OS X Compatibility with Reason 11

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Billy+
Posts: 4157
Joined: 09 Dec 2016

27 Jun 2020

I'm currently running El Capitan with the option to upgrade to

Sierra, Mojave or Catalina

El Capitan seams the most stable but since the minimum requirements for Reason is now El Capitan I'm guessing it's about time I made a choice about updating. And with the recent changes I'm now having issues with the main site using the default safari browser, I'm guessing I could just install Firefox but at some point an upgrade is going to be essential.

However looking at the Reason compatibility information I am completely unsure which version would make the most sense. Has anyone got any advice.

1reasonable
Posts: 101
Joined: 19 Aug 2019

27 Jun 2020

I would advise you to look at whether you have any 32bit VST plugins, as 32bit support ends with Mojave, but just as important, if your Mac is the minimum spec for Catalina, I would go for Mojave. Over the years, I’ve been caught out with minimum specs, which will work - but with performance compromised. Although my Mac is capable of running Mojave, I’ve decided against it for this very reason, plus the fact it’s not guaranteed to run every 32bit VST plug-in out there. Also, make sure you have more than one reliable complete backup, ideally on a separate HD just in case you have to revert for whatever reason. I’ve found Macs to be pretty reliable over the years, but NOT 100% so. I have TimeMachine and a TimeCapsule, and both have let me down in the past!
Save yourself the time, stress by preparing for failure if the upgrade doesn’t go to plan for you. Good luck!
…………………………………………………………………

:reason: 11.3.6 ,  iMac Intel Core i5 (late 2012) OSX 10.13.6 High Sierra

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Billy+
Posts: 4157
Joined: 09 Dec 2016

27 Jun 2020

Hi thanks for your response, my mac is a Mac mini and was a custom configuration with 16gb ram and a 3ghz i7 processor, the only vsts I would definitely want to make sure still work are ozone 8 advanced, Neutron 3 advanced, the mixed in keys Captain bundle and Spire vst the rest I can live without..

My audio card is an EiE Pro which I believe is not going to be compatible, however I'm looking to replace this with a 3rd gen 4i4 when they start production again.

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fieldframe
RE Developer
Posts: 1037
Joined: 19 Apr 2016

27 Jun 2020

It sounds like all the software you need to work is 64 bit, so Catalina should technically be safe to upgrade to. That said, I would second the recommendation to go with Mojave for now, just because Catalina has gained a reputation for being one of the more troublesome MacOS upgrades in recent years.

Apple always supports the current and last two versions of MacOS, so Mojave will still get security updates after Big Sur is released.

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kuhliloach
Posts: 880
Joined: 09 Dec 2015

27 Jun 2020

I like keeping Mac's updated even with all the stuff Apple breaks. FYI If you want to run Big Sur the 2012's will no longer work! This is slightly off topic but here's the upcoming compatibility list if you have any plan to run the newest OS:

2015 and later MacBook
2013 and later MacBook Air
2013 and later MacBook Pro
2014 and later Mac mini
2014 and later iMac
2017 and later iMac Pro
2013 and later Mac Pro

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esselfortium
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Joined: 15 Jan 2015
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27 Jun 2020

Mojave feels like the best option for the widest compatibility right now. After Big Sur has been out for a while, some newer iOS-ported software will inevitably require Big Sur for its newer Catalyst features that Apple aren't supporting in earlier versions, but I can't think of anything you really gain from running Catalina.
Sarah Mancuso
My music: Future Human

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tronam
Posts: 486
Joined: 04 Mar 2015

27 Jun 2020

My migration to Mojave was smooth (unlike my past experience with High Sierra) and it still runs beautifully. I'll be sticking with it for as long as possible until I can weed out the last of my 32-bit applications, utilities and plug-ins with 64-bit replacements. I still have a few left, but I think in a few months I'll be in a good spot to finally upgrade. I've actually found the macOS finder Tags system to be incredibly useful for this process. They're like keywords in Lightroom or other similar programs, so I've been gradually tagging all of my archived projects and plugins to get a better idea of which ones I'm using and any that were made in 32-bit hosts (in my case mainly old Ableton Live). Command+Shift+4 and then tapping the spacebar to screenshot plugin windows has been invaluable, letting me migrate old projects and recreate the plugin settings either on newer versions or alternatives that emulate the same hardware. This is how I've weened myself off of UAD plugins in the past as well to help migrate back to native.

All this kind of stuff definitely helps me appreciate the vision behind the RE format. I have no doubt that in the future I'll be able to install Reason on a new Apple silicon Mac, click Sync All, and everything will just seamlessly work.
Music is nothing else but wild sounds civilized into time and tune.

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Billy+
Posts: 4157
Joined: 09 Dec 2016

27 Jun 2020

Thanks for all the responses,

you've kinda all give the advice I had in mind,

looks like I will be doing a full time machine backup plus standard USB project files backup along with some USB installation media creation landing in the Mojave some point in the next few weeks.

Just out of curiosity as a secondary option has anyone converted their Mac to windows 10?

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tronam
Posts: 486
Joined: 04 Mar 2015

27 Jun 2020

Billy wrote:
27 Jun 2020
Thanks for all the responses,

you've kinda all give the advice I had in mind,

looks like I will be doing a full time machine backup plus standard USB project files backup along with some USB installation media creation landing in the Mojave some point in the next few weeks.

Just out of curiosity as a secondary option has anyone converted their Mac to windows 10?
Yeah, I've always maintained a BootCamp partition; It's nice being able to run Windows natively. You have the option when starting up to boot into macOS or Win10, but if you'd like can just set Windows as the default boot partition and your Mac will basically be a Windows system.
Music is nothing else but wild sounds civilized into time and tune.

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tumar
Posts: 385
Joined: 17 Jan 2015

28 Jun 2020

I have Reason 9 and it works on Mojave. This is last OS which supports 32bit applications.

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vondersulzburg
Posts: 82
Joined: 24 May 2016
Location: Stuttgart

10 Aug 2020

Since 2 days I am on Big Sur public beta and until now Reason Suite 11 has no problems as well as Ableton Suite 10.1
MacBook Air 512GB SSD 16GB RAM, Reason 11 Suite, LogicProX, FL-Studio, Live10Suite

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