What version of MacOS are you using & Why?

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What Version of MacOS are you using for recording?

Poll ended at Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:20 am

Newest Version always!
1
11%
10.13.5 (High Sierra)
0
No votes
10.12.x (Sierra)
1
11%
10.11.x (El Capitan)
1
11%
10.10.x (Yosemite)
3
33%
10.9.x (Mavericks)
0
No votes
10.8.x (Mountain Lion)
3
33%
Older? Version
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 9

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alexdingley
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What version of MacOS are you using & Why?

Post by alexdingley » Mon Aug 20, 2018 10:20 am

I dropped out of the PT subscriptions at version PT12.4, so I haven't bothered to take my studio machine beyond OS 10.11.6 — it's super-stable and I haven't really felt a need to upgrade beyond it. My other machines (day-job laptop & household my household mac) are both updated to 10.13.x but I'm curious... anyone else out there finding good reasons to stay behind on older MacOS versions?

Also, my PC knowledge has fallen off pretty far, so I haven't included any non-Mac OS options... it's not snobbery, just recognition of my own ignorance & bias.

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Re: What version of MacOS are you using & Why?

Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Tue Aug 21, 2018 7:04 am

Pretty sure my studio computer is running mountain lion. I’m still on pro tools 9. I’d love to have clip gain but beyond that I don’t see much reason to keep up with the latest and greatest in terms of OS and pro tools. My system is rock solid, stable and it works everyday. That’s more valuable to me than a few new bells and whistles.

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Re: What version of MacOS are you using & Why?

Post by Nick Sevilla » Tue Aug 21, 2018 7:23 am

Hi,

I have two computers. I put on there "10.8" because that is my main Pro Tools HD mixing system.

Here is why I use two computers: A laptop, running 10.13.6, and the latest Pro Tools, Cubase Elements, Reaper. I may get Logic X for it as well, when I need to use it with a client. It has to be the "latest", mostly so I can do two things: Open newer sessions and export them to my mixing system, and use the newer plug ins, when they are worth buying and using (Waves' Abbey Road Chambers and Plates come to mind, they are amazing). The laptop is a late 2011 MacBook Pro, aluminum body (not unibody), and you can still get them nearly new in some places, and it runs amazingly well with the new OS and the new DAWs.

The main mixing system, because it is a PT HD TDM, I am keeping at the last operating system which was STABLE with that hardware: 10.8.5. I am going to buy a (now really super cheap) process card for it, to max it internally. Back when Avid came out with the HDX system, I eagerly went to a special listening session at a well known recording studio, along with several other engineers of the area. Most of us were NOT impressed with the "increase" in audio quality, nor in the bugginess, at the time, of the system. It crashed several times, and the representative simply did not care at all. Like we were supposed to just accept that. Yeah, no. LOL. So I kept my HD TDM system. It works amazingly well, crashes almost never, and always related to something else (like when I reinstall a plug in, or whatnot). I did update the Audio Converters a few months ago to Focusrite RedNet. THAT made a huge difference in the sound quality. Most manufacturers have realized that a majority of engineers DID NOT move up to the super expensive HDX system, and still offer hardware that interfaces with these TDM cards. Thank goodness.

Now with RedNet, I can also interface the laptop's DAW DIRECTLY into Pro Tools HD, with zero steps between them. I am mixing an album right now, with a RedNet 2 connected to the network, and a HD32R (the TDM interface), the laptop, and the Mac Pro tower all connected. You can route audio to and from any of those 4 devices via the Dante Controller, without having to exit your DAW. I've been able to sort out a lot of technical issues with this new type of interfacing. And I am using the laptop to run the new plug ins as AUX send / returns inside the PT HD mix system. The roundtrip latency is 4 mS, which for reverbs etc is a non issue, as I always have some predelay which is more than this amount of time anyways, so I just shorten any predelay in the plug in, to compensate. Between the RedNet 2 and PT HD, the latency is less than 125 uS (picoseconds!!!). Amazing technology. Really, the future of audio routing. You can route up to 512 audio streams in one link. Insane.
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Re: What version of MacOS are you using & Why?

Post by kslight » Tue Aug 21, 2018 8:22 am

I use a lot of the newer features in PT daily (clip gain, commit track, offline bounce, I don’t know what they call it but when clips become translucent to make editing a snap?) so I’m semi-current, Sierra. I have kept my PT updates plan active, at $80 (on sale) a year I don’t see it as a devastating expense, but I only install updates when i know they are safe...I am not one to race out and download the latest Mac OS or PT on day one ever...

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Re: What version of MacOS are you using & Why?

Post by drumsound » Tue Aug 21, 2018 1:54 pm

I think I'm on Yosemite or El Captain, I don't know. I still run PT10, though I bought 12. The system does what I want it to do, so I try not to fuck it up.

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Re: What version of MacOS are you using & Why?

Post by IanWalker » Thu Aug 23, 2018 10:19 am

In the studio I was on Mountain Lion with ProTools 10/11 concurrent install, and stable and pretty happy. Updated my interface. Didn't play nice with CoreAudio on that old a version of MacOS, as the hardware was newer (or newer enough) than the audio drivers were.

So I dove into the latest version I could run PT11 on. Moved up to Yosemite. No issues, all runs great. Better compatibility with some other software - modern web browsers, newer versions of Final Cut and Logic, and hey, I get iMessage and the like. That said, I lost access to some of my RTAS-only plugins. Nothing essential, but a minor bummer here and there.

