Anderton


Reading the rumors about UA ceasing support for Sonar naturally had me concerned, so I called UA to find out what they had to say on the subject. Here's the deal.

UA makes a distinction between qualifying and supporting systems. Sonar, Ableton Live, Studio One Pro, etc. are still supported and UA does test those and other programs for compatibility.

Qualifying is apparently a process that takes months of man-hours where UA tests every parameter of every plug-in. They chose three "test beds" for plug-in qualification: Cubase for VST, Logic Pro for AU, and Pro Tools for RTAS. So, what they are basically doing is qualifying operation of the plug-in formats. I can't argue that those are extremely representative programs, as Steinberg invented VST, Apple invented AU, and RTAS is the"Pro Tools format." As a benefit of using these programs, it allows UA to guarantee that every parameter of every plug-in will work with those particular programs because they were the test beds.

However, in theory VST is VST, and if a plug-in works perfectly under one VST host, it should in theory work under other VST hosts. So, UA does less rigorous testing with other VST hosts to check whether the theory holds true. 

So far, my understanding is that UA has not found issues with VST support on other 64-bit hosts, but they are actively seeking any reports of problems from users of non-qualified 64-bit systems so that any problems can be addressed.

 
 
You have it almost in plain english there.
This mean, let me rephrase that = We will continue to only support VST3, AU and AAX format in the future. So VST2 will soon be legacy at UAD. Noone at Cubase platform use VST2 if they don't need to.
 
I get it that UAD need to narrow the priority support field. Still VST3 is not the same as VST2. It's another ball game. If it work on VST3 doens't mean it will work on VST2. Waves priority their support field too. The have already announced that this version of WAVEs-plugins will be the last that support VST2. 

It seems that the ball is in Sonar's court to go to VST 3.   If Sonar becomes VST 3, will VST 2 still work?

Freddie H

        
You have it almost in plain english there.
This mean, let me rephrase that = We will continue to only support VST3, AU and AAX format in the future. So VST2 will soon be legacy at UAD. Noone at Cubase platform use VST2 if they don't need to.
 
I get it that UAD need to narrow the priority support field. Still VST3 is not the same as VST2. It's another ball game. If it work on VST3 doens't mean it will work on VST2. Waves priority their support field too. The have already announced that this version of WAVEs-plugins will be the last that support VST2. 

There is no evidence, anywhere, that the UA 64-bit plugs are VST3. Besides, if they were, they wouldn't work with Sonar.

deswind


It seems that the ball is in Sonar's court to go to VST 3.   If Sonar becomes VST 3, will VST 2 still work?

I have yet to find a VST2 plug-in that won't run with the latest, VST3-compatible version of Cubase (6.5). 

Then again...if Sonar goes VST3, I'll be able to use Padshop Pro...I love that synth.

Anderton

Freddie H

      
You have it almost in plain english there.
This mean, let me rephrase that = We will continue to only support VST3, AU and AAX format in the future. So VST2 will soon be legacy at UAD. Noone at Cubase platform use VST2 if they don't need to.

I get it that UAD need to narrow the priority support field. Still VST3 is not the same as VST2. It's another ball game. If it work on VST3 doens't mean it will work on VST2. Waves priority their support field too. The have already announced that this version of WAVEs-plugins will be the last that support VST2. 

There is no evidence, anywhere, that the UA 64-bit plugs are VST3. Besides, if they were, they wouldn't work with Sonar.

They state they will only support Cubase? Isn't that the same don't you think? Do you honestly think they will put time and make two version VST2 and VST3 to support Cubase users when everyone will only use the VST3 version on Cubase and the rest of the DAW platforms? Its almost only SONAR that doesn't support VST3 yet.  Studio ONE-users, LOGIC, PRO TOOLS, CUBASE, NUENDO are all set! Think about it. Time will tell.
 
 
Besides, if they were, they wouldn't work with Sonar.
Exactly, You got it!

I'm not sure why Cakewalk is hesitating on the VST3 bit - VST3 is supposed to be backwards compatible with VST2.4, and possibly even older versions. There is probably a pretty good reason, at least from their perspective.

I think this only underscores the need for open standards... while Steinberg has been pretty decent with both ASIO and VST, it has not always been smooth sailing, and it would be naive to expect it to be. Both of these pseudo-standards offer them some competitive advantage.

Given that the MI community embraced MIDI it does seem odd that they did not learn from that, and make VST and ASIO more open...

wst3


I'm not sure why Cakewalk is hesitating on the VST3 bit - VST3 is supposed to be backwards compatible with VST2.4, and possibly even older versions.

Tell me about it!

Freddie H


They state they will only support Cubase? Isn't that the same don't you think?
      

Did you even READ the first post?

Are you aware that Cubase supports VST2 plug-ins? Are you aware that if VST3 hosts can support VST2 plug-ins, and if the market for VST2 plug-ins is WAY LARGER than for VST2 plug-ins, companies that aren't terminally stupid will continue producing VST2 plug-ins?

Please read the first post to understand the difference between how UA defines qualifying a platform and supporting a platform.

Craig meets Freddie head to head in a Texas-No-Holds-Barred-Lights-Out-Chainlink-Cage-Death-Match.  Watch out Craig, ol pal.  Don't let him git ya in his famous 64bit "sleeper hold"...as the fans say, "IT REALLY MATTERS!!!!!!" :-)