Perhaps you are aware but clearing your desktop of any files does seem to speed up a mac. Take it your 1TB is an SSD.
Other suggestions if you haven’t don’t it already - automate VSTs / Effects on/off when not in use. Commit to Audio when you can (older midi version of project can be saved so you can go back if needed). Disable wifi & bt.
If I’m being honest, my MBP is more than I need. If I was looking to upgrade an old machine now I’d probably be edging towards the Air or Mini + iPad.
If Apple get their shit together and everything is built on the same code/chips across their devices then I can see myself going all in with an iPad Pro (or whatever they’ll be called in 5 years!). Only a matter of time until full DAWs appear.
Anyway, I digress. The 2020 Air looks fantastic to me.
I had a Macbook Pro that lasted for about 7 years, then the fan failed, followed by motherboard failure. I opted to replace it with an iMac, which is still going on strong.
But later when started going to coding meetups, I realized I was at a disadvantage, not having a laptop. Especially Hackathon type events.
So far I’ve gotten by with employer-provided laptops, but they’ve mostly been crummy Dell ones that you can easily squeeze with your hand and feel like it might fall apart. I don’t deny there are some fine Windows laptops out there, but the better ones cost more.
Just adding that I need a very small notebook to fit in my music case. The MacBook Air barely fits.
Once I get the MacBook Air (in a few weeks), I’ll have 14 days to decide to keep or return it
Currently I have my DT and Argon8 plugged into OverHub which works great, so my plan is to use this:
My main music software should run on the Mac. Which is Omnisphere, Overbridge, and Bitwig Studio 3.
What could go wrong! 
Best regards,
Gino
Nice! It would be interesting to see how many Omnisphere instances it can handle til it grinds to a halt 
Please post again when you’ve got your new shiny and had chance to play around!
My 2009 iMac felt like a new machine when I dropped in an ssd.
It’s slow now , and os updates stopped years ago
Agreed, and on that note, folks looking for a good DAW machine that will last shouldn’t ignore second hand or refurbed quad i5 13"s from the last couple years. The 2019 w/ 4 TB3 ports are faster than the 2020 i7 Air for DAW functions.
They’ll cost about as much as a 2020 Air similarly spec’d (16GB/512GB), and what you lose in newer keyboard design, you gain in twice the TB3 ports.
Yea, the newer keyboards are nice, I love my 2019 and hated my 2016, but the 2018 and 2019 13" and 15" did have revised keyboards that made them less hated and problematic than the 2016 which was truly awful (and I admit was a determining factor in my dropping way too much money on a 19" MBP last winter). The 2018-2019 butterfly KBs were quieter and had less repeat input issues.
And chances are if you’re using it in a studio environment, you’re not also writing novels with it, and possibly using another keyboard anyway.
Not a solution for everyone, but if you’re trying to get the most for your money in a compact Mac, definitely worth the consideration.
I think a MacBook Air is not aimed at music production- there are only usb che ports I think it is too limited
Another great post!
Your word carries weight as it is grounded in real-world experience. The OP would do well to listen to you. In general, it’s smart to pay more attention to people who put in more thought into their posts than just cute one-sentence replies, memes, etc.
The joke about graphic rendering is cute, but not necessarily relevant for all prospective Macbook Air shoppers. Not everybody wants to work on epic 80-track productions with a CPU-hungry plugin on every track. In my case, I prefer hardware synths and FX for the most part so wouldn’t be dependent on tons of plugins. And I prefer minimalist mixes, so not a big track count for me either.
Very satisfied Air user here. I have an older one, with the previous (better) generation of keyboards, i7, 8GB, tuned SSD drive (high-speed). I prefer frequent rendering or straight audio recordings over lots of VST’s being active at the same time, so SSD speed is more critical than CPU. My Air works like a charm, rock-solid in the studio and on stage, as long as I stick to stable, properly tested plugins of well-known firms (crashes of some other plugins probably have nothing to do with the Air). The display is not so good, but I don’t care about that (external studio screen, sufficient for mobile use). The battery lasts really long, even after years of usage, very useful.
I use a MBP at work but see no need to change anything. Especially the replaced high-speed SSD really makes a difference. However I’m talking about an older generation than yours, where you can just open some screws and replace components as you like, which is a big plus…
Thanks, some good practical advice, and some laughs too
I typically run 1 “multi” in Omnisphere, which is 8 parts. For my composing, I use DT as audio interface, Argon8 running into DT mains (which is stereo with OB), OmniSphere (8 parts, or 1 multi if you prefer), and BitWig Studio to record, and a few fx.
While that’s not “nothing”, I can say that my current Windows notebook comfortably runs this, and I confirmed that a 2019 MacBook Air runs BitWig Studio 20% faster than that Windows notebook. Since the 2020 MBA is faster than the 2019 model, it should be able to handle it (in theory).
Regarding ports, yes the 2020 MBA only has 2 TB ports, but they are very good ones at least. If they can run a 6K monitor on one of them, that’s seems like solid I/O to me.
This is truly an experiment with the 2020 MBA. If it falters, the decision is easy and I’ll send it back.
But if it works, I’ll be very excited to move off Windows as it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while.
Best regards,
Gino
A few people talking about rendering, please could you go into a little more detail about this and how it saves on cpu?
One more thing, are audio tracks in general easier on the CPU than VST’s and midi data?
AKA “Track Freeze” or “Bouncing”
Makes a 32bit stereo recording of a VSTi, allows you to disable the VSTi (therefore freeing up CPU cycles) and still hear what it was doing at the time of recording
https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/track-freezing-ableton-live
Yes
Not the MIDI data itself. MIDI uses hardly any CPU.
MIDI data plus VSTi, however, yes it’s the VSTi that is working the CPU.
I’m using a $20 one I found at Office Depot and have 3 overbridge devices running flawlessly.
It would be extra helpful to those interested in a flawless setup if you’d share the specific make/model in your post
I didn’t want to get out of bed and go down stairs to check.
J5 create 7 port usb hub, with an Apple usb c adapter. I got it a bit cheaper, but maybe it was at Best Buy not Office Depot.
I run my RYTM, digitone and A4 simultaneously with zero issue or noticeable latency, even when playing live into the sequencers from a launchpad.
Laptop, though, is a 2016 MBP quadcore i7 with 16 gigs of ram.
Also works on my families 2019 air.
I have a 2011 11” Air. It’s kinda my holiday/sketchpad laptop. It’s hard to believe it still runs as fast as it did the day I bought it, and essentially looks brand new.
Things kinda top out at about 6 tracks instruments wise, but it’s fun for doing a sketch. Likewise some quick Overbridge control no problems. But it’s all about how you manage it. Things like Convolution Reverb and Reaktor will obviously push it, if you constantly printing to tape then you can get more mileage.
Again good for doing little Max patches or experiments.
Oddly the newer chips are clocked lower, whereas my Air is an i7 at 2ghz, albeit older architecture.
I don’t think the speeds have changed much over the years as Apple use the chips in various ways to maximise battery life over performance.
You will ultimately be limited by an Air in various instances, you might run into dropouts as you push the track count.
I don’t count on mine as a main workhouse but it’s a great notebook I can be more carefree about and grab in a pinch when I want to try out ideas.
As an aside I have plenty of friends that use Airs for live performance laptops.
How long have you had the SSD? Replaced the SSD in my 2011 mbp after 5 years as well as maxing out the RAM and was able to recapture that new machine feeling.