A note on the new Patchwork / Axiom previews with plugin scanning

[Vaultnaemsae]

I’ve tested both these preview apps and the plugin scanning function works great and, in addition to clear organization, we can now access AUv3. That’s really nice.

One thing I’ve noticed though is that Patchwork can reload a preset that is saved with AUv3s instantiated while Axiom cannot. Axiom goes into an eternal state of “Loading…”

It may be worth having a look into this. Thanks.

[Blue Cat Audio]

Thanks for the heads up. Are both running as plug-ins or standalone apps?

[Vaultnaemsae]

Are both running as plug-ins or standalone apps?

Hi. At first, I only tested standalone and reported based on that.

After reading your reply, I tested with plugins and was surprised that when using Axiom (AU/VST), presets saved with AUv3 will load "properly". This is outside my personal use case, but interesting regardless.

However, I'm now seeing a problem with one particular AUv3 (MIDI Guitar 3 Hex), its GUI will not open. Please see the attached image for error. It is an experimental AUv3 plugin and is still in beta, so it could be a fringe case. The plugin has worked fine in most other environments, including PatchWork.

This is sort of moving away from the topic, but I do wish Axiom had multichannel input support (like PatchWork) to make complex configurations possible. The non-AUv3 version of MIDI Guitar 3 Hex uses 8 input channels but cannot get 8 channels from Axiom. The reason for using the AUv3 version is that it can get the 8 necessary channels independent of the software it is loaded inside.

[Blue Cat Audio]

Thanks for the details. The latest preview should fix the error. But it is likely that the GUI won't show (the error you see is when Axiom is trying to load its generic user interface and the plug-in has no parameters).

Does the GUI of this plug-in work fine in Logic or GarageBand? I have noticed that many AUV3 plug-ins that are supposed to run on Mac do not even show in Logic. In this case there is no chance that it will run fine in Axiom or PatchWork.

[Vaultnaemsae]

Thanks for the details. The latest preview should fix the error. But it is likely that the GUI won't show (the error you see is when Axiom is trying to load its generic user interface and the plug-in has no parameters).

Does the GUI of this plug-in work fine in Logic or GarageBand? I have noticed that many AUV3 plug-ins that are supposed to run on Mac do not even show in Logic. In this case there is no chance that it will run fine in Axiom or PatchWork.

Thanks for your response.

So, I just tried to load the plug-in I mentioned in Logic Pro, but it failed. Upon closer inspection, I can confirm that its Apple TestFlight period has expired last week, so that's probably the reason behind the problem I reported. Sorry to lead you up the garden path! I'll talk to the dev and see if he's planning on pursuing the AUv3 version further.

Just as background on "MIDI Guitar 3 Hex for Logic" (as it was originally titled), the AUv3 version was specifically developed to bypass LP's multichannel audio input routing limitations. It worked as expected in Logic Pro 12 while the testing period was active but that ended April 21. It even loaded in the current release of PatchWork and the non-preview Axiom. I loaded PatchWork inside Axiom, then loaded MG3 Hex AUv3 and click/dragged it over to Axiom where it worked temporarily!, but the AUv3 wouldn't reload nicely when saved.

[Blue Cat Audio]

Thanks for the details. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens when it works again. At least the KUIML error is now fixed!

[Vaultnaemsae]

So, back to this, the developer released a new TestFlight version a couple of days ago.

What I’m finding is that the AUv3 plug-in GUI will draw in PatchWork standalone but not in Axiom standalone (preview version). In Axiom, the MG3 Hex AUv3 GUI literally draws as a black rectangle when you instantiate it. If you save the plug-in in an Axiom user preset and then load it, the GUI draws the very first time it loads and then if you minimize it and reopen it, it draws as a black rectangle also.

For what it’s worth, the AUv3 plug-in renders perfectly fine in Logic Pro and Reaper. Ableton Live exhibits similar black rectangle behavior to PatchWork.

Any ideas on what might be behind this?

[Blue Cat Audio]

Thanks for the heads up. That's very odd because there is absolutely no difference between the latest Axiom preview and the current version of Axiom regarding third party plug-ins user interface. It is also strange that it happens in Ableton Live too. Unfortunately I have no idea (yet) about what is happening here.

[Vaultnaemsae]

Thanks for the response. I know it’s a bit of a weird one and definitely a fringe case. I’ve reported it to Jam Origin also so maybe a solution will arise.

[Blue Cat Audio]

Thanks! Feel free to tell them to contact us if they need help.