KVR Audio

lagavulin16 · Post by **lagavulin16** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:25 pm

Is there a development platform that makes it easier? The one complaint I have about Logic is that there are a lot of VSTs I'd love to try (Bootsie's for example) but they just aren't available.

While I get that Mac users are less than 10% of the computers out there, I'd think that in the area of audio the number is much higher percentage wise. Is it really twice the work to support both formats?

While I enjoy using a Mac and using Logic, the availability of plugins is certainly an argument in favor of PCs.

serve · Post by **serve** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:34 pm

That's the main reson after all these years and all these people trying to sell me on macs I decided to stick with PCs. Yes there are many arguments on the bad aspects of both, but having the ability to use maybe 90% of audio software availabe is a plus for PCs. Maybe that % isn't right on but you get the idea. And I know you can use bootcamp and blah, blah, blah to get around the mac limitations, but what's the use?

When it comes to no to minimal limitations on experimental sound design I feel PCs have the upper hand if your into strange and tweaky vst.

b-pole · Post by **b-pole** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:34 pm

I changed to Mac 3 years ago and I asked the same question.

I am not a developer, but I remember "Zebra" Urs told me in the past, that it is not more complicated to develope plugs conforming the AU specifications.

Perhaps you are right that is only because not very much people have a Mac. You could ask for RTAS as well, but because you could use these RTAS plugs on PC, too, there are more plugs for RTAS as for AU.
The same for VST. Usable on Mac and PC.

Nevertheless all my plugs I want to use, are available as AU already, too.

mcnoone · Post by **mcnoone** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:47 pm

This question is kind of hard to understand.
1.Are you saying, you would like to use vst's that are only available to windows users?
or
2.You wish some more companies would make their plugins have both au and vst's?

If it's 1, then you can try a windows vst to au wrapper. Not only bootcamp, there are others.
If it's 2, you can try getting a cheap daw, like Reaper, and use the vst's in that, then transfer your work between the two.

ZenPunkHippy · Post by **ZenPunkHippy** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:56 pm

It may not be more difficult to do cross platform development, but it does take a lot more time and energy to fully test software on both platforms. You really have to test everything twice, at the very least. And the latest bug report? Is it only affecting Windows, or OS X users also. What about the AU version? Or is it a VST problem?

Not everyone has the resources necessary to do this, so they tend to focus on the platform that has the largest installed user base.

Also, to state the obvious: there are more Windows users in this world that OS X users. It is therefore more likely that someone has access to the tools required to develop for Windows but not OS X ...

Peace,
Andy.

Xenakios · Post by **Xenakios** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 7:45 pm

One needs to own or have access to a Mac in order to just build software for OS-X. (And only then can come the problems with the actual code porting and testing...) Not all of us are equipped like that. And it might not make sense to buy a Mac to build software that's probably gonna be mostly freeware anyway.

There is the Hackintosh option of course, but setting that up isn't always easy enough or even possible either. For example my current PC hardware simply seems to refuse to boot into OS-X. Maybe it might work with lots of work, maybe not, but for the time being I've decided to let it be. I am trying to keep software I do portable to OS-X, though. (Once the day comes I might have a Mac available.)

woodster · Post by **woodster** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 7:51 pm

A lot of the Windows only synths are as likely to be Synth Edit or SynthMaker creations maybe.

Xenakios · Post by **Xenakios** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 7:52 pm

woodster wrote:A lot of the Windows only synths are as likely to be Synth Edit or SynthMaker creations maybe.

That's very likely also. And Synthedit and SynthMaker can only produce Windows-compatible VST plugins.

topaz · Post by **topaz** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 7:59 pm

having tons of plugins available is not so great, it's better to have fewer great plugins (all the best are AU anyhow) than a ton of crap ones.

djanthonyw · Post by **djanthonyw** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 8:01 pm

topaz wrote:having tons of plugins available is not so great, it's better to have fewer great plugins (all the best are AU anyhow) than a ton of crap ones.

Fixed that for you.

rlahalla · Post by **rlahalla** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 8:05 pm

djanthonyw wrote:
topaz wrote:having tons of plugins available is not so great, it's better to have fewer great plugins (all the best are AU anyhow) than a greater number of porr quality plug-ins.
Fixed that for you.

A grammar man after my own heart!

EDIT: Fixed it even further..

deraudrl · Post by **deraudrl** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 8:08 pm

topaz wrote:...(all the best are AU anyhow)...

If AU is the only format your setup can handle, that's pretty much a given, isn't it?

androidlove · Post by **androidlove** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 8:09 pm

wow, pc vs mac, many plugs vs few, kit vs code (potentially), and grammar police all in one thread.

djanthonyw · Post by **djanthonyw** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 8:10 pm

To elaborate on Topaz' post, it's definitely better to have a fewer amount of options that are very good than a lot more options that are sub par. For the longest time I wanted z3ta on Mac, but then I realized that Sylenth is actually better than z3ta and Cakewalk sucks.

TristezaOrange · Post by **TristezaOrange** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 8:12 pm

topaz wrote:having tons of plugins available is not so great, it's better to have less great plugins (all the best are AU anyhow) than a ton of crap ones.

I pity the fool who can't use bootsie's plug-ins.

Why don't more developers create AUs as well as VSTs?