Apple Power Mac G4 Desktop

"Now, with *Engines of Creation*, Satriani launches a new era of creativity — built with [PowerBook](https://web.archive.org/web/20001215211800/http://www.apple.com:80/powerbook/) and [Power Mac](https://web.archive.org/web/20010124065400/http://www.apple.com:80/powermac/) computers, keyboards, guitars, and effects."

Throughout countless scores, Macs have long been a staple in Zimmer’s arsenal of tools. “We have loads of Macs and we have loads of PCs,” he says. But he keeps four Power Mac G4s close at hand in his home studio. “I think the Mac is really intuitive,” he adds. “It feels solid.”

we see the instrument, at prince's home studio in paisley park

The studio is based around two Apple Mac G4 computers running Logic, plus a selection of outboard including (right) the Digitech Studio Vocalist used extensively on Another Day On Earth, a Lexicon Jam Man loop sampler and an Eventide H3000 Harmonizer.

Mac G4 is included in the list of computers, DAWs and recording hardware.

As the center of his studio, BT uses M-Audio's Radium61 61-Key USB MIDI Controller to drive his system, complemented by an array of Pioneer Pro DJ gear. He has both a Macintosh G5, running Logic Pro with Digidesign's Pro Tools HD hardware systems, and a G4, allowing him to run older software and hardware interfaces. Additionally, there are multiple AMD Dual-core Opteron computers running Native Instruments' Kontakt 2 with EastWest/Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra and Symphonic Choir libraries as well as Quantum Leap Colossus and Stormdrum and Native Instruments' Kompakt. The space is nothing if not versatile. For his score for 2004's "Monster," BT wanted a more organic sound, so vocals, guitars and percussion overdubs were done in various room at his home. For this, he used a variety of mics, some of the many guitars hanging on his wall and Neve microphone preamps.

"Back in his own home studio (equipped with Steinberg Cubase running on an Apple Mac G4), Sumner then imported those ideas and generated new ones using either a Roland XV-5080 or Doepfer MS-404 synth to create string parts, additional bass lines or background atmospherics."

The center of the studio is a console with a big 36 channel mixer (Soundcraft), the master keyboard (Quasimidi "Cyber 6"), a computer (Apple Power Mac G4) and additional equipment (see photo). To the left and right of the mixer there are flat screen computer monitors. Below the mixer the master keyboard is placed on a board which is assembled like a drawer so that Klaus can pull it out when he plays music, and push it back when he works mainly with the computer. The computer stands on the floor.

"Although Numan writes all of his music on an aged upright piano, slowly adding effects, synth sounds and big beats, he also works with modern gear: Emagic Logic Audio Platinum and Digidesign Pro Tools on an Apple Mac G4 with two iZ Technology RADAR 24 digital recorders and a Mackie d8b desk. His synths are both soft and hard: Korg Wavestation, Alesis QuadraSynth, Korg M1, Roland D50 LA, GEM S2 Turbo and a Korg electric piano."

Quoted from the interview, Bob said: > What I got at home, the core is using the Power Mac G4's, whether it's my laptop or dual gig tower I got.

Recorded on an Apple Mac G4 running Digidesign Pro Tools and MOTU Digital Performer with Steinberg Cubase VST and Cycling '74 Pluggo, Chasm includes guest appearances by Arto Lindsay, David Sylvian and various Thai monks, as well as YMO's Hosono and Takahashi (now known as Sketch Show).

"I use a Mac G4 for my music because Pro Tools (a digital audio software package) has always been Macintosh-based. But for the internet and graphics, I use the PC. I just flick between the two on my plasma display."

Things are very organized around Vrenna’s studio. All the essential hardware and synths are within reach, and the drum room is just around the corner. At the center of the studio is the essential Pro Tools rig stocked with four 888 A-D converters and multiple Line 6 Amp Farm cards—all running through a 933mHz Power Mac G4 tower. “I’m getting another Mix Farm in there soon because I’m doing everything else via FireWire,” he says.

A Mac G4 was used on Geoff Downes' *Shadows and Reflections*, according to the liner notes.

"Lohner's home studio is centered around a Pro Tools Mix system running on a Mac G4/400MHz. Some of his outboard selections include an Avalon Vt-737sp preamp, an Avalon U5 preamp, a Tech 21 SansAmp, a Roland RE-501 Chorus Echo and a Clavia Nord Lead synth."

