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In CW here, the BIAB VST3 plugin is listed under the manufacturer's name: PG Music Inc. in the Instruments category.

I took at look at your first post where you described the soft synths that you were using without issue previously, particularly DimPro and Rapture. As you probably already know, those are older technology soft synths at this point (btw, I have both, and still love the sound). Released around 2006, they were designed for relatively much lower spec machines of years past. And now they hardly even make a blip on the radar of recent PC hardware. Some of the newer soft synths just need more muscle, and it is what it is, but I am bit surprised to see Cherry Audio on that list!

You can just let LatencyMon collect internal Windows data while your computer is idle. No need to be running your DAW. DPC latency is NOT audio latency. A tutorial is not really needed to just get it running and receive a report. It will simply indicate at the very top whether your system is suitable for real-time audio or not. But interpreting the results can be difficult for the non-technical. Just know that if the result is green, then carry on, no worries! But if the result is red, then you may want to start with this article on DPC latency at Sweetwater: https://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/solving-dpc-latency-issues/#

Just based on what you shared regarding low CPU usage, yet having to raise buffer size to avoid audio breakup, sounds suspiciously like DPC latency. This is often caused by a poorly executing driver that blocks the CPU from updating the audio buffer in a timely fashion - resulting in audio dropouts. By raising the buffers you are giving the CPU a bit more time to refill the buffer. LatencyMon will give a quick summary that indicates whether or not your computer is properly configured to support real-time audio. It's free, and only takes a minute to check. Well worth ruling out, at any rate. Best of luck!

Have you tried running LatencyMon? https://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

I've never noticed an HQ button on the Cherry synths, as some U-he synths have. What sampling rate are you running at? I typically only use 48KHz. I would think that a modeled synth would have to do more work at higher sampling rates. RAM is not so much as factor here, as CPU single core clock speed is the most important factor in VSTi performance. And per Noel, Cakewalk plugin load balancing only applies to audio FX (VST), and not to virtual instruments (VSTi).

I own those 3 synths from Cherry Audio. They seem to be low resource users here, on Windows 10. Running them standalone at idle, each synth uses approximately 2-3 % CPU, and when playing about 4-6% CPU. Very low RAM use (<100 MB). This is at 48KHz and audio buffers at 256 (5.3 ms) on a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd gen. But no personal experience with Mac, so don't know what to suggest to improve performance or troubleshoot that. You might want to check in with the Cherry Audio Forum. It appears to be actively monitored by the Cherry developers. > https://forums.cherryaudio.com/ The only other frequent Mac user that I'm aware of here at these forums is @Fleer. Maybe he can provide some Mac oriented tips. I see that these synths are all Apple M1 compatible, so he may have one or more of them. Memorymode macOS Requirements: macOS 10.9 or above (including macOS 12), 64-bit required. Native Apple M1 processor support. Quad-core computer with 8GB of RAM recommended. Note: until now I do not recall seeing any complaints regarding CPU-hogging performance of Cherry Audio synths, in comparison with everyday gripes about other modern synths such as Arturia Pigments 3 or AAS Chromaphone 3. Depending on how heavy a patch you use on those, you can just about bring any CPU to a screeching halt. Just my 2 cents...

I would speculate that the first iZotope reverb to get Apple M1 support will be Neoverb, their latest, based on Exponential tech. I assume that they probably wouldn't be planning further development for legacy Exponential products. The fact that iZotope hasn't even bothered to update the Exponential reverbs to the current iZotope licensing system tells me that much... Resistance is futile once you have been assimilated. https://www.izotope.com/en/products/neoverb.html#specs

Updated in what way?

Were you still running the original release? I think they may have added the in-app update in a newer version...

Fyi, they sent an email to users yesterday regarding the 1.04 update.

I have several other sound sets from Luftrum. Always great stuff! Mostly never a dud in the collection!

My account is slam full of that at the moment! But no worries, with MPS 4.1 in hand, they aren't getting any more of my money for a while, LOL!

I have BBCSO Core and still not completely sold on their Player.

The iZotope Music Production Suite 4 has all that and more, including Vocal Synth 2, Neoverb, and the Exponential Audio reverbs. My loyalty crossgrade price was close to that at $299 in mid-2021. Well it was still RX-8 Standard at that time, but they later offered an upgrade to RX-9 Standard via an inexpensive MPS4.1 upgrade.

Well if you are going to have to install iLok anyway, might as well take advantage of Softube Central! Save some clicks...

Well with Softube, the Softube Central downloader is required for installation and activation and MUST be linked to your iLok account. No direct downloads are in my Softube account. https://www.softube.com/softube-central

I recently had an issue with the Softube manager getting in sync with the iLok License Manager. Even though iLok Manager and the Softube website showed my licenses activated, the plugins were not, and threw an error whenever I tried to use them. Turns out that I had an older point release of the iLok License Manager, and needed to update it. Also uninstalled/reinstalled Softube manager along the way... that step was likely redundant, as the iLok update was apparently the true fix here.

This was a test to see if you are paying attention to Larry! If a deal seems to good to be true, it's probably a mistake! Better jump quick! ?

Yup, with my virtual cash I got Quadra and Spread for $6.83. That Quadra is one of a kind, even though I have the Korg ARP Odyssey, the Cherry and Arturia ARP 2600, and the Cherry ARP 2500 modules for Voltage Modular. Polymode is a good one, but I don't have Mercury. My Cherry Audio Synth Stack 2 offer now stands at $65.60. That would net me DCO-106, Mercury-4, PS-20, and MG-1. I have the others. But not sure I need all those missing here, as I already have the DCO-106 synth voice module for Voltage Modular, the Arturia Jup-8 V, the Korg MS-20, and for the MG-1, I already have a great Moog Mini emulation from Arturia. I think I have actually reached the point of avoiding duplication where possible, and only reaching for new and different tools.

Spread! Or at least that's what I picked...

You make some good points, and I will add some thoughts... MIDI was originally all about keyboards, and MIDI drums, both of which are well suited for input to virtual tone generators for chromatic note on/off triggers and velocity, some expression and modulation. MIDI only sequencers then became DAWs when they added digital audio recording/editing. So then guitarists, and singer-songwriters were able to jump on the DAW bandwagon from their Tascam tape recorders, to record their compositions via digital audio using their external mics & instruments. But good virtual instrument guitar playing has always been notoriously difficult to pull off from a keyboard, unless you are very skilled. Chord voicing on a guitar neck is more complex, due to multiple positions on the fretboard where a chord can be played, and thus the same note pitches can appear in multiple locations, unlike a piano keyboard. So regarding stock DAW instruments, virtual guitar instruments were probably not as much in demand by DAW consumers as were keyboard instruments, except by a some keyboard players that wanted to add guitar riffs to their MIDI compositions. As far as music instruction, I would think that modern DAWs have made access easier for young people to explore music.

Real Radioactive Pianos from Strix. Pripyat Pianos, $29. Full Kontakt required! https://strixinstruments.com/pripyat-pianos/ RADIOACTIVE PIANOS FROM THE CHERNOBYL EXCLUSION ZONE

I think all said and done, that Hybrid 3 and Loom II are quite good synths!!!