No, it’s more like 9 years than 2. On Mac as far as I know I’ve never had to reinstall anything.
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When APPLE stops supporting the OS upgrade on your Mac is what Im talking about.
Combine that with Cubase only doing 2 versions and then add to that your plugins and there ya go. IF you want to be CURRENT that is
Our two Mac Pro 2013 systems are still supported with latest Monterey , so I wouldn’t worry that much.
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Because Cubase 12 allows installing on multiple machines, I installed it on a M1 Macbook Pro and compared to my Windows system.
It “runs fine” but I’m heavily invested in the Native Instruments plugin ecosystem, and there’s very little M1 support from NI in the Komplete series. Especially Reaktor will take a long time to see M1/ARM support.
If all you need is Cubase and the plugins that come with it, and whatever third party plugins have been ported, and if you use a USB audio interface that is known compatible, then you’re good with the Studio. If you’re on NI Komplete or a few other popular vendors, you’ll better off staying Intel/AMD for now. Also, curiously, Waves does not document Cubase 12 as a supported host, even though they have M1 support generally.
Apple doesn’t stop supporting models after 2 years, you usually get around 7 at least. That would actually be against the law here if they did that.
My G3 went from OS 8.6 up to 10.4, that was quite a few years of support. My Quicksilver 2002 G4 got OS support from its date of birth up until Snow Leopard was released in 2009. My 2010 Mac Pro technically got left behind in 2018, but with a video card upgrade (Im now running externally with my Mac Mini) lasted another year until Catalina finally killed it. If you don’t want to update your OS because some developer is lagging and cant get their act together, then that is the users choice, but Apple certainly does not stop supporting a machine with OS updates after 2 years.
IF YOU WANT to run the current Cubase which will only support two OS versions now, well
C12 is Big Sur or Monterey only now. That’s my point. Me, I will use OC Legacy Patcher and roll with it till the Mac dies
The M1 Max/Ultra options are mostly worth the money if you primarily work with video / photo due to the extra cores and graphics capabilities. But the single-core performance across the whole line is pretty similar (3.2GHz). Not bad by any means. But still limited by the need to hit mobile-friendly power/thermal targets.
If you don’t need more than 32GB RAM then I’d say save your money and go with an M1 Pro and wait to upgrade until Apple releases a new higher-power desktop/server - class ARM line (the X1?) in the future.
Hi, my MacBook Pro, early 2009, has the last update of macOS Monterey (12.3).
It works fine, for not too big projects as it’s powered by a 2 x 3.06 GHz and without some Vstis from Native Instruments for instance, not yet compatible.
What is boring is, like FilterFreq said, the annual change of OS, but with that said, you have to install the previous one, Big Sur, and next year Monterey which will be fully compatibleat that time.
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Hi
I’ve been using Cubase since 1989 - yes Atari
I have used every version on every Mac (I still have projects from back then)
I used to designed large studio control systems at SSL, Euphonix and Neve - on PCs
Tried to get all of those companies to use Apple - but to no avail - yet all the clients did
Some of my software is still running from 1985 - ho ho
I don’t mind using PCs for engineering but it’s always a full time job - compatibility is not truly possible - you have to be committed to the “PC cause”
For me:
Music (I’m a Musician), Video editing and home stuff (+ some Mac and iOS design)
Apple machines require little maintenance
Can be resold - at a good price
Keep working for years - we all have stories to broken gear, my first Moog stopped working in 1978!!
Despite my knowledge and expertise is computer software and hardware design, I am just not interested when I am doing Music - “just works” is not lazy, you can’t concentrate on playing / writing if you keep on having to be an IT nerd (which I am)
So all the PCs are best / Apple is best is irrelevant to me, I use Apples because I can
All equipment breaks - I hate replacing a string in the middle of a recording (or a gig) so the more stuff you use, the more likely to have some breaks.
Try aligning a 2" 24 track before you start recording, for comparison with using a computer
Good luck - make some music!