Philip Glass' Looking Glass Studios features "a 48-track G Series SSL console; Otari 2-inch, Pro Tools and Logic/G4 recording systems; and plenty of outboard boxes."

Mark used a Mac G4 in his studio.

"Basically my current main "instrument" is a Macintosh G4. The absolute most recent thing Malka & I did was an a/v thing where the soundtrack was sourced only from audio recorded via the camera. There was of course heavy manipulation, looping etc. - I'm really waiting on a plug & play, cheap DV authoring solution - The highest end current generation G4s have a start on this, but we need greater capacity & not having to buy a new Mac to have it!!"

In this interview Jan Hammer says: "I'm still using the last version of Studio Vision on a Mac G4 dual-boot machine that I keep just for that purpose."

he group's studio guru, Andrew Innes, had to deal with a lot of frustration while producing with his Mac 9600. Ironically, the constant computer crashes were often responsible for integral song ideas. Nevertheless, the lure of fewer computer headaches eventually won over Innes, and after recording the group's latest album, Evil Heat, he upgraded to a G4.

Visconti says that the basic vocal chain on the album consisted of Bowie's own Manley Gold Reference Mic into an Avalon mic pre, into an LA-3A compressor and a Focusrite Red EQ, then into an Apogee 8000 A/D converter and a G4 Mac running Logic Audio. “I started recording vocals on analog, as I did with all of the drums [16-track at 15 ips with Dolby SR, or 30 ips with no noise reduction — I consider it to be the ultimate tape format,” Visconti says, but the lock-up became tedious, so we stayed in the digital realm — 24-bit, 44.1k]. On one song, ‘I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spacecraft,’ I used a Shure SM57 to get a rockier sound, but I later regretted that because the Manley spoiled me rotten. It's such a sweet mic, very musical in the midrange. The Manley mic vocals just leapt out of the mixes, whilst the 57 needed lots of EQ, compression and, ultimately, de-essing to get it above the mix.”

"I was using native audio on Macs with VX pocket cards on the laptops and initially an AW8 card on an old beige — then, later, a MOTU 2408 on a G4."

“No, I don’t own a laptop, I’ve got a Mac G4 with some music sotfware that I use mainly for post production and editing, and maybe sometimes I’ll create tracks in that, but for live I’m using a scaled down version of the studio. It’s pretty old school, I use a mixing desk on stage with banks of effects, then stuff on DAT and mini disc and some live keyboards."

An Apple Mac seemed to be the heart of Broadcast's studio set-up when they made their album 'Ha Ha Sound'.

This article states that Jerry's studio includes "933 MHz Apple Power Mac G4 used for mixdown at 96 kHz."

A Power Mac G4 is shown in a chart depicting Yasunori's studio circa 2002.

Eric Chevalier's gear list circa 2003: Mixing Consoles: - Sony DMX-R100 - Yamaha 01V Monitors: - Genelec 1031.A - Genelec 1030.A Samplers: - Akai s6000 (x2) - Akai CD3000XL - Roland S760 (x4) - Roland SP 700 Synthesizers: - Roland JD800 - Roland JD990 - Roland MKS80 + PG - Roland MKS70 + PG (x2) - Roland XV3080 - Roland D550 - Roland A80 - E-MU Proteus 2000 - Yamaha TX802 - Kurzweil MicroPiano - Korg M1R EX - Korg Wavestation AD - Korg Triton - Alesis DM5 (drum machine) - Access Virus A - Access Virus C - The theremin - Nord Lead Computer (& Plugins): - PowerMac G4/733 - PowerBook Titanium - Monitors Plasma (x2) - Pro Tools Mix Plus (software) - Logic Audio Platinum (+ eMagic plugins) - Spectrasonics Athmosphere - Spectrasonics Stylus - Mac Five - DD 80 Go + 120 Go + 160 Go LaCie - DD 40 Go Ice - Synchro: "Time Machine" C Lab - Unitor MK2 (x3) Effects: - Lexicon 480L - PCM80 / LPX15 - Yamaha SPX90 / D1500 (x2) - Tube Tech Compressor LCA 2B - EQ Moog - TC Electronics M5000 - TC Electronic Finalizer 96K - DAT Panasonic SV-3800 - DAT Sony PCM R500

These days, he works out of a thoroughly modern home studio based around Apple G4 Macs running Logic and Nuendo.