MacBook Air for Digital Djing and Production?

[padi_04]

This would be my primary concern with considering the current crop of Macbook Pro's, so here's hoping for an updated "something" in the fall. I desperately need to replace my aging 2009 MBP (which I use for every conceivable task)

Same boat here but probably not as desperate =). Maxing HDD and RAM did bring back life to this one and Mavericks is way more energy efficient.

[Karlos Santos]

I can't stand using any computer that has an outdated spinning mechanical disk as its primary hard drive. Everything happens so slowly, and Traktor takes long enough to load already with several thousand tracks in its collection.

I have the patience to wait, I'm doing other setup stuff whilst the collection loads.

The only benefit of the Pro now is the cheap storage options.

This isn't a benefit for me. It is a requirement.

The Air gives you much faster performance with the stock drive, higher screen resolution, longer battery life, and being just over half the weight of the Pro isn't something to sneer at.

Well I realise all that but, and I repeat makes little difference to a Traktor user. DJing without the PSU is a no-go for me, ever. Weight really is of no concern I think this is so misleading when you actually consider the weight of a 13" MBP and the fact that In a case, in a bag with all your peripherals... add a bag of sweets or a water bottle and you have undone the weight saving.

All your points are good, added up they sound great. Individually they make little difference to a Traktor users experience.

Buying a brand new £1000 computer with a 1280x800 screen is something I know I'd regret.

Not me. None of this makes me want to stump up another £500 for a machine. I did that with my first 2 15"MBP's and I will never buy a 15 again.

If there was a stock Air with a 750GB SSD and the price was comparable I would of course be a fool not to consider it but there isn't and my money is better spent on other things than replacing perfectly working laptops for use with Traktor.

For now I am happy to stick with the base model MBP. My Traktor is as quick as anyones at the gig. It may not physically be as quick but it makes zero difference to my perfomance (or anyones performance).

Yes this sounds trite but at the gig the SSD won't quicken my song choice, it will just put the song in the deck more quickly.
The lighter machine wont sit any happier on my stand. The higher screen res will not make my Traktor experience any better.

I am not saying that the Air is not getting close but it still has some way to go before working DJ's like myself and many I know will be able to use them as work horses.

[geminimech]

If you plan on getting the Air, buy it upgraded as your options are slim on upgrades later. RAM is out of the question and replacement SSD's cost an arm and a leg.

With that in mind a 13" Retina with 256gb/8gb and 2.5ghz i5 is 1600 bucks (from Best Buy).

By comparison the 13" Air with the 1.7ghz i7 256/8gb is 1549 (from Apple, to my knowledge you can't get this configuration from anyone else but them).


So you're looking at 50 bucks more for the Retina display. A little more heft, but in my opinion not enough to be a deal breaker.

As alluded to earlier, if considering serious production a loaded 13" standard Pro has tons of guts and gets you in the same price bracket. The native resolution, while low, wasn't much an issue TO ME since I had my machine plugged into an external display at home. Even on my retina now, it scales to 1280x800 just with quadruple the pixel density and it doesn't bother me one bit. That's not to suggest it won't bother you. I can at least scale out my resolution, you obviously wouldn't have that option on a standard 13" Pro. I personally found the standard Pro 15" too cumbersome to carry around when I was shopping for my first Pro, and it help when trying to justify the price increase.

So having said that, I would consider purchasing a base Air foolish, and when you compare the price of upgraded Airs to it's brethren in the same price bracket there are better options.

[Timbo21]

I will never buy a 15 again.

Why no 15 again?

[mdcdesign]

If someone sold an affordable 21" tablet, I'd be all over that shit.

EDIT: The HP Slate 21 would've been an option if they'd thrown an Atom in there instead of a Tegra, but as it stands, the closest alternative is the Samsung Ativ One 5 Style, which doesn't have a battery.

[sw84244]

Wow .. didn't thought about so much feedback.
A lot of pros and cons for both, the MBP as well as the MBA.
Just to make it even more complex: I would like to go with Native Instruments Maschine as well. I hope the next update (MK3, 2.0 or whatever they will call it tomorrow), will be with Traktor integration as well. I guess this will make it even more reasonable for a MBP. What do you think?

[Karlos Santos]

Why no 15 again?

For my personal use I just don't need a 15". I only really use 2 decks and simple sampler usage so i hide decks C & D , hide all the mixer elements and the Global Section.

I still use my 15" but mainly as an internet machine in the house (the big screen is better for looking at trainers :-).

I just got used to a 13" and now I find 15" to be cumbersome.

If you need all 4 decks open and Global section for FX then I would say you need the 15", unless you can rely on the controller for visual feedback.

I just dont need all the screen space.

[makar1]

If you need all 4 decks open and Global section for FX then I would say you need the 15", unless you can rely on the controller for visual feedback.

The 13" Air fits all that onscreen nicely, given that it has the same screen resolution as the base 15" Pro.

[Karlos Santos]

Yeah I meant a 15 MBP compared to a 13 MBP.

Even on a 15 MBP I cannot see enough of the browser. That's why I hide everything.

[JesusJuice]

all can say about complaining bout screen size is that we did DJ without looking at waveforms before. screen size discrepancies should not be of concern, but i agree with 15 being too big in general. it wont fit on the little fold out table of a seat on a plane, so umm... yeah, its too big haha