PG-8X (2.0) released

[Echoii]

There, now that's a rant.......

Well, if Martin was previously indecisive on whether to engage in a clusterf*ck with Roland as they prepare to drop their commercial take of JX-8P this year for the Cloud thingy (what could go wrong here, right?), you can bet your house that after having read pages of personal abuse directed at him, he is now super duper encouraged to proceed at all costs and will stop at nothing! Filled with enthusiasm, feeling like his teenage years again, he literally just got himself a pair of new wings, that man.

Never in his life was Martin as committed to work as he is now, you can tell! He is ready and willing to abandon his family, his job, his weekends, his everything, and devote all of his hours for the sole purpose of satisfying last-minute demands of KVR primadonnas. That is all Martin wants to do from now on and for the rest of his life.

Cast in stone, these words! He's already written his last will, bid farewell to the loved ones, as he prepares to descend into his man cave to sacrifice himself for the drama queens of the world!

Now that is THE RANT.

[chk071]

I can't access his site. Always shows me a "Google site transparency" page.

The site worked yesterday...

[jamcat]

Hater, VST3 support is important because it provides a level of future-proofing. But even without it, just having M1 support would make this unusable plugin useable on M1.

Dragon, you would have to run your DAW in Rosetta, because the AU version of PG-8X was dropped and Rosetta only does automatic translation of AU plugins within native DAWs.

And speaking of the AU version, to your dig about patience, Hater, I encourage you to go through this thread from the beginning. It is a catalogue of wreckage and empty promises.

In 2016, Martin said he was going to sort out a recall issue that caused him to drop the AU version. 6 years later, there is still no AU version.

There was supposed to be a commercial MKS-70 version. Also never materialized.

There are pages of unaddressed bug reports while Martin was MIA for a year and a half at a time. 14 months ago Martin said he was opening up the source code so others could implement M1 support. Never happened.

He’s made numerous statements before and after that saying he was going to update it himself, then pulled back out of fear of Roland, lack of time and interest, etc. there is complete paralysis here.

The last update was 2016. It is now 2022.

I’ve seen nothing but patience here. Well beyond what is reasonable. People on this thread have shown far more interest and regard for PG-8X than its developer has.

I’ve dropped plenty of plugins because the developers ceased development. That’s not the problem. The problem is the years of false hope and empty promises. That’s the only reason we’re still talking about PG-8X as if it has any proof of life whatsoever. And now, someone just came in to say Martin recently told him that he plans on updating it sometime in the unforeseeable future? After 6 years of this same line over and over again, I think patience is worn out. It’s really time to assess it for what it is and call bullshit. The Great Pumpkin ain’t ever coming.

This quote from 2 years ago sums up my feelings on it.

Martin certainly doesn't owe us anything at this point, but just popping back on here to say "Right, that's all. I'm not working on this anymore, it is what it is!" would certainly help some people who are either waiting for answers or fixes to fairly problematic issues

Just finally admit it is dead and bring us some closure. Then maybe another developer might try their hand at the JX-8P.

[EvilDragon]

Or you know... you could also... move to Windows and keep on using it.

[AnX]

Waiting years for updates on free stuff is a mugs game, you really should have moved on early doors, regardless of promises

Everything has a risk, and shit happens, so not all promises can be kept. You need to make provisions for these scenarios....

I'm sure the sounds can easily be produced in a diff synth that works in your current/future set ups if you make a bit of effort.

[jamcat]

Or you know... you could also... move to Windows and keep on using it.

I have a Windows DAW but I’m trying to move completely to Mac. Also cross-platform compatibility is important to me for collaborations. My rule is all software and plugins need to work on both, otherwise it will become a problem sooner or later. And if it’s going to be a problem in the future, there is no point in using it in the present.

I also believe Intel’s x86/x64 architecture is nearing its end of life, while Apple’s is just at its beginning.

Computer audio production sucks. It’s always been in a state of upheaval. I remember waiting on DX plugins to be ported to VST. Then as soon as that finally happened, we were waiting all over again for 64-bit. And then it was VST3, and now M1. There will be a parallel ARM-based upheaval on Windows.

I’m just hoping that once everything is VST3 on M1 that will finally be the first sense of long-term stability since I started making music on computers. That is the place I am operating from.

[fmr]

I'm sick and tired of Mac kiddies expecting every developer big and small to jump up and serve them like butlers just because they jumped on Apple's latest toy or .00001 OS update. All the development time wasted on M1 support so they can be one of the "cool kids" on the block with the latest iToy.

^^^ THIS ^^^

[fmr]

There will be a parallel ARM-based upheaval on Windows.

Really? Says who?

