Is your favorite DAW, Audio Editor, Sound Design tool, VST or AU ready for Apple’s Latest Operating System? Dubspot takes a look closer to deliver the current state of compatibility for our favorite creative tools.
It’s happened to us a few times now. Apple releases a new operating system and we impulsively download and install it – eager to check out the new features. But then the inevitable happens and one of our primary pieces of music software stops working – jamming up our workflow and productivity. We’ve learned from experience to investigate compatibility with our music applications before upgrading and we want to advise you to do the same this week as you ponder installing Apple’s new OS X Lion operating system. In the report below we offer the latest information on music software compatibility for Lion. As you’d expect Logic 9 works perfectly with Lion, although Logic 8 does not work with the new OS (so you’ll need to upgrade if you want to use it.) Reason is also ready to go on the new OS while Ableton and Native Instruments are having some issues and scheduling updates soon. Read more detailed information below to see if your software is ready for the new OS before you upgrade.
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Propellerhead reports that “Our current products have been tested on this new OS X version and we are happy that Reason and Record are fully compatible.” Recycle, on the other hand, relies on Rosetta which has been removed from OS 10.7 and therefore will not work with the new OS. Registered ReCycle owners can sign up for the ReCycle 2.2 beta here. ReCycle owners will be notified when ReCycle 2.2 is released..
Ableton Live is not currently working with OS X 10.7. The company is working on a compatibility update which is coming very soon to address existing issues. Until this update is available, they do not recommend updating to Lion. Here’s the current state of affairs according to the Ableton Live support forums:
We have found an issue that causes Live to freeze when sending MIDI out, either to external hardware or internally via the IAC bus. We are currently working on a solution for this problem, which we will release in a bugfix update as soon as possible. Until this update is available, we do not recommend updating to Lion. We have recently released a new beta version – Live 8.2.5b1 – which solves the above issues. Lion compatibility for versions of Live prior to Live 8 is under consideration but is not currently planned.
Ableton also informed us of some changes to the OS X interface that we may all be facing when upgrading The first is that scroll bar behavior has changed in Lion, which may cause confusion if you’re using a conventional mouse (see this article for more information.) In addition, Apple has hidden the /Users/Library folder, which contains Live’s user preferences and library. This should not affect most users, but in certain cases you may need to access these folders directly. To make /Users/Library visible, hold down the “Option/Alt” key, and choose “Go to Library” in the Go menu of the Finder.
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Native Instruments has discovered an issue where running 64-bit versions of their applications with Mac OS 10.7 will cause a crash. This happens with both stand-alone versions and with plug-in versions. The cause of this issue has been successfully determined, and updates for the affected products are in development, with their releases planned for September or earlier. In the meantime, users should utilize the 32-bit versions of NI applications, or should consider refraining from updating to Mac OS X 10.7 until the updates are finalized. Click here for information on switching between 32- and 64-bit operation.
Novation reports that the following products are working with OSX 10.7: UltraNova & Logic 64 Bit, LaunchPad (Ableton Live is not yet supported on Lion but Launchpad works as a MIDI controler), Zero SL MKII & SL MKII both work as MIDI controllers in Logic 64 Bit however there are currently known issues with Automap. Automap is currently not working with OS X 10.7 – it installs and opens but does not yet wrap plug-ins. .
iZotope reports that with the exception of Nectar, all of their products are compatible with OSX 10.7. The above graphic can be found with more information on iZotope’s website.
Soundtoys is reporting a minor issue with their latest software and OSX 10.7. They are currently testing an update to fix this but do not recommend updating to Lion until the update is finished.
Serato has reported that Scratch Live does not support Lion at this time.
MOTU has approved the current drivers of audio interfaces and MIDI interfaces for use with Mac OS X 10.7.
Apogee reports that the following products are compatible with OSX 10.7: Duet 2, GiO, JAM, ONE, Symphony I/O. (Make sure to download the latest drivers from Apogee.) At this time, Apogee is still developing and testing the following products for Lion compatibility: Duet, Ensemble, and Symphony 64 for X-Series and Rosetta Series converters. Apogee recommends waiting until updates for these products are final before upgrading to Lion.
Michael Walsh is the Editor of Dubspot’s Blog, a producer of audio/visual art and a journalist living in Southern California. Read more of his work at soundsdefygravity.com
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