Whilst most Mac users are excited to see the brave new world they’re sure to step into with the release of Apple’s latest operating system update, the grandly named El Capitan, but musicians may want to hold off on hitting that ‘Update’ button.
As FACT reports, don’t upgrade now if you need to make music anytime soon, because Native Instruments, who make some of the world’s most widely used and trusted music-making software, have issued a “critical” compatibility warning.
In a company release, Native Instruments said Apple’s new Mac operating system wreaks havoc on their software and hardware, so if you’re a musician that relies on NI’s wares to get the job done, you may want to wait before updating.
Producers in particular will be affected and whilst experienced producers know it’s always advisable to wait a short period after a new operating system is released, the issues with NI’s products seem even more dire than usual.
According to the Berlin-based company, upgrading now will mean the company’s Audio Units will not function with Logic Pro and some older hardware will even cause a “kernel panic” that crashes your computer if used.
They list the affected products as follows:
Traktor Kontrol S4 (MK1)
Traktor Kontrol X1 (MK1)
Traktor Audio 2 (MK1)
Audio 8 DJ
Audio 4 DJ
Audio 2 DJ
Maschine (MK1)
Guitar Rig 3 (Rig Kontrol 3 hardware)
Of course, the good news is that Native Instruments are currently hard at work on a solution and have already released beta drivers for the affect hardware, should the bold musicians and producers out there want to risk it.
Your other choice is simply holding off on upgrading to El Capitan until a full fix is available, but just don’t say we didn’t warn you. It should also be noted that fellow music products company Arturia have issued their own warning.