I’ve always used PCs, maybe 20 or 30 years ago PC was difficult to keep up with, but it is 2022 and there is no keeping up with compatibility with PCs anymore. You buy the best possible one you can afford and it runs. Software companies give you specifications required to run their software, and if you meet those specs you’re good. So the whole Mac is better for production, maybe so 20 years ago, maybe not. All I know is I’ve never had a problem with a PC, and when my computer gets an update from Windows it runs the same as it did the day before.
Wickham_Sky
Sounds good
The new Mac Studio looks like a good format and spec
I will be thinking about it but my current system is so powerful already - I’m not too sure what I would be getting
Video editing would be faster but I only do little amateur stuff with Video
Sticking with what work - is the rule in Music production - Listen to Eno (or any great producer) about that.
And we are all still using guitars, basses and amps designed in the 50s - because they work
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I totally agree, I’d rather have a $1,500 computer and a new les Paul than a $4,000 computer, and that’s it.
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My current Mac Pro will celebrate it’s 10th birthday soon! 10 years of no-hassle, no-fuss usage. It just works! (Currently running Nuendo 11 for Atmos projects!)
I’m not too worried about new Macs not being upgradable as Apple is installing modern, top-grade components that will keep these new M1 Macs relevant for years to come. Just make sure to buy enough RAM and storage you can grow into. (I’m looking at 32GB RAM and 1 or 2 TB SSD storage for when I finally retire my 2012 Mac Pro in the next year. )
Lots of complaints about the fan running constant. I would not buy a Mac Studio until we know what new mac pro will be. In many ways it will be very similar to the Studio. My wishes is better cooling and a few pcie slots.
Dave, what are the specs on your 2015 iMac? I have a 2017 and just wondering how it will do. 4.2ghz 64gb ram 1tb ssd.
Infiniumsound,
The specs for our 2015 iMac is as follows:
Apple iMac 2015, i7 4-core 4 GHz, 64 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, RP395X GPU, 1 Gb/s Ethernet, MacOS Monterey 12.3.
The audio hardware and DAW software we use with it are as follows:
Luna 1.2.6, Logic Pro 10.7.3, Cubase Pro 11.0.41, Studio One 5.5.2 Pro Tools 2021.12, UAD-2 software 10.0, UA Apollo 8, UA Apollo Twin Mk 2, UAD-2 Thunderbolt Satellite Quad.
We utilize UAD-2 plugins, Native Instruments software and instruments, Izotope plugins, and many others.
We use this computer in our Studio B, which is where we undertake less demanding tasks than Studio A. However, we routinely mix and master projects with up to 50 tracks with quite a few plugins on a regular basis with no performance issues.
I hope this helps.
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DavePorter, thank you for the detailed reply. This definitely helps.
Do you find Monterrey to run better on the 2015 iMac better than Big Sur?
I’m using Cubase 11 on a MBP 15” 2012 laptop with 16GB of RAM and internal SSD and external SSD. I run tons of plugins and ozone and more on the master bus. NO ISSUES whatsoever. This laptop is rock solid and has never caused me any issues. Only thing is I can’t upgrade past Catalina because the software technology has outrun the hardware speed. It happens. I’ve never had a computer for a decade, so this is a record for me. Prior to this I was building PCs and using windows. I am not an apple fan boy whatsoever, but I absolutely HATE windows OS after 15 years of pro and personal use. Mac is a great system and syncs with my iphone and ipad effortlessly. Only time my mac crashes is when I’m using plugins that the developers have not updated or I have not upgraded. I intend to get the new $2000 Mac Studio, and I’m sure it will be plenty of power for me. I’m also confident it will get me another 10 years. I’m good with that.
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Infiniumsound,
Yes, in my opinion, everything seems more stable and snappier on Monterey than it was on Big Sur. The difference is more “feel” and “impression” because it’s a subtle improvement. It’s not a “wow!” type change.
I think that Monterey is Big Sur in a finished and more polished form.
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Thanks again DavePorter!
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