Roxio Toast 19, Disk Drill 4
Comprehensive file recovery utility
Free (IAPs) FROM CleverFiles, cleverfiles.com NEEDS OS X 10.11.6 or later
Disk Drill is a free utility to back up failing drives. It also scans volumes to preview and confirm which files can be recovered before upgrading (Pro version £77.99). Features like finding duplicate files and creating bootable drives or macOS installers are free.
The latest release scans and performs limited recovery on late-model Macs, ie those with a T2 chip (2018 or later). With Guaranteed Recovery – which stores a hidden copy of deleted files – the software is capable of recovery from SSD with TRIM enabled.
With support for FAT32, NTFS, HFS+, and APFS file systems, Disk Drill handles just about any volume, including iOS devices as well as Time Machine snapshots, so you can find deleted files without having to restore an entire backup. The software can identify and recover Raw images and video formats like H.263/H.264. The company boasts up to 99% recovery success for such files.
Where most software makes you wait until the entire volume’s been scanned, Disk Drill 4 previews and can even recover data while detection runs in the background.
Quick Look enables you to preview the files without having to recover them. And there are new tools to securely delete data, as well as erase free space prior to recycling a volume. JR Bookwalter
Amplitube 5 is a wonderful mix of high tech and retro style
From 99 (about £85)
FROM IK Multimedia, ikmultimedia.com NEEDS macOS 10.10 or later
The company behind Amplitube 5, IK Multimedia, was modelling guitar amps and pedals when most of today’s modellers were still in short trousers, and the latest version of its veteran virtualiser is extraordinary. Amplitube 5 enables you to combine all kinds of amps, speaker cabinets and effects to deliver incredibly realistic tones. You can use it as a standalone app or from inside a digital audio workstation (DAW) such as Logic Pro.
It’s ridiculously entertaining to mess around with: how many apps enable you to see what it’d sound like if Jimi Hendrix’s pedals were connected to Brian May’s amps? The presets are convincing and often complex: the app knows there’s more to sounding like The Edge than a digital delay.
As fun as the presets are, it’s when you start setting up your own chains that things get interesting. You can chain up to 57 models – stomp boxes, rack effects, amps and cabinets – simultaneously, use series or parallel routing and blend in the DI (Direct Input) signal too, and the new mixer makes it easy to blend signals from multiple cabinets and microphones for that real live sound. It’s a wonderful mix of high tech and retro style, with rack mounts and stomp boxes looking suitably studio-scarred and road-worn.
If you’re an old hand at Amplitube, we think you’ll like the revamped, cleaner interface and all the new toys. Depending on the version you buy, the new gear includes 129 brand new models including two new stomp boxes, five amps, 19 new rack effects and 100 recaptured cabinets.
Impulses and loops
The most impressive thing here is the new VIR (Volumetric Impulse Response) tech in the new Cabinet section. VIR creates a three-dimensional grid for microphone placement. It offers 600 impulse response points per speaker, so for a four-speaker cabinet you have 2,400 possible options that will change not just the audio going into the mic but also the interactions between the speaker(s), cabinet and floor.
Although Amplitube integrates with other apps it also has its own looper and an 8-track multitrack recorder built in so you can get ideas down and/or chop them into shape with cut, copy, split and duplicate controls. You can choose different time signatures and tempos for the metronome and adjust playback speed and pitch; completed projects can be exported as WAV or AIFF. It’s no substitute for a dedicated DAW but it isn’t supposed to be: it’s a scratchpad for when inspiration strikes.
Whether you go budget SE (€99, about £85) or full-fat (€299, about £260), Amplitube is an exceptional app for Mac musicians and producers. It’ll make you fall in love with guitars all over again. Carrie Marshall