VST Plugin Preset Match - Working Plugins That Can Be Matched?

[David Else]

i am talking about this entry:

http://www.kvraudio.com/product/vst-plu ... tian-budde

it is an AMAZING concept, but i can't get it to work with any plugins i tried to match yet. they either don't load and give an error (93 i think, don't quote me on that) or give another error in german when you hit 'match' then don't seem to ever come close to matching

i would most like to use it to match generic eq's to nebula eq programs, but nebula is one plugin that will not load at all.

has anyone got this working with any plugins other than the ones that come supplied with it?

i really hope it can get an update to be able to load a wider range of VST, esp nebula!

[Christian Budde]

Due to the limited time (I started only 2 weeks ago), I was yet unable to test it with other than the included plugins. Also I forgot to mention, that the 64-bit version is beta and may only work with 64-bit plugins. So if you tried the 64-bit version with 32-bit plugins it's likely that a 193 error will be raised.

I'll fix the german text with the next update (will be released very soon).

When I started to participate, I probably underestimated the difficulty of this concept :-/

To get an idea, you may want to try the plugins that are shipped with the application (in the applications directory rather than in the VST Plug-in directory). For a tutorial, please also read the manual.

[David Else]

ok, thanks for the info. i have now tried the 32bit version with 32bit plugins only. no more 193 errors.

i loaded nebula ok! all seemed to be going well until i go to match and get:

"error resetting internal states"

hit the cancel and it seems to start working, but nothing happens, it never gets any closer, i don't think it is working at all. i have read the manual and also seen it work with your supplied plugins.

ok, so i think forget nebula, let's try something more basic. i try to load pq33 to be matched to your graphics eq:

http://bedroomproducersblog.com/2011/11 ... st-plugin/

it just comes up:

"can't load SE plugin. The specified module could not be found..."

keep hitting ok and the error box never goes away, reset the computer and try again and it still comes up looking for the SE plugin and still trapped in an endless loop

i looked for the VST Plug-in Preset Match.ini file to try to remove the reference to the plugin that does not load... its not there in the x86 directory, nowhere to be found! why not in the directory? keep it portable is best.

until this actually works with some other plugins it is a nice proof of concept, but no practical use (at least to me) to match the supplied plugins, i don't use them!

PLEASE get this sorted, if it worked as advertised i would be ** voting it no. 1 without question! **

come on! you are 'in it to win it!'

[Christian Budde]

i loaded nebula ok! all seemed to be going well until i go to match and get:

"error resetting internal states"

This is an issue of some VST plugins, for which I haven't yet written a workaround. In order to get the VST Plug-in Preset Match to work, the application needs to try a lot of combinations, all starting with the same initial state. To achieve this I am using the VST opcode to switch the mains off and on (yes, such a command really exists). In the real world, this would clear all internal states. It should reinitialize the plugin as if it was just loaded. Unfortunately it is often not implemented (properly). A workaround for this could be to close and reload the plugin or to feed the plugin with a lot of zeroes. As you might imagine, both will result in much slower matching, which is why I have decided to display a warning.

http://bedroomproducersblog.com/2011/11 ... st-plugin/

it just comes up:

"can't load SE plugin. The specified module could not be found..."

It didn't over here. I was even able to match it very closely. I'm not sure what have gone wrong, but it just seem to work flawlessly here.

i looked for the VST Plug-in Preset Match.ini file to try to remove the reference to the plugin that does not load... its not there in the x86 directory, nowhere to be found! why not in the directory? keep it portable is best.

The settings are loaded/stored in the ini file if present or in the registry otherwise. As long as the .ini file remains in the application directory (under the same name), the registry is never used. You can even copy it to a usb stick and run it with the same settings on a different computer.

[VariKusBrainZ]

2 weeks to develop!!!!!!
Im amazed.
Is this based on some kind of reverse convolution?

When this is working properly it will be revoltionary!!!!

[David Else]

i see it was updated and now up to v1.0.3, no changelog?

[Christian Budde]

With the recent update, synth plugins can also be matched (though it will need some MIDI input).

Furthermore I improved compatibility. Especially for mono plugins and plugins with unsymmetrical I/O numbers. (e.g. 1 in, 2 out). It has finally been tested with several 3rd party plugins.

