Is anyone using the Slate Digital Plugins with Sonar Platinum?  I see that they don't "technically" support Sonar but "may work".  Sounds sketchy but the amount of stuff that you get for $25 a month seems INSANE!  Maybe I am being snowed by the audio in the video examples on their website but I was like "SIGN ME UP!" . . .  until I saw the requirements.
 
So, possible problem scenarios:

1. Is it really $25 a month or do I have to pay an "up front" cost or the whole year or iLock (which brings me to possible problem:)
2. iLock2 device:  Yay!  Back to a freakin' DONGLE.  Didn't we "86" that crap back in the late 90's, OMG - must be a Mac thang.  I see a post in the Hardware section about some issues with iLock but iLock2 is "better" blah, blah, may work, no it doesn't. no it's Slate, No it's the PC - I dunno.  I do know that USB ports CAN go WONKY, as I spent weeks chasing down this buzzing sound in my audio and was pulling out my hair and cables.  It turned out to be the internal USB controller chip and once I put in a USB card (which, BTW uses its OWN controller chip) the problem was gone, FINALLY!  Uggh!  It also stopped some random BSOD that had "USB" in the message (couldn't read all of it that fast).  So, I can see how this could be a potential pitfall with iLock not being happy with power, control, sharing, blah, blah, doesn't work.
3. Plugins don't load in VST scanner correctly
4. Plugins are memory hogs and end up making IK Multimedia seam like a dream (some of you know what I am talking about).  Slate swears you can put "thousands" of instances on your tracks.  Yes, he said the word "thousands".  I had to roll it back and hear it again.  What the freak is he running?

Anyway, this is long enough to get started.  There is a thread on iLock in the Hardware section if you are having issues with that.
 

I've used them.  All very resource hungry.  Worse than the waves signature series.  

Hi. I only have "revival", but it works like expected. Sorry to be of no more help.
All the best.

eph221
I've used them.  All very resource hungry.  Worse than the waves signature series.  

Hmmm.  I have a very different experience with the Slate Plugins.  I have the VMR on many (almost all) tracks and also use the VTM and VBC on several tracks on my i5 machine and they barely take any resources and perform very well.
Now the FG-X limiter plugin is a resource hog, but that is meant for 2-track mastering.  Other than that I think Slate's plugins are some of the best sounding and performing vsts around.  YMMV. 

I guess I should have mentioned that I have an Intel Core i7 with 8GB of RAM, using a Tascam US-2000 interface (USB 2.0) with ASIO drivers on "Lowest Latency".  It took me a while to figure out that I had ASIO set on one preference but WDM on playback.  That was giving me a noticeable lag when I would use input monitoring on something like Amplitube 3.  I was bummed until I got ASIO on everything and now it is NO latency.  I mean NONE, and I am ABUSING the pro channel on every channel of audio in my sessions.  So far, so good except I did notice that when I started recording some new tracks into a project that was loaded up with plugins and pro channel mods, the audio would be out of sync. REALLY bad, where I had to slip edit the track into shape with the others.  This confounded me until I learned about Sonar's most underrated feature for performance: QUICK FREEZE! (if you don't know what this is, you need to look it up).  That totally fixed my sync issues as well as some random dropouts.
 
I would be okay if I could run some of the Slate Plugins (not "thousands") on my tracks AFTER tracking is mostly complete and use the Quick Freeze or just freakin' commit and bounce things down (it's really hard to commit isn't it?) to do final tweaks and mixdown.

I subscribed to the Slate subscription as soon as it was made available.  Love them.  In answer to your questions:
 
1.  I only pay 19.99 mo.  The 24.99 subscription price also includes the additional LX480 Reverb plugin.  I have enough reverbs.  When I started my subscription, I paid 19.99 via Paypal the first time, and each month, I pay 19.99.  I can stop my subscription anytime, and start up again anytime I want.
 
2.  This was my first experience using Ilok.  Slate sent me the dongle free when I subscribed.  When it arrived, I plugged it into a free USB slot, and went through the licensing process.  After that, I forgot about it.  No issues, problems or worries.  I'd much prefer a system without Ilok, just on principle, but in practice, Ilok really isn't that bad, at least for me.
 
