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Audio Hijack - AUv3 Support
Audio Hijack 4 was released about a month ago. It's got AUv3 support. A few days ago I reported and got a bug fixed related to AUv3's (they wouldn't load at all). But... I was a bit dismayed that I was the only person who'd reported this. So... I think this is a bit dismaying that AUv3's aren't really taking off on macOS. Wonder why?
Comments
They work in Logic and GarageBand, but not in Ableton. And there’s no alternative to AUM on the Mac.
The Audio Unit (version 2), and the AUv3 are completely different plugin formats.
I think that outside of the Apple music production apps (Garageband, Logic Pro, MainStage), and Reaper, none other host/DAW supports AUv3.
And the question is not why developers haven't embraced the AUv3 format, which is a dumb move until at least Ableton supports the format.
The question is why Apple is so restrictive, by not allowing to sell VST plugins in the App Store. An example is ID700, the developer is forced to offer VST3 and Audio Unit wrappers in his website.
And honestly, I hope that in the future, VSTs, Audio Units and AUv3s disappear in the desktop world. The music industry can't rely in closed formats, because their business can be affected by changes forced by the two major players, Apple and Steinberg. And both have been terrible managing the formats.
Clap, an open source plugin format, developed by Bitwig, U-he and the Reaper team should be the future, once it's released this year.
Audio Hijack 4 & Hosting AU do... that might be it tho.
Might be because it's a proprietary format? I think AUv3's are allowed in the Mac App Store since they're technically app-extensions?
Interesting!
How well is AUv3 working in Audio Hijack? Can you host multiple instances?
With Hosting AU, I'm not seeing a way to use more than a stereo output? Does it support multiple outputs?
Audio Hijack can host multiple instances of the same AUv3. I can say it's working well for me - but it looks like I'm the only one using the feature - would be great if more join in! I'm not sure about multiple outputs with Hosting AU - do you mean from the AUv3? I don't think it's been updated for that, but can't say I've tested. I actually requested the MIDI multi-outs on the KVR forum a while back, where the dev does respond. Maybe more will post the request there: https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=566145
Version two audio units and AUv3 aren't really completely different formats. They are different formats, but many of the underlying pieces are bridged from AUv3 to v2. It's kinda similar to the way Swift libraries and frameworks are mostly bridged into the Objective-C versions and those are on top of underlying C implementations at the "Core" level of iOS and macOS frameworks. The biggest difference between AUv3 and version 2 is the ability to run AUv3 in app sandboxes. That is going to be more-and-more important going forward. It's also part of the reason you aren't seeing Apple open up sales of other plugin formats on the App Stores. Apple has provided tools to allow for both v2 and v3 AU's in hosts pretty easily. The point that not every host that supports audio units has moved to enable AUv3 support has to do with the economic realities of commercial audio development more than anything else.
It's also important to know that AUv3 on iOS and macOS isn't just a plugin format. It's the way all sorts of applications interface to the audio subsystem. There's pretty much no way in the Apple world that AUv3 is going to be replaced by anything but AUv4.
I hadn't heard of CLAP before. I've done some checking to see what they are doing. It's interesting. I wouldn't expect anything soon. They are still in the breaking ABI stages. Not many commercial devs are going to jump in at that point. VST3 is already halfway in this space and not really gaining ground all that fast. Steinberg could probably help a bit if they would dump the dual licensing crap and really make the format open. But, historically, audio companies move glacially slowly. LV2 is an open standard that's been around for a long time now and doesn't get any traction. You've got to move a whole bunch of hosts to support your plugin format to really get things going.
No one makes AUv3 plugins for macOS because no host supports AUv3 for macOS. Hosts don't support AUv3 for macOS because none of the major plugin vendors do AUv3 plugins. Etc.
It's a bit similar in the VST2 to VST3 world.
Plugin dev for both VST3 and AUv3 was held back for a bit until the cross platform tools were full featured.
AUv3 support on macOS is a little more complicated because there are two types of AUv3, those that are sandboxed and those that run in the host address space. There's some reticence to move to supporting sandboxed plugins in hosts because of perceived performance issues. It's a valid concern too. I think the sandboxed approach is going to win out in the end though, a decade or so in the future (maybe).
Rogue Amoebe is relatively quick to use new libraries and frameworks from Apple. It's cool that they've added AUv3 support. I'd take it as a good sign.
Good points. I do think the host can load them in-process, but I believe can also switch that dynamically for plugins that use more/less processing. I like that AUv3's can be sold on the Mac App Store - nice to have auto-updates rather than managing all the individual ones, though I recently got the pro version of MacUpdater - which does find and update Audio Units and the like.
More formats isn't a solution. As @NeonSilicon said that companies are slow to adapt and there's overhead to supporting and porting to multiple formats.
I wish there was one format that was universally supported, which basically was and is VST/VST3. I never use AUs on Macs because I don't use Logic and need projects to work across Windows and Macs. But apple loves to be proprietary. Another downside is to more formats how much room they take up if you're not using them. Like I have to delete AAX plugins because I don't use Protools either, but not every installer gives you a choice to which formats to install.
Good to know @Aud_iOS, I'll have try Audio Hijack then.
Thanks for these news @Aud_iOS, Audio Hijack has been one of my indispensable urilities on MacOS for years.
Good to know!
If you're not aware, there has been a lot of drama surrounding Steinberg recently, forcing developers to move to VST3.
