Doug Rintoul

1 hour ago, marled said:

I worked as software engineer for several decades, so I know what I am talking about. During that time I had seen the change of development. First there were cracks that really understood what they told the computer to do, down to the machine code! Then more and more came those development tools that blurred the insight into the machine. The newer developers did not understand the depth anymore, they struggled only on the surface. Instead of understanding what they really coded, they began to run endless testing. But I can assure you that if you don't understand the code 100%, than you cannot really do complete tests! ...

Thanks for clarifying this. I agree that we have lost touch with the underlying hardware in the attempt to make things easier to developed. I myself started out in the age before personal computers. My first programs were written using punched cards on IBM 360/370s. I programmed not only machine code but did microprogramming back in the day. Not sure I would want to go back to those days but I will admit that my degree in Electrical Engineering has made me a better programmer. I am not trying to brag or anything, basically agreeing with you.

1 hour ago, marled said:

Maybe this is a philosophical question: Is this really necessary? Isn't it enough if they do their job?

1 hour ago, marled said:

6 hours ago, Doug Rintoul said:

They also do not try to use new features that can be found in modern day processors.

Maybe this is a philosophical question: Is this really necessary? Isn't it enough if they do their job?

Of  course it is not necessary if the plugins already do their jobs. But new features or new plugins may require the new features on processors such as AVX extensions so they do not become CPU hogs. Some plugins try to provide a fallback if AVX extensions are not available and this can lead to issues.

4 hours ago, abacab said:

I am a PC person, but do have an old Mac Mini that used to be strictly for family  secure online banking. Until the bank refused to support the old Safari browser, and Apple refused to update Safari, and Google and Mozilla stopped support for their browsers on the old MacOS. ?

I might get curious and drag the old Mini out just to play around with! But without current browser support, it's probably near useless...

I am a PC person as well. I have a MAC mini because I need to support it in my job. Your scenario is exactly what frustrates me about the Mac world.

8 hours ago, marled said:

Sorry, but I don't agree to that! ?

E.g. "moving the libraries to any location": It is naive to believe that handling this is a big thing! Yes, some developers make you believe it! But without kidding this is very easy for any competent developer and already included in proper development! On the contrary it is a "sin" to hardcode such things (like I had even detected in an IK product 1-2 years ago)! And there is much more such trouble that can be introduced by poor dev teams!

The hardest thing, the audio interface, is mostly handled by the DAW. Therefore the plugins do not have the same complexity.

If those things that you have listed are so problematic for plugins, then how do you explain why e.g. the old Sonar plugins still run so smooth?

I don't know your background @marled. Have you actually done any software development? It is a complex process. Just because a plugin works in your environment does not mean it will for everyone everywhere. When a bug is reported and fixed, an update is released for everyone whether you need it or not.

Moving libraries around was only one example of things that can cause problems. You are correct in that it should be relatively easy to support. But the miriad of DAWS available is another issue and to test for all DAWs is a momumental task that takes time and resources, even for a simple plugin. 

There is an axiom that the only bug free piece of software is one that does not do anything useful. 

The old Sonar plugins still run so smooth because they are Windows only and Microsoft has tried to maintain backward compatibility. They also do not try to use new features that can be found in modern day processors. They are also not nearly as complex as something like SampleTank. 

I am not trying to justify shoddy coding. There are lazy software developers out there who provide poor support. But I think we are quick to complain sometimes not understanding the complexities involved in trying to support even simple tools. 

1 hour ago, abacab said:

Yep, but Dexed workflow is not very user friendly. It's patch management is a throwback to 80's patch carts. It really needs a dedicated patch librarian. If you own, or have owned a real DX7, you might love it. I downloaded an astronomical number of free patches for Dexed, but found in unmanageable to organize them.

Myself, I prefer the Casio CZ phase distortion synth. It was my first synth and I still have it. And I have two working emulations of it.

True. My comment was supposed to be a bit cheeky. 

37 minutes ago, abacab said:

Hence one reason that Apple is so successful. They control their standards and do not have to support everything. Walled garden.

The policy is good for Apple, but not so good for developers and end users. And it works well in the phone space. However Apple's PC market share is still only 15%.

I have a perfectly good Mac Mini that would run the current OS X if Apple would let it. In fact, I shoed horned it in and it run with absolutely no problems. But Apple support policy won't allow me to officially upgrade. And unfortunately, current versions of some Apple programs won't run on older OS Xs. So I either throw the hardware out or go the non-official route.

6 hours ago, abacab said:

Yikes! I believe that this is where I'll just stick with my Arturia DX7 V ... 

DEXED is only a 3.25 MB downloads. Just saying...?

Part of the problem with the current ecosystem is the diversity of platforms that need to be supported. Some people like to move their libraries from the default location to any where there is space. There are different OS's and even different versions of the same OS. There are different processors, different motherboards , different antivirus` programs, and different graphics cards. It is naive to think that you can release software that will work in every configuration without bugs, even for simple plugins. And thus the need for updates. 

