My Setup: I have both an M2 Macbook Pro and a Rather up to date Win 10 gaming PC that i both have Ableton on. I have a MIDI controller and audio interface both powered over USB plugged in to the desktop. I have a USB Switcher with a mouse and keyboard attached, and the USB can select between my desktop and and a Caldigit Dock for the Macbook.
My Problem: I’m trying to unify these two environments so i can easily move between working on the computer and working on the couch/move with the laptop. I don’t know how to easily sync my Ableton setups/projects, and have do a dance of unplugging midi controllers/rerouting stuff when I need to get stuff off the laptop or desktop
My Question: Does anyone have experience with a similar setup? Any ideas/suggestions on how to unify these two setups? Am i just trying to do too much? Any tips would be welcome
I’d second using a cloud service and collected all and save. You also need to make sure all your plugins are installed on both machines and I would use just VST3 plugins on both machines if possible. If you use AU in a project it is a Mac only plugin type so won’t be available on Windows.
I’ve been doing this between windows machines for years and now between a Mac and Windows.
Yeah I would also dedicate Macbook for music and PC for games. Just connect peripherals (keyboard, mouse, audio interface, midi controller…) to USB hub and reconnect it from PC to Macbook for music production + connect the monitor (it likely has more inputs so use one for PC and other for Mac). Way easier than managing two machines IMO - it’s not just Ableton projects, it’s also plugins, samples, updates, licences… and of course differences in OS, e.g. different shortcuts… You will also have dual monitor setup this way.
Is there a good way for Mac and Windows machines to connect to each other over a local network? I use a Windows desktop and laptop and regularly transfer whatever I need via the router they’re both hooked up. I know Mac/Windows use different filesystems which would probably make things awkward.
Otherwise some kind of network attached storage setup they can both read/write to might be worth exploring too.
One thing you might want to be aware of if you use Dropbox – the most recent versions of macOS and Dropbox require you to keep your Dropbox folder inside your users folder, so you can’t put it on an external hard drive. This might cause some issues if your OS drive is relatively small and your music project files take up a lot of space. Just throwing that out there!
one ergonomic solution I like: a lot of people face the backs of their desks against a wall. it’s an impractical orientation in the above scenario. Something I’ve found useful is the have the side of the desk against the wall, or at least space around the desk, so you can get in and cable/port manage with ease. I roll a similar setup. Probably the easiest answer is to just use the laptop and ditch the PC - kindve a ‘desktop laptop’ lifestyle. Alternatively go all in on the PC and use the laptop more as a sketch pad - I find if this machine is an Air and not a Pro it’s more compelling to use in this way.
Thanks for all the replies folks. Leaning toward the advice of just going all in on the laptop, as this seems like it might be the best way to reduce friction. The cloud stuff seems like it is mega useful but for now sticking to one machine might be the best way to get me actually putting notes on the piano roll more.
switching between desktop and laptop frequently?
then you’re lucky.
switching between iPad and [desktop|laptop] is much harder to manade due to certain security features of iOS.
(but i managed to manage it)
