Hi,

I'm running VEP 6.5 on three Mac's (Master on Mac Pro 5,1 and two slave Macs ( Mac mini & Mac Pro 2,1)). The VEP plugin on the master mac instantly see's a VEP instance on the mac pro 2,1  which has an 169.x.x.x IP but as soon as the mac mini boots up, the Mac Pro 2,1 connection disappears from the connection window. I can still connect to the Mac Pro 2,1 by typing in it's IP but can't find away of having both slave macs showing up in the plugin connection window. This also works the other way round. MM boots first, the VEP client will see the instance but to connect to the MP 2,1, it's IP has to be typed in.

The Mac Mini has an IP starting 192.x.x.x and both slaves are using 255.255.0.0 subnet mask. I've tried having all IP's within the 192.x.x.x field but no luck. If anyone can point me in the right direction that would be appreciated.

Thanks

MD

EDIT: [Solved]. The problem was the IP address of the Mac Pro 2,1 needed to have the same 2nd and 3rd octets. Apologies, still very much a network novice!

Hi,

Not wanting to hijack the thread but is there a reason why VEP 6 does not show up a load of VST versions of Plug-ins? Specifically Waves and some soft synths like Sylenth1. If the AU blank GUI is down to my GPU not being metal compatible then I'll use what's available.

Anyway's if someone could chime in regarding the VST vs AU available plugs in VEP 6, that would be useful to know.

Thanks,

MD

Hi 

Having similar issue, I think it's to do with the GPU Metal compatibility. Although my Mac Mini states it is Metal supported so very strange.

Oddly the waves VST version do not show up so no work around.

MD

Hi Paul

Thank you for your reply, will have a look now and see how much.

Cheers,

MD

Hi,

I suspect the answer to this will be no but on the off chance it maybe possible, thought I'd ask here. I bought Dimension Brass & Strings when they first came out and have been using them extensively but would like to know if there is a way to use them in the new and very intuitive Synchron player without having to buy the libraries again?

Form the videos, Synchron offers far better workflow than the VIP so if there is a way to use the Synchron player or an upgrade path at a reasonable cost , would appreciate any advice.

Thanks,

MD

HI,

Thanks for the reply.

What do you have the thread count parameter set to in VePro preferences?

Currently thread (core) count per instance is 1 when using multiple instances but 2-3 when one instance is being used. As i understand it the general guidence is divide how many available cores by the amount of instances leaving at least one for the OS. Also should mention I set each VEP plugin in Cubase to 1 buffer as that is then a multiple of the buffer set in the I/O which is usually 256 samples for the FireFace 800. So 1 VEP plugin buffer = 256 samples of latency, 2 buffers = 512 etc.

 How many channels of instruments are you trying to run?

No more than 3 Kontakts each playing 2-3 instruments (strings etc) usually in one instance

How many VePro instances? 

Normally only one. Have tried to split instruments over multiple instances (strings one instance, brass one instance etc) but the result/performance is the same

what else is running on the MacMini?

Nothing other than the OS and synergy which enables me to use one keyboard/mouse for all connected macs. No BT or Wifi, all disconnected.

 how many return audio channels are you streaming back over the network to your MacPro?

8 stereo tracks maximum with 8 midi channels per instance

So really this setup shouldn't be a heavy load for either Mac but i have the same issue if i use the other Mac Pro 1,1 with upgraded CPU (6 core 3.6ghz, 48gb ram & 3 SSD's) in the same setup. I end up using one mac as a FX & synth slave and the other to get as many Kontakt sample instruments as possible before having to print or freeze tracks, with the Mac pro 5,1 as the master running Cubase and any other low level bus processing. The Mac 5,1 and Mac Mini are running 10.13.6 and the upgraded Mac Pro 1,1 is running 10.11.

Theoritcally i should have enough CPU, RAM & SSD power to run a fairly heavy template but in reality, that's far from the case. Which is why i'm looking at the ethernet as a possible culprit but if the general feeling is, 10Gb won't or shouldn't make a difference then there must be something else going on?

Again any suggestions and or guidence would be appreciated.

Thanks,

MD

Originally Posted by: Dewdman42

Some DAW's don't do a great job of freeing up memory when you disable tracks (ie, LogicPro).  VePro does a much better job of that FWIW.  So if you liike to use extremely large project templates, and enable/disable tracks as you go, with LogicPro, eventually you may run out of RAM because it will not properly free the memory when you disable tracks, but VePro does.

VePro cpu handling is very efficient.  Some DAW's are equally efficient, some are not.  OSX Cubase for example is notorious for not being great on this point so using VePro may make it possible mix projects with Cubase that would not be possible without VePro.  That situation with Cubase seems to change from version to version though, so...  some of this could be urban legend.

