VST enhancements

Background scanning for new VST plug-ins

By default, SONAR performs a silent background scan to detect if any VST plug-ins have been added or removed.

You can specify in the Preferences dialog box (Edit > Preferences > File - VST Settings) when SONAR should scan for VST plug-ins. The options are as follows:

Automatic Background Scan. SONAR automatically scans the folders in the VST Scan Paths list in the background by periodically detecting when data in the folders have been updated, or the scan paths have changed.

Scan On Startup. The folders listed in the VST Scan Paths list are searched for new plug-ins whenever you start SONAR. Scanning occurs in the background.

Manual Scan. The folders listed in the VST Scan Paths list are searched for new plug-ins when you click the Scan button.

After a scan is complete, a toast notification appears at the bottom of the screen to inform you of the scan results (see Toast notifications).

Background scanning allows SONAR to launch much faster, and you can begin working on a project without having to wait for the scan to finish. Any newly-installed VST plug-ins are also detected automatically without having to restart SONAR.

The background scan is efficient and intelligent, and only scans changes to your VST folders instead of scanning all plug-ins.

 

See:

File - VST Settings.

VST3 support

In addition to VST2 plug-ins, SONAR also supports VST3 audio effects and instruments.

VST3 plug-ins provide several benefits over VST2 plug-ins, including:

Improved CPU performance. VST3 plug-ins can detect silence and automatically disable processing if there is no input signal. This allows for more efficient CPU use because processing is only used when needed.

Logical parameter grouping in automation menus. VST3 plug-in parameters are organized into a hierarchical, categorized list in all automation menus, such as a track’s Edit Filter.

Sample-accurate automation. Plug-ins that support VST3 sample accurate automation data, allow for rapid and accurate automation changes.

Resizable plug-in property pages. VST3 plug-ins can support dynamic resizing of windows, which allows for more flexible use of screen real-estate.

Automated bypass. SONAR supports the VST3 automated host bypass parameter, which allows you to enable/disable a VST plug-in via automation. If a VST3 plug-in exposes this parameter, a host bypass parameter will be available in track’s the Edit Filter, and a Bypass button appears in the top left corner of the VST property page.

64-bit processing. Most VST3 plug-ins can process 64-bit audio data.

 

Note: The features listed above are functions of the plug-in, and only apply if the plug-in itself supports them. Just because a plug-in is VST3 format does not automatically mean it supports all of these features.

Automatically migrate VST2 plug-ins to VST3 when available

If you have both VST2 and VST3 versions of a plug-in, you can instruct SONAR to automatically upgrade to the VST3 version when loading a project that uses VST2 plug-ins.

To do so, go to Edit > Preferences > File - VST Settings and select Replace VST2 Plug-ins When Opening Projects in the VST Migration section.

You can also select Hide Related VST2 Plug-ins if you no longer wish to see the corresponding VST2 plug-ins in SONAR’s plug-in menus.

There are a few permutations for how VST plug-ins are migrated depending on whether you are using the 32-bit or 64-bit version of SONAR, and whether the Replace VST2 Plug-ins When Opening Projects option is selected. The following table shows the expected plug-in substitution results when opening projects containing VST plug-ins.

 

Table 243. VST2 to VST3 migration 

Source	SONAR x86 (32-bit)		SONAR x64 (64-bit)
	Replace VST2 Plug-ins When Opening Projects enabled	Replace VST2 Plug-ins When Opening Projects disabled	Replace VST2 Plug-ins When Opening Projects enabled	Replace VST2 Plug-ins When Opening Projects disabled
VST2	Use 32-bit VST3, if available, otherwise use 32-bit VST2	Use 32-bit VST2	Use 64-bit VST3, if available, otherwise use 64-bit or 32-bit VST2 as available	Use 64-bit or 32-bit VST2 as available
VST3	Use 32-bit VST3	Use 32-bit VST3	Use 64-bit VST3	Use 64-bit VST3

Note: Automatic VST2 to VST3 migration must also be supported by the VST3 plug-in in order to function in SONAR.

Improved logic for substituting 32-bit plug-ins with 64-bit equivalents

SONAR has logic for hiding and substituting 32-bit plug-ins with 64-bit equivalents. The 64-bit version of SONAR automatically hides all 32-bit plug-ins when a 64-bit version of the plug-in is available.

MIDI out

Some VST audio effects and instruments can generate MIDI events. SONAR fully supports these plug-ins by exposing a Enable MIDI Out option. This option is enabled by default for supported VST plug-ins, and can be configured in the VST Plug-In Properties dialog box.

To open the VST Plug-In Properties dialog box, do one of the following:

Click the VST button in the plug-in property page toolbar, then select Plug-In Properties on the drop-down menu.

In Cakewalk Plug-in Manager (go to Utilities > Cakewalk Plug-in Manager), select the desired VST plug-in, then click the Plug-In Properties button.

Support for mono VST plug-ins

SONAR supports true mono VST plug-ins. Sidechainable mono plug-ins also show their mono sidechain input in SONAR.

Note: It is not possible to set a track’s Stereo/Mono button to Stereo if a mono plug-in is the first effect in the track’s FX bin. For details, see Changing tracks’ mono/stereo status.

Automation envelope tooltips show dynamic parameter values

When editing automation envelopes, the tooltip shows dynamic parameter values.

Plug-in Browser lists plug-ins by format

The default plug-in menu layout (Default All Plug-Ins) lists plug-ins by format:

Built In

FX Chains

External Insert

VST3

Category1

Category2

Etc.

VST2

DirectX

VST3 plug-ins are organized into category subfolders. If a plug-in has more than one category, it will be listed in each category subfolder. To sort VST3 plug-ins by folder hierarchy instead, click the Browser’s Plug-ins tab drop-down menu and clear the Sort VST3 Plug-Ins By Category option.

The Browser also displays more descriptive icons to indicate the plug-in type (VST2, VST3, DX, 64 and 32-bit).

The Browser status bar shows detailed information about the selected plug-in, including plug-in type, vendor and version number.

Unlimited number of plug-ins in menus

Previous versions of SONAR would list up to 735 audio plug-ins and 255 soft synths in plug-in menus. Any additional plug-ins that exceeded this limit would not be visible in menus unless you used Plug-in Manager to create a custom plug-in menu layout.

If you exceed this plug-in count limit in SONAR X3, plug-in menus will display ellipsis after the plug-in type name (Audio FX... and Soft Synths...), and clicking the menu command opens a pop-up menu that displays the complete list of installed plug-ins.

Tip: If you have both VST2 and VST3 versions of plug-ins, you can instruct SONAR to automatically hide any redundant VST2 plug-ins in order to limit the size of plug-in menus. For details, see Automatically migrate VST2 plug-ins to VST3 when available.

 

See:

Using the Plug-in Browser

Organizing plug-ins

New features in SONAR X3