No more Bias Peak

[Jerry Tubb]

Wow that's unfortunate.

Just when they had gotten Peak Pro to a really useable level in the last few years, with a functioning Playlist for CD mastering.

The recent move from Stereo to Multitrack only environment, I feel was a mistake.

No way to really compete with Pro Tools native and Nuendo.

They had a good solid footing in the stereo editing world.

I've used Peak as part of our audio arsenal since version 1.0 appeared in the mid 90's, after SD2 was cancelled by Digi.

I remember buying their "Deck" 4-track app, as an addition to my 1st Sound Tools rig back in 1990. It was a couple years before PT appeared.

A hearty Thanks to the folks at Bias for being innovators in the Mac DAW arena for many years.

Now if I can figure out how to get my Peak Pro 6 authorization on an iLok!

Best, JT

[bendermastering]

Thank good I'm not a BIAS user... It's a nice reminder how from night to day software companies can disappear!

[dietrich10]

Been there since their start.....
Not happy about having to switch at some point soon

[t_d]

whoa!

i've been a peak user since version 1. i know the program well and use it every day. the past year+ i've grown increasingly frustrated with bugs that continued on unresolved.

just a couple of months ago i bought DSP Quattro to try out as a Peak replacement... and, i suppose that was a timely move!

been happy with DSPQ, though there are things Peak does better in the editing realm, but i've been quite happy with DSPQ's playlist and CD creation.

not that we can't go on using Peak... but at some point it will be left behind in a Mac OS upgrade.

thank you BIAS for some great years! (and a few headaches, too)

[analogcabin]

Hopefully Wave Editor 2 can make their jump to a full flavor program really soon.

[surflounge]

Been using DECK since days of OSC (Our Silly Company) when company headquarters was an old church in San Francisco before BIAS moved to Petaluma "land of the giant chickens". Too bad they are quitting. Like when Cassidy and Greene sold SoundJam (it became iTunes) to Apple before closing doors. They were just a couple programmers in a small office too. Tough biz.

[rhizomeman]

I too am sorry to see them go because I did enjoy working with Peak.

However, as I mentioned in the other thread on this in the Moan Zone, I question their ethics when they knowingly offer aggressive "discounts" knowing they will not exist in the next few weeks. In this regard, I don't view them as "great folks" - in the end, they appear to have been deceiving buyers to give money and support a company they themselves knew was going out of business - very unfortunate and questionable behavior.

Onwards to DSPQ or Wave Editor.

[Way Of The Heart]

Originally Posted by rhizomeman

I too am sorry to see them go because I did enjoy working with Peak.

However, as I mentioned in the other thread on this in the Moan Zone, I question their ethics when they knowingly offer aggressive "discounts" knowing they will not exist in the next few weeks. In this regard, I don't view them as "great folks" - in the end, they appear to have been deceiving buyers to give money and support a company they themselves knew was going out of business - very unfortunate and questionable behavior.

Onwards to DSPQ or Wave Editor.

I understand.

'Discounts' and aggressive marketing could have been a 'too little too late' scenario / strategy where the company was trying to bring in enough sales to stay afloat. Unless you are just plain 'burnt' out, most companies want to stay in business. It may not have been in any way to try and 'dupe' the custoemr into buying a product that would have little support / value available almost immediately.

I believe if they were a unreputable company at heart, it would have shown from the beginning. Can't feel good going out of busniess.

[Jeff D.]

I've been a user since Peak 1.5...

If I need 100% bug-free DDP's, what are my options on Mac? A quick google shows problems at some point for DSP Quatro, Wave Editor, WaveLab. Are the problems solved, or are they not ready for prime time?

[rhizomeman]

Originally Posted by Way Of The Heart

I understand.

'Discounts' and aggressive marketing could have been a 'too little too late' scenario / strategy where the company was trying to bring in enough sales to stay afloat. Unless you are just plain 'burnt' out, most companies want to stay in business. It may not have been in any way to try and 'dupe' the custoemr into buying a product that would have little support / value available almost immediately.

I believe if they were a unreputable company at heart, it would have shown from the beginning. Can't feel good going out of busniess.

I sincerely hope you are right.

[Thor]

soundBlade SE would be something to consider for DDP delivery and excellent editing tools.

I tried Peak many times and never did manage to like it. To each his own.

Originally Posted by Jeff D.

I've been a user since Peak 1.5...

If I need 100% bug-free DDP's, what are my options on Mac? A quick google shows problems at some point for DSP Quatro, Wave Editor, WaveLab. Are the problems solved, or are they not ready for prime time?

[Twerk]

Originally Posted by Jeff D.

If I need 100% bug-free DDP's, what are my options on Mac?

DDP Creator - Sonoris Audio Engineering

Fwiw, I never liked Peak for more than anything other than basic editing and even then it was just OK, not great. I'm more than happy with Adobe Audition for these tasks.

But I also had a chance to meet some of the people at Bias and they seemed like genuinely good people doing things for the right reasons, so it saddens me to see them fold as a company. Unless they were just tired of doing it and wanted to move on to new ventures. Anyone know?

[dave-G]

Originally Posted by t_d

I know the program well and use it every day. the past year+ i've grown increasingly frustrated with bugs that continued on unresolved.

Precisely seconded.

just a couple of months ago i bought DSP Quattro to try out as a Peak replacement... and, i suppose that was a timely move!

been happy with DSPQ, though there are things Peak does better in the editing realm, but i've been quite happy with DSPQ's playlist and CD creation.