The last year, developers could release VST plugins compatible with the Mac ARM architecture.
But once Steinberg released the M1 native version of Cubase 12, the first one not supporting the VST architecture, they also started sending threatening letters to developers, saying that based in the clauses of the VST license, it doesn't cover creating ARM versions. And they need to use VST3 instead.
One example is Native Instruments, they had a beta VST ARM version of Kontakt. But finally, they only released the VST3 ARM version, with the VST version running through Rosetta.
Now, a lot of developers are in a hurry, not only migrating their plugins to the ARM architecture, but also adapting them to VST3.
Soundtoys, for example, they were hardly working in the native ARM version of their plugins since the announcement of the new Macs. When they have finally released the new plugins (they relied in iLok, that hasn't been ARM native until this year), they encountered Steinberg abandoning the VST format (the files are not even included if you download the most recent SDK). So now, they're in a hurry, losing sales, doing also this migration.
In this context, if at least Ableton includes Clap support, I can see a lot of developers migrating to the format, prioritizing this over VST3. In this way, their business will not be longer affected by the decisions of a corporation, that at the end, it will only look for his interests. Audio Units will never disappear from the Mac ecosystem, because none developer will ditch Logic, that is the most used DAW. But in the Windows ecosystem, I can see a lot of small and indie developers adopting Clap, on top of some major players. So they have more power of negotiation with Steinberg if in the future, they do another stupid movement like this year.
And it's not as far away. U-he already has a working beta, running under Clap, of its incoming MFM 2.5.
For those who don’t happen to know, the ID700 synth app is available on desktop (for $79.99 at the time of this post) through the macOS App Store:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id700-for-desktop/id1597187741?mt=12
How the AUv3 plugin can be loaded into the host on macOS depends on the plugin. For example, the Mac versions of my AU's can't be run in-process because I've only made them available as a sandboxed app. I haven't included a framework version that can be directly loaded in-process. If the AU supports both, I think the host can probably choose which it wants to use. I think it could also choose to not open those AUv3's that don't support in-process loading.
When I first tried to submit my AUv3's to the Mac App Store, the app store connect system broke during the configuration process. I couldn't even get them uploaded for testing. I gave up on the macOS App Store at that point and just put them up on my website.
I know there have been some issues with Steinberg and VST3. I don't know the details. I can see why Steinberg is pushing though. They've deprecated VST2 for some time now. It wasn't an open license in any way, so if they stop supporting it the devs that use it have to move and they were being very slow. Apple has done pretty much the same thing with v2 AU's. You can still write them, but Apple has pulled the support code and SDK(ish) from availability. They've made it a real pain to do dev on v2 audio units.
I still don't like VST3, but at least it is more open now and the documentation isn't as pathetic as it used to be.
I'd love to see an open format for plugins take over. I just think it's going to be a difficult uphill battle. Reaper's got some good mindshare now. If it does enable the new format maybe it's got a chance. Live would be pretty critical to get onboard too.
Yeah, but you still need to download the VST3/Audio Unit wrapper from the developer's web, because the App Store version is only AUv3.
So it doesn't work for the 99% of its potential users: Ableton Live and Bitwig users, the two DAWs intended for creating experimental music. And this is the public that will pay 80 euros for a synth inspired by a rare model of Don Buchla.
Downloading the wrapper isn't a big deal. It's more annoying that it's Mac only and much more expensive than the iPad version. Moog Model 15 is the same way, in terms of needing a wrapper.
But Model 15 did not require a separate download from the Moog web site. It was a smooth install from the App Store.
As for the price, that is the developer’s prerogative. The customer alone decides if the app delivers that much value for them.
Actually, yes, it does if you use VST3. Same for miRack, it's separate download from the developer site.
I see. Thanks for the clarification.
FWIW, I prefer Blackhole. It's a two channel or 16 channel system level audio driver allowing all kinds of routing without having to mess with VST/VST3/AU/AUv3 or anything else. And it's free rather than $69.
Yeah, I use Blackhole all the time as well for VCV, but the use case here is having Audio Hijack serve as an AUv3 host and route those into DAWs.
I see. That's not something I come across since all the plugins I use are either VST or have AUv2 versions available.
Yeah, this might be useful for KQ Dixie or Mela which are available as AUv3 only on Mac OS or I'm might have to get Logic or actually Mainstage might be a cheaper solution.
http://ju-x.com/hostingau.html
only 4 plugins, but how many AUv3's does one have on a mac?
I can't figure how to get multiple outputs out of this? Sort of lessens the value of using 4 AUs.
I dunno. I don't use it. Desktops are for squares.
I just got a m1 mini last week. In that week, I managed to create the user account and run software update.
God I hate it so much, lol. Already felt chained to a desk in that short time. Just need to get it to the point I can screen share to it.
For the price, MainStage is amazing. It's a good tool even without the price consideration. It's a great way build a performance workstation. It's the only way I know of to get access to all of the Apple instruments and effects that they won't release as AU's without paying for Logic.
I haven't tried it with a loopback through an aggregate device though. It seems like it should work.
Yeah, I've thought about Mainstage for a while but wondering if actually GarageBand could even work this way.
Just hook up an output block wherever you want in a chain.
I don't know about GB for this. I guess you could get it to work but you would be locked at GB's sample rate. GB doesn't get all of the sweet internal plugins that MainStage does either.