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Macintosh applications and info for Live Sound
This web page is devoted to providing a resource to those people working in the live sound business who are using Mac computers. While Macs are widely used in the production side of music for editing & sequencing the live sound industry appears to be largely based on DOS /Windows / Intel based computers. This has resulted in a dearth of choices in both sound specific software as well as ' vertical market' business software. This is made quite clear by the occasional but repeated requests on various sound related mail and web message lists for help in finding Mac applications for use in live sound - thus this web page.
While I have been using a Mac ( starting with a Mac Plus in 1988 ) to run a small sound company I am not otherwise plugged into the computer business or the retail or install side of the sound business. As a result the contents of this page are simply the bits & pieces of information I have picked up as an end user and small business operator over the years. Anything you find here beyond plain old web links are entirely my personal experience and opinion or that of other Mac using sound people I have corresponded with. PLEASE if you find something here that needs to be updated, corrected, expanded or otherwise adjusted email me, RileyCasey@espsound.com and let me know.
There is a section on business applications for Macs as well. We run our shop on Macs entirely with our Filemaker Pro based show & rental bookings networked together, inventory and repair records shared, incoming faxes stored on a shared computer and a message achieving system between computers. All running on a combination of OS 9 & OS 10 machines.
Spectra Foo - Proof positive that the 'killer app' for sound analysis is Mac only. Foo has spectragraph and spectragram displays, < FONT FACE="Georgia">transfer function, a dual trace oscilloscope, a sweepable tone / noise generator and more ways to monitor a music signal than you thought possible. When your not actually using it to analyze a system you can just let it run in real time rack mode and it will put on a better show than a truss full of Cyber Lights. Foo does require a PPC Mac to run and it just flys on a G3 Powerbook 233. Ask them to send you a demo - it's the coolest two weeks you can spend trying out software. One big caveat - transfer function is only available in the full version. Here is a screen shot of Foo running a transfer function of EAW kf853s. The distance to the measurement mic is shown in the delay window. One nice feature with Foo is the ability to display the coherence of transfer function data as a lighter colored line than the rest of the curve. It makes for a much clearer curve than the over layed coherence trace. Foo is now available for OS X with a number of enhancements for live sound use and they are always open to suggestions - except for Fixed Point Per Octave display. I can't get BJ to go for that one.
SmaartPro - Smaart 6 has been released in beta for Mac! The current Smaart 5 is Windows only and it's hard to know if the advent of MacBook Pros with the capacity to run Windows natively will change the plan to continue with a separate Mac version. Smaart 6 has improved a number of interface elements to make it substantially better for run of show use. Here is a screen shot of Smaart 5 running a transfer function of the same EAW kf853s described above.
Mac Scope - This app has an oscilloscope and additional signal test features in addition to acoustic measurement. It does have transfer function. They also offer the delay locater function as a stand alone freeware app.
FuzzMeasure - Is an OS X only MLS analysis program designed for use in measuring speakers the near field. It generates a 'known' test signal and measures the resulting response. It's a new program and the author is open to feedback on new features.
Amadeus - Is it an analysis program or an audio editor? It's two applications in one! Amadeus has all the basic editing functions of programs like Peak plus basic RTA and other anaylsis functions. At $40 US it's a deal for the editor functions alone and it is Intel native for those using MacBooks.
FFT Analyzer - A simple, easy to read bar graph RTA
SignalScope 2 - As of February 2008 a Leapard compatible and very wide ranging signal analysis and generator program tageted toward electronics measurement.
Electroacoustics Toolbox - Also from Faber Acoustical and targeted more towards acoustic analysis.
Shure Wireless Work Bench
Wireless Workbench has been available for Windows for years and version 5 now
works with OS X.3 and above. WWB 5 will control Shure UHF and UHF-R series wireless
mics via Ethernet. You will need an ethernet router to connect multiple units to your Powerbook.
It is a bit creepy seeing the Windows style installer process but the app works fine. Ashly Protea crossovers
and equalizers can be controlled from their PSS software from within
Virtual PC. USB to serial port adapters are becoming widely available
and can be the bridge to DSP device control from a USB equipped
Powerbook. I have had success with the Edgeport unit after several
reinstalls and restarts of the virtual Windows 98 PC on both a Pismo 400
and a Titanium 867 Powerbook. BSS processor control
software will run within Virtual PC and talk to both BSS 366 and 336
processors through the same USB to serial adapter described above. The
BSS Soundbench software will only allow selection of Comm 1 or 2. Comm
three is not an option and the BSS software for the 334 & 336
processors is merely a library program, no parameter control is
available XTA processor control
software runs within Virtual PC and is able to talk to the outside world
thru a third party PCMCIA card. See the link below to Dave Zammit to
learn more about how it worked. ABControl
- from Third Monk Software is an
extensive show-control and spatialization program that includes 7-band
EQ, delay, level and matrix controls, and an EDL-style cue-list that
runs on the ... AudioBox - ...
stand-alone matrix mixer w/ 16 channel hard-disk playback. It comes
bundled with Windows programming software. Yamaha - This link goes
to the software download page for the PM5D and DM1000 & DM2000
consoles. The Studio Manager software runs on OS X and is the key to
making digital consoles a painless experience. If you plan to use a a
digital console on the road even if you don't own one, load the software
on your Powerbook and set up your show BEFORE the show. Life is good
when the consoles 'knows' every little EQ, gate, compressor and aux
setting about your 48 input show three minutes after you plug in the
Powerbook. One important warning! The Mac OS 10.3.8 update makes some
changes to the MIDI protocol that breaks the Studio Manager software.
