Switch to an ARM Mac? Which companies do you trust?

[Groove On]

I was taking a software inventory today, with the switch to ARM Mac in mind - and I realized, that some companies don't support their software very well under the best of circumstances, let alone during a transition to a different platform.

 

Apple - Logic Pro/Main Stage will probably be a safe bet. But I've been burned by Native Instruments and Steinberg, so I'm not keen to go there again (great hardware but crap software support). This might be a case where hardware upgrades will come before the software catches up. I'm thinking I might just stick to a mostly all hardware rig for the next 2-3 years.

 

So if you switch to an ARM Mac, which music companies do you trust to have your back during the transition? Which companies don't you trust?

[KuruPrionz]

I am going to do what I always do - wait.

I can't think of a compelling reason to move from where I am now - 2014 Macbook Pro, Presonus Quantum and a buttload of plugins from NI, IK, Arturia, Izotope and others.

I'm using Waveform 11 (pro) and it's working great.

 

In a year or so, everything will settle out a bit and we'll know more about what can continue to work and who did what.

 

Sometimes, companies learn from their mistakes and step up their games, I had zero problems with NI for instance when I updated to Catalina. Perhaps backlash from a previous failure caused them to change their business model.

 

I waited until recently to do so and the whole thing went pretty smoothly.

 

The one thing I haven't figured out isn't audio and does not affect my workflow. Somehow, Adobe Photoshop Elements 2018 works fine but the Adobe Online Updater (where they try to sell you a subscription to their top line stuffs) was all 32 bit and got left behind. I was hoping to get a few years out of what I had so I don't care at all.

[Joe Muscara]

JMO - but a lot of the audio companies are whiners. They whine about pirating (I'm not saying it's not a problem, but they seem to think they have it worse than anyone else. Prove it) and they whine about Apple's macOS upgrades. When the final version is released in the fall, they act like they had no idea it was coming.

 

That being said, I saw a post on UA's forums by Drew that he installed Big Sur and got the UA stuff working on it (unofficially. It was just a quick check). I know, that doesn't say anything about the new hardware. But I feel like UA will be there pretty soon.

[Stephen Fortner]

+1 on Universal Audio, as I've had a lot of personal experience of how the company is run. I would bet they have one or more of those ARM-based Mac Mini-ish developer units and are already working on it.

[David Emm]

I have a patchwork of freebies & donationware, plus some quirky oddities from Puremagnetik and the like. I loosely expect for some of those to be orphaned, but a few made the leap from OS 9 to 10 with no problem, so its a game of roulette there.

 

I can say from experience that MOTU, G-Media, Applied Acoustic Systems, Arturia, Korg's Legacy arm and everyone from whom I bought Soundfonts have made it easy to come up to speed through several generations. It hasn't hurt that all of my Logic synths naturally came along for the ride seamlessly. MVP still goes to my giant EXS24 library.

 

Best of luck if you have a major Kontakt or VSO commitment going!

[Dr Mike Metlay]

I think there will be hiccups along the way. There always are. But once again I will note that for serious pro audio work, I stay trailing-edge with a vengeance.

 

Right now all of my music Macs are running Mojave and will never be upgraded ever. I let Catalina go by, none of them will run Big Sur, and I will wait until the ARM Macs have gone through at least one hardware generation* and most or all of the companies I personally care about (which is actually a very small list on macOS) have ported successfully. You have to learn to get out in front of Apple so your OS and software don't automatically update (it CAN be done), and get used to the little red notification button on the dock (The beeyootiful SHINY button! The jolly CANDYLIKE button!) telling you that there is a brand spankin' new OS waiting for you.

 

*one will probably be enough. Convergence being what it is, Apple ARM tech is now not only a decade-plus old but has also probably been running macOS for years now.