Hi all,
not sure if this is the right section of the forum, please move this accordingly if not..
I am with mojave , stuck with logic 10.5.1 since apple had the brilliant idea of cutting out mojave with 10.6 ... i was considering to upgrade to catalina but i think ive read a few people that would discourage the move... what would i misss ? i know the AIR FX collection is not compatible... but what else ?
thanks and merry Christmas

 

Catalina doesn't support all 32bit apps, plugins and system libraries or extensions

 

In general, you won't miss anything. Don't forget, Catalina is already a year old. Big Sur is a different story though. Anyway, even 32bit apps are still available using something like Crossover. And if you know how to tweak installers, everything will work again. Here's the workaround for AIR FX for example > https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=265&t=555118
(the Sonivox part works the same for AIR because it's all about removing PACE/iLok info from the installer)

 

Which will only run 32bit *Windows* apps, not Mac ones.

Unless you're using something that is actually 32-bit.

The problem here is they included 32-bit iLok software, but the plugin itself was 64-bit already. If the software you need is 32-bit, it will not help no matter what you do "tweaking installers" and nothing will work again.

 

someone seems to have a 32-bit phobia
tzzsmk already mentioned it .. that said, we're almost living in 2021 so it's about time to accept new standards instead
point is, Catalina works just fine for the majority, just like having a DAW that's uptodate

 

A working Operating System...

 

A: What you always miss with most upgrades: lack of problems. People simply hate having a system/daw/plugin that works.

 

Well, sure. But some people have invested hundreds of dollars in software, and upgrading to the next version could be another hundred or two of hidden cost that you discover once it's too late. Some software was not updated for years and did not receive a 64-bit version, but you ended up using it daily in your business for whatever reason - converting video, audio, editing pdf files, file management, whatever. There you're forced to search for new software, and test several different ones to find something that does what you already had working. How about synthesizer MIDI librarian software that you store your sounds with? Old sample libraries that you bought 10 years ago and continue to use daily because there's something useful in them? Will your keyboard from 1995 still be convenient and quick to use in your studio once you upgrade?

It works just fine for the majority, but unless you're working with Logic and stock plugins (or just the biggest brands of plugins, and all latest versions), you should probably check so you're not surprised. For anyone working as a professional for more than 5 or so years, there's plenty of stuff that's old and "just works" so it's still being used. It's important to check if it will continue to do so in that case.

Ableton 9 is not compatible as it uses 32-bit components. 10 is a paid upgrade. Yes it was released in 2018, but not everyone upgraded. Old MIDI keyboards and audio interfaces might also not be compatible. Mac Pro tower computers are not compatible, and plenty of studios use those. Pro Tools is only compatible from 2019.12 up, and for some it means giving up your perpetual license of Pro Tools and moving to a yearly subscription.

It ain't that simple, and some companies are doing dick moves that make you spend tons of money, so it's worth it to check first.

 

it's always worth it making a complete backup, using something like Carbon Copy Cloner - even if it means purchasing external SSD or so

 

thank you all for your answers.
I surely should do a carbon copy first , im not very practical with these things ... but am i right to think that if i do a clone copy of my macbook hard drive right now from mojave and upgrade to catalina I would be able to revert to mojave and find it just like ive left it if i wanted to ?
Also anyone here using logic that has upgraded mojave to catalina and has regretted it ?

 

Mojave was already half backed.
The only last full 32 bit is High Sierra.

See if your current software/hardware is ALL 64 bits.
If not, put everything in the balance.

High Sierra is going to be left in the dust one day anyway ...

 

iTunes, for one thing. As for 32-bit software, the sole 32-bit virtual instrument I'd had installed on High Sierra was deprecated in the update to Mojave (so I kept an installation of 10.13 on another partition just for running it with LPX). Even High Sierra wouldn't permit the installation of 32-bit stuff, however. I don't know whether Altiverb ever was updated to survive Catalina/Logic Pro 10.5. Myself, I'm "still" on Mojave, with Logic Pro 10.4.x, because I refuse to feel obliged to "upgrade" to the latest version of Logic Pro. In fact, I'm pretty much "set" with what I have and how I have things running, and not much that's being introduced or updated runs on 10.15+. My next OS update will come with a hardware upgrade of some sort, after what I'm currently using might have is all or mostly updated to it. I've learned to hang back for as long as I can. I have learned to be more concerned with what software is no longer compatible with my OS, rather than the other way around.