My BIGGEST complaint was that I couldn't get the installer for 10.10.2, so I'm stuck with the latest version - 10.10.5. Things run fine, BUT I have to disable ALL updates or Mac OS will automatically update itself to 10.11. I can't disallow that ONE update. If I accidentally click "install all" when installing App or security updates, I'm hosed. So keeping my drive backed up is even more essential than it ever was.

I run 10.12 on my laptop, so for mobile recording, I can track into Logic and then export the tracks as files and bring them into ProTools to mix. Not perfect, but it does what I need.
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Re: What version of MacOS are you using & Why?

Post by alexdingley » Mon Aug 27, 2018 7:55 pm

Nick Sevilla wrote:
Tue Aug 21, 2018 7:23 am
Here is why I use two computers: A laptop, running 10.13.6, and the latest Pro Tools, Cubase Elements, Reaper. I may get Logic X for it as well, when I need to use it with a client. It has to be the "latest", mostly so I can do two things: Open newer sessions and export them to my mixing system, and use the newer plug ins, when they are worth buying and using (Waves' Abbey Road Chambers and Plates come to mind, they are amazing). The laptop is a late 2011 MacBook Pro, aluminum body (not unibody), and you can still get them nearly new in some places, and it runs amazingly well with the new OS and the new DAWs....

...Now with RedNet, I can also interface the laptop's DAW DIRECTLY into Pro Tools HD, with zero steps between them. I am mixing an album right now, with a RedNet 2 connected to the network, and a HD32R (the TDM interface), the laptop, and the Mac Pro tower all connected.
Makes really good sense “new computer for compatibility/ old stable machine for everyday sessions”... and I’m fascinated by the rednet solution. Very cool!

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Re: What version of MacOS are you using & Why?

Post by frans_13 » Wed Aug 29, 2018 2:50 am

The studio has a few older macs to record and edit. G4s, mostly running 10.6.8 and some even 10.4.11 using them like tape machines. They have to run absolutely stable, no matter whatsoever. The mix room has a Mac Pro 4.1 or something with 10.10 and Logic from that time. The office has a mini with 10.13 - i have to say computers for me are boring and not very rewarding. I don't particularly like either Apple or Microsoft and anybody should use what they can make work. 20 Years ago, Apple had hardware and systems which made more difference, but not anymore - i just don't have a clue what to do with Windows.
On a sidenote - when i changed my office machine a few months back from osx 10.6.8 to 10.13 i was surprised how little real progress there was between these two OS versions, which seem more pronounced in regard to "what doesn't work anymore".
The main reason i left elder versions of Logic was that no version (except the LPX i have) would run smoothly with the MacPro, which is able to run osx 10.6.8 and onwards. I tried Logic 6, 7, 8, 9 and wasted a lot of time because of the CPU-spike-bug (search engine, friends) which i couldn't cure with any of the available methods except one i found on my own, which required 10 minutes of extra special care before it would run like it should have been coded. Apple was no help and did make me jump through so many hoops i completely lost and interest and we're not friends anymore.
That said, my brother has a Hackintosh and it delivers the goods perfectly.
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Re: What version of MacOS are you using & Why?

Post by Nick Sevilla » Wed Aug 29, 2018 9:17 am

alexdingley wrote:
Mon Aug 27, 2018 7:55 pm
Makes really good sense “new computer for compatibility/ old stable machine for everyday sessions”... and I’m fascinated by the rednet solution. Very cool!
It really is making my life a lot easier. For example, I am using the newer Arturia synths on this new album I am co producing, and they reside on the laptop. Ethernet direct from the laptop to the Pro Tools inputs. USB for the MIDI. a tiny amount of latency, because I am using the Unitor8 Mkii Midi interface, which is still one of the fastest MIDI interfaces out there, despite being eons old.

I record the Midi and audio in the Mac Tower, and use the laptop for synths and the new Waves Abbey Road Chambers and Plates effects.

This stays in operation for up to 10 hours a day, with zero issues. I am considering getting a small platform for my laptop, because of the extra heat when running many plug ins, but other than that this really makes my rig be up to date without insane expenses.

Cheers!!! Good job Audinate and Focusrite.
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

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Re: What version of MacOS are you using & Why?

Post by Recycled_Brains » Fri Sep 07, 2018 1:14 pm

High Sierra and the most current PT update.

It blows. CPU spikes galore, and at random with no fix in sight. Avid and Apple collectively can eat shit.
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Re: What version of MacOS are you using & Why?

Post by roscoenyc » Sat Sep 08, 2018 6:49 am

I've got the current version of OS and PT on my computer at the studio and on my home rig.
Both of them are running great.

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Re: What version of MacOS are you using & Why?

Post by vernier » Fri Sep 21, 2018 9:11 pm

System 7.1 that came with Quadra 800.

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Re: What version of MacOS are you using & Why?

Post by Nick Sevilla » Mon Sep 24, 2018 11:39 am

Recycled_Brains wrote:
Fri Sep 07, 2018 1:14 pm
High Sierra and the most current PT update.

It blows. CPU spikes galore, and at random with no fix in sight. Avid and Apple collectively can eat shit.
Oh, that wonderful Bleeding Edge. Gets all of us at some point.

I hope you sort this out, it sucks to have a non functioning computer.
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

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