Bias Peak Pro 7 on mac Sierra -- How to make it work

[BMilot]

Bias Peak 7 is long gone but still is the best audio software of its kind, even in 2020.

Peak Pro 7 or Peak studio XT 7, if you like, is still working under modern Mac OSs; however if you tried to install it recently, you may have encountered a crash issue when you select the audio i/o device.

If you read the user manual and followed the instructions given in the section "Known issues", you've got it all set and working, but if you didn't, just follow the following instructions on the Bias Website: https://www.bias-inc.com/support/faq/cV ... faq_id=231

In the end, all you need to do is create an Aggregate Device in Audio MIDI Setup and select it in Peak. It works perfectly.

I purchased Peak Studio XT 7 in 2020 (it is still available for purchase here https://peak-audio-editor.myshopify.com/ for $149 US without support) and installed it on Sierra. Although I had read the user manual, I didn't think that the known issue for Mac OS 10.7 (Lion) applied to all higher releases of mac OS. I had this issue: Peak crashed whenever I tried to select the audio device at startup, deleted "ACA P7 Preferences", relaunch without selecting audio i/o, and worked until quit. Then on relaunch, crash again. Bias had given us the solution, but it should have been entitled "Peak 7 Crashes when selecting audio device" or something in those lines instead of "Recording Audio in Peak 7 running in Mac OS X v. 10.7 "Lion"".

There you have it. I hope it helps. Keep using Peak. I haven't seen any audio software that equals it (not even DSP-Quattro 5).

[mikehalloran]

Whatever floats your boat. I gave up on Peak after v.4 and never looked back.

[Guitar Gaz]

See my posts below - every new Mac OSX update I used to post on the status of Peak and how this dead software still worked. However it died in Mojave - but quite a remarkable zombie existence. I now use DSP Quattro - its okay and a reasonable replacement for Peak.


Post by Guitar Gaz » Thu Apr 26, 2018 1:23 am

Guitar Gaz wrote:
Haven't switched to Sierra yet but as I report every major update on Peak Pro 7 my last report was it worked better than previously in El Capitan than it did in Mavericks. Apparently it is working well also in Sierra - I will report when I finally make the switch.


Peak Pro 7 still working well in High Sierra. How many years is it since this software was supposedly dead following the closure of Bias? It must be some rocksteady great code for it still to be working after umpteen Mac OS upgrades. Quite bizarre - like working with a zombie.

by Guitar Gaz » Wed Oct 31, 2018 8:39 pm
Upgraded to Mojave last night (earlier than I wanted but my e-mail app under High Sierra seemed broken and beyond help by Apple Support). Sadly, although Bias Peak still opens, it seems limited in what files you can open and manipulate, so I figure this means the end of this app - although having said that it perked up under Sierra and High Sierra.

Therefore I suspect Bias Peak is now dead - but I will still test under the next Mac OS upgrade just to see if it still opens.

[PhireAlly]

However it died in Mojave

I'm running macOS Mojave with Peak Pro 7 and TC Electronic Powercore, on a 2013 iMac 27"- Intel i5
Both are working surprisingly well and without issue.

PhireAlly

[Guitar Gaz]

However it died in Mojave

I'm running macOS Mojave with Peak Pro 7 and TC Electronic Powercore, on a 2013 iMac 27"- Intel i5
Both are working surprisingly well and without issue.

PhireAlly

Good for you - I am on Catalina now, so doubt it will work anymore anyway.

[PhireAlly]

Mojave is the final MacOS that will support 32bit apps like Peak Pro 7.

For the OP, as I recall, one of the things I did to get the TC Powercore to work on Mojave was to run the computer in "Developer Mode". and I kept it that way from then on.
Maybe that has also helped Peak to function as well.
Just a thought.

Hope that helps,
PhireAlly

[sldghamr]

I had given up on Peak after v4 and Bias' demise - and somehow overlooked the fact I could still buy the v7 upgrade for a meager $50 - until last week. So last week I purchased the upgrade, installed it under High Sierra (never had v4 on this machine). The issue I'm seeing is with all Apple AU plug-ins and I've only tried a few others I get "Processor overload". Some of the Bias ones work. No crashing. Editing is fine (just as glorious as it ever was), just a very limited set of plug-ins that actually work. Thoughts?

[mikehalloran]

... Thoughts?

Have fun!

The last MacOS that supported 32 bit plugins was released 5 1/2 years ago.

[bayswater]

Thoughts?

It would probably help if you told us your OS version, the host you are using etc. Otherwise there is no way to say anything other than you should be using an old macOS version.

[sldghamr]

"installed it under High Sierra". 2015 iMac 4GHz i7, just using an old iMic USB interface - mainly using Peak for editing, not recording. Using primarily AU plug-ins - stock Apple ones already on the system and the Bias ones installed by Peak Studio XT v7.x. Really not much to it.

[bayswater]

The latest info I can find on Bias Peak 7 refers to OS X 10.7. And even that shows reports of "minor anomalies", advice to use aggregate audio devices, and promises of "optimization" with Lion that does not appear to have ever happened. There is a thread on GS saying it's "compatible" with High Sierra despite not working with earlier OS versions, although just what compatible means if the claim is not from the developer, is unclear. Assuming that's correct, maybe it boils down buffer sizes or lack of optimization with OS versions post 10.7.

[sldghamr]

"GS" refers to?

[James Steele]

"installed it under High Sierra".

Might have been "installed under" that made that less than apparent. One might infer that you installed under that OS and then upgraded to a later OS after the installation.

2015 iMac 4GHz i7, just using an old iMic USB interface - mainly using Peak for editing, not recording. Using primarily AU plug-ins - stock Apple ones already on the system and the Bias ones installed by Peak Studio XT v7.x. Really not much to it.

Not sure why AUs aren't working. As you know, when you're running software that old that hasn't been maintained/updated, all sorts of weirdness can happen. I'm not familiar with BIAS Peak... well haven't used it in many years. I know that the guy who started BIAS (Steve something?) was big into supporting Ensoniq samplers like the EPS16+ for years. He had some software called stEPS as I recall?

It's going to be tough to get around the fact that you're using a very old, discontinued app. I hope it works out. As an alternative have you tried DSP Quattro, perhaps? You can demo it and see if will help. Pretty sure all the plug-ins should work in it.

https://www.dsp-quattro.com/dspquattro/ ... loads.html

[James Steele]

I noticed the developer of DSP Quattro also now has an Audio Editor app that has most of the features for less. Here's a comparison chart:

https://www.dsp-quattro.com/dspquattro/ ... ison-chart

Might be worth trying it out if you can't get Peak to work reliably?

[bayswater]

"GS" refers to?

gearslutz or whatever it is called now.