But be aware, that matching might take some hours! This is due to the fact that dozens of combinations are tested by some sort of trial and error.

For example the 'Glockenspiel' program of the newly shipped 'Decay Synth' needed about 8 hours for matching only one single note (the A'').

[camsr]

I am trying to match two reverb plugins. What are the best settings to use?

Also, if you want to clear the state, why not call resume and suspend?

[Christian Budde]

The best for a reverb would be to use "Schröder backward integration", but that is not yet supported. I'll do my best to add this feature soon. The second best option would be plain time domain integration. However, make sure to check the ignore level. It would also be useful to have the ignore delay checked, but that's also not yet ready to be used. Though, if you try to avoid differences in latency, it is not really necessary for a reverb.

Make also sure to use a reference signal with a long enough tail of zeroes. The shipped impulse should work fine here.

Also, if you want to clear the state, why not call resume and suspend?

I do use this, don't I?

[Compyfox]

Just a quick shout out in here - and sorry that I didn't write you directly through mail (too much to do over here):

I used VST Plugin Preset Match as part of the DC testing time. It worked right off the bat, but I couldn't clone much tools, especially EQ's (as mentioned in the manual). Even though I used simple parametric ones, and wanted to port it over to ElectriQ Poshifopit. It resulted in an error.

Other EQ's worked (example: Pultec Clone to ReaEQ), but reaEQ Standalone is just as discontinued as Poshifopit or the big ElectriQ for that matter.


I do like the concept to "clone" EQ presets from (say) one modeling EQ over to a full parametric one like DMG Equality. Or maybe load a saturator and clone it with an updated version (and cross-platform) of Christortion. But the system is not perfect, and still a bit buggy. Granted, I didn't test more recent versions, but I love to see the continuation of that tool.



Regarding VST Plugin Analyser v2:
You know what I think about your tool, and I still use it up until this day. I probably can't donate 100bucks, maybe not even 10 bucks - but I'd love to see some drastic enhancements here and there. Some of them are already adressed in the PDF.

I'd actually create a suite of tools rather than "one" tool with everything buillt in. Your Preset Match could be among it. Another tool could be specifically for testing compressors only (with a way bigger and more detailed workbench and "drawing tool" for the test signal), and then we have Plugin Analyser. Don't know - just throwing around ideas.


I also don't know if Plugin Preset Match derived from earler ideas we had through mail contact. But please don't abandon it, rather improve on it, update it. It will(!) come in handy to those that want to streamline their equipment, or maybe port a certain EQ courve over to another plugin for sharing to the masses, or rather applying it to a signal with a more surgical EQ. I can imagine ton of possibilities here.


Good work, unfortunately a bit buggy, sad that it scored 35th place. But to me, it was one of the most innovative tools in this DC. Thanks for that.

[camsr]

Brute force deduction will never work well for plugins, because the data set is too large. You should really consider adding some rules per parameter, such as being able to tell that a parameter will cause more feedback and a longer impulse. That way a tree can be worked out and a much quicker convergence.

FWIW I would be willing to pay good money for some software like this.

[Christian Budde]

I am trying to match two reverb plugins. What are the best settings to use?

I just uploaded a new version with the backward integration included. It can be downloaded here: http://www.savioursofsoul.de/Christian/ ... (beta).exe

Note: The download only works if you come from my site (since cross linking is forbidden on my site). So eventually you need to copy/paste the link directly into the address bar of your browser.

It is yet beta, but I plan to finish my work on that tool in the next days. Until then it's still beta.

Btw. in case of a reverb, you will not get a perfect match, but you can eventually reduce the difference.

[harryupbabble]

Hello Christian. Correct me if my understanding of your application is wrong.

If I made a song that used reverb plugin X but now reverb plugin X is broken and I want to have that same sound of reverb plugin X then your application will search my VSTPlugins folder to find reverb plugin Y and a specific preset of reverb plugin Y... and it actually will have the same sound as reverb plugin X?

[harryupbabble]

Oops, I have just seen that "not perfect match".

[camsr]

Btw. in case of a reverb, you will not get a perfect match, but you can eventually reduce the difference.

For what it's worth, a perfect match is essentially useless when comparing presets. It is more practical to find similar yet different presets. A perfect match is better suited to modelling analog equipment.

Keep up the good work.