It is 2021 and they are just releasing 2012 versions? ?????

Actually it is just the title that is wrong.

Never heard of JRV before and now in the same day, there is a bump and a APD deal. What is going on here?

38 minutes ago, abacab said:

Don't forget to check out AudioDeluxe and JRRshop for the best deal on that AAS pack!

If you are Canadian, you get the same US price in Canuck dollars. Now that is a good deal. 

17 minutes ago, fret_man said:

Drat, bought the Vintage Gent for $70 using slices and bundle discount. Could have saved maybe $25 and gotten the freebie if I waited 2 days!

Sale excludes the Vintage Gent.

36 minutes ago, ZincT said:

I'm thinking that I will buy Analog Orchestra as a thank you to AAS which will hopefully help to keep them in business a bit longer.

I just did that!

2 hours ago, Eusebio Rufian-Zilbermann said:

I did not receive an email, but I went to the page that shows my registered products and there was a button in the sidebar!

That is how I discovered the link I posted.

Just now, Michael Docy said:

Yes it is. You can choose anything from the "Sound Pack Series".

Hmm. It wasn't for me. Unless I missed it somehow. Anyway, I am happy with Humanized.

What do we want?

  Our AAS Free Gift.

When do we want it?

  NOW!

Just discovered you don't have to wait for the eMail. Just go here...

https://www.applied-acoustics.com/portal/gift/

log in and voila, you can pick your free gift!

P.S. Analog Orchestra is not one of the choices. Humanized is though.

11 hours ago, Carl Ewing said:

Should be $20,000 by next Christmas. Expect some "80% off the entire bundle!" when they have this enormous overpriced ecosystem while completing with something like Native Instruments Komplete.

But, but, but the banner says NEVER ON SALE. Are you saying you don't believe them? I am shocked!

11 minutes ago, Brian Walton said:

Guess I should have waited for the price match and paid the foreign transactiosn fees.

With TT directly, 3.5+ hours after my order and still no sign of the product and no response from customer service.

Interesting. I made the purchase at T&S at 7:38 PST and received the key at 7:39 PST.

8 hours ago, cclarry said:

That's the PA Vouchers....I'm talking about the completely useless Native Instruments $25 vouchers...

Oh right. Brain fart.

2 hours ago, cclarry said:

Or Native Instruments $25 vouchers!

$25 vouchers are a sight more useful than the $50 vouchers.

2 minutes ago, ZincT said:

There's a sub-forum on the PG Forums for posting feature requests which might be a good place to start, although I'm sure that hierarchical library lists have already been requested. I'm also aware that the feature request/wish list is many pages long with just one dev to implement any change.  

I just went to the subforum and found that the hierarchical library lists has been requested multiple times. It sounds like the feature request is pretty long. 

I realize that Unify is only a couple of years old and has lots of room for growth. It has come a long way though, and I am loving it.

2 minutes ago, husker said:

About as useful as APD cash... 

I used APD cash quite a bit back when I first started out but not any more. I have $528 in rewards and the scary thing is how it reflects how much I have spent there. 

9 minutes ago, cclarry said:

$19.99

Coupons sent out for an extra $5 off

https://audioplugin.deals/muze-essentials-bundle-deal/

So what is essential about this bundle again? I think I would call it "Muze Bloated Bundle".

On 12/11/2021 at 12:37 PM, ZincT said:

That reminds me; I Unified quite a few on that list and some of the original libraries have been updated so the Unified libraries need updating to reflect the changes. e.g. new patches in the latest Dune 3.   

There are also quite a few other 3rd party libraries that I and others have Unified.  I posted quite a few on their forum e.g. Ultra Analog VA-3, Swatches 1.5.2,  Super-8, Lounge Lizard EP-4, UVI Synth Anthology 3 and some I have still to post. You can find these and others here https://forums.pluginguru.com/unify-patchbook/  and here https://forums.pluginguru.com/unify-share/ 

I have just started using Unify. It is a great piece of software, hard to descibe but really useful and fun to play with.

I have Unified a bunch of libraries myself. I haven't submitted anything yet though. 

Having all those libraries Unified though makes me wish that Unify and a hierarchical library list. My Library list is starting to get a bit unwieldy. I also wish that when you select a library, the Categories and Tags were limited to what was found in the selected library. I suppose I should submit some feature requests.

1 hour ago, Fleer said:

Didn’t get one. And I’ve got so much of their stuff. Thanks but no thanks. 
 

 

Edith!

You didn't miss much.

I wasted about 15 minutes of my life trying to figure out what I could use the coupon on and decided there was nothing I really wanted. And yes, Wavesynth Pro was the first thing I tried too.