Yes indeed. The Audio/Event Input plugin has some issues in Logic at this point. It only seems to work well when putting an I/O Utility plugin on every VE Pro plugin track (both main Server Interface and Audio/Event Input tracks). I'm working on improving the behavior in Logic as first priority.

Hi Karel,

Thanks very much for the extremely prompt reply. I just wondered if anyone else has reported issues when using more than 1 external slave computer.

Are there any other threads I monitor that mention similar problems to those I described.... is this the main thread?

Very best,

Chris.

Oh a workaround is to use a separate VEP instance rather then multiple midi ports via the EVENT INPUT PLUGIN.

I read in the manul its best to use as few VEP instances as possible to aid processing and stability.... what's your opinion?

Best,

Chris.

Yes, there's only an issue with the Audio/Event Input plugins in Logic at this point. The old way of using multiple instances works just as well as it always has. In general less instances is better performance wise of course.

On the specific point of the Event Input plugin in Logic, any news on the session which had screenshots on this thread and was sent to VSL support by mail three days ago?

I'm not so sure about the Karel.  I created a test project today that used my orchestral template.  Mainliy I tested HS that is on a slave PC.  When using the Input Event plugin I would get occasional spikes in one audio thread.  When using the old method of one instance per track it ran like a dream.  I keep the audio streams low so it doesn't bog down the network.  I just though it was strange that I had worse performance and I doubt it was from the i/o plugin keeping things live as all the work was being done on the slave PC.  

I wish there was a way to detect what was causing the spike as my CPU meters (not in Logic) never jumped like Logic's did.

Chris

I just wanted to bump this because I would love to use this new feature but I seem to be getting CPU hits (an mainly a higher CPU usage) as opposed to running one VEP instance per instrument set...meaning running one for 1st vlns, one for 2nd vlns, etc.  I also have another slave with brass and that is set up with individual instances too.

Chris

EDIT:  I want to add that this seems to only be a problem with the PC slave running HS.  I just did another test with the brass on a slave Mac Mini and the CPU usage was as low as ever...must be something particular to my setup on the PC that is causing an ethernet spike thus causing a CPU spike...not sure how to find that one.

EDIT 2:  I figured out that it was actually a spike in Play on the slave PC that was being picked up in Logic.  This was caused by a doubled string line that maxed the drive (SSD).  Simply offsetting one of the lines fixed the problem.  All was well!

Since making sure every one of my 15 Event Input plugins had a bypassed IO utility plugin on it, I have had no MIDI dropouts or silence on playback/record issues. 

I am running one instance per slave machine and this is working really great... Practically no CPU usage on either slave Mac Mini. As discussed elsewhere one CPU core on my host Mac Pro has lots of activity, but so far no dropouts, clicks or overload messages due to this despite running a massive 256 track orchestral template.

So the software functions exactly as it should. The single core CPU mega-activity problem needs to be solved and be able to be spread over more cores. This sounds like a Logic issue when lots of tracks are forced into live mode with the IO plugin - still Vienna can surely fix this as you are able to run loads of Kontakts in Logic all in an apparent live mode without 1 core going bananas. 

Best,

chris. 

I disagree with your statement that "the software functions exactly as it should". The VEP5 marketing and product page boasted "Up to 48 MIDI input ports for ALL plugin standards (including AU & VST)" — it did *not* mention the required second half of the sentence, "Providing Logic users can afford to spend several weeks sifting through forum posts in order to figure out why an obscure workaround doesn't do what it should".

I've created a very simple Logic session that wasn't behaving as expected and sent it to VSL support. After two weeks with no reply I asked for news and the reply can essentially be summed up as "Ah, the Logic issue. Yes, well, we're working on it."

Logic, you know, that obscure and marginal DAW that nobody's heard of before.

However, I also strongly disagree with someone's post (elsewhere on these forums) qualifying VSL's products as crap. I've been working with VSL and VEP4 for a long time with essentially zero problems and I always found VSL's creativity very interesting to dig into. This is *precisely* the reason I paid for the VEP5 instantly, without even waiting for early adopters to test it beforehand. It's a good thing I did not install it on my main DAW. But the bottom line is that I shelled out over 100 euros only because I was interested in the MIDI ports feature, which is evidently *not* working as expected. Tricking Logic into something it was not designed to do and then blaming Logic for its single-processor issue isn't really a solution. That maddening problem with Logic has been known for a long, long time.

I'm still using VEP4 which is as stable as any piece of software can possibly be. I'm just very, very disappointed.

I agree the current IO plugin workaround is not ideal, but it is clearly explained that this needs to be used in the manual which you could have read prior to purchasing. Since you are aware of this as a maddening problem my advice would then have been not to purchase. 

That said VSL please do better then the IO plugin Logic workaround. 

Thank you for the retrospective and condescending advice, but the Logic project I've sent to VSL is an example where a simple Environment setup is apparently incompatible with the VEP5 workaround despite having nothing to do with the Logic CPU issue.

@Chris Benstead said:

I agree the current IO plugin workaround is not ideal, but it is clearly explained that this needs to be used in the manual which you could have read prior to purchasing. Since you are aware of this as a maddening problem my advice would then have been not to purchase. 

That said VSL please do better then the IO plugin Logic workaround. 

That's true, but as far as I remember the manual doesn't say that all the processing load will be redirected to one (and only one) core. It's too much for big projects.

Come on, VSL guys, we need a nice Xmas present[;)]

It does work as long as you have an i/o plugin on every track.  What I am running into now is automation.  If don't pick 'use for automation' in the Even Input plugins then I can control everything from the main VEP plugin.  If I select 'Use For Automation' then it only allows automation from the last Event Input plugin I did that on.  

That's how the "Use for automation" function works. You can only use automation on one of the Event Input plugins or the Server Interface plugin itself. The function really only exists because automation from the Server Interface will cause artifacts when bouncing in Logic. 

@Karel said:

That's how the "Use for automation" function works. You can only use automation on one of the Event Input plugins or the Server Interface plugin itself. The function really only exists because automation from the Server Interface will cause artifacts when bouncing in Logic. 

Ah okay I misunderstood the manual.  I thought it meant that every plugin had to have it turned on.  

Chris

I have tested yesterday the VSL input with VE PRO 5/MIR

It is working with one input only !! 

When I add another input none of the input is playing a sound

I have send a report to the support mail

Best

Cyril

Put a I/O Utility plugin on the Logic track that has the VE Pro Server Interface plugin as well. This is actually an error in the manual which will be corrected soon.

@Karel said:

Put a I/O Utility plugin on the Logic track that has the VE Pro Server Interface plugin as well. This is actually an error in the manual which will be corrected soon.

Hello Karel,

Thanks for the trick, It was that, now the inputs are working.

Best

Cyril

VERY GOOD NEW

I did a trial with IAC

The use of IAC and VSL AU is spliting the traffic, with the test I have done so far no more crackles no more hanging notes.

Logic uses now 2 CPU (1 and 12th)

Can somebody to another trial (dont forget to assign your input object to a monitor object)

Offline bouncing will not work though using IAC. We're working on a superior solution for this problem for the next update which will also allow offline bouncing in Logic.