Developing a new plugin... support VST 2 or VST 3?

[cpu.running.hot]

OK, I have been reading posts on this topic and I hear a lot of back and forth about VST 2 vs 3 but I'd like a different perspective on the topic.

( Please note the Poll that I created with this thread. I left out VST 2 and VST 3 because that is too obvious )

I'm considering developing a new plugin ( no legacy code to worry about ) which will be a commercial project. If I develop it with VST 3 only, will I loose potential customers? Are there host packages that still do not support VST 3? If so, are those platforms used by people who generally purchase VST's?

From a technical standpoint, I'm sure that I can develop it on either version without issues, so the functionality of VST 2 vs VST 3 is not important. I would just like to choose the platform that will be the easiest to maintain and be attractive to the most number of ( paying ) customers.

So....
- What hosts/platforms do NOT support VST 3?
- Do the hosts that do not support VST 3 have a paying customer base ( freeware, open source users may not translate to paying customers, or do? Please advise )
- How often is a VST 3 only plugin a "deal breaker" for potential customers?
- Is the VST 2 SDK available to download somewhere?
- How are you all doin'? This is my first post. Nice to be here

cpu

p.s. My preference in general is to move forward and not worry about supporting old formats, but if there are good reasons to stick with VST 2, I'll go in that direction.

p.s.2. Sorry if this question has been asked many times before. I searched the forums and got mostly technical reasons for VST 2 vs VST 3, and didn't answer the above questions ( that I could find ).

[Mayae]

Well Ableton, for one, doesn't support VST3 and must be considered a major host. You will loose out on a lot of customers there. On the other hand, I do not know of any host supporting VST3 that doesn't support VST2.

So, are there any reason you're not using VST2? Also, many frameworks exists that abstract the plugin interface (so you can build VST2, VST3, AAX/RTAS, AU using the same code-base, cross-platform), juce and IPlug come to mind.

The VST2 SDK has been discontinued, so you cannot download it officially anymore (afaik).

I'm doing fine, you? and welcome here!

[cpu.running.hot]

Ah, thank you for your speedy response. I'm gathering up all the info I need before starting the project and it's very helpful

Question regarding Juce... does it create VST 2 plugins without needing the VST 2 SDK? If so, that would be a good reason to use it instead of the SDK directly.

cpu

[Kriminal]

The majority of hosts dont currently support vst3

[Keith99]

Surely the answer nowadays is that you have to support both and in 32 and 64 bit formats

[Mayae]

Ah, thank you for your speedy response. I'm gathering up all the info I need before starting the project and it's very helpful

Question regarding Juce... does it create VST 2 plugins without needing the VST 2 SDK? If so, that would be a good reason to use it instead of the SDK directly.

cpu

No problem. No it doesn't, all frameworks needs the corresponding SDKs downloaded separately, as there may be license incompabilities.

I've shot you a PM.

[cpu.running.hot]

Surely the answer nowadays is that you have to support both and in 32 and 64 bit formats

Totally. This is no problem at all. How about on OS X... are many users still using 32 bit OS X?

Cpu

[cpu.running.hot]

Thanks to everyone who responded. I've got Juce setup with a sample project, and able to build for VST 2 and/or 3. Did a few test runs in my host application making a simply modification of the sound.

I'm looking forward to spending more time here at KVR Audio. Looks like it's a great community
cpu

[adrien59cadri]

Supporting VST3 gives you free support of VST2 if you add the CPP of the vst2 wrapper (from the steinberg SDK) to your build. So you would support both at once.
Wrapper for AU is also provided.

It will also give you better automation support, and a better thread safety.

However I agree the learning curve is a bit harder because VST3 forces you to clearly separate editor and controller.

[cpu.running.hot]

Supporting VST3 gives you free support of VST2 if you add the CPP of the vst2 wrapper (from the steinberg SDK) to your build. So you would support both at once.
Wrapper for AU is also provided.

It will also give you better automation support, and a better thread safety.

However I agree the learning curve is a bit harder because VST3 forces you to clearly separate editor and controller.

Ah, this is good to know as well. I'm currently doing some preliminary tests using Juce to test if the plugin is feasible. I guess the advantage of using Juce is that I could target a non-VST plugin type as well if desired.

Ok, heres' a big question... are there any reasons NOT to use Juce?

cpu

[Mayae]

Supporting VST3 gives you free support of VST2 if you add the CPP of the vst2 wrapper (from the steinberg SDK) to your build. So you would support both at once.
Wrapper for AU is also provided.

It will also give you better automation support, and a better thread safety.

However I agree the learning curve is a bit harder because VST3 forces you to clearly separate editor and controller.

Ah, this is good to know as well. I'm currently doing some preliminary tests using Juce to test if the plugin is feasible. I guess the advantage of using Juce is that I could target a non-VST plugin type as well if desired.

Ok, heres' a big question... are there any reasons NOT to use Juce?

cpu

The codebase is dual-licensed, either you buy a license or you must GPL your code as well. That might be awkward if you intend to sell your product.

[cpu.running.hot]

Ah, that the license issue totally flew under my radar. Being priced in GBP is a bit sting to us in the colonies. However, experience has taught me that the time saved may be worth the cost.

I'm still getting all the preliminary research together before going ahead with the implementation. If I decide to go ahead using the Juce GUI, then it may be worth the license fee. However, if I choose another method for the GUI ( e.g. wxWidgets ), and if I am only going with VST 2, then it may be unnecessary to use Juce.

[Tale]

- What hosts/platforms do NOT support VST 3?
- Do the hosts that do not support VST 3 have a paying customer base ( freeware, open source users may not translate to paying customers, or do? Please advise )

Apart from Ableton Live also REAPER and Bitwig, both commercial.

If the license fee for JUCE bothers you, then you should checkout IPlug.

[KingTuck]

VST2. VST3 is still unsupported by most hosts and the majority of plugin devs haven't switched over. VST 2 only plugins are plentiful but VST3 only plugins are very rare.