Hi folks,
Just wonder if I am missing something, or if anyone else is experience the same issue. I am trying to setup all of my Arturia patches needed for my live set in Analog Lab V and then utilise midi program changes from Ableton Live 12 to switch patches (rather than running ~80 separate plugins and automating their on/off status this approach brings my load down significantly.
The problem is that I am experiencing some inconsistencies in the way ALV (VST3) responds to program changes from Ableton. It does not experience the same problem when I trigger the program changes using the AUv2 version of the plugin, so I am comfortable that I have it all correct in the midi clips, but unfortunately I need cross-platform compatibility between MacOS and Windoze so need to avoid using AUs (plus there is a ~2-5% CPU overhead using AU vs VST3 in my testing).
Here’s how I can reproduce it using the current production build 12.2.1:
- Create new midi track
- Add Analog Lab V (VST), ensuring that there is at least one playlist with more than one patch.
- In Session (Clip) view, create an empty midi clip, and set the Bank and Program both to 1 (under clip launch properties).
- Duplicate this clip, and change the launch program number only to 2 (so Bank 1, Program 2).
- Test that these work to change patches. For me they do (at least at first…), so far so good.
- Switch to Arrange view (tab)
- Your midi timeline should be blank - double click to create an empty midi region.
- Double click to enter edit mode on the clip and as above, set the launch to Bank 1 and Program 1.
- Duplicate the clip, and change the launch settings on the duplicate to Bank 1 and Program 2. For testing purposes I ensure that the two clips are at least one bar away from each other (e.g. one starting on 1.1.1 and the second on 3.1.1).
- Play the midi track and observe the Analog Lab window - for me the patches do not change (using the VST3 version - they work as expected using the AUv2).
- If I then switch back to Session/Clip view, and try using my previous dummy clips, they also now no longer work predictably (sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t). It also seems to be important which view you are in as (Main / Explore / Home) as to whether they work or not.
I have tested the above with a range of non-Arturia plugins (uhe Diva / Repro-1 and Repro-5 all using VST3 versions), and external gear (Nord Stage 2), and all of these respond correctly, which leads me to believe that it is an issue on the Arturia side of the equation. I have also checked it using Midi Monitor software (by Snoize) and can confirm that only the program changes are being sent, and they are in the correct format.
I know that the Ableton implementation of program changes to VST3 is fairly recent (either 12.1 or 12.2), but it does seem to be functioning properly now, so I am at a bit of a loss.