Hi all.

Just picked up an M1 MacBook (Big Sur) and I'm looking to move from my Hackintosh to the MacBook (not in a direct backup image sense)

I'm aware that M1 processors are able to run Intel based programs through the Rosetta mode, but with a performance hit.

Still, I'm not sure about if all my current programs and plugins will work direct 1:1 from my Intel to M1 so I'd appreciate some advice from those who have done it.

Also there is not much info on the internet about Warez compatibility with Rosetta on M1.

Questions I have:

1. Ableton has a specific Universal Binary program as opposed to Intel, but Logic Pro does not to my understanding.

Will any version of Logic Pro run on M1 native? I'm guessing my 10.5.1 will be too old to run native but I'm not sure.

2. I use Kontakt 6.7.0 on my Intel. Will this version work with Rosetta on M1? How much of a performance hit will I take?

3. Any programs or plugins you use that outright refused to work on the M1 via Rosetta?

4. Will almost all my plugins that are Intel based AU/VST3 simply work in my DAWs, or do I need to seek out newer version that support M1 specifically.

Thanks a lot for your time!

 

Bumping this thread - where are all the helpful peeps at? I have many of these same questions - could anyone help us pave a path towards understanding what migrating to our M1 computers will take?

 

I could answer some questions for sure, but neither use Kontakt, Logic or deal with Rosetta, all my plugins are M1 native and use handful of them, so have really limited first hand experience regarding many of the concerns that are raised above.

 

None of those concerns are things to even worry about; because there is nothing you can do about any of it. If something is not compatible, you find a newer version of the software or use Rosetta to translate the old one. If something doesn't work, figure out a substitute.

 

it's best to update to the latest versions for performance and bug fixes IMO.

 

Sure. To go to the new machine, you aren't using the migration assistant. Installing all new current versions would be a way better option than using old installers and some "upgrade path". But you will probably have to go back and find some things and get them working again.

 

makes sense as many newer versions of software have added M series native compatibility as opposed to using rosetta translation

 

I haven't installed a ton of software but I can say that even using Rosetta for applications still yields a huge uplift in performance of software compared to older Intel mac computers. Kontakt 6.7.0 Trazor works perfectly fine on my M1 macbook and no issues using KiTTY kontakt scripts to add libraries.

I was a bit surprised that when installing Davinci Resolve it prompted me to install Rosetta (I guess I just assumed that Blackmagic had added M1 native compatibility to Resolve by now).

I don't believe that a specific "M" version of VST/AU plugins is required to work for most plugins on these computers, but I assume you take a slight performance hit if you're running enough software (and plugins?) that require Rosetta translation to work.