CLAP: The New Audio Plug-in Standard (by U-he, Bitwig and others)

[Danilo Villanova]

It's not enough that CLAP should succeed - the Steinborg should fail.

[kev2525]

Well, there were very productive talks with NI in the beginning, but they declined support for CLAP early on due to their plans to move to VST3. Judging by the pace of that transition, I would really like to talk to this engineer again who raised that point.

It surprised me then and it surprises me now. Because obviously NKS - a major asset of NI - is tied to a deprecated format and obviously the demise of that format has therefore cost NI an amount of money and shareholder value that is certainly unprecedented in the industry. It seems obvious to me that no other plug-in manufacturer has lost more due to this particular decision of another company.

We reached out back then because we were sure that NI would be working on their own format to proceed, and thus it would make sense to collaborate. Apparently they didn't, but still they wouldn't - yet, I sincerely hope they eventually will. CLAP would make so much sense, it's beyond me why they're not on board yet.

There is an active thread on the NI machine forum full of dissatisfied users waiting for VST3 support and there is not so much as a whisper from NI. As a Maschine user I find it deeply disappointing they have yet to implement VST3 support. And to hear they aren't even investigating other options makes you wonder what they are up to? The pace of the developments at NI is glacial for such a big organisation. Their latest sound wide offerrings from Izotope are VST3 only so you can't even use them in the Maschine ecosystem. Are they going to become the next blackberry or Nokia of our times, relegated to selling soundpacks for depreciated products?

[Urs]

I wouldn't say they are not investigating other options. I'm just surprised they haven't been in touch.

[NAD]

The pace of the developments at NI is glacial for such a big organisation.

"Glacial"—what a fantastic word choice!

[koalaboy]

"Glacial"—what a fantastic word choice!

So you're saying that isn't the name of their latest instrument ?

[Trancit]

For me, this appearance of a new and better standard is a turning point of who I will support in future and who definetely not...

In regards of NI:
They have already failed for me long time ago... it´s beyond me how such a major comapny isn´t able or willing to port their plugins to HDPi support... Is there any others or are they really the last dinosaurs after Reason was finally able to support 4k??
Their obvious aversion to support clap anytime near goes into the same direction...

Luckily I can live without NI all the time and they do not get a single dime from me...

It´s time to concentrate on the "good guys" on the market who are innovativ... open to the future and most important open to the future which brings advantages for the customers and not just for the companies...

Perhaps one or the other will agree with me and do the same!

[EvilDragon]

NI is working on HiDPI support across the product range (which is huge). Newer products (Mod Pack, Crush Pack, Raum, GR6, MX) do support HiDPI.

[koalaboy]

NI is working on HiDPI support across the product range (which is huge). Newer products (Mod Pack, Crush Pack, Raum, GR6, MX) do support HiDPI.

Kontakt really needs it, but I can appreciate the challenge involved considering there are so many custom panels/interfaces. I'm hopeful for the future, and maybe they can throw in CLAP as an easy 'aside' to the UI work

[EvilDragon]

Doing something like CLAP support at the library SDK level is anything but an "easy aside", though. Plus it'd be handled by a different team, really.

[Trancit]

NI is working on HiDPI support across the product range (which is huge). Newer products (Mod Pack, Crush Pack, Raum, GR6, MX) do support HiDPI.

10 years too late!

I don´t support a company which is 10 years late of what they can do for me...
If it would be this only...ok... but now clap support points into exactly the same behaviour... and many other of their decisions and actions...

I am sorry, but for me NI is one of the most selfish companies on the market and as I said... no money from me...
I am not against business... everybody has to make a living...but how to do business is the key and even before now the clap thingie their offer for Komplete Now was showing exactly their mindset for me... this is nothing but an insolence and an insult...

[koalaboy]

Doing something like CLAP support at the library SDK level is anything but an "easy aside", though. Plus it'd be handled by a different team, really.

True, but I suspect making the core plugin available as a CLAP variant, with the intention of slowly adding enhanced features into the library, would not be too hard, judging by the comments by other devs so far.

A small step in the right direction would speak volumes about future intentions.

[EvilDragon]

No objections to that. You haven't seen NI libs codebase though...

[EvilDragon]

Regarding Reason Studios, we would love to talk to them

Did you try to at least PM @Anosou here on KvR? He's Reason Studios product manager.

[koalaboy]

No objections to that. You haven't seen NI libs codebase though...

Trust me, after 30 years of working with codebases (not audio, but it doesn't matter), I can truly appreciate what horrors may lurk inside. I worry about even my own code after 6 months

I'm not as harsh on many developers, as I understand how many 'simple' decisions are nowhere as straightforward, and also the decisions are often not made by engineering. I wish they'd been quicker with HiDPI (I've been running 4k for years), but I can appreciate the problems especially considering how slow the OS where to get there (and they had other problems).

Engineering takes a lot of time, and often marketing and other companies who focus on other priorities make it seem as if you are much further back than you should be. Other times, of course, you just are slow

Hopefully, as others adopt and features arrive/change, there will be an easier path to take.

Every single day, making music digitally becomes even easier and more fun, no matter who or where it comes from. As the awesome 2 Minute Papers would say "What a time to be alive !"

[EvilDragon]

I can only +1 to everything you said