The Name Of This Forum Is An Oxymoron, Dude, you're gettin' nowhere--fast. Options

[Levon River]

The very title of this forum is an oxymoron.

There is no music on OS X, not in any meaningful and useful way across the spectrum of musical needs. You're hearing this opinion from a 10-year veteran die-hard Mac evangelist.

Sure, keyboardist Geewhiz has managed to cobble together a magically working combination that allows him to play Reason synths from his keyboard because it just so happens that he has one of the pitiful handful of USB MIDI interfaces that has had an OS X driver written for it. Not that anybody can determine even with a crystal ball which MIDI devices have any such drivers, since many MIDI (and audio) hardware manufacturers just put something nice and ambiguous in their promotional literature and on their web pages like "Mac OS 8.6 and above," leaving the buyer to find out by whatever means they can whether that includes OS X or not--usually *not*.

Or audiophile Gahlee Lookahere can transfer his Spike Jones collection off of scratchy 78-rpms into Peak and tweak. And God bless him.

Anybody can trot out any number of specialist, vertical-use examples to say, "Hey, now, listen here, you troublemaker: I'm making *my* brand of music." Fine. God bless you.

But if there is a single OS X-based studio even operating anywhere in the world right now, not only is it absolutely forced to use Apple's own monopolistic $1,000.00 bank-buster Logic Audio Platinum (after 2 1/2 years with NOTHING available), but it is a desert island cut off by oceans of "no date has been set" promises from the entire rich mainland of third-party software effects and virtual instruments, with only a few working hardware audio and MIDI interfaces bobbing around it like ghostly and uncertain buoys in the darkness.

Even the supposed Flagship of the "Mac-compatible" (please don't laugh) music fleet, Digidesign/ProTools, was so far out of the picture when OS X hit the streets that their top software wouldn't even RUN without risking extreme dangers on a Macintosh that even had OS X *installed* anywhere on it--even on a separate partition!

Even seasoned, experienced, veteran Mac computer music equipment salesmen right now, today, hedge and hem and haw when you're trying to *buy* something from them and want to know if it will work under OS X. Even with commissions on the line, their cash-register driven souls just won't let them cross that line.

This isn't music computing; it's an asylum that makes Bedlam look like Congress. (No, that's a bad analogy; actually Congress makes Bedlam look sane. But that's another essay.)

The names "Core MIDI" and "Core Audio" services must have been dreamed up by someone with a particularly malicious sense of humor, since it seems that what it means is that MIDI and audio access and usefulness have been surgically cored out of Apple, and replaced with some modern digital Tower of Musical Babel that has effectively kept musicians who were attempting to migrate to OS X from communicating with their computers now for almost three years.

And is the end of the bleeding frustration actually in sight? Well, it *always*, is, isn't it? But "no date has been set."

So if you soon see a rash of G3s and G4s--like mine--and other musical paperweights showing up on E-Bay, don't be surprised. Dude, musicians are gettin' a Dell.

[Johnny Valium]

But as they don't seem to give a damn about MY needs as a user I have the right to get angry.

Having said all the above I would like to add that of course OS X is awsome in many ways and made it possible for me as a web developer to lead an almost windowsless life. But there's still the other me, the musician who is just tired of struggling with the incompatibilities, instabilities and incommensurabilities of the old system which - being a late switcher - I've never really come to control. My longing definitely has some religious aspects but I don't confuse Jobs with God.

[Levon River]

OS X is awsome in many ways

Music ain't one of them. At least it sure wasn't when I started this thread, and, for my money, it still ain't.

OS X is awesome in the ways that UNIX was awesome 15 years ago; Jobs and Apple finally caught the train. Hell, way back in 1986 the beleagured and lowly Amiga had multiple processors, full multitasking, interlaced video, video I/O, key-switchable *screens* (not just windows), and both a GUI and CLI--all right out of the box! Gates and Apple did all they could to bury that machine at a time when Macs and PeeCees could barely single-task for 4-times the money. With plenty of help from the incompetent, if not criminally negligent, management at C=, they succeeded. Now 18 years later independent programmers are writing HAXIES for OS X Macs just to get switchable screens, and the mosh-pit is going, "Wowwwwww, man!"

And now Apple has bought up a monopoly on Logic, and is saying: "You paid our gouge-price for the hardware and for the free version of UNIX we *finally* incorporated and are profitting from, now you want to make music? Okay--after three years of keeping you waiting, here is your dongle; come on, just put it in for us. It will be soooo good." So now you got to marry the company and become a dongle-wife too. And pay exorbitantly for the privilege.

Awesome? My thesaurus has other adjectives, but not suitable for this forum.

[Johnny Valium]

Awesome? My thesaurus has other adjectives, but not suitable for this forum.

Hey Levon,

have you also read my rant (the post before the one you quoted)?
I completely agree with you as far as the audio situation is concerned. One has to concede that Apple not just took FreeBSD and put a price tag on it but developed an amazing GUI for it first. And also the integration of Java seems nice (I'm a Java beginner). I can't really talk about the amiga because back then my parents wouldn't allow me to have one because they thought computers were evil (sometimes I ask myself wether they were right about that)

Johnny

[Levon River]

Hey Levon,

have you also read my rant (the post before the one you quoted)?