I’m just hoping that once everything is VST3 on M1 that will finally be the first sense of long-term stability since I started making music on computers. That is the place I am operating from.

Don't wait too much. I predict VST3 will die sooner than you think (and much sooner than a Windows computer exists based on ARM)

Funny enough, I started using VSTs in Windows as soon as they appeared, and I'm still using they today (and I think I will keep using them for many years). Never had to wait for the "next big thing". That's the adavntage of using an OS that respects and privielegs retrocompatibility.

[Teksonik]

The problem is the years of false hope and empty promises. That’s the only reason we’re still talking about PG-8X as if it has any proof of life whatsoever. And now, someone just came in to say Martin recently told him that he plans on updating it sometime in the unforeseeable future? After 6 years of this same line over and over again, I think patience is worn out. It’s really time to assess it for what it is and call bullshit. The Great Pumpkin ain’t ever coming.

You should demand your money back....oh wait.....

I’m just hoping that once everything is VST3 on M1 that will finally be the first sense of long-term stability since I started making music on computers.

No because then Apple will release the "M2" and people will throw themselves off a cliff like lemmings again.

Meanwhile the first plugin I ever purchased back in the early 2000's still works today.

[EvilDragon]

(and much sooner than a Windows computer exists based on ARM)

ARM machines running Windows do exist already, though.

[jamcat]

Waiting years for updates on free stuff is a mugs game, you really should have moved on early doors, regardless of promises

Everything has a risk, and shit happens, so not all promises can be kept. You need to make provisions for these scenarios....

I'm sure the sounds can easily be produced in a diff synth that works in your current/future set ups if you make a bit of effort.

The closest to the JX-8P Hi Strings is probably the Juno Hi Strings, which I have tried. They are too different even with adjusting the envelope on the Juno. Mostly because the JX-8P chorus is unique. It’s a classic synth known particularly for its strings, and nothing else does them quite the same.

I use it specifically for those strings. Finding the perfect string pad has been probably the most difficult part of getting the sound I’m after, surprisingly.

[jamcat]

(and much sooner than a Windows computer exists based on ARM)

ARM machines running Windows do exist already, though.

But do any DAW or plugins run on Windows ARM?

The upheaval will come when Intel follows Apple and switches architecture. I don’t know when that will come to market, but you can be sure work has already begun.

[EvilDragon]

I'd say Intel is too entrenched in x86 world, and they have been already burned severely once before with Itanium. Doubt they'll be switching architectures, but they did already start incorporating big.LITTLE designs at least.

[fmr]

I'd say Intel is too entrenched in x86 world, and they have been already burned severely once before with Itanium. Doubt they'll be switching architectures, but they did already start incorporating big.LITTLE designs at least.

Intel will evolve gradually, as they have been doing since the first x86 processor. I remember sometimes like 20 years ago, the discussion was between CISC and RISC, and predictions were that RISC would take over and make the then current IntelCPUs (CISC) obsolete. Nowadays CPUs are a kind of hybrids, and nothing became obsolete. I have appliction dating back to Windows 95 that can run in todays computers in Windows 10

Bottom line is that ARM CPUs don't show the muscle needed to compete with Intel. They can only compete in laptops and lower consumption machines (low end). Show me an high end computer based on these.

[jamcat]

I'm sick and tired of Mac kiddies expecting every developer big and small to jump up and serve them like butlers just because they jumped on Apple's latest toy or .00001 OS update. All the development time wasted on M1 support so they can be one of the "cool kids" on the block with the latest iToy.

M1 Macs have been around for a year and a half now. Longer than Windows 11. They’re not merely “Apple’s latest toy.” They are what computers from Apple are built on now. And Apple dominates audio software sales. ⅔ of audio software sales are for Mac. Because Mac users actually buy their software. So the industry jumps up and serves Mac users, because Mac users pay their bills.

I’ve moved over to Mac from Windows because Windows PCs weren’t able to meet what I need for my music. Multicore distribution isn’t that great on Windows and Intel chips run too hot. I have excessive system resources on my Windows DAW, but Windows squanders it. Bottom line is Windows chokes on my projects while my Mac doesn’t break a sweat. It’s a real world difference in the only area that really matters.

I’m just hoping that once everything is VST3 on M1 that will finally be the first sense of long-term stability since I started making music on computers.

No because then Apple will release the "M2" and people will throw themselves off a cliff like lemmings again.

Native Apple Silicon software will run on the M2.

Now if musicians on Mac rush to get the next great thing from Apple that once again doubles their audio performance, that’s another thing altogether. But since Apple has a really good trade-in program and zero-interest 12 month payments, that will be totally doable and pain free.

Meanwhile the first plugin I ever purchased back in the early 2000's still works today.

You’re still on 32-bit?