KVR Audio

Blue Cat Audio · Post by **Blue Cat Audio** » Fri Jun 21, 2019 6:27 pm

Dear KVR Members,

We are happy to announce the release of PatchWork 2.4 and MB-7 Mixer 3.3, a free update for our multi-effects processors also capable of hosting third party plug-ins.

These new versions bring multiple improvements, including a new presets browser with search capabilities, two new built-in plug-ins, full MIDI I/O support for the VST3 plug-in format, several third party plug-ins hosting enhancements and much more (full change list below).

The free update can be downloaded from the same location as the original full version (link received by email upon purchase). And for new customers, the MB-7 Mixer plug-in is exceptionally on sale (23% off) until July 10th. Demo versions are available on www.bluecataudio.com in most plug-in formats for Mac and PC (and as a standalone application for PatchWork).

What's New for both PatchWork and MB-7 Mixer:
New features:
- New presets browser with built-in search.
- MIDI Program Change preference is now saved into session instead of global preferences, so each instance can now use different MIDI channels. It is also saved in the user default preset.
- VST3: added program change support for VST3 plug-in format.
- VST3: added MIDI output support for VST3 plug-in format.
Built-in plug-ins:
- New Level (volume control) and Micro EQ built-in plug-ins.
- Added a gain parameter to several built-in plug-ins to avoid volume changes when switched on/off (pitch and frequency shifters, modulation effects, delays).
- Increased knobs precision for pitch shifter and waveshaper built-in plug-ins for smoother control.
Third party plug-ins host:
- VST and VST3 plug-ins previously displayed as missing because of name changes are now relocated automatically (Waves major updates, 32 and 64-bit plug-ins with different names etc.)
- Improved auto-relocation performance when a large number of plug-ins have moved.
VST3 Host: added MIDI output and program change support for recenlty updated VST3 plug-ins.
Other fixes and improvements:
- VST: the user interface is now properly resized in Cubase on Windows.
- Mac: fixed issue with Magic Mouse that could trigger drag and drop instead of mouse click.
- Built-in EQ plug-in (and MB-7 Mixer) spectrum analyzer display will not take priority over DAW or other plug-ins user interfaces.
- Miscellaneous user interface performance improvements.

What's New for PatchWork:
- Plug-in bypass and editor buttons can now be clicked on the entire button area (not just the icon).
- Fixed dry/wet mix knob only mixing left channel in mono to stereo configurations.

Pricing:
Blue Cat's PatchWork: 99 EUR or $99
Blue Cat's MB-7 MIxer: 99 EUR or $99 (instead of 129) until July 10th

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... ahD-RaqsqI
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 4-7K-SZ0Mh
Enjoy!

Halonmusic · Post by **Halonmusic** » Sat Jun 22, 2019 12:20 am

Thanks. Patchwork is something i have been interested in for a while.

dionenoid · Post by **dionenoid** » Sat Jun 22, 2019 2:50 pm

"Plug-ins editors restore" doesn't work anymore in Patchwork. The little logo shows that the editor is open yet it doesn't show a gui. Double clicking it reopens again but not on the last position (as it was in previous versions). Win7 Cubase10.

Right now i'm demoing MB-7 and it has the same problem, but don't know if that was also the case in earlier versions.

Blue Cat Audio · Post by **Blue Cat Audio** » Sat Jun 22, 2019 3:39 pm

The GUIs are actually opened, but Cubase has many bugs regarding z-order on Windows, so the windows are probably behind another one. To avoid the problem, you can use the new option "plugin editors always on top" in PatchWork that was designed almost just for this...

Magnut · Post by **Magnut** » Sat Jun 22, 2019 3:48 pm

Awesome update, thank you!

Funkybot's Evil Twin · Sat Jun 22, 2019 3:59 pm

Blue Cat Audio wrote: ↑Sat Jun 22, 2019 3:39 pm The GUIs are actually opened, but Cubase has many bugs regarding z-order on Windows, so the windows are probably behind another one. To avoid the problem, you can use the new option "plugin editors always on top" in PatchWork that was designed almost just for this...

There's something not entirely 100% about this (probably Cubase's fault). The editor will stay on top even in other applications.

