KORG Collection M1 Presets & AKAI VIP Problem

[DigiPRO]

The "problem" is that VIP uses FXP files to store the preset information

This shouldn't be a problem per se, but KORG Collection M1 actually has a problem with reading the FXP presets.

That suggests the reason why Unify handles the M1 presets correctly.

Unify does not use FXP files to save presets in. It uses a proprietary (.unify) file format.

From the developer, Shane Dunne, on the Unify forum: "Each plug-in developer decides the size and format of its "state data blob". Unify just saves the blob it is given---this determines the size of the patch file---and blob sizes vary tremendously from one plug-in to another."

Just a speculation here, that maybe the former VIP developers ran into too many issues trying to wrangle VST3 plugin presets that they ended the project? It seems to me that plugin developers were forced away from FXB/FXP for the VST3 format.

https://steinbergmedia.github.io/vst3_d ... ormat.html

Such preset management seems to be a future-proof decision/investment from the developers.

Concerning your speculation about the VST3 decision from the VIP team, it's quite possible that they abandoned it because of that, but kind of an awkward situation - they abandoned the AKAI Advance keyboard line waaay before they abandoned the VIP software.

Nevertheless, I got the information from a KORG employee, they told me that FXP importing is not a function of KORG Collection (KLC) M1, but rather a "functionality" of the DAW.

So, when VIP saves preset as a 'DAW function' (ie. not from the M1 sound browser and/or menu), M1 recognizes it as a "total recall" so the outcome, the behavior "could be wrong".

Sadly, this is the end of the road when it comes to VIP & KORG Collection (KLC) M1 integration.

I think Unify may be a serious competitor or successor, but of course, it will have to implement mouseless preset handling, as the VIP was so famous for. Who knows, maybe Unify developers recognize a gap in the market and decide to bring over the former VIP user group.

[zzz00m]

I think Unify may be a serious competitor or successor, but of course, it will have to implement mouseless preset handling, as the VIP was so famous for. Who knows, maybe Unify developers recognize a gap in the market and decide to bring over the former VIP user group.

Unify is built by a team of 2. The sound designer, PluginGuru (John Lehmkuhl), and a developer, Shane Dunne. So they have to pick and choose what to devote their limited resources to. They don't have a large dev team like some companies do. Unify lacks a slick commercial interface, but don't let that fool you. It's a deep program and very functional. The developer, Shane (https://getdunne.com/), is a PhD in Computer Science with several patents to his name. The feature design & concepts were created by PluginGuru, then brought to reality by the developer. Unify is coded with JUCE.

They are aware of some interest in using Unify as a live performance tool, and encourage users that are interested in this aspect to joint the Unify Forum. They listen to user input. Live performance is not fully there in Unify yet, but it can still be used. They keep adding features as the product evolves at an organic pace. https://pluginguru.net/unify/manual/dok ... erformance

You can select Unify presets with standard MIDI bank-select and program-change messages. It's a bit of a workaround, but the Unify MIDI Bank files are plain-text files that can be created by the user:

On Windows, use the built-in Notepad app (or a compatible app such as Notepad++) to create or edit these files. DO NOT use the built-in WordPad app, Microsoft Word, etc.
On Macintosh, use the built-in Textedit app, but make sure to set it to plain-text mode by selecting Make Plain Text from the Format menu.
https://pluginguru.net/unify/manual/dok ... tch-select

Use the macro knobs for real-time MIDI control of your plugins in Unify:
https://pluginguru.net/unify/manual/dok ... acro_knobs