DMXIS Lighting Controller & Sonar X2 64 Bit: Anybody Have This Working ?

I just got a DMXIS DMX lighting controller.  I was sold on the device because of the testimonials I researched about using it as a VST plugin and driving lights via midi tracks.  A great idea.  However, when I install the drivers and it drops the vst dll where I specify, Sonar scans the directory but ignores the dll. It never shows up in the plugin manager.  I have tried placing the dll in both the 64 bit vstplugins folder as well as the 32 bit path.  And I made sure the plugin manager had those folder in its scan list (you can actually see it reading the directory when you force a re-scan).

ENNTEC videos show a user going into the plugin manager and finding the audio vst dll and configuring it to run as a synth.  It never shows up there for me - it doesn't show up in any group in the plugin manager.

I't just not happening.  Anybody have this working out there?

Thanks,
Steve

I don't have it but here is my guess. The thing is probably a 32bit VST that has to be configured as a synth (since it has to receive MIDI data). BitBridge the default 32bit bridge software does not like the vst. It may work with JBridge or you might have to the 32bit SONAR to use the plug-in. Not all 32bit plug-ins work in 64bit DAWs. Fortunately, you can run the 32bit version of SONAR along with 64bit version on the same machine.

First double check that the plug-in is in the Plug-in managers scan path. The scan path is in Edit > Preferences > File > VST Settings "VST Scan Folder(s)". Of course, when the "Configure as synth" box checked, the plugin moved from the Audio plug-ins category to the Synth plug-ins category. This has caused some to lose where the plug-in is found in the media browser and plug-in menus.
 
Bitbridge is the 32bit to 64bit wrapper which is part of the SONAR package. All 32bit VSTs run in a BitBridge server when running 64bit SONAR. Aside from memory management and setting the server a plug-in runs in, there is not much user control over Bitbridge. The only tweaks that I know of would not seem to be appropriate here. But here they are anyway, in the Bitbridge.exe compatibility tab, set the compatibility mode to "Windows XP (Service Pack 3)" and check  "Run the program as administrator". The Bitbridge.exe is located in "C:\Program Files\Cakewalk\Shared Utilities".
 
JBridge is a thrid party 32bit to 64bit wrapper. I do not own it and have no experience with it. Some have reported good results with it where BitBridge failed to work properly.
 
As I indicated in my first post. The least cost solution would be to see if 32bit SONAR works with the plug-in.

I don't think the compatibility options are going to make a difference either way. The reason for the settings is the BitBridge executable has not changed in years. The recommended tweaks address some stability issues but thought I would mention them anyway, worth a try and easy to undo. BTW, I also added a comment about the relocation of VSTs when the "Configure as synth" box is checked, in my previous post. I assume you have worked with that attribute and know it relocates VSTs but I just want to make sure that you are looking in the right place for the plug-in.

If the 32bit version of SONAR does not work, I am out of ideas. It would be a vendor support issue for me. Good luck

I didn't notice this was in the wrong forum (I google'd my question and here I am), so to make it appropriate for this forum...
 
The plugin appeared to load with Sonar 8.5 Producer 32 bit on a Windows 7 32 bit machine. I don't know if it actually works because I have no DMX lighting here, but it looked "right". I guess I'll see next of it will run with jbridge in a 64 bit Windows/X2 environment.
 
Wish me luck!
Ken

I'm optimistic with the jbridge, it looks like it's working! At least it's showing up in the plug-in manager, I was able to change its properties to a soft synth, did a quick little test and the plug-in appears to be working properly! I can't say 100% yet though, I'll need to get it hooked up to some real lighting to test. Thanks a lot, scook!

I thought I'd add that I finally got it hooked up to some DMX lighting and it works! It's not picking up the starting tempo of the song automatically like it should, so I'm trying to figure that out, or a work-around. But selecting the different banks and presets within DMXiS with the VSTi is working fine.
 
Thanks to jbridge!