Check thoroughly before upgrading. OS10.4 has no problems with Studio
Manager , thats life with computers. Zeep - Offers control
software for the Yamaha 01 and 02R consoles. They even run on
Quadras! Cricket - is a playback
program designed for cued theatrical shows. It allows building cue lists
with fades, paning, MIDI control and multi channel outputs. Runs on OS X
& 9 and they have a free demo on the site. Fair warning - the look
of the user interface is a bit bizarre. Macs
Cue - is a much more simple playback
program that only plays stereo files but it's ideal for creating mixed,
crossfaded and timed cues for theatrical and corporate shows. Get rid of
that pile of CDs for your corporate show walk ups and stingers and load
them into this program. DJ
1800 - is an on screen emulation of the
Denon DJ or broadcast style CD decks ( hopefully more reliable than the
Denons ). The program allows two or four CD decks on screen with all of
the same CD deck functions created exactly as they would be on the front
of the hardware deck including pitch, search and tracking. Great for not
getting lost in the menus and cues of a more complex program. The
program uses iTunes as it's library source. A caveat: while this is not
listed as a beta program I have had the demo crash on me once while
loading a cue from the library - not while running cues. QLab - This program has
arrived at version 1 in Sept 2006 and has similar functions to SFX in
the Windows market. It has a very good user interface, a well thought
out 8 x 8 output matrix and seems a real soup to nuts solution for
theatre sound cue building. Sound Byte - is based
graphically on the old cart machine concept as used in radio stations
until CDs finally took hold. It's a great replacement for the venerable
Instant Replay machine since it can be triggered by either clicking on
the screen or by pressing a key assigned to that cue. Noise - This has the best
price to performance ratio of any program on this page. Pink noise
generator - FREE - download one now! It's hard to imagine having too much information
but it's very easy to see people everyday who don't have a good handle
on their information. In the Windows universe there are several ready
made database applications that handle client info, equipment, vehicle
& crew scheduling. Hire
Track , HirePoint & RMS are full production apps while RPM is mainly an equipment rental app - light on the other
elements needed to book & track full production shows. They , or at
least their demo versions all run in SoftWindows but not fast enough to
be of any use. ProjectMaker
- This is a very full featured rental
and production booking system built in the Filemaker Pro 6 database. It
will run in OS X or OS9. It tracks equipment bookings, crew scheduling,
multiple sales taxes, invoices and the myriad of details that go into
running a successful sound company. They have a downloadable demo on
their website. Totally Brilliant Software - in England does have an equipment rental database that
they have developed for Dreamhire and it is based on a cross platform (
Mac & Windows ) database engine. FileMaker
Pro - The longtime peoples choice in Mac
databases it's very easy to get a useful but limited custom database
running quickly with FMP. There is also an entire cottage industry of
FMP developers with low cost ( $250 - $500 ) ready made basic business
databases that will track your clients names and contact info and even
make invoices for you. None of them however will tell you that you've
booked out thirty two kf850s next Saturday when you only own twenty
four. For that kind of custom design work expect to pay from $2000 to
$10,000 additional. ClarisWorks - Or
Appleworks, whatever... Apple took it back from Claris and renamed it
Appleworks - same program , new name. Everybody lives & breathes MS
Word and Excel but I gave up on Word at version 5 and on Excel at
version 3. I have found that ClarisWorks does 90% of what Word &
Excel do for a fraction of the cost & aggravation. It also has a
pretty good Power Point type presentation function called slide shows.
It also opens and converts various graphic images like .jpg and.gif and
it also does does pretty good input lists , complete with stage plots
and it also does... well it does alot for not much money or disk space
or learning time. BTW the link is to a site called the ClarisWorks User
Group. I figure you can find the Apple site without a link. Apparently
the current Appleworks Version 6 has dropped some of the file translator
options that were included in ClarisWorks version 5. This is an
Appleworks sample input list with stage plot -. right click or control click to download it.
