We have covered the compatibility issues the release of macOS Catalina has inevitable introduced. To find out the status of your software check our regularly updated Catalina Compatibility Database, however, something which might have escaped your attention is the future for any of us who are still using 32-bit VST or AU plug-ins on macOS via Sound Radix’s 32 Lives.

Will I Be Able To Use 32 Lives Under Catalina?

The short answer is no, while the install would succeed, the 32-bit part of 32 Lives (which runs the actual plug-in) would fail - meaning your 32-bit plug-ins won’t work at all. The advice is not to upgrade to Catalina if you need to keep access to your 32-bit plug-ins. Because of this, the advice is fundamentally different from that facing most other software that is currently incompatible with Catalina. It’s not a case of waiting until the software is compatible, the software isn’t compatible, period.

What Does This Mean For 32-Bit Plug-in Users?

That very much depends on why you are using 32-bit plug-ins. Some people have 32-bit versions of plug-ins, which are available as 64-bit versions but for whatever reason, they have chosen not to progress on to the 64-bit version - perhaps because the upgrade path was a paid-for upgrade. For those people, the solution is to upgrade to the 64-bit version.

There are some cases of plug-ins which are available as 64-bit versions but the 64-bit version isn’t retrospectively compatible with the 32-bit version and so without the 32-bit version old projects won’t load correctly. Apparently Antares Auto-Tune has an issue with this. In this case, rendering or printing the affected tracks before upgrading to Catalina could be a solution.

Finally, there are some plug-ins which simply never made the transition from 32 to 64 bit. Plug-ins which were discontinued prior to the move to 64 bit are an obvious example.

Examples Of 32 Bit Only Plug-ins:

• The Abbey Road RS124 and original Mastering Pack (The Brilliance Pack was brought up to date by Softube)

• Steinberg’s Virtual Guitarist and Bassist (you might want to consider the excellent Virtual Guitarist and Bassist products from UJAM instead)

• TC Powercore - As a hardware product this is difficult as it’s so much harder to let go of hardware than software, but it was discontinued in 2011!

What Will You Miss?

If you are one of the many people who have kept their old 32-bit VST and AU plugins alive using 32 Lives what have you been using it for and what are you going to do? Stay on Mojave? Replace your plug-ins with alternatives? What plug-ins will you miss being able to use on your Mac? Please do share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.