Native Instruments Pro-53 is back as an open-source project (Cmajor port)

[martiu]

please make plugin

[waltercruz]

not tested: there's a Cmajor VST/Au Plugin that can load cmajorpatch files.

Legal questions apart, It should be possible to install the plugin and load the Pro-54 cmajorpatch, I think.

[PAK]

not tested: there's a Cmajor VST/Au Plugin that can load cmajorpatch files.

It works. The huge caveat, right now, is the Cmajor plugin appears only to be recognised as an effect (At least the VST3). The standalone (Mac) app works fine.

EDIT: Just to clarify for Cubase users - You can still use Pro 54 as an instrument if you add a MIDI channel, then set the MIDI output to route to the plugin - which you'd place on an FX send track prior to routing the MIDI. However, the disadvantage to this method is you'll have to disable the "suspend VST3 processing with no audio signal" in order to get it to work. So it would be nicer (and less setup) if the plugin would just report as an instrument as well as an effect.

[EvilDragon]

Yep. I really can't imagine that they got the OK from NI to take part of the code and base their soft synth on that.

In fact yes, yes they did. This is all legit, folks.

Note that it's not the direct source code of Pro-53, it's ported from a Reaktor ensemble Vadim Z did at some point. So it's not 100% identical to ye olde Pro-53 (especially since it also contains improved filter models), but it is pretty close. It's an excellent showcase of what Cmajor can do.

[Greenstorm33]

Yep. I really can't imagine that they got the OK from NI to take part of the code and base their soft synth on that.

In fact yes, yes they did. This is all legit, folks.

Note that it's not the direct source code of Pro-53, it's ported from a Reaktor ensemble Vadim Z did at some point. So it's not 100% identical to ye olde Pro-53 (especially since it also contains improved filter models), but it is pretty close. It's an excellent showcase of what Cmajor can do.

Too bad for them C# was already taken

[wvshpr]

So it's not even the real thing. This is a joke. Just f**king release the code for all of those abandoned plugins you have no use for NI!

There are so many projects that I lost with Pro-53 (and Vokator, Spectral Delay, Kontakt 2, etc.) on. I'll never forgive NI for that. I only update when I absolutely have to and they'll see no new purchases from me.

[whyterabbyt]

There are so many projects that I lost with Pro-53 (and Vokator, Spectral Delay, Kontakt 2, etc.) on.

They were discontinued in 2007, when some of them were a whopping 6 years old, but authorisation was still possible until 2020.
You basically had another 13 years to use those projects. That's longer than most plugins live.

[chk071]

So it's not even the real thing. This is a joke. Just f**king release the code for all of those abandoned plugins you have no use for NI!

You can see what a shit suggestion that is when you take a look at that poly synth they developed for Maschine, which is based on Pro-53.

Apart from that, it is their work, and their decision what to do with it.

[waltercruz]

Note that it's not the direct source code of Pro-53, it's ported from a Reaktor ensemble Vadim Z did at some point. So it's not 100% identical to ye olde Pro-53 (especially since it also contains improved filter models), but it is pretty close. It's an excellent showcase of what Cmajor can do.

I know thhat EvilDragon has inside info on Native, but the code itself seems to indicate that it really is a port of the original source code

Pro-54: A Cmajor port of the Pro-53 instrument from Native Instruments

This project is a great example of Cmajor being used to import old (possibly clunky!)
codebases..

If you read through this file, you'll spot many aspects of the code that are not such
a great example of how to write maintainable code. For example:

- It's all in one monolithic structure with all of the state in a single lump!
- The main() function is over 1000 lines long (!!)
- Lots of copy-pasted code rather than it being abstracted into functions or classes
- Very little use of types to enforce compile-time correctness
- Lots of hard-to-decipher names

..but while this isn't how you should write new code, when you're importing old codebases
it's very common to end up dealing with this kind of

So that actually makes this a great example of how you can take a creaky old C or C++
project and bash it into a working Cmajor program without too much rewriting.
In fact, old codebases like this one, which don't use any modern C++ syntax are
particularly easy - a lot of the C syntax for expressions will work as Cmajor with
only minor tweaks.

Beyond just getting this running, we've given it a light tidy-up, just to get the code
style into shape, to remove any really crusty bits, and improve some of the naming.

Given infinite time, a much more elegant but difficult refactoring would involve splitting
up the different functional units of the synth into separate Cmajor processors, and
connecting them together in a graph.

or maybe Native has an internal too that can convert a Reaktor ensemble in clunky C code - also possible.

[wvshpr]

You basically had another 13 years to use those projects. That's longer than most plugins live.

The problem is that authorization of software I bought is not possible any longer and that they did not find a way to enable that. That is borderline criminal and a breach of contract.

All other software I had used back then, I could install and activate (on an old machine of course).

You can see what a shit suggestion that is when you take a look at that poly synth they developed for Maschine, which is based on Pro-53.

I heard Poly Synth set the world on fire and everybody buys Maschine precisely just to use it! It's a secret weapon and will keep this shitty company, owned by suits with zero artistic intent, afloat. It's only apt to keep the code secret as well.

[osiris]

I played the browser version and it sounds like what I remember. If I'm understanding what I'm reading you can use this as a VST but every preset is basically a separate plugin? Or am I not understanding this.

[Examigan]

Yep. I really can't imagine that they got the OK from NI to take part of the code and base their soft synth on that.

In fact yes, yes they did. This is all legit, folks.

Note that it's not the direct source code of Pro-53, it's ported from a Reaktor ensemble Vadim Z did at some point. So it's not 100% identical to ye olde Pro-53 (especially since it also contains improved filter models), but it is pretty close. It's an excellent showcase of what Cmajor can do.

Too bad for them C# was already taken

Bu-bump tishhhh!!

Well it could also be called C#Major or CbMajor

[Chris-S]

Thanks, works great in Reaper.

Screenshot 2024-03-15 150741.png

[whyterabbyt]

You basically had another 13 years to use those projects. That's longer than most plugins live.

The problem is that authorization of software I bought is not possible any longer and that they did not find a way to enable that. That is borderline criminal and a breach of contract.

They enabled it for 13 more years beyond the last sale of the software. Not providing infinite authorisation isnt actually criminal.

And no, its not a breach of contract, whether you like it or not.

All other software I had used back then, I could install and activate (on an old machine of course).

Then you've been very very lucky. Especially since you seem to be an Apple user.

But of course if you had installed them on an old machine within that time and kept that machine working, it'd probably still be working now; after all you had 13 years to plan that.

[muki]

that brings back memory...

i'd love to have those patches/sounds in u-he rePro format
is there such a thing ?