What’s the best version of OS X for music producers?
Reader Marc Mitchell wrote in to ask:
“Is there any chance at all we could get a survey on just how many pro “working” music makers are using lion or intending to go up to mountain lion..,
I don’t know any producers that are using lion.. would be really interesting just to see if anyone is….”
Interesting question – especially since Apple has introduced some compatibility headaches with recent upgrades.
If you’re a Mac music producer, weigh in on the best version of OS X for music in the poll below. And leave a comment and let us know why you think your version is the best option for making music – or let us know if there’s something keeping you from upgrading!
If you need your software to work, then DON’T ever rush to upgrade! Always do the research – check compatibility – and wait until you KNOW your stuff is going to work on the OS you’re upgrading to.
I use Lion and it works fine, there were a few hiccups initially but everything I use has been updated now so it’s all good. If you have a gazillion vst’s then I would hold off upgrading but if you’re mostly using software to record in to then there shouldn’t be a problem now at all.
Everything I have works fine in Lion, but frankly (and perhaps amazingly enough), Reason and Live worked fine as far back as OS 9, and were good for making quite a bit of music back in the day.
for me its the interaction of adobe flash with chrome and having only 2gb of ram with intel core duo that seems to do weird things with glitches and memory in general ,I think Lion itself is ok
Windows Vista!
Lion has worked just fine for me so far. Just check the compatibility on all your software before making a leap. The most stable system is the one that is already running. If it isn’t broke don’t fix it.
I’m definetely an early adopter and my urge always to test new software as soon as possible has caused me various problems over and over again 😉
Same was true when Lion was released – Live 8 did not work stable anymore and there were no drivers for my Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 for some weeks. So my leap from Snow Leopard to Lion was careless without question. But now the developers have already caught up and I have not encountered any problems anymore.
I guess I will be more careful when the release of Mountain Lion draws near ^^
I’m having excellent luck with Lion on all of our computers and Reason, Live, Motu Ethno, Pro Tools 10 and Logic Pro 9.
Lion has been zero-issue for me. There were a couple AU products that didn’t work upon upgrade but they weren’t crucial. All my go-to stuff was rock solid.
I tend to make judgements about companies based on how they handle OS upgrades. They all have access to the new OS for months before it’s official release, so it’s really just laziness, intentional forced upgrade plan, or lack of interest if an update isn’t ready around official OS release. If a company is like Adobe or Autodesk where they never support old and expensive software versions but instead force you to purchase the next version (whenever they get around to putting it out, btw!) I stop using that companies products if at all possible.
The turd performers I observed during my Lion upgrade were IK Multimedia. I have a few older plug-ins of theirs and one of them still doesn’t work. NI was a little slow to the take on a couple things too. Generally, I look at an OS upgrade as a good time to cull some fat from my plug in directory!
Oh, and in final note, it is *ALWAYS* the little guy company that has their app updated in time for an OS release. Big companies tend to not give a crap, regardless of what industry they are in.
I have a G3 in my studio running OS 9.2.2 and is a full Opcode Studio Vision system with an Opcode Studio 4 interface. Best system & software out there period!
I run Snow Leopard. Logic Studio and Garageband. A ton of software instruments and effects with no issues… I will only upgrade when support for this system is discontinued, as I did with Tiger. Studio One 2 works great on it as well.
I have Opcode Studio Vision running on an iMac G3 under OS 9.2.2.