Early 2006 brought us the blockbuster Intel Mac ports — Logic, Live, Reason, and (most recently) Pro Tools LE — but now, finally, plug-ins are flooding in with Universal Intel versions. Just in over the last week:

BIAS Peak 5.2 brings Intel-native support to the old standby Mac audio editor. With Soundtrack Pro now available only as an upgrade for existing customers or as part of the Final Cut Studio bundle, Peak is likely to be many Mac users’ stereo waveform editor of choice. See my review for Macworld. Cost: Free.

Celemony’s Melodyne Software suite is up to 3.1, bringing not only Intel Mac-native support but some significant bugfixes and ReWire enhancements, as well. I got to speak to these folks at NAMM in January, and the new Melodyne is an incredible piece of software: it truly delivers on being able to stretch and re-pitch audio in a musical way. Cost: Free.

Last year, we got used to the idea of superstar Windows developer Cakewalk being “Mac guys,” just as we were getting used to the idea of Macs shipping with Intel processors. Now you get both in a single app: Cakewalk just announced they’ve updated their superb Rapture soft synth for Intel Macs. Rapture is a lot of fun, with an extensive but accessible modulation section and great-sounding anti-aliasing. It’s amusing to see Cakewalk beat a lot of long-time Mac developers to the punch. Cost: Free.

In addition to the full versions of these software, the “Lite” bundled versions of all the software included in the Pro Tools Ignition Pack are now all also Intel-ready. Cost: Free.

The message to developers here is clear: give people Intel-native versions free so they don’t have to pay for your software all over again.

So, how are Apple’s MacBooks and MacBook Pros doing for musicians? The interesting thing I’m hearing is that almost every PC user I know plans to make their next laptop a Mac. I don’t blame them; while I love the new desktop PC I built, Macs are still by far the most hassle-free mobile machines. A lot of us are waiting for the inevitable first revision to these machines, but in the meantime, people who have sprung for new Macs seem pretty happy. DJ Miles Maeda was playing on a set with me last night at Monkeytown in Brooklyn, and I got to check out his machine. He opted for the glossy 17″ display, and it looked fantastic. The extra screen real estate made it easy to monitor Ableton Live sessions on the go. He was pleased, as I have been, with how fast the Core Duo machines are. Notably, too, his computer doesn’t exhibit the high-pitched whine some of the early production-build MacBook Pros had.

Let us know your experiences if you pick one up. Software is rapidly approaching critical mass for many people to make the switch.

Sure, there are basic stereo audio editors built into most multitrack audio apps, but for most of us, nothing can replace a trusty stereo waveform editor and batch processor. In that spirit, my review of Peak Pro XT 5 is up on Macworld.com:

Peak Pro XT 5: Sound-editing software bundles great restoration, mastering, and CD-creation software
(4.5 mice)

. . . when it comes to day-to-day work with stereo files, you’ll have a hard time finding a better tool than Peak Pro XT 5. Most users will be well-served by Peak LE 5, but the Pro and Pro XT 5 versions are worth consideration for their batch-processing abilities, and XT is one of the best values on the Mac for processing bundles.

Converting sample rate and bit depth to lower-resolution data, as you’d do when a project was finished for output to CD and online files or when converting prior to assembling a project, is a dangerous task. It’s the moment at which you can lose a lot of what you put into your sound: the spectral content that gives the result the extra ’sparkle’ you want.

A test performed by Mac developer AudioEase recently took a shot at the sound quality in BIAS Peak, the flagship audio editor and perennial Mac fave. I’ve chatted with BIAS about this, and needless to say they were unhappy about the AudioEase tests and wanted to investigate (partly because they thought they’d have no problem refuting them). Now it’s their turn to fire back, with an extensive white paper and sound fidelity test of the new Peak Pro 5 and how it converts sample rates. Peak’s new SRC engine should not only sound better than competing products, but it also drives Peak’s new tape scrubbing feature, a feature competing editors lack that sounds better than anything I’ve used. (It’s great fun, scrubbing to find exact edit points like you would with analog tape.)

I have to say, the results are pretty compelling: their evidence seems to suggest that Peak 5 has the cleanest sample rate conversion available. The results are subtle — images like the one shown here have been modified to bring artifacts into relief — but they would be audible. I’ve been very happy with the SRC I did with Peak, and with POW-r dithering for bit rate conversion, plus batch processing features, it could become your primary file converting powerhouse if you’re on the Mac.

Still skeptical? BIAS has released a full explanation, and lets you not only download their white paper but try to reproduce their results. I’d love to hear someone more knowledgable than me on these matters weigh in.

BIAS Resampling White Paper Page

Here’s a quick look at new products that are now on their way to you:

Orchestral Sound Libraries: IK Multimedia’s massive Miroslav Philharmonik is now shipping, as of today. (Why does that give me images of cellists being packed in crates and loaded on container ships?) Added reason to buy it now: introductory price of US$499 / $349 crossgrade. [previously: new stuff from IK, new virtual orchestras at a glance] And don’t forget, MOTU’s Symphonic Instrument is shipping, too. [MOTU site]

Sibelius 4 is shipping; I just got my box Monday via UPS. Finale 2006 has been out a couple of weeks. Composers, fire up your scores. (Can’t wait to score some new piano music in Sib 4, myself!) [previously: what's new in Sibelius, what's new in Finale

BIAS Peak Pro 5: The veritable favorite Mac audio editor gets a long-awaited update with a focus on mastering features. I've been remiss in covering this, I'll admit. Any of you getting the new version? Drop me a line. [BIAS site]

Also shipping now: Native Instruments’ Kontakt Experience, Minimax ASB hardware from Creamware, HALion String Edition 2, and the Cycling `74-distributed Lemur, among others.

What boxes have shown up at your compound lately? Let us know.

Turn your digital radio on for digital music coverage: BIAS' Jason
Davies and Micromat's Christian Pickman were guests with our friend
Scott Shepard's Inside Mac Radio show this weekend. Davies spoke about
BIAS' new SoundSoap 2 audio cleaning product, due out later this month for US$99, while Pickman discussed Micromat's iPod disk utility PodLock.
Sam's Mac picks will all be of interest to digital music lovers, as
well, featuring two digital music-friendly luggage items and an iPod
speaker/dock.

Listen/download | Podcast | Show notes