Hi Dewdman42,

Totally agree with the above. I have almost the same setup as you and Cubase struggles to run modest size templates so more often than not, i'm having to run VEP on a mac mini i7 16gb RAM. However i'm having strange issues with VEP 6 in slave mode on the mac mini where Kontakt is always hitting 100% even though they're being streamed from the Mac Mini SSD. Could you offer any advice relating to the best set up options when using Kontakt in VEP in slave mode? One option that was suggested is to opt for a 10G ethernt upgrade instead of the standard gigabit. Not sure how that can work for the MM as it's not as upgradable as the Mac pro. Anyway, any suggestions would be very welcome.

Thanks in advance

Hi,

I'm trying different configurations of VEP 6 on a Mac Mini late 2014 i7 3.0Ghz 16gb RAM to get the best performance in slave mode to a MP 5,1 running Cubase Pro 10. So far the best configuration seems to be one VEP instance per VST/AU instrument with a single thread and 4 buffers per instance. This seems overkill though as i assumed you could run one instance with max threads ( The Mm allows up to 4) and then run multiple instruments within that one instance. However with this configuration, the Mm struggles just running 3 VPS Avengers for example. But if initiate one instance per insturment, single thread etc. it kinda works ok.

If someone could kindly explain and or advise best work practice, i'd be grateful. To be frank, i do find the setup options a tad complicated.

Thanks in advance!

MD

Hi,

Just checked and the same happens with the Kontakt vst.

Thanks,

MD

Morning,

Thanks for your reply.

Can you tell us what MacOs versions you are running on each of your MacPro's?

Master Mac Pro 5.1 OS X 10.12.5

Slave Mac Pro OS X 10.11.5

Does this issue happen when using Kontakt 6 as a VST or an AU? 

Ooops haven't tried the VST version but will do so today

Just to clarify, you've tried disabling the multithreading option in the Kontakt 6 and letting VEP 6 manage all mulithreading and the problem still occurs? 

Yes

Is your Kontakt Memory Server Disabled or Enabled? 

Disabled but have also tried with it enabled but same result

Lastly and least relevant, is this a custom patch or from a comercially available library? If the latter, which Library/Patch. Just curious.

It's an ensemble string patch from Berlin Strings (Ensemble Staccato). If i play 3 notes at the same time, the CPU meter in Kontakt hovers between 80-100% and the sound destorts and breaks up. If i play the same patch in the standalone version of Kontakt, it goes to around 31% max. The only way to replicate the same CPU usage when Kontakt is being hosted by VEP 6, is to enable MultiProcessing (7 cores) within the Kontakt settings. 

Thanks again for taking the time,

Cheers,

MD

Hi,

I'm having some strange issues with Kontakt 6 and VEP 6. I run two Mac Pro's with Cubase Pro 9 as the host DAW. VEP 6 is on the Mac Pro 2.1 (2 x 3GHz 8 core 32GB RAM) and is set to 7 threads per instance. I usually only have one instance of VEP running which then hosts a couple of instances of Kontakt 6 and posibly some soft synths (usually Sylenth1). Cubase Pro audio buffer is normally at 384 with theFireFace 800.

However after having an issue with Kontakt maxing out it's CPU meter whilst playing one string voice streamed from either a SSD or 7200 HDD (pre load buffer size set to 240 kb due to 32gb of available RAM), i found that by having the multi processing active in Kontakt. The CPU usage went down by 75%? Ordinarily, i thought the rule is, if your DAW/Host has multi processing active, then everything else which has that option should be off. ASIO gaurd is also off for VEP in Cubase as per p37 of the VEP manual. Also the Kontakt disk meter stays at 0%.

I should add that when i run Kontakt as a stand alone on the slave MP 2.1, the CPU issue doesn't occur when playing the same voice, only when hosted in VEP 6 and Kontakt multi processing is set to off.

I'd be grateful if someone with experince of using a simialr setup as above could offer guidelines/rule of thumb on the following

VEP 6 thread per instance

Kontakt multi processing option when hosted in VEP or Cubase 

Multiple VEP instances versus a singular instance with multiple Kontakts & soft synths

Thank you for taking the time to read the post.

Cheers,

MD

Hi All,

I'm running two Mac Pros', one as master (MP 5,1 10.12.6) and one as a slave (MP 1,1 10.11.6). Both have the latest VEP Pro 6 build (6.0.17226) and my main DAW is Cubase Pro 9.0.4. For some reason, VEP in Cubase Pro doesn't see any instances of VEP 6 server on the slave mac. Even if i type in the slave IP, an error message comes up saying 'Could not connect to ....'