That's good to hear. I'm going to try DSPQ and WL, too.. I'd been preparing for a change anyway, but BIAS' demise may hasten some testing. Hard to shake the feeling that this will inevitably lead me towards building a bona fide *gulp* Windows PC *gulp* to run Sequoia.

[Tarekith]

Originally Posted by analogcabin

Hopefully Wave Editor 2 can make their jump to a full flavor program really soon.

I've seen it, and I think a lot of people will be happy. Still a very unique workflow though, while still being a lot different from the current WE.

Fwiw, Audiofile were initially the only ones who had DCA, Inc. check each release for complete compliance with the DDP standard. Though in the last couple of releases they've had to relax that compliance somewhat to make sure they can successfully import DDPs created by other software companies who weren't strictly following the ddp guidelines.

At least, that's what I've been told by Audiofile.

[midilord]

Originally Posted by Tarekith

BIAS, Inc. has ceased operations

Nnnnnooooooooooo. I have grown to like Peak. I use it exclusively for mastering. Now what do I use?

[PeterN]

Used it for a while but never found a way into it really. Anyway to me they have lost touch to the industry in the last few years..

[alice1212]

Thank good I'm not a BIAS user... It's a nice reminder how from night to day software companies can disappear!

[bradp015]

Im surprised to see bias go down.... figures, just upgraded to version 7... had used it for a long long time. it def. had some bugs and odd workflows, but it worked...
id appreciate any mac users to continue the conversation on where to move to!

any comments on the lic. issue?
will i be able to get a hasp key to continue working?
thanks
b

[Twerk]

Originally Posted by bradp015

id appreciate any mac users to continue the conversation on where to move to!
b

It depends on what you used it for. For audio editing, Adobe Audition has it dialed, imo. For CD/DDP, I've been using Sonoris DDP and Wave Burner.

[bradp015]

Originally Posted by Twerk

It depends on what you used it for. For audio editing, Adobe Audition has it dialed, imo. For CD/DDP, I've been using Sonoris DDP and Wave Burner.

thanks! I'm using it for mastering..
can the sonoris ddp app use 3rd party plugs?

you need logic to run wave burner, correct?

b

[Whitecat]

Originally Posted by bradp015

Im surprised to see bias go down.... figures, just upgraded to version 7... had used it for a long long time. it def. had some bugs and odd workflows, but it worked...
id appreciate any mac users to continue the conversation on where to move to!

any comments on the lic. issue?
will i be able to get a hasp key to continue working?
thanks
b

I think v5 was the last version that supported the HASP key.

[Twerk]

Originally Posted by bradp015

thanks! I'm using it for mastering..
can the sonoris ddp app use 3rd party plugs?

you need logic to run wave burner, correct?

b

No plugin support in Sonoris, and you do need Logic to access Waveburner.

[mr. who?]

Surprised there aren't threads /rumors on an apple acquisition. Just happened to redmatica. Why not bias? Wave burner ever make it to the app store? Dont believe it did. This kind of functionality could be pretty useful as part of the logic suite.

[bradp015]

Originally Posted by mr. who?

Surprised there aren't threads /rumors on an apple acquisition. Just happened to redmatica. Why not bias? Wave burner ever make it to the app store? Dont believe it did. This kind of functionality could be pretty useful as part of the logic suite.

well, thats interesting! of course it would have to be a peak app without the bugs and oddities

[Silver Sonya]

I'm dismayed about this. It always seemed like they were JUST about to get their thing together.

Truly what users wanted from Bias was total stability of Peak. Not expansion of features, not "innovation." Just solidity.

Recently, my copy stopped working entirely because it could not handle certain AU plugins. It just crashes immediately upon attempted opening.

So that's it for me and Peak, I guess.

Smartest thing Soundblade could do right now is to offer a very attractive crossgrade to existing users of Peak.

- c

[Zep Dude]

Gee, glad I invested my time and money in two of their products this year. It's always weird when a software company goes under because unlike hardware, which keeps working and is usually repairable, it's just a matter of time before your software becomes unusable (with system updates) along with all of the files you've created with it.

Moving on...

[mr. who?]

Originally Posted by bradp015

well, thats interesting! of course it would have to be a peak app without the bugs and oddities

True! Wouldn't mind seeing a solid version rebranded in the logic suite. Just can't imagine the financially strong software vendors would let all of that technology just go away.

[donnie7]

Gearslutz Membership...

(08.06.2012) During the month of June, i3 makers of DSP Quattro, is hosting a June special promotion: 50% OFF for BIAS Peak owners.

Owners of a BIAS Peak license will benefit of a very special cross-upgrading promotion: only for them, a full license of DSP-Quattro v4.x will be 50% OFF. But, be fast. It is a time limited promotion, it will be available only in June.

Our digital education program here has been using DSP Quattro since version 1.0. And man it's a wayy cool Mac Mastering app... We have 5 licenses. One for each client workstation. Support is top notch, friendly and always available.

We know they'll be around for another few years to support your investment... i3 comes highly recommended for Mac OS-X users as it's been their specific and only focus.

[bradp015]

Originally Posted by donnie7

Gearslutz Membership...

(08.06.2012) During the month of June, i3 makers of DSP Quattro, is hosting a June special promotion: 50% OFF for BIAS Peak owners.

We know they'll be around for another few years to support your investment... i3 comes highly recommended for Mac OS-X users as it's been their specific and only focus.

All we need now is some way to IMPORT a peak playlist into another app...
Do you guys have any workarounds to do such a thing?

hey SILVER, if you are in a jam with a project, i offer my help with peak.
my copy of peak still works ;-) (for the time being)

btw: I have 16 years of peak files, just lovely.