Apple surprised many with its announcement on Tuesday that, not only would OS X Mavericks be made available for a lot of older Macs that previously did not have upgrade paths, but that it would be a free upgrade.
As a result, the latest Mac OS is being adopted much faster than previous versions.
Online Ad Network Chitika reports that 5.5% of Mac users upgraded within the first 24 hours, vs 1.6% who upgraded within the first 24 hours with the last release:
Free is good and so is supporting older hardware. But does it make sense for musicians to upgrade now or to wait?
Is It Safe For Musicians To Upgrade To OS X Mavericks?
We’ve updated an older test machine and have not encountered any problems. But we recommend waiting a few months, with any major OS update, before upgrading music production computers, to allow vendors to test their products against final production OS releases. Music workstations tend to be more complex systems, with more software and hardware dependencies, than the systems of typical computer users, so there are more chances for conflicts.
We have not seen much in the way of warnings, yet, from vendors about the new release yet. But Avid says to wait to upgrade to Mavericks if you’re a user of Media Composer, Pro Tools and Sibelius.
Let us know what you think about updating music workstations to Mavericks below. And, if you’ve already updated, leave a comment and let us know what works or doesn’t work for you!
I dont know if it’s safe, but I run Cubase 7, Native Massive, FM8, Battery and a whole load of other stuff. I’m on Maverick, and everything works fine.
I just upgraded to Maverick and for whatever reason SoundToy’s Decapitator now crashes any audio application when running 64 Bit AU, however 32 Bit vat works fine… Just food for thought.
quite safe `±?`
So far, I have tested Logic Pro X and it’s working alright. Some random visual glitches when scrolling, but nothing major so far. I also tested The Glue from Cytomic and it seems to be running fine. I have some NI software to test pretty soon and that will be a major acid test for me. I use Kontakt quite a bit and need to to work for a project or two I’m working on right now. I’m testing this all on someone else’s machine so I’m only working with demo versions of NI and The Glue. I haven’t tested Ableton or Pro Tools yet, but they’re lesser concerns for me at this point. I also have a digi 003 rack+ which is my biggest concern. I’m hoping nothing gets messed up with that, but I’ll report back if it breaks.
ALMOST everything seems to be running flawlessly post-update. For me, Kontakt 5 will unexpectedly quit when trying to load any sample library (NI or 3rd Party). This happens when running it stand alone AND in Logic. DIdn’t expect it to be a completely smooth transition, but NI are working on it already.
It’s interesting what you say about Kontact 5. The same thing is happening with my Maschine MK 2 .
But Maschine woll quit 90% of the time when I try to access a project & the like.
I can open anything in Massive though from Maschine.
I’m concerned that no one else seems to have my problem!
It’s going to take a little while for manufacturers to get up to speed on Mavericks. So I think it’s wise to just wait until the software that you use says that it’s safe to upgrade.
Until Apogee decides they’re ready, I would be an idiot to upgrade, so I’ll be sitting tight until there’s a Symphony installer that is compatible.
I’ve had zero issues with Mavericks when it comes to audio software. But it was too tempting to pick “Reel-to-reel tape FTW!” from the poll.
No problems with Logic Pro X so far.
mbox 2 wont work with it
Your right! My Mbox 2 with PT 8.0.5….not working at all!!!!! >:(
Straight away I tried the multiple display feature using only Mavericks with no added hardware software, I was using Airplay to display on my tv via Apple TV and I had a crash when changing resolution on MacBook Pro and the tv. I suspect that this won’t be an issue with everyday use however.
Heard from from a friend using it that that the Virus TI doesn’t function as a Core Audio device under Mavericks. Access are apparently are working on it with Apple. I’d really suggest a ‘Wait and see’ approach to any upgrades like this, esp mission critical software/hardware. Why be the guinea pig? What are the advantages of upgrading on the first day? Blagging rights? Plenty of disadvantages I can see.
Pro Tools 10 and Reason 6.5 have been working fine. My RME UCX is also as solid as ever.
Doing the time machine restore as I type here
Make ableton and komplete audio 6 very weird. Lots and lots of audio drops, to the point where I can’t use it.
Gonna wait a little longer
Are you sure that wasn’t because Spotlight was indexing and tying up a whole lot of CPU and disk access?
I have a Komplete audio 6 as well and now I’m afraid to update to Maveriks. Anyone else having the same audio drop out issue?
a friend tested that and it works fine
Everything worked ok for me with audio stuff but these yearly releases are going to get seriously annoying unless they can keep them as unobtrusive as a Windows service pack…Sure, I made it through this update unscathed but who knows what could break next year? Not to mention who knows what hardware will be dropped next time around? Logic Pro X was so underwhelming and there’s nothing in FCPX that I can’t do in Premier Pro…Sure, Windows 8 is a mess but I don’t need an anxiety attack every fall when Apple updates this crap. When they dropped support for my perfectly fine Macbook last time around I wasn’t amused. Instead of “oh boy what new features will we get” OSX updates have become “oh crap which one of my Macs is going to be obsolete this time!”
It’s the problem for professional users: Do I freeze my system and wait for it to lose compatibility with everyone else’s or update and risk breaking critical tools? This is magnified on iOS where you can’t even roll back to the previous version.
even solved one problem for me… the bug in UAD-2 7.3 with 10.8.5 is fixed.
Upgraded yesterday and did a quick test: no issues with my Firestudio Mobile and my Maschine Mikro (mk I) works fine. I run Logic 9 and Reaktor flawlessly too.
the graph looks impressive but the difference is only 3.9%
— wait until it’s fixed —
I still have to test everything, but so far so good:
The most worrying was Pro Tools since Avid discouraged upgrade. it works flawlessly.
