MOTUnation.com

I upgraded just now from 13.6.1 to 14.1.1.

Like Phil O, I noticed my machine (M1 Mac Studio) starting up faster - and it was already very fast. I get the login screen almost instantly.

After installing, I couldn't connect to the internet. Thanks to a helpful YT video, I learned it was because Little Snitch was out of date. To restore internet access, go to Network > Filters and disable Little Snitch. Then you can sign on and get the Little Snitch update.

So far, I just did quick playback tests of projects in DP 11 (including old files with Kontakt 5 or 6 instances and Garritan CFX Lite), Pro Tools 2023.9, Logic Pro, Dorico Pro 5, Sibelius Ultimate, Keyscape, and Arturia Mini V, SEM V2, and Synclavier.

No problems!

But there's no way to get rid of that big, ugly, orange mic icon in the menu bar (and I'm not alone - there are Reddit threads full of others who agree).

BobK wrote:But there's no way to get rid of that big, ugly, orange mic icon in the menu bar (and I'm not alone - there are Reddit threads full of others who agree).

Ugh!! I agree! I hate that dumb icon!

What does the orange mic icon represent?

I’m on Ventura -Mac Studio Ultra M1- considering Sonoma—-Sweetwater has a compatibility list of manufacturers and very few claim they are ready for Sonoma so I’ve been holding off. Seems like people here are having good luck however-

Greg


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greg328 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 10, 2023 4:45 am What does the orange mic icon represent?

Clicking on it brings up a window with a "Mic mode" section that offers a choice between "Standard" and "Voice Isolation". Above "Mic Mode", it displays the icon of what I think is the most recent app that has been granted access to the microphone input.

The orange icon disappears a minute or so after you quit the app. I'm confused, though, because after I quit a DAW, Metric Halo's MIO Console app (which has mic access) was still running, but the icon disappeared. So I don't quite get it..

I guess the "Voice Isolation" is for FaceTime and maybe other video conferencing apps.

My last computer was a Mac Pro 5,1 12 core. Topped that baby out at Mojave, as I didn't wish to engage in alternate approaches to macOS. I lagged OS updates significantly, and this always paid off; I was able to avoid a lot of then pitfalls early adopters experienced.

Now that I have a Mac Studio, I'm more tempted to try to keep the machine's OS current, but it still seems wise to lag given that my Mac Studio and MacBook Air are both very important to me from a revenue perspective.

With that stated, I'll continue watching poolside for now. But good to hear things appear to be going swimmingly for those who have dived headfirst into the Sonoma Plunge.

So in other words- you’re waiting. Me too-


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I updated to Sonoma yesterday.
Mac Studio M1 Max
Motu 1248
Motu MTP AV
Kontrol keyboard: Arturia Keylab 61 mkII
Til now no problems, everything is snappier. No problems with audio and MIDI plugins.
Se my list of different plugin manufactures. I have the last downloads of the plugins.

Looks promising but- have you verified Sonoma compatibility by running ALL of your myriad plugs?

I’m tempted to update too-
Greg


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greg328 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 14, 2023 4:04 am Looks promising but- have you verified Sonoma compatibility by running ALL of your myriad plugs?

I’m tempted to update too-
Greg


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I have tested all my plugins and they work perfect, even more snappy- :D

Well this is great news---!

I'm dealing with some HORRIBLE latency on my Mac Studio Ultra M1--perhaps Sonoma would help--?

I'm about to pull the trigger, can't get much worse at this point.

Greg

greg328 wrote:I'm dealing with some HORRIBLE latency on my Mac Studio Ultra M1--perhaps Sonoma would help--?

What kind of latency? I know HC Markus has same Mac and no issues. FWIW, I have M1 Max Mac Studio and running Sonoma 14.1.1 with no problems here either.

Thanks James--I know, HC has no issues with the identical Mac---very strange!

I have serious latency when monitoring any virtual instrument (when played live, at any buffer size) and of course any live mic input, same deal, any buffer size--both situations yield unacceptable latency.

I can sort of get work done if I mute (deactivate) other processor-intensive items in the session--and then re-activate when ready to mix. Of course this is not ideal, and was not necessary with my previous MacPro 5.1. I bought the Ultra M1 because of the touted amazing power and of course the ability to run modern software on a modern OS. I have yet to experience the glorious power of a new Mac Studio Ultra--but I keep trying to troubleshoot and resolve.

MOTU makes a few suggestions but nothing has made a difference. One suggestion they gave was to eliminate the master fader, and use an AUX instead. I tried that, no difference. I do mute FX plugs on the master track to alleviate some processor draw---but again, this was not necessary on the previous MacPro, and should not be necessary with the supposed powerhouse MacStudio Ultra!

This makes music production very tricky. I've noticed that any effect inserted into a VI or audio track can cause this.

I'm using UA Apollo x8 and lots of plugs--all in my signature. I've been very thorough in updating all 3rd party plugs to the latest ARM versions. Nothing running in Rosetta, as evidenced in the Activity Monitor. Also, I can view the 20 cores in Activity Monitor and they are far from maxed. Many of them are in fact inactive. Which is odd----

So---maybe---Sonoma may help a little--but I honestly don't expect a miracle--

Greg

Greg, I'm sure you know your should avoid mastering limiters while tracking, but, just in case... if you disable plugins on Master buss, look-ahead limiters will still cause massive latency.

Solution is to CLEAR Master Track Plugins (in topmost slot), Track VIs, then RESTORE master plugins.

I'm running the same computer as you without the issues you describe.

HCMarkus wrote: ↑Tue Nov 14, 2023 9:16 am Greg, I'm sure you know your should avoid mastering limiters while tracking, but, just in case... if you disable plugins on Master buss, look-ahead limiters will still cause massive latency.

Solution is to CLEAR Master Track Plugins (in topmost slot), Track VIs, then RESTORE master plugins.

I'm running the same computer as you without the issues you describe.

Exactly. Running look-ahead plugs in bypass mode can still cause latency issues (grrrrrr). I had to remove them from my templates completely, even on the Master bus and add back after tracking.

As for Sonoma compatibility, I need Finale 27.4 to be released before I can update. The beta testers haven't seen it yet so I'm not sure when that will be. I do have my wife's MBAir running macOS 14.1 for testing but not the work machine.

Thanks guys, I have tested latency by having no look ahead plugs on the master- still dealing with latency.

In fact, sometimes I can have a very empty session with just virtual instruments and MIDI tracks, no effect auxes populated/enabled, no extra bus routing enabled. Even in this condition, I still have latency as I’m playing, live from my keyboard into my virtual instruments.

I just moved from Yamaha Motif XS8 into a brand new Yamaha Montage M8X, the same condition persists.

In fact, I’m using the Yamaha Steinberg driver to be able to print the Montage M outputs directly into DP digitally, and the latency is unbelievable.


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