Alright audiophiles, I think it's about time to have an extensive archive of tools for the Mac! I've seen many questions pop up about great and interesting tools to use for the Mac... but I haven't seen very many threads supporting those questions. I went ahead and put my mac knowledge to the test and, after months of research, ended up compiling together a huge list of synths, compressors, effect processors, and all sorts of tools for the Mac! I hope you enjoy, and let me know if you see anything missing.
Talk about your favorites below, share tutorials, and discuss! I hope this thread can become a great reference for all of you Apple users out there. (A lot of these are cross platform as well!) There are some amazing, bodacious, SEXY tools out there. Below you will find every tool you'll ever need to produce music on the Mac. I can't possibly include everything out there, of course, but I have included many of the best tools available on the market. You can enhance your experience by further exploring the websites linked to in this thread. So, without further ado, I now present to you the Mac VST / Audio Unit Collection for your audio craving needs!
Digital Audio Workstations (DAW)
Ready to start making music? Great! All of these tools listed here can be organized under one roof you know, without you having to worry about opening them all separately, crowding your computer screen. If you want to make things easier on yourself, I would recommend purchasing a Digital Audio Workstation to help piece all of your ideas and passions together into an awesome song. Here are the best of the best. Research a bit on each one and figure out which is right for you!
Cubase helps both musicians and producers with every step of the music creation process: from the first idea through the arrangement to the final mix. In doing so, Cubase offers various tools to meet your individual needs. And this is why Cubase can be tweaked and used for all music styles and areas of application. Be it a recording engineer, rock guitarist, dance DJ, hip-hop producer, songwriter or film score composer, Cubase users are among the most successful professionals in the world.
Producers of all types of electronic music find an arsenal of stunning virtual synthesizers and numerous effects in Cubase 6. Prologue, Spector and Mystic are based on renowned synthesizer technology by VirSyn and are the perfect choice for any type of synth sound, covering everything from powerful low end and impressive leads up to spherical pads and unheard-of atmos. In addition to hundreds of available presets, there are so many other ways to modulate, filter and edit your sound creatively. All this and the polyphonic pad synthesizer Embracer, the resource-saving Monologue synthesizer as well as the powerful HALion Sonic SE VSTi workstation round out the rich sound spectrum of Cubase 6.
With Cubase, composers get a complete software notation program for professional score layouts. MIDI notes being played are translated directly to musical notation, resulting in a score that can be edited using more than 100 professional notation symbols. On the other hand, all playing instructions noted in the Score Editor are converted directly into MIDI parameters that can trigger any VST instrument in real time. This program really just does it all.
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REAKTOR 5.7 opens a universe of sound. It's a deep and powerful modular studio that sets no restrictions on creativity. More than 70 unique synthesizers, sound generators, grooveboxes, sequencers and effects are at your fingertips, with 3000+ more freely available in the Online User Library. Customize existing instruments, or create your own individual sound generator from scratch thanks to the fully modular architecture. REAKTOR is a true playground for the creative mind.
REAKTOR is a world-class studio right out of the box. The library includes more than 70 ready-to-use instruments and effects created by Native Instruments and our network of instrument designers, with several thousands of presets for an incredibly wide range of sound generation and audio processing applications. You'll find a stunning variety of synthesizers, grooveboxes, sequencers, sample transformers, sound generators, sample players, and effects, providing nearly any synthesis, sampling and effects technique you can imagine. From classic synthesis and sample techniques up to exotic methods such as delay-line resonance, modal or granular synthesis - REAKTOR is capable of fulfilling all of your audio desires - there are no boundaries to your creativity.
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For starters, REAPER is coded by a small group of dedicated engineers, not multiple software units under the central command of product marketing. That means REAPER is lean, efficient, and stable. REAPER starts up and is ready to record in seconds, balances processing loads intelligently across multicore systems, and doesn't fall over when you start to tax it. That means you spend more time recording and editing, instead of staring at the startup splash screen.
This is one of the simplest and easiest DAWS out there. Crystal clear graphics, easy to use interfaces, and support for practically everything makes this hefty guy a flexible DAW. REAPER works with almost any hardware and can be used in combination with a vast universe of other software and plug-ins. Take advantage of REAPER's full functionality using only your current computer and a microphone, or use REAPER to drive an entire professional recording studio. See it in action.
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You already know how to write great music. Logic Pro 9 streamlines the technical side of things, so you can record, edit, and mix it on your own. Tap into a huge collection of instruments, sounds, and loops for inspiration. Get set up and start recording quickly. Perform complex edits in a fraction of the time. And mix down projects of any scale with full automation and surround capabilities.
Logic Pro gives you everything you need for a professional recording session. Seamless punch recording. Automatic take management. Marker creation. ItâEUTMs all easy to do, and easy to undo. And it works just as smoothly for a two-hour symphony as for a simple singer/songwriter demo. With over 250 audio tracks available and the ability to run hundreds of plug-ins, youâEUTMll always have what you need to complete your project âEU" without paying for an upgrade or optional add-ons. Logic Pro features a powerful set of editing tools that lets you polish performances in no time. Easily assemble the perfect comp from multiple takes. And quickly perform complex edits âEU" like correcting timing errors and bending time âEU" that once required dozens of steps. Logic Pro brings it all together in a straightforward, customizable layout that makes it easy to focus on any part of your project.