Available now: Tone2 Saurus4 analog synthesizer

[rezoneight]

Just an FYI that Mac 3.2 beta AU does not show up in Ableton Live 11.1.5 on M1. The VST2 works however.

The AU shows up in other apps though (actually tested with Rogue Amoeba Soundsource as an effect). But it does show as "unknown vendor" there. Also shows up in GarageBand with vendor as "TON2"

Also tested on Intel Mac. Same thing. To note both Macs are running macOS 12.4 (latest).

[Markus Krause]

As a workaround you can use the VST plugin in Ableton instead. It does also come with native M1 support.

The issue is related to Ableton and not Saurus. The Saurus AU shows up in all other tested DAWs and also passes Apple's AUval without errors.
The team from Ableton has already been informed about it. They did not investigate it. Instead they forwarded the customer to us. I send their development team another email...

"Sehr geehrtes Ableton Team,

wir haben vor kurzem unsere Plugins auf native M1 Unterstützung migriert.
Unsere Kunden haben technische Probleme mit unseren Plugins mit der M1 Version von Ableton berichtet.
Unsere Tests haben ergeben, dass es sich jedoch nicht wie von Ihrem support behauptet um einen Fehler in unseren Plugins, sondern um ein Problem von Ableton handelt.
Das Problem betrifft wahrscheinlich auch AU Plugins von anderen Herstellern.

Problembeschreibung:

- Die AU Version von Tone2 Saurus 3.1 wird in Ableton (M1 mode) nicht angezeigt. Die VST2 Version schon.
- Die AU Version von Tone2 Saurus 3.1 wird in anderen DAWs (M1 mode und Intel mode) angezeigt und funktioniert wie vorgesehen.
- Die AU Version von Tone2 Saurus 3.1 wird von AUval erfolgreich validiert (M1 mode und Intel mode).

Mit freundlichen Grüssen,
Dipl. Inf. Univ. Markus Krause
Tone2 Audiosoftware"

[rezoneight]

Markus is the 3.1 version still available still? Looks like the beta took its place on the website. I have a saurus 3 installer from 9/1/21 but when it loads the version says 3.0.

Oops...looks like 3.1 came out in March of this year?? Anyhow...is there still a 3.1 installer available?

[Markus Krause]

Saurus 3.1 is PC only.
"The update to v3.1 is available for free for all Saurus users. It adds a VST3 version and several small enhancements for PC."

The last version before 3.2 on the Mac is 3.0.

[rezoneight]

Saurus 3.1 is PC only.
"The update to v3.1 is available for free for all Saurus users. It adds a VST3 version and several small enhancements for PC."

The last version before 3.2 on the Mac is 3.0.

Got it. Thanks for the clarification.

[h66]

In the latest version of FL Studio "last tweaked" - "create automation clip" no longer works for most buttons

[Markus Krause]

Make sure that you use the latest version of Saurus (v3.1).
If the problem persists you must refer to Imageline for a fix.

[h66]

Saurus v3.1, FL Studio 20.9.2.2963
(old) Firebird works, (old) Warmverb works,
(new) Icarus crackles (don't use it), (new, great sounding) Saurus don't automate (stop using soon?)
Nor via the FL function "browse parameters", which could even be used to control controllers in the Nexus 2 that could not be controlled via the user interface

Addendum:
oh, i have a hunch: when i remix old projects and swap out the old synths with the saurus, the saurus doesn't respond to automation.
in empty/new projects everything works as it should.
So unfortunately saurus cannot be used in older projects?

Addendum 2:
workaround: volume decay does not react to automation > "midi learn" to one of the "AUX" buttons > then the automation works also in old projects

[Markus Krause]

Saurus does not automate

Make sure that you did not accidently route Midi CCs to the knobs. Right-click on the knob and use 'reset midi learn'.

Icarus crackles

The crackling is a known problem of FL Studio, not Icarus. It affects also many products of other developers and does not appear in any other host. You must either enable 'use fixed size buffers' in FL Studio or update to Icarus v2.5.

Fixes:
"Workaround for the 'unusual' designed audio architecture of FL Studio. It is not longer necessary to enable 'Use fixed size buffers' to avoid crackles."
https://www.tone2.org/forum/index.php?topic=2950.0

[Markus Krause]

Saurus 3.2 (free update)

Download link: https://www.tone2.com/download.html

The update is available for free for all Saurus users. It adds native Apple M1 ARM support for Mac.

New features:

• AudioUnit version supports M1 native.
• VSTi version supports M1 native.
• Help->'Show version info' displays the mode in which the plugin is running (ARM/Intel).

Enhancements:

• Much faster loading times on M1 Macs.
• The native M1 support results in 20% lower CPU use compared to Rosetta2 Mode.
• More responsive GUI on M1 Macs.
• The ideal GUI size is detected automatically.
• Several small enhancements.

Fixes:

• Workaround for the 'unusual' designed audio architecture of FL Studio. It is not longer necessary to enable 'Use fixed size buffers' to avoid crackles.
• Several small compatibility fixes for MacOS 11 and MacOS 12.
• Workaround for Apple's unrelieable AudioUnit validation. It is not longer necessary to reboot the Mac after an installation.

Changes:

• AudioUnit is now an AUv2 plugin.
• AudioUnit and VSTi are now a Universal Binary for 64bit Intel and M1.
• Apple's development tools are unable to build 32bit Intel binaries when you support M1. Sadly we had to drop support for it.
• Apple's Notarisation and the M1 support requires a MacOS version higher or equal than 10.11. If you still use an older version you must stick with Saurus 3.0.

[BONES]

So nothing at all for PC users?

[Markus Krause]

v3.1 was PC only. That was just 3 months ago. Mac users complained that they would be neglected.
v3.2 is for Mac now. It adds M1 native support and AUv2 (which both does not make sense on PC).

[rezoneight]

I have never read release notes for music software as unprofessional as what has been coming out of tone2 as of late. Markus as a customer I don't care about whatever issues you have with Apple. What I do want is a native version of my plugins now that we are 2+ years into the Apple Silicon transition. If the work was significant enough for you to port the code to Apple Silicon that you feel the need to keep complaining about it then charge an upgrade fee and stop with the complaining. People will complain then pay for it anyhow or they will move on. I'd have paid since Saurus sounds wonderful. Either way you haven't lost anything. But these release notes are petty.

[Markus Krause]

All our licenses are cross platform. And we will keep it this way. You can't expect that pc users pay for the additional effort of porting to M1.

I agree with you that releasing all the updates for VST3 and M1 for free was not a smart move from the economical side (over one year of work) . Instead of 'complaining' and pointing out the amount of work I should just have make users pay for the upgrade like many other companies do it...

[rezoneight]

All our licenses are cross platform. And we will keep it this way. You can't expect that pc users pay for the additional effort of porting to M1.

I agree with you that releasing all the updates for VST3 and M1 for free was not a smart move from the economical side (over one year of work) . Instead of 'complaining' and pointing out the amount of work I should just have make users pay for the upgrade like many other companies do it...

No need for quotes, it was complaining. And yes, I'd agree with you on charging for upgrades that take a significant amount of time/work. Major versions? like 2-3? Yes charge for it. You're not a charity org, you're a business. If its fair pricing, which you have always done, people will pay it (even if they complain about the upgrade charge first which some will definitely be vocal about). Nobody should be working for free. I appreciate the free upgrades but also appreciate the work going into the major updates and that time is money.