Steinberg Discontinuing VST2 Support in its products

[Markus Krause]

So then Bitwig and u-he and Tone2 will have to drop VST support completely to try to force the industry to adopt CLAP in an “us or them” move (that’s why I asked if they are going to.) But that’s a power play that only Steinberg or Apple can afford to make. So in the end, the CLAP ends up becoming yet another proprietary plugin format, and VST3 remains the one and only universal format.

I think your misconception is that you believe they will support CLAP only. That is not the case. They will support CLAP and VST3. Why do you think they would drop VST3 altogether?

- Support for 'clap' is planned for the future
- VST3 support on PC had been added recently (although VST3 offers no significant advantages for synths at all. The opposite is even true!)
- VST3 might not be supported on the Mac, since we already got AU
- VST2 will be supported also in the future. We got no plans at all to drop this. We recommend to use VST2 if your DAW supports it

[jamcat]

So then Bitwig and u-he and Tone2 will have to drop VST support completely to try to force the industry to adopt CLAP in an “us or them” move (that’s why I asked if they are going to.) But that’s a power play that only Steinberg or Apple can afford to make. So in the end, the CLAP ends up becoming yet another proprietary plugin format, and VST3 remains the one and only universal format.

I think your misconception is that you believe they will support CLAP only. That is not the case. They will support CLAP and VST3. Why do you think they would drop VST3 altogether?

I’m saying that without an incentive, no major DAW is going to add support for a redundant format, and very few plugin developers will either.

The only thing that would entice a professional DAW to invest the time and money into incorporating a new format would be if that was the only way their customers could use a bunch of really popular and significant plugins. That means someone of consequence would have to make the bold move of only offering CLAP versions of their plugins. It won’t be enough if just a bunch of students and hobbyists make free CLAP plugins the way VST 1.0 started out, because the free plugin market is already oversaturated with VST plugins.

Likewise, the only way professional plugin developers would invest the time and money developing for yet another plugin format is if that was the only format a popular DAW accepted, as is the case with Logic and AU, or ProTools and AAX. So once again, some DAW maker who is onboard with CLAP would need to make CLAP their exclusive format.

Think about it: if every DAW and every plugin supports VST3, then why would anyone outside of those few True Believers/anti-Steinberg crusaders bother? It would be redundant and just more work with no upside.

So if not even the True Believers believe in CLAP enough to put some skin in the game and drop VST support, why would anyone else?

They wouldn’t. And that’s why CLAP is ultimately a waste of time that is destined to fail.

[whyterabbyt]

if if if if if if if

unsupported assertion of conclusion

sounds legit.

[jamcat]

And CLAP is being developed with the intention of being a viable professional format. One that isnt subject to the whims of a single company.

That’s not true. It’s just subject to the whims of u-he instead of Steinberg.

Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

U-he is adopting the technology. U-he is not "the new boss".

Not true. u-he is developing and promoting it. The creator of CLAP, Alexandre Bique, is a u-he employee.

[jamcat]

if if if if if if if

unsupported assertion of conclusion

sounds legit.

Extraordinarily weak rebuttal even by your standards.

[whyterabbyt]

if if if if if if if

unsupported assertion of conclusion

sounds legit.

Extraordinarily weak rebuttal even by your standards.

extraordinarily weak argument, typical of your standards, being rebutted with appropriately minimal effort.

[whyterabbyt]

The creator of CLAP, Alexandre Bique, is a u-he employee.

You and facts just dont get along, do you. He's a Bitwig employee. Subcontracting on Linux ports for U-he doesnt change his day job.

[Weasel-Boy]

Jamcat wrote:
“ That means someone of consequence would have to make the bold move of only offering CLAP versions of their plugins.”

Which would pretty much be financial suicide.

[whyterabbyt]

Jamcat wrote:
“ That means someone of consequence would have to make the bold move of only offering CLAP versions of their plugins.”

Which would pretty much be financial suicide.

and a logically unsound conclusion.

[Teksonik]

The question I had in the CLAP thread is how difficult is it going to be for DAWs to support the new format?

I didn't get an answer and I certainly don't have a clue if it's going to be a trivial task or a major endeavor or anything in between.

The answer is going to go a long way in determining how well the format is accepted. If most major DAWs add support then it's more likely developers will release CLAP plugins.

It seems if DAWs are reluctant or slow to adopt then developers are going to be less likely to bother with the new format.

I'm a huge fan of the concept of CLAP and wish it all the success in the world but this early in the game it's hard for me to put my money on success or failure of the format.

[jens]

Jamcat wrote:
“ That means someone of consequence would have to make the bold move of only offering CLAP versions of their plugins.”

Which would pretty much be financial suicide.

How so? Care to explain the reasoning behind this claim?

[audiojunkie]

And CLAP is being developed with the intention of being a viable professional format. One that isnt subject to the whims of a single company.

That’s not true. It’s just subject to the whims of u-he instead of Steinberg.

Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

U-he is adopting the technology. U-he is not "the new boss".

Not true. u-he is developing and promoting it. The creator of CLAP, Alexandre Bique, is a u-he employee.

My understanding was that the developer of Bitwig is behind it all

[S0lo]

Jamcat wrote:
“ That means someone of consequence would have to make the bold move of only offering CLAP versions of their plugins.”

Which would pretty much be financial suicide.

It's not a bad idea if you think of it differently. Some one (say u-he or Bitwig) could possibly release a really cool FREE plugin on CLAP exclusively. But it has to be rockin good.

[Markus Krause]

What we devs could also do is to offer an existing commercial product for free exclusively on CLAP.

[pdxindy]

I'm a huge fan of the concept of CLAP and wish it all the success in the world but this early in the game it's hard for me to put my money on success or failure of the format.

There is nowhere for you to put your money on it