3.  In Sonar Platinum, I've never had an issue with Slate plugins not loading.  Each time there is a Slate update, I install it, and on the first Sonar startup, the plugins get scanned by Sonar.  That's it.  Contrast that to Waves shells, which I have to wait to be scanned on each Sonar startup.
 
4.  I'm not sure why some people say that Slate plugins are memory hogs.  I have a few songs in which I only used Slate plugins, on every channel.  The resources are no higher than any of my previous songs, which do not use Slate plugins.  There is one exception.  Slates master buss processor, FGX, I think.   That beast sounds great, but is definitely a resource hog.
 
In summary, I've been very happy with Slate plugins.  I feel they are a great deal for the money.  
 

Slate's plugins work fine with Sonar, but there is nothing especially exceptional about them that you can't find in many other plugins. As you alluded to, I have had issues with Slate's VMR not authenticating the first time a project is opened with it, but it always works after that.They are as good as similar plugins from Waves, PSP and so forth.
 
Would I buy them again? Probably not.
 
Regards,
Dan

Control + Z Studios
Is anyone using the Slate Digital Plugins with Sonar Platinum?  I see that they don't "technically" support Sonar but "may work".  Sounds sketchy but the amount of stuff that you get for $25 a month seems INSANE!  Maybe I am being snowed by the audio in the video examples on their website but I was like "SIGN ME UP!" . . .  until I saw the requirements.
 
So, possible problem scenarios:

1. Is it really $25 a month or do I have to pay an "up front" cost or the whole year or iLock (which brings me to possible problem:)
2. iLock2 device:  Yay!  Back to a freakin' DONGLE.  Didn't we "86" that crap back in the late 90's, OMG - must be a Mac thang.  I see a post in the Hardware section about some issues with iLock but iLock2 is "better" blah, blah, may work, no it doesn't. no it's Slate, No it's the PC - I dunno.  I do know that USB ports CAN go WONKY, as I spent weeks chasing down this buzzing sound in my audio and was pulling out my hair and cables.  It turned out to be the internal USB controller chip and once I put in a USB card (which, BTW uses its OWN controller chip) the problem was gone, FINALLY!  Uggh!  It also stopped some random BSOD that had "USB" in the message (couldn't read all of it that fast).  So, I can see how this could be a potential pitfall with iLock not being happy with power, control, sharing, blah, blah, doesn't work.
3. Plugins don't load in VST scanner correctly
4. Plugins are memory hogs and end up making IK Multimedia seam like a dream (some of you know what I am talking about).  Slate swears you can put "thousands" of instances on your tracks.  Yes, he said the word "thousands".  I had to roll it back and hear it again.  What the freak is he running?

Anyway, this is long enough to get started.  There is a thread on iLock in the Hardware section if you are having issues with that.
 

1. The full boat (including the LXP-480) is $25. No upfront fee and cancel/startup anytime you want.
2. I have not had a single problem with my iLok2 since I got it and that is going on 5.25 years now.
3. They load fine in the scanner, except you don't see the VMR modules as they are selected from the VMR.
4. No memory hogs except FG-X. Supposed to see a new version one day that will load in the VMR. I'm not holding my breath since it's been nearly a years since 'ol Steven claimed they were working on it.
 
Slate's plugs have been beddy beddy good to me.

Sounds like enough positive feedback to try it and see for myself.  Nothing to lose but $25, which is funny since I do less research on WAY more expensive gear, haha!  Maybe I am a "sucka" for the audio examples on the website but if even only half of them work as presented, it seems worth only $25 a month to try out.  I will post back after giving it a proper QA test on MY stuff and report back for anyone else who may be interested. 
 
I totally agree that you can get great sounds from other plugins but I guess the bigger value to me is that if I find that I only end up really leaning on a certain "few", then I can decide whether or not to take the plunge and then buy a permanent license for just the "bits" (pun IS intended) that I like, as they are also sold separately and in smaller groups.
 
SONAR is still best bang for buck monthly, though! They are CONSTANTLY making things more stable as well as practically handing away great new features.  Thanks guys!

One quick note as you try them, the VST3 versions have always been problematic for me, so if you run into strange behavior with them try the VST2 versions. Other than that no complaints from me...pretty much UAD, Slate and FabFilter these days here for me.
 
Dean