The Master IP is 192.168.25.2 (255.255.255.0), the slave is 192.168.25.4 (255.255.255.0). The mac's are connected by a tested Cat6 cable into port 1 respectively and other apps like Synergy (mouse & keyboard sharing app) work over the same port. I've ping'd each mac and the results are fine and have also read this very helpful article posted here:

https://www.vsl.co.at/community/posts/t47690-Helpful-info-about-IP-address-setup#post260825

I've tried with wifi disabled, DHCP, DHCP with manual address, manually but no joy. 

Would be very grateful if there's any help out there as Apple have siad the machines are too vintage for support? And this is the second day the studio has been down whilst trying to sort this out. The only change that has occured is we've moved locations and prior to that everything worked as expected but now for some reason, it won't.

Thanks in advance,

MD

EDIT: Should mention there are no firewall apps in place so in theory, there's nothing to stop communication between the two macs

HI Paul

Thank you for your reply and advice. I'll give that a try today and report back.

Regards

MD

HI All,

Not made the jump to VEP 6 yet as there seems to be some teething problems so have stuck with VEP 5. If possible could someone comment on how best to setup Kontakt 5 within VEP 5? I'm trying to find the best workflow with VEP 5 on the Mac Pro 1,1 (Upgraded dual 3Ghz CPU) connecting to Mac Pro 5,1 12 core 3.46 Ghz running Cubase Pro 9.

In Kontakt i currently have MultiProcessor Support 'Off' as i know from previous experience when running it in Cubase Pro, that the host CPU performance suffers. Also i have the Instrument preload buffer option activated with a 30kb setting. Should i also set VEP to the highest number of threads per instance (8) with VEP vst set at 4 buffers? The reason i ask is that VEP 5 is showing very high CPU usage of around 80% when only running a piano and a string quartet mock up.  Should ad that i've tried a number of different combinations and this seems to stress the CPU the least but it still seems very high?

Thanks in advance.

MD

Hi DG,

I'll give that a try.

Thanks,

MD

HI DG,

Thanks for your reply.

When you say 'then set the IP to be fixed to this address for future connecting.' do you mean in the SysPrefs/Network or in the VEP pref page on the Client (The mac with the VEP plugin active in thevDAW).

Since i rolled back, it kind of works ok now but i would prefer to have the latest update etc.

Thanks,

MD

Hi Ander,

I had the exact same issue although i'm running two 10.8.5 MacPros'. After i updated to the latest versions (5.4.13888) it was impossible to connect so after an hour of head scratching, i rolled back to the previous releases which are thankfully in the Software Archive. Now everything works accordingly. My Server IP is DHCP with a manual address (I use Synergy to control both MPs' with one keyboard/mouse and the server needs a static IP) and the Slave is DHCP. It is possible that there's an additional network issue also in 10.11.3 but i can't confirm as i'm still running around with ML.

Hopefully VSL will pick up on this and find the cause.

If i can help further, please let me know.

Thanks,

MD

Hi DG,

Thanks for you reply.

Intrestlingly, on start up all ASIO G2 is disabled for all VEP instances but yet issue occurs. I'll post on the Steinberg forum as well and see if SB have any new info about this conflict.

Thanks again,

MD

Hi,

Have upgraded to CB 8 on the mac although i've updated VEP5 to the April 2nd version, there's very strange behaviour when running both together. Currently i run VEP 5 on a iMac i7 3ghz with CB 8 on a MP 5,1 12 core 3.46ghz. With a few small synths loaded into VEP5, there's a very noticable delay/latency (1-2 seconds) when swtiching between midi tracks in CB 8. This also conicides with ASIO spikes in CB8. The general concenus is CB 8's new ASIO guard 2 is responsible and in fairness, when it's disabled, all is well. However, given ASIO G2 is supposed to be a more efficent way of handling live audio inputs & VST playablity, having these issues when only playing back 2 midi triggered soft synths on a 12 core machine is bizarre?

I'm posting this incase anyone else using a similar setup has experienced the same issues and possibly has another explaination and or can offer any further info. I should add, that i use Synergy KM. (A one keyboard and mouse network app to control both mac's over the LAN using a static IP on the MP 5,1). I've also diasbled Hyperthreading on the MP 5,1 using Xcode and have toggled 'Multi-processing' on & off in CB8 but there's no real difference. The only way to completely eradicate the issue is to turn ASIO G2 off. I'm kind off answering my own thread here but, given the power of the MP 5,1, ASIO G2 isn't really needