Some plugins do not update their GUIs in Studio One/Studio Pro

[brmichael]

Hi,

I noticed that some plugins with animated GUIs such as compressors and other effects with meters (UA, Izotope) or an oscilloscope plugin (Signalizer) do not update their GUIs when used in Studio One/Studio Pro. Sometimes this happens only when the plugins are used as master plugins, but sometimes also channel plugins are affected. Yesterday, I wanted to use Signalizer to view the output waveform of a synth plugin. So I inserted Signalizer in the channel with the instrument whose output I wanted to view. Signalizer didn't show anything, as if there was no signal at all (but there certainly was, I could hear it!). Same thing with some compressors: their meters simply don't move even if there is a signal that should make them move. Besides from that, the plugins work fine. It's just the GUI that isn't updated. Of course, it's not possible to tell whether Signalizer works, because this plugin doesn't affect sound, it's only purpose is viewing the signal's waveform. But this is not possible if the GUI animation doesn't work.

All plugins affected by this problem work fine in other DAWs, so I assume it's a problem with Studio One/Studio Pro.

Edit: Signalizer works in Studio One as both a channel plugin and a master plugin. But when I open the song I've created with Studio One in Studio Pro, Signalizer doesn't work.

Can anybody confirm that?

Regards, Michael

 

[Lukas]

The first question is whether the plug-ins are officially compatible with Studio Pro 8. If they are, contact the manufacturers and ask whether they can reproduce (and fix) the issue or suggest a workaround.

Another question is if it's an issue that occurs on your system exclusively or on other systems as well.

All plugins affected by this problem work fine in other DAWs, so I assume it's a problem with Studio One/Studio Pro.

That conclusion does not necessarily follow. Different hosts interact with plug-ins differently, so a plug-in bug may only appear in a specific host.

This does not prove that the plug-in is at fault either. It simply means that the behavior in other DAWs is not sufficient to identify Studio Pro as the cause. The issue needs to be reproduced and investigated by the developers involved.

 

[AAV]

Might be a routing issue? I have not seen this issue myself. For example, I just tried Signalizer here, by dragging it into my Main Channel Inserts - works perfectly. Do you have a specific workflow that works for you in Studio One but not in Studio Pro? How big is the project? Can you replicate the problem with just (eg) a single track? Might be loading up your GPU if you have a ton of things like visualizers happening at once.

(Edit - FWIW I have an NVidia GTX 1650 graphic card (4Gb of DDR6)

 

[ptheisen]

Another possibility is the dropout protection feature of Studio One/Pro. When that is turned on, some plugins exhibit the behavior you are describing. Turning dropout protection off allows them to work as expected. Give this a try and see what happens. As you noted, the plugins are processing audio as expected, it is only the dynamic display of things like meters that is negatively impacted.

Overall, I don't think dropout protection is that much of a benefit, so the above is a main reason why I do not use it.

 

[lokeyfly]

To brmichael, [OP]
Also, check your display settings and with such GUI related issues, it's a good idea to list your current settings. As mentioned by AAV, their signalizer is working fine. For now, try another screen res setting and see if that changes or is something you can work with. Otherwise, contact the plugin manufacturer.

 

[brmichael]

Hi, thanks for your replies.

I now made a test with several instruments and effects. I created a new song in Studio Pro 8.1 with one instrument track and inserted several effects (only one at a time) in the channel first and then moved it to the master. Here are the results:

Instrument: Brainworx bx_oberhausen
Effects: Signalizer, Ozone 11 EQ, NI Supercharger, UA UADx LA-2A
Result: all GUIs are updated if inserted in channel, GUIs arent't updated if inserted in master.

Instrument: NI Kontakt 8 Player with Grandeur library
Effects: same as above
Result: GUIs aren't updated neither in channel nor in master.

Instrument: self-created VST3 synth
Effects: same as above
Result: GUIs aren't updated neither in channel nor in master.

Apparently the behaviour depends on the instrument, but it is not correct with any of the three instruments I used for the test.

After this, I did the same with Studio One 7.2, Samplitude Pro X and Bitwig. The GUIs are updated in any combination of DAWs/instruments/effects in both channel and master.

To me, this looks like a Studio Pro problem.

 

[brmichael]

Another possibility is the dropout protection feature of Studio One/Pro. When that is turned on, some plugins exhibit the behavior you are describing. Turning dropout protection off allows them to work as expected. Give this a try and see what happens. As you noted, the plugins are processing audio as expected, it is only the dynamic display of things like meters that is negatively impacted.

Overall, I don't think dropout protection is that much of a benefit, so the above is a main reason why I do not use it.

You're absolutely right. Turning off dropout protection solves the problem.

I forgot that dropout protection was enabled in Studio Pro, while it was disabled in Studio One and of course there is no dropout protection in other DAWs.

Thank you very much!

The only thing that's still strange is that the behaviour of the effects seems to depend on the instrument. Why are the effect's GUIs updated at least in the channel (even with dropout protection enabled), when used with bx_oberhausen as an instrument, and why aren't they updated with other instruments?

 

[Lukas]

Turning off dropout protection solves the problem.

Interesting, and good to know.

I forgot that dropout protection was enabled in Studio Pro, while it was disabled in Studio One and of course there is no dropout protection in other DAWs.

There are similar mechanisms in other DAWs (ASIO Guard in Cubase, AFX, etc.) but every dual latency engine works differently.

Why are the effect's GUIs updated at least in the channel, when used with bx_oberhausen as an instrument, and why aren't they updated with other instruments?

That depends on the exact implementation...