Using Windows 10 and Patchwork 2.4 VST3 in Cubase 10.0.20:

Pre-condition: have another application running in the background like Chrome, or File Explorer

1. In Cubase, create a new project
2. Insert a new instance of Patchwork
3. Make sure you have the "Plugin Editors Always on Top" option enabled
4. Insert a Patchwork plugin - Example: Echo
5. Now, with the Patchwork/Echo GUI still open, using Windows Taskbar to switch, click on your other application (e.g. Chrome) to make that window active

Result: the Patchwork plugin's GUI will remain open over your other application even though Cubase is in the background.

EDIT: this happens whether or not the "Always on Top" setting is enabled in Cubase. Makes no difference.

dionenoid · Post by **dionenoid** » Sat Jun 22, 2019 5:16 pm

Blue Cat Audio wrote: ↑Sat Jun 22, 2019 3:39 pm The GUIs are actually opened, but Cubase has many bugs regarding z-order on Windows, so the windows are probably behind another one. To avoid the problem, you can use the new option "plugin editors always on top" in PatchWork that was designed almost just for this...

Yes, that option was on. Doesn't work. And like i said, it doesn't remember the position of the editor windows either. (i liked that very much about the previous Patchwork versions). Never had any problems with that before.

It can be that the windows are hidden behind the main Cubase screen, didn't check that yet. But i also turned "always on top" on so it shouldn't happen.

dionenoid · Post by **dionenoid** » Sat Jun 22, 2019 5:38 pm

And to add : it opens all plug-ins windows in a corner of my screen, on top of each other. When i close the window after moving it and then reopen, it's in the corner of the screen again. Really annoying and impossible to work with.

Blue Cat Audio · Post by **Blue Cat Audio** » Sat Jun 22, 2019 9:37 pm

This has not been modified at all with this new version. Have you maybe changed the resolution or moved/removed screens if using multiple screens? This could be a reason for the editors to be moved back to the main screen in a different position, so that they are not outside the visible area.

Blue Cat Audio · Post by **Blue Cat Audio** » Sat Jun 22, 2019 9:40 pm

The editor will stay on top even in other applications

Yes that's the behavior of always on top windows on Windows.

dionenoid · Post by **dionenoid** » Sat Jun 22, 2019 11:11 pm

Blue Cat Audio wrote: ↑Sat Jun 22, 2019 9:37 pm This has not been modified at all with this new version. Have you maybe changed the resolution or moved/removed screens if using multiple screens? This could be a reason for the editors to be moved back to the main screen in a different position, so that they are not outside the visible area.

Nope, didn't change anything. Only updated Patchwork.

Can it maybe have anything to do with this :
- VST: the user interface is now properly resized in Cubase on Windows.

Anyway, i shall try to revert to the previous version of Patchwork. It's always worked fine before.

*Edit : Reverting didn't help unfortunately. Both 2.2 and 2.3 have the same problem now. Which is weird because i didn't change anything. Are all settings reverted when you go back to another version ? Or can another plug-in have any effect on this behaviour ?

Blue Cat Audio · Post by **Blue Cat Audio** » Mon Jun 24, 2019 7:11 am

Can you maybe try the following?
- create a brand new session with PatchWork, with a couple of plug-in on screen.
- save it, close Cubase and re-open it
Just to check if it works well with a brand new sessions.

As far as I know, there are a couple of things that could cause what you are seeing:
- a change in screen coordinates (in case of resolution change / multi monitor setup changes - this can sometimes happen behind the scenes without Windows telling you anything).
- some utilities that help you organize windows on screen may interfere with individual windows coordinates (we have seen some of them snapping windows to the top left of the screen).
And we'll double check here with the latest version of Cubase just in case. BTW are you using the VST2 or VST3 plug-in format?

Blue Cat Audio · Post by **Blue Cat Audio** » Mon Jun 24, 2019 8:26 am

Ok so it seems that Cubase (and Cubase only) is indeed doing weird things with children windows on plug-in editor open, moving them outside of the screen - we are looking into this issue right now.

acousticglue · Post by **acousticglue** » Mon Jun 24, 2019 11:38 am

Ha once again Cubase. So glad don't use it.

Blue Cat Audio · Post by **Blue Cat Audio** » Mon Jun 24, 2019 1:34 pm

The root cause for the issue has been found and a preview with a fix should be uploaded shortly.

It is likely that this problem is due to a recent change in the behavior of a special system window type that Cubase is using while instantiating a plug-in. This was probably issued in a recent update of Windows, since all our plug-in hosts are impacted, and they used to work fine just a couple of weeks earlier.

Blue Cat's PatchWork 2.4 & MB-7 Mixer 3.3 Released