Pulling back from the bleeding edge

[b mcgibney]

I've been with PT since the 5.0 digi 001 days. At some point I will upgrade my current 5,1 12core machine which is upgraded to run Mojave with a metal GPU card but for now I'm wondering what combo of Mac OS and PT gives the best combo of performance/features?

Currently running Mac Sierra on one HD and Mojave on another. I like Sierra because I can still run both Izotope Advanced 5 and Reaktor 5. I also run Mojave on another SSD but I see no advantage for the kind of music I am making.

At this point I want the most capable and stable combo of PT and Mac OS.

In terms of features, track freeze was the last feature that really made a difference to how I make music.

Thanks for 20 years of wisdom in music recording

BTW sig file is out of date, I've maintained my perpetual license GRRRR!

Brian

[musicman691]

Running PT 2021.6 in OSX 10.13.6 (High Sierra) on the 5,1 2012 cheesegrater on my profile page no problem. Reaktor 5 runs on it no problem. You can go past Mojave to Catalina - follow this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxFzZWqoCng


You've mentioned pulling back from the bleeding edge and I concur. I've been tempted to go to Catalina but at what cost? $700-800 for a new video card? Like you for the type of work I do I don't need the latest features in PT. That's why I stopped paying the yearly Avid task and froze my system where it is.



I don't need things like ARA. I don't do large-scale work. Best combination of performance and features? That's up to you to decide on what features you need. Not what's nice to have or the latest/shiniest feature - that can lead you down a very expensive rabbit hole. What you need now and realistically what you see yourself needing in future work.


Yes I've thought about what to do if my system croaks. I'd get a 6,1 and run something like Catalina. Would I like a 7,1? Oh hell yeah. Ain't got the money.

[b mcgibney]

Thanks for you thoughts musicman. You are right about not going down the rabbit hole. Since PT has gone to their current pricing model I keep swearing I'm gonna get off the train. I'm now just an old guy making most acoustic music. My 5,1 still runs strong and I am definitely the weakest link in the chain.

Cheers from the left coast

B

[Ben Jenssen]

I'm thinking like this; I've let my perpetual update plan expire, and I'm not missing anything. I have a pretty good intel mac mini, and Catalina suits me fine.

I am settled fine to await the point in time when the combination of new apple hardware and OS becomes too good not to adopt. A year? More likely two. (PT running native on apple silicon is another discussion.)

I actually bought a M1 mini early this summer. PT ran like a lion on it. Fantastic machine; never got hot. But I returned it. I didn't really get anything new from big sur, quite the opposite; not having a intel processor meant I lost some functionalities that I wanted.

So, I'm on the fence. With a powerful intel mac, looking forward to next year and blowing a large amount of cash on the next generation of mac.

(I actually have both a MP w/sierra/snowleopard/PT10, and G4 powermac w/001, still working, last time I checked.)

[b mcgibney]

Lol, I still have my old 001 setup as well as an 002 003 and three different laptops running everything from Leopard to Catalina. I think a mac mini M1X is where I will end up. Cheers from Vancouver

Originally Posted by Ben Jenssen

(I actually have both a MP w/sierra/snowleopard/PT10, and G4 powermac w/001, still working, last time I checked.)

[sdelsolray]

I froze my PT system shortly after Apple Silcon was announced. My i5 iMac runs on High Sierra and I froze at PT 2020.12.

I'll wait until PT runs natively well on Apple Silicon before jumping in again.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

I froze my PT system shortly after Apple Silcon was announced. My i5 iMac runs on High Sierra and I froze at PT 2020.12.

I'll wait until PT runs natively well on Apple Silicon before jumping in again.

Were/are you on a permanent license or subscription? Remember that if you're on a permanent license and you don't pay the yearly Avid tax you need to pay full price for PT (unless you can find a retailer that still has reinstatement plans). I froze at PT 2021.6 which will run on Big Sur should I ever buy a new Mac.

[JFreak]

I also have several "parked" systems (MIX3 and two HD3's) but that is because of the hardware. With the trend of going native, being up to date is more important. There are always changes you cannot see a week before you need it, so parking a native system may backfire one day.

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by musicman691

Were/are you on a permanent license or subscription? Remember that if you're on a permanent license and you don't pay the yearly Avid tax you need to pay full price for PT (unless you can find a retailer that still has reinstatement plans). I froze at PT 2021.6 which will run on Big Sur should I ever buy a new Mac.

I have a PT perpetual license and had purchased 2 years of support (at $100/yr) in the summer of 2018. My support ended at the end of 2020.

Yes, if I jump back on the support bandwagon I'll need to buy a new perpetual license at $600, which comes with one year of support to begin with. This means the cost of a bare new license is $400.

When I do that, I'll need to get a new computer too. I'm waiting for the Apple Silicon machines to mature a bit and for all the software I use to be robustly stable running natively on Apple Silicon. My break even point, money wise, is the end of 2022...almost half way there.

I also have Studio One, which is rather nice, and it does everything I need a DAW to do. So, if for some reason, the PT thing doesn't pan out (e.g., Avid goes to subscription only), I have a Plan B, at least for my DAW.

Plugins are similar. Although I was WUP'ed for my Waves plugins through the end of 2020 (giving me perpetual access to v 12 of Waves plugins), I can only use v 11 on my older iMac with High Sierra. Waves, and other plugins I use (e.g., Altiverb, all Liquidsonics verbs, etc.), also need to become natively operational on Apple Silicon before I get a new computer and upgrade everything.

And then there's my interface. It's an Apogee Element 46 (very nice unit) and, although Apogee stopped making the Element 24 and 46 they are still making the Element 88. Apogee told me that they support their products for at least five years after they discontinue a product. Since the Element 88 is not yet discontinued, and since the software that controls the Element Series is identical for each of the three Element hardware products, that 5 year clock has not yet started to run. In any event, Apogee will be releasing their Apple Silicon native-running Control software for the Element Series later this year. So, I believe there will be no interface issue with my "freezing plan".

Hope that all makes sense.

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by JFreak

I also have several "parked" systems (MIX3 and two HD3's) but that is because of the hardware. With the trend of going native, being up to date is more important. There are always changes you cannot see a week before you need it, so parking a native system may backfire one day.

A frozen system doesn't need to experience changes. I could be wrong. Do you have examples?