Vital - Released

[Igro]

It's just adding on speculation, but the GitHub link itself could imply a few things: The VitalAudio GitHub group bundles project that are related to Vital itself and its web-page, Discord etc. By putting "visage" in, it looks like the developer is moving out the UI/GUI code from the vital codebase itself, into a reusable library and a project in its own. Probably he's then using it as a dependency of Vital in the future / current dev builds.

So to me it's a sign that development on Vital is still going on, but doing a major UI/GUI rewrite with GPU rendering is no small task (Bitwig recently did this, too). But yeah, it could also mean that the dev is working on another plugin and wanted to reuse the code that was previously inbuilt to Vital.

Nobody cares and trust anymore.

[IvyBirds]

It's just adding on speculation, but the GitHub link itself could imply a few things: The VitalAudio GitHub group bundles project that are related to Vital itself and its web-page, Discord etc. By putting "visage" in, it looks like the developer is moving out the UI/GUI code from the vital codebase itself, into a reusable library and a project in its own. Probably he's then using it as a dependency of Vital in the future / current dev builds.

So to me it's a sign that development on Vital is still going on, but doing a major UI/GUI rewrite with GPU rendering is no small task (Bitwig recently did this, too). But yeah, it could also mean that the dev is working on another plugin and wanted to reuse the code that was previously inbuilt to Vital.

At the end of the day the developer wanted to make a great plugin and he did, then he gave it away for free with the ability to inexpensively buy more premium version with added presets and wavetables. The current version of Vital is as stable and bug free as any plugin you can buy today and probably more so than many

It works extremely well in all major DAWs and with all major Operating Systems

I am not sure what kind of development people are really clamoring for

Serum came out 11 years ago and we just got Serum 2. Also Serum is not free

Zebra 2 came out in 2007 and it's now 2025 and still don't have Zebra 3, again that is also not free

Vital came out less than 5 years ago and is still a baby by comparison

[Razzia]

It's just adding on speculation, but the GitHub link itself could imply a few things: The VitalAudio GitHub group bundles project that are related to Vital itself and its web-page, Discord etc. By putting "visage" in, it looks like the developer is moving out the UI/GUI code from the vital codebase itself, into a reusable library and a project in its own. Probably he's then using it as a dependency of Vital in the future / current dev builds.

So to me it's a sign that development on Vital is still going on, but doing a major UI/GUI rewrite with GPU rendering is no small task (Bitwig recently did this, too). But yeah, it could also mean that the dev is working on another plugin and wanted to reuse the code that was previously inbuilt to Vital.

At the end of the day the developer wanted to make a great plugin and he did, then he gave it away for free with the ability to inexpensively buy more premium version with added presets and wavetables. The current version of Vital is as stable and bug free as any plugin you can buy today and probably more so than many

It works extremely well in all major DAWs and with all major Operating Systems

I am not sure what kind of development people are really clamoring for

Serum came out 11 years ago and we just got Serum 2. Also Serum is not free

Zebra 2 came out in 2007 and it's now 2025 and still don't have Zebra 3, again that is also not free

Vital came out less than 5 years ago and is still a baby by comparison

Strongly agree, with one big caveat.

People are wary of becoming invested in software that appears to be, or looks like it might soon be, abandoned. Not because they expect more from the synth or the dev but because they're worried about what happens if a DAW or OS update breaks things

[plexuss]

All you software is going to be junk eventually. Pay accordingly. All things considered Vital is a decent deal. But yes, it too will become history. Tech is the about the future, not the past.

[Fannon]

True, but some developers are very transparent and keep updating even their old plugins. For example u-he doesn't do constant fast releases, but they are updating even their 10-15 year old products in 2025. They are transparent and approachable via support and KVR forum.

It's not something you can expect from every dev / company. With Vital, it's a great synth and it still works fine. But I did switch my focus toward the u-he synths, because I like their approach better and it feels a better long-term investment.

[IvyBirds]

Strongly agree, with one big caveat.

People are wary of becoming invested in software that appears to be, or looks like it might soon be, abandoned. Not because they expect more from the synth or the dev but because they're worried about what happens if a DAW or OS update breaks things

Not sure what you mean. Vital is 100% free there is no investment. Even if you buy the pro version you spent all of $80 for a ton of presets and wavetables and threw a few bucks at the developer as a thank you. If you rent it for $5 a month again what investment

Any software can break at anytime especially if you are using Apple computers. However 64 bit VST3 on Windows is not going anywhere any time soon, even 32 bit VST2 from 20 years ago still works fine in Windows 11 with the right VST bridge

There just seems to be this conspiracy theory around a free plugin that is not based in reality that is spreading online

I love Vital, I use it all the time, even while owning similar plugins for example Serum, Massive, Pigments, etc. I like it so much I got the pro version not because I really cared about the presets, or the Wavetables, or the unlimited text to Wavetable thing, but because I wanted to thank the developer for the thousands of hours of effort they put into it

[Teksonik]

The current version of Vital is as stable and bug free as any plugin you can buy today and probably more so than many

It works extremely well in all major DAWs and with all major Operating Systems

I am not sure what kind of development people are really clamoring for

Maybe this guy would like some support after 8 days:

Vital 1.png

There are still bug reports coming in for 1.5.5 and there is no indication those bugs will ever be fixed or even addressed.


Maybe the people who subscribed would like access to the "New Features and Plugins" they were promised and were never delivered (which are still being promised on his website):

Vital 2.png

Maybe people just want a developer who hasn't ghosted them on his company forum?

