has a 24-core CPU, 60-core GPU, 64GB memory, and 1TB of storage. It also boasts four Thunderbolt 4 ports at the back and two on the front, two USB-A ports, a 10Gb Ethernet port, and a headphone jack.

This base configuration comes out at $4,000, and it’s completely worth the price when you consider just how much it can do. You will probably never see the M2 Ultra Mac Studio slow down or throttle for however long you use it.

You could go even further, though, and get the 76-core GPU chip for an extra $1,000, 192GB memory option for $1,600, and 8TB of storage for an additional $2,200. With the final price of $8,800, you’ll almost surely never need to change PCs for the rest of your life.

It’s truly overkill, but if you can afford it and it’s practical, why not get the best tool available for the job?

Final Thoughts on Best 2024 Macs for Music Production

Macs and music production go hand in hand, no matter which line and model. If there’s one thing Apple does well, it’s creating the best computers for artists, musicians, and anyone who does technical work.

Macs offer fantastic performance and extreme power efficiency while running with near-to-no noise. They’re built to run demanding art and tech-related software, particularly music production software, making them the best option on the market for a musician. No matter which one of the mentioned Macs you go for, you’re guaranteed a smooth, quick, and seamless experience.