“Peak” is a long-standing name in audio editing on the Mac. I recently got to review its latest iteration, Peak Pro 6, for Macworld and Macworld.com.

Macworld Review: Peak Pro 6
Sample editor and audio suite tweaked for pros, sound designers, and podcasters

I still believe audio editors are valuable tools, especially for anyone who spends a significant amount of their time on sound design – whether that’s sound effects or building the perfect drum kit. Peak is an unusual tool, in a way, in that it remains a stereo waveform editor only, whereas most of its competitors have added multitrack compatibility. On the other hand, Peak also bundles an unusually rich set of tools in the box, which explains the higher price of the full-blown Pro versions.

Here’s my breakdown for Macworld:

Pros
Attractive bundle; seamless podcast export; powerful playlist assembly and export; envelopes; deep plug-in routing; fantastic cross-synthesis sonic powers.

Cons
Multi-window UI can be clunky to use; still no real multi-channel or surround support; lacks more full-featured, non-destructive editing; no spectrum view.

I do want to call particular attention to a couple of points:

You can get Peak cheaply if you want a deal. Unbundled, more basic versions run under a hundred bucks, and as noted in comments, you may even snag a deal on an upgrade.

Peak Pro is fundamentally a bundle. The full-blown version may indeed cause some sticker shock, but it’s really about the bundled software – if you want that software, it could be well worth it.

Vbox and cross-synthesis really rock. This is the feature that makes me really, really glad I got to stick Peak Pro on my MacBook. As pictured at top, the combination allows you to route plug-ins in interesting ways and then create routings that are impossible in most other hosts. (Add batch processing, and this gets very interesting, indeed. I’m going to try it on a stack of audio files – I’ll post samples soon.)

All products involve tradeoffs, so as always I try to do my best to characterize the tradeoffs I see. (“This is the perfect tool for everything” is the job of the marketing department.) I’m still particularly fond of the Windows-only Sound Forge (now made by Sony), but Peak remains a strong entry on the Mac. It’s also worth checking out Peak’s nearest rival, Audiofile Engineering’s Wave Editor, which has been developing by leaps and bounds. The Peak / Wave Editor competition could be an interesting one; they take very different approaches to the problem.

As always, I’m happy to hear what readers and users think.

Bias Inc.

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.

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.

I was particularly impressed in this release by the tape scrubbing features and the quantity of sound tools if you can shell out the grand for the full XT bundle. Peak had some rough spots when it first made the leap to OS X, to the point that I stopped using it for a while, but it’s back in force. The folks at BIAS have also demonstrated that it can deliver superior audio quality when resampling, matched according to their tests only by Adobe Audition on Windows. (If anyone wants to take issue with their tests, though, please feel free.)

Of course, I believe there’s never a one-size-fits-all tool. These days, it’s been Audition on Windows and a combination of Soundtrack Pro and Peak on the Mac, depending on the job. So, Mac users, what are you using for your waveform editor audio needs these days? Or do you use one at all? One premise of my review was that a stereo editor goes well with a multitrack program for day-to-day chores, but I know not everyone works that way.

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