You can simp for him all you like but that doesn't make things better in the long run. It's just a weak attempt at excusing unacceptable behavior from someone who owns a business.

I hold plugin developers to the same standards as I do any other business that sells a product or provides a service. If everyone did the same the music software market would be a far better place for consumers.

[Teksonik]

Vital is 100% free there is no investment.

And that right there is what killed Vital. People touting it as free when in fact it's a commercial product with a free version. The worst mistake Matt made was offering a nearly unrestricted free version.

I bought the early access version and was waiting for some reason to upgrade to Pro but Matt never gave me a reason.

So yes there there was an investment for some people. A very small investment in my case and yes $80 for the Pro "upgrade" isn't a lot of money but that's not the point.

When you sell a product you owe your paying customers a certain level of support.

If you can no longer live up to your obligations then close the business and stop accepting money for products you can't or won't support.

Pretty simple.

[IvyBirds]

The current version of Vital is as stable and bug free as any plugin you can buy today and probably more so than many

It works extremely well in all major DAWs and with all major Operating Systems

I am not sure what kind of development people are really clamoring for

Maybe this guy would like some support after 8 days:



Vital 1.png



There are still bug reports coming in for 1.5.5 and there is no indication those bugs will ever be fixed or even addressed.


Maybe the people who subscribed would like access to the "New Features and Plugins" they were promised and were never delivered (which are still being promised on his website):



Vital 2.png



Maybe people just want a developer who hasn't ghosted them on his company forum?

You can simp for him all you like but that doesn't make things better in the long run. It's just a weak attempt at excusing unacceptable behavior from someone who owns a business.

I hold plugin developers to the same standards as I do any other business that sells a product or provides a service. If everyone did the same the music software market would be a far better place for consumers.

And you can go on any web forum and see people complaining about bugs and system crashes for every plugin from every developer

Your point?

You will notice I said it was as stable and bug free as any other plugin available today and probably more stable and bug free than many others

Maybe English isn't your native language but I did not say it was totally bug free, and I would take it further and say it is also not immune from user error as well

No software is ever bug free nor is it immune from user error or things beyond it's control

[IvyBirds]

Vital is 100% free there is no investment.

And that right there is what killed Vital. People touting it as free when in fact it's a commercial product with a free version. The worst mistake Matt made was offering a nearly unrestricted free version.

I bought the early access version and was waiting for some reason to upgrade to Pro but Matt never gave me a reason.

So yes there there was an investment for some people. A very small investment in my case and yes $80 for the Pro "upgrade" isn't a lot of money but that's not the point.

When you sell a product you owe your paying customers a certain level of support.

If you can no longer live up to your obligations then close the business and stop accepting money for products you can't or won't support.

Pretty simple.

Again there is no proof that Vital has been killed other than conspiracy theories floating around online

It was and is a free plugin. The FULL SYNTH has always been 100% free and you could pay extra for presets and Wavetables if you wanted

It would be great if you would get your facts straight

[AlQuzMar]

All you software is going to be junk eventually. Pay accordingly. All things considered Vital is a decent deal. But yes, it too will become history. Tech is the about the future, not the past.

Synth1 is fire and still works 100%. Got updated a decade ago the last time, for macs. Doesn't use fancy GPU rendering so the graphics won't break. It will probably work as long as VST2 continues to be suported. GPU accelerated plugins like Vital are much more vulnerable.

[AlQuzMar]

Strongly agree, with one big caveat.

People are wary of becoming invested in software that appears to be, or looks like it might soon be, abandoned. Not because they expect more from the synth or the dev but because they're worried about what happens if a DAW or OS update breaks things

Not sure what you mean. Vital is 100% free there is no investment. Even if you buy the pro version you spent all of $80 for a ton of presets and wavetables and threw a few bucks at the developer as a thank you. If you rent it for $5 a month again what investment

Any software can break at anytime especially if you are using Apple computers. However 64 bit VST3 on Windows is not going anywhere any time soon, even 32 bit VST2 from 20 years ago still works fine in Windows 11 with the right VST bridge

There just seems to be this conspiracy theory around a free plugin that is not based in reality that is spreading online

I love Vital, I use it all the time, even while owning similar plugins for example Serum, Massive, Pigments, etc. I like it so much I got the pro version not because I really cared about the presets, or the Wavetables, or the unlimited text to Wavetable thing, but because I wanted to thank the developer for the thousands of hours of effort they put into it

They mean getting invested, not investing with money. Using resources. Building capital on it. Patches, workflows, and so forth. It's not that hard to understand, I wonder if you're playing games here.

Any software can break any time. Any software with active software support can also be fixed any time. What about Vital?

Edited a typo

[AlQuzMar]

It works extremely well in all major DAWs and with all major Operating Systems

I am not sure what kind of development people are really clamoring for

Serum came out 11 years ago and we just got Serum 2. Also Serum is not free

Zebra 2 came out in 2007 and it's now 2025 and still don't have Zebra 3, again that is also not free

Vital came out less than 5 years ago and is still a baby by comparison

Vital doesn't along get that well with Bitwig's audio engine to my experience.

People might wish for bugs to be fixed or some glaring workflow related oversights to be addressed, for example. It's not necessarily about making Vital 2. It's not like Serum didn't get any updates in 11 years. You're making some weird arguments here.

[AlQuzMar]

If you go on Vital's Discord and have a look at #all channel you can see that some user has found what they call "semi-important securitty issue" on Vital. I wonder when the dev is going to pay any attention to that.

[swilow11]

What's the "security issue "?