Vectorworks - Formerly
MiniCad this is a popular drafting program among lighting designers. The
current version 12 does a good job of importing AutoCAD files which is a
real litmus test for getting along with the world of facility management
and any sort of major design drafting. It started life as a Mac program
and is currently cross platform. MacDraft - A much lower
cost, lower learning curve drafting program. If you are used to Claris
Draw then MacDraft is a breeze to learn. Print To PDF
- A handy little shareware program that
acts as a printer. Select it in the Chooser and any document you have
can be 'printed' as a .pdf file for emailing to people who don't have a
copy of your software or even your computer platform. MacLink
Plus - So when your client emails a file
called " Show sch.doc" what do you do? Drop it on an alias of MacLink
and you can read that Word for Windows file just fine. MacLink is
indispensable for dealing with OPCs ( other peoples computers )
especially corporate clients who can't conceive of a world without
Microsoft Office on a Dell PC. Virtual PC - Half way to
hell is one description I've seen to describe Windows emulation on the
Mac. That said it is much easier than carrying two laptops around.
Emulators are SLOW but they do work as long as the programs running in
emulation, such as many audio programs, don't need direct access to the
PC hardware because the hardware isn't there. Snap Mail - This is
really handy for a small network of Macs in the office. Very easy to
use, it works over AppleTalk - either LocalTalk or Ethernet - allows
instant messaging and file transfer without turning on file sharing. All
for $20 per machine. We use it to 'archive' things that don't fit into
other established patterns of paperwork - like equipment loaned to staff
or friends and requests for days off. MYOB - I list this only
because we use it for lack of a better alternative. It's not a great
program or even a good one, it's only better than the alternative which
is QuickBooks 5 for Mac. Accounting software is clearly one area where
the lack of market share has really diminished the software options to
Mac users. With both MYOB and QuickBooks be prepared to endorse the
concept of rented software. The programs are so dense and the printed
support so poor that buying a service contract for several hundred
dollars a year is an essential part of the initial purchase. The Windows
versions are noticeably better in their features and in the depth of
their support. Links to Mac & sound
related sites ( more or less on topic -
you be the judge ) Live_audio WWWBoard - Ground
zero for live sound discussion on the web Theatre-Sound mail list -
Home of the Theater Sound mail list with plenty of other useful files
and links Kai's Sound Hell! -
Theatre sound related topics and links MiniCAD for the theatre-
A page with samples and examples of Vectorworks use in theater craft
with a strong emphasis on lighting & scenic design. Soren Dyhr Homepage -
Soren is a European based sound engineer and Mac programmer with a
strong hand in FileMaker Pro design. Soren has been tweaking the nuts
& bolts on a Filemaker based booking system that we currently use.
Email me if you use Filemaker and want to see what we've been
doing. Mac Windows - Help for
eeking out a living with your Mac in a Windows world. Digital Audio Workstation - Mac - A mail list for users of Pro Tools, Peak and similar
sound editing on Macs Live
Sound Magazine - Everybody gets Live
Sound International, probably twice. Editor Anthony Mclean is a long
time Mac user and a good resource for info. Studio
Suite - This is an example of what can
be accomplished with Filemaker Pro. It's a real soup to nuts application
for scheduling engineers, equipment, blocking out time, billing
customers, keeping track of phone numbers and other details - all for
recording studios use. Great if you need to book things down to the
nearest 15 minutes. All networkable which is always important to keep in
mind for expansion even if you are currently working out of your
garage. Tod
Nixon - Has the framework of a dedicated
rental and show booking application built in the 4D database. It can be
customized for any companies style of operation. He also has a couple of
Midi control apps that run on Macs. John
Leonard - Of Aurasound in the UK has a
set of audio equipment and stage related symbols created in MiniCad (
and thus Vectorworks ) graciously available for free download. John is
also a user of Spectra Foo for system analysis. Dave
Zammit - Has successfully controlled an
XTA processor from the XTA control software running in emulation in
SoftWindows and then out thru a PCMCIA card in a Powerbook! Michael
Häck - of Audiotec Runs SoftWindows
98 and found it possible to run Soundweb Designer or Soundbench with two
different adapters: the USB i-Dock adapter ( serial 8Pin ) > custom
cable (8 Pin Printer cable) serial 8Pin > SubD9 and the Keyspan
adapter USB>SubD9 Entertainment
Sound Production - return to the ESP
homepage
This page was created on Feb. 20, 2000 and last
updated on 12 January 2008. Made ( not surprisingly ) on a
Macintosh.
This section is pretty slim. There just isn't much out there that I know
of in the way of software for the Mac that will control the ever
increasing number of digital audio processors on the market. Which is
really too bad when you consider that the range of control is the real
appeal of these things and that the external control software is pretty
easy to write as compared to the processors software itself.
iTunes is the default option of course. It can easily
store standard .AIF files for CD quality playback and the compressed
formats, MP3 and AAC can be set for much better import quality than the
default setting. Apple lossless can cut a sound file to about half it's
original size while still sounding transparent for those critical
listening tracks. It's very handy to record 30 seconds of pink noise and
some limited band sinewaves sweeps such as 50 - 250 hz, 200 - 1Khz, 800
- 6 kz as MP3 files so that they can be used for testing at times or in
locations where you have your Powerbook but no tone generator. Simply
set iTunes to infinite repeat. For playback of tracks from multiple CDs
simply load into iTunes and create a show specific playlist.
