I decided that I would install the MacOSx 10.10 Yosemite beta just to see what the impacts would be for those who use Apple equipment in their studios.

The first impressions of the operating system itself is that it is zippy. Boot up, Safari, application launching and responsiveness, Apple has done a good job!

Using logic and bringing in old logic project that use only logic instruments, I had no issues. Same with Garageband and Reason.  Everything has, so far, seemed to work without issue.

I have had some issues with Native Instruments Massive and Battery (I actually use Maschine, Komplete 9 Ultimate, Rise & Hit and Kinetic Metal).  Upon installing 10.10 it’s as if all of my Native Instruments software had to go through reinitializing setup and such.  After that, playing with the various NI software synths and packages, I have no issues using them in a project.

However, I did have a challenge when loading a track I completed in the past two weeks.  I didn’t lose anything per-se, but I am having to re-link up the actual tracks to the correct software synth and sound.  Specifically, Logic seemed to miss the link ups to Massive, which it said it couldn’t find.  This was just a matter of re-selecting Massive.  Then I had the task of selecting the correct patch and I mis-labeled the loops (mainly because I had copied from other tracks), losing track of what sounds I was actually using.

Somehow, this seemed to resolve itself.

The next issue I’m having isn’t really a big issue for me.  For some reason I’m getting a dialog box that says:

This is odd because I’ve not used Battery at all in this project, in fact the beats are generated by my Roland Aira TR-8 in this track.  It’s possible I may have loaded Battery during develop of the track to see if there was anything that I wanted to bring in.  Beyond that, Battery just isn’t used.

The workaround for this is to resave your project and everything is good to go.

I think the biggest tips I can recommend to relatively new folks is

• If you have the ability to name loops on a track, rename them to the name of the patch you’re using
• Before you load your project, make a copy of the project file or files and load from there
• Keep in mind, MacOS X 10.10 Yosemite is a beta, so I expect these issues to be fixed by the time Yosemite is available.  Don’t upgrade your mission critical hardware, and when you do, if you have the luxury of having an older system, to test on, you could do your testing on that system to anticipate what issues you might have.
• Software providers will make patches available for any issues and changes made in MacOS X 10.10 Yosemite.  These are early days of Yosemite.

What I’m doing is not for the feint of heart.

All issues I have raised have been submitted to Apple for review, and I’m trusting that the details are passed on to Native Instruments, so they can work together to resolve these issues.

All in all, I am pleased with Yosemite so far.

Erasure have released the first single from their album, The Violet Flame, “Elevation” on SoundCloud.  It’s a gorgeous track and I love the analogue synths that Vince Clarke is using, and while it’s not Andy’s greatest vocal, it totally works as a package and I’ve got it on constant replay and it tickles my funny bone.

A perfect pop song, and I’d love to hear a 12″ Mix.

I’m a huge fan of Vince’s Analogue Monologues which were recorded at his cabin studio in Maine prior to moving to New York City.  I’ve learned a few things from his series.

I’d say that analogue synths scare me – and they can be daunting, but the truth is, I’ve been using analogue synths, well, digital reproductions for the past 13 years between Reason’s Subtractor and it’s CV gates, and others.  I’ve got the MS-20EX, PolySix EX and AL-1 on the Korg Kronos X, as well the MS-20 on the iPad.  I’ve also got the Roland System-1 and TB-3 which are Analogue Circuit Behaviour synths.

Where I’m going is, I know I could be doing a lot more with analogue synths and hearing Elevation makes me want to explore these synths more.  Especially the PolySix and System-1.

(Then there’s Vince’s VCMG project with Martin Gore.  *DROOL*)