Yeah, Johnny, I read your stuff and enjoy it. And, look, if I didn't find Macs to have value and use, I wouldn't have sunk the money I have into 'em, so I can talk from either of the fence, any time.

I can't really talk about the amiga because back then my parents wouldn't allow me to have one  because they thought computers were evil (sometimes I ask myself wether they were right about that)  ;)

Yeah, Johnny, they mighta' been onto something there. Especially after reading what poor torchsong has been going through over in the OS 9 forum. You know, I *did* tell her that if all else failed, I might have the number for an exorcist...

[Mugwomp]

I've had zero problems writing and recorind with Logic 5.5 and the ESX-24 with an M-Audio interface. So far the results have been great. The whole reason I purchased my new Mac was to run Logic in OSX so I have nothing to complain about. The whole thing runs great.

You should consider shoving your doom and gloom bitching and moaning directly up your booty and get to writing some music. Your whining is worthless.

Go buy a Dell. Good luck using it with music.

----

I can't argue, OSX is still a mess for audio/midi - I'm a logic user and had a reason for it - if I want to shop around for OSX software/hardware the pickings are slim but my new Mac and I are too happy to notice.

[Levon River]

You should consider shoving your doom and gloom bitching and moaning directly up your booty and get to writing some music. Your whining is worthless.... I can't argue, OSX is still a mess for audio/midi - I'm a logic user and had a reason for it - if I want to shop around for OSX software/hardware the pickings are slim but my new Mac and I are too happy to notice.

There's yer quote, mugwump, and a fine one it is. Now here is one from the late Mr. Webster and his associates:

e·lit·ism or é·lit·ism: 1. The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources.
2.
a. The sense of entitlement enjoyed by such a group or class.
b. Control, rule, or domination by such a group or class.

This social condition was not invented by whoever coined the term "elitist," it was merely given the name it deserves, and it existed long before Ms. Antoinette had the bad judgement to say "Let them eat cake."

You may be too happy to notice the plight of many, many musicians who own Macs and want to migrate to OS X. I'm not. It concerns me greatly, both as part of the Mac community, and as part of the musician community, that there are almost no choices available under OS X just for, e.g., simply being able to perform a rather simple edit a to simple MIDI file in OS X.

I have no problem affording any program I choose to purchase, personally, and there is absolutely *no* shortage of ways around here to make any kind of music I want--as long as I do it in OS 9--so you can stop deluding yourself about how much music I've made, am making, or will make. But the plight of Mac musicians in OS X, the embarrassing lack of music program choices for OS X, and what amounts, in my opinion, to a current state of near extortion, concerns me greatly nonetheless. Obviously, it doesn't concern you one whit.

Would you like to go ahead and go on record saying, "Let them shell out a grand and shove a dongle up their USB port like I did?"

[wonx]

We have a right to be pissed off. Maybe we're fighting a loosing a battle, but I'm going to hold out as long as I can before I go over to the dark side. I maybe foolish and idealistic too, but I just can't stomach the fact that this corporate monopoly hegemony is spoiling my music making experience. Is it too much to ask for: Quality products at reasonable prices, from companies that are more concerned about their customers than going to all ends to protect their software from pirating.

[Levon River]

I think there's actually some light at the end of this long dark tunnel, wonx. Hunker down and keep yer powder dry a little longer...

[twelve]

Amen Levon!

Granted, this commentary (rant) comes with no experience whatsoever. But that's kind of the point...

The only reason (no pun intended) I'm even involved in this forum is because a friend of mine (and bigtime Mac enthusiast - actually a developer, but not on the audio side) basically convinced me a few months ago that I should just get a G4 to solve my home recording concerns. Little did he realize how NOT ready this solution was.

Sure, os9 is workin' fine for all those with previous experience. But I hopped into this Mac-hopper (and am now $2,000+ deep into it) expecting to be able to use what I have (i.e. the most current technology) to "simply" enter the world of home recording. Sure, Reason is working relatively well in osX with my US-428, but that doesn't help me much if I can't add in my bass, guitar, and vocals! In other words, I'm waiting (with baited breath) with the rest of you.

Meanwhile, I'm wondering if I shouldn't have just saved 90% of my investment and just bought a flippin' 4-track! Of course, in the long run, that's sillly, but I certainly understand the frustration so eloquently laid out by Mr. River. Here's to progress (and fast)...

use Live. Use can rewire into Live and record all your vocals and guitars plus stable in os x and A NEW VERSION THIS MONTH WITH TONS OF COOL NEW STUFF!

http://www.thecolortvs.com

[xingu]

thanks for the suggestion, twelve, but that rant was written after a few pints and before I came to my senses and figured out that using OS9 isn't so difficult - but more importantly, before Logic Audio 5.5 for OSX became available. I just ordered the Logic Big Box - and for $40 less than Live