M1 Mac compatibility
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- KVRAF
- 3409 posts since 26 Mar, 2002 from london
I'm just playing around with an M1 Mac for the first time and it seems that in Waveform VST plugins fail to load, only audiounit plugins work. I've no idea yet what's running in Rosetta and what's native, just finding my way around.
Every day takes figuring out all over again how to f#ckin’ live.
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- KVRian
- 1300 posts since 3 May, 2005 from Victoria, BC
Waveform and DAW Essentials have M1 versions. M1 versions of the synths will be coming.
AU plugins have as built in bridge, so M1 host can load Intel AU plugins. For VST, both the host and plugin need same architecture.
AU plugins have as built in bridge, so M1 host can load Intel AU plugins. For VST, both the host and plugin need same architecture.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 3409 posts since 26 Mar, 2002 from london
Aha, thanks. I've figured out how to run Waveform in intel mode... I wonder what the efficiency differences are.
And I also wonder if there's a quick way to convert old edits with VST plugins to audio unit equivalents.
And I also wonder if there's a quick way to convert old edits with VST plugins to audio unit equivalents.
Every day takes figuring out all over again how to f#ckin’ live.
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- KVRian
- 524 posts since 16 Mar, 2017
Blue Cat Audio did some testing regarding the efficiency of the M1 chips for audio work. It fared quite well:
https://www.bluecataudio.com/Blog/behin ... benchmark/
Not particularly surprising as the strength of the M1 is in the performance of its CPU cores coupled with its power efficiency. GPU is powerful compared to other entry-level chips but not quite up to pro standards, so it lags a bit when it comes to video work and other tasks which are GPU-intensive - but for audio work it evidently performs quite well.
https://www.bluecataudio.com/Blog/behin ... benchmark/
Not particularly surprising as the strength of the M1 is in the performance of its CPU cores coupled with its power efficiency. GPU is powerful compared to other entry-level chips but not quite up to pro standards, so it lags a bit when it comes to video work and other tasks which are GPU-intensive - but for audio work it evidently performs quite well.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 3409 posts since 26 Mar, 2002 from london
I'm finding that a project which maxed out a 2017 iMac with 4 core i5 processor and 28GB ram runs on the Macbook Air (8gb ram) a bit better, slightly less CPU usage and with GUI maintaining responsiveness. That's under Rosetta... still, it's not quite as much of an improvement as I'd hoped for. Nonetheless, it's impressive for something in a ultrabook form factor.
Every day takes figuring out all over again how to f#ckin’ live.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 3409 posts since 26 Mar, 2002 from london
Coming back to this, I took what you said here to mean that this is something integral to how Mac OS handles plugins, but I saw on another thread the claim that Bitwig can be run natively and run VST plugins via Rosetta. Is this something that Waveform will be able to do in the future?FigBug wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 3:28 pm Waveform and DAW Essentials have M1 versions. M1 versions of the synths will be coming.
AU plugins have as built in bridge, so M1 host can load Intel AU plugins. For VST, both the host and plugin need same architecture.
I have a project with about 160 tracks and 200 or so VST plugins. I'm considering trying to switch all VSTs out for AUs, but if Waveform is going to be able to do what Bitwig apparently can then I'll save myself the trouble.
Every day takes figuring out all over again how to f#ckin’ live.
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- KVRian
- 524 posts since 16 Mar, 2017
Both are likely correct.chagzuki wrote: Sun Jun 06, 2021 4:26 pm Coming back to this, I took what you said here to mean that this is something integral to how Mac OS handles plugins, but I saw on another thread the claim that Bitwig can be run natively and run VST plugins via Rosetta.
I suspect what Bitwig is doing is leveraging their plugin sandbox compiled for each architecture. As the sandbox would then host the plugins, if they have a native sandbox and an Intel sandbox running under Rosetta, each could host the VST plugins for that architecture and relay the audio back to Bitwig itself.
The bridging that the OS provides is likely doing something very similar for the AU plugins behind the scenes.