Native Instruments Komplete + Maschine upgraded yesterday with no hassles, all software runs with no issues.
I’m pretty confident that Ableton and a few plugins will be fine as well.
ps: oh and my 2009 Macbook Pro (5,5) has a new life with Mavericks!!!
This is exactly why my approach is based on hardware. I record everything to a Yamaha AW1600 or tape, depending on what I’m trying to accomplish. The computer only comes in to play if there is a lot of editing that needs doing and for a final tweak before converting to digital files. A lot of times I just mix it down on the 1600, use a couple of pieces of outboard gear- done. Software “instruments”? On occasion yes, but that is usually because I am somewhere other than the Command Center when a brainstorm strikes.
Now I do have a MacBook, Logic 9 ( x=meh), Kontakt, and some plugins. But I never have these worries over upgrading or not. If this new OS adopts the nightmarish pastel color scheme that I so deeply detest in iOS 7 I may wait until this fairly new MacBook dies to upgrade.
My Tascam US-366 audio interface has issues now with its driver. Uninstalled and try to install a newer driver and it won’t install. Only later did I see the post on their website stating the incompatibility. They’re working on an update but I should have read their post before uninstalling…d’oh!!
Im a pro tools user and updated to OSX Mavericks and now my audio interface/micpre is not working with pro tools, its not letting me play audio through my monitors!!! I was not warned for i am an Avid Member online! I really hope they fix this ASAP!!!! because i have music to make!!!
OS X Mavericks has totally broken Reaper for me, playback is like a broken tape machine with nasty digital artifacts, with or without plugins!!
Same issue no audio output from monitors at all nor headphones I have mbox 3 every since update output has not worked at all I went and bought new studio monitors thinking I had fried the old ones or something THANX APPLE WAY TO GO. COMPLETELY HALTED MY WORK ON PT10
It’s hit or miss with Kontakt for some people which leads me to believe it has to do with each persons system config and third party apps and drivers since not everyone reports 10.9 Kontakt crashes. I do by the way. haven’t tried 5.3 ver yest though.
I run Reason 5 and when I updated to Maverick, it won’t open! Keeps telling me to reinstall to make sure the Reason engine in running properly. I think I will delete the operating system and reinstall Mountain Lion.
Reason 4 won’t open after “upgrading” to Maverick
I’m having a bit of trouble with audio going in and out of a MOTU Audio Express. I am not sure what is messing up, but before the upgrade everything was fine. Sometimes the audio drops entirely out. A quick restart fixes the problem temporarily. It is long enough to get some work done, so I am okay with it for now. The problems might get old soon though. I run Logic X and use NI’s Maschine MKII. The problem occurs with both, so I don’t think anyone will have issues with a specific program, but rather audio in general, or maybe it is just me. Haha. Good luck to everyone!
I updated as it was released and have had no issues with the OS, audio apps, or my audio hardware. Actually, other than some really minor annoyances, I think this is the best release in years.
I updated and had very few issues. Nebula Server3 won’t run, but it already caused some trouble on ML. Everything else runs perfectly. Metric Halo updated their drivers, Presonus updated Studio One, all my Universal Audio, Native Instruments and other software running great. Maybe because the step from ML to Mavericks isn’t that big… I only had a crash(system freeze) when I tried to mirror my Desktop to my Apple TV, but this is nothing I really need.
I had more luck doing a fresh install rather than upgrading. Pro Tools 11 mostly works (iLok issues for a while), Logic 9 and Reason 6.5 fully work and so far none of my plugins are showing any issues. I’ve kept a copy of ML for running PT and Ableton 8 (not tried Ableton on Mavericks yet) but if things continue to work well I’ll make the full transition in the new year.
I initially copied my ML installation and upgraded it, but there were a lot of problems with PT and Reason, and a few of my plugins didn’t pass Logic’s scan.
my macbook pro from 2007 is really working crappy with osx 10.9 … hope they soon will fix this
some times it freezes 10 sec after startup ….
and i have to reboot
come on apple !!!! steve jobs dies and you start to mess with us ….
if you keep making bad updates i have to switch to windows again 🙁
Before doing anything like that (if you really want it), do a block-based full system backup so you can roll back easily in one click.
I wll wait a little more 😉
My hackintosh is going to be Windows 7 – Mountain Lion till this summer…at least.
Plogue Bidule and Ableton Live 8 both immediately crash after the upgrade. Plogue has released a new version that appears to fix it, and Ableton has a beta release of Live 8 available from their support forums that I haven’t tried yet.
Pro tools 8 working good Native instruments Maschine as well. Big Problem is my Mbox2 is not playing properly after upgrading I use the Mbox2 as my output for all my sound including ITunes so I’m screwed . Anyone know how to uninstall Maverick & go back to Mountain Lion heeeellllllllppppp
Maverick and the latest Pro Tools X upgrade rendered all of my plugins in Pro Tools non existent! I have now migrated to Pro Tools 11 and await for everyone to catch up and for Avid to issue a fix so that Pro Tools 10 will work. It is really annoying and costly to just move to 11!
M-audio Fast Track Pro totally broken after installed Mavericks. Soundforge totally broken after installing Mavericks. F#¥#¥#ng apple bastards!!!
Reason 5 and Logic 9 don’t work anymore, Abelton 8 is laggy – back to MountainLion!
Like my granny said: “in life nothing is for free – even the death – he get paid with your life”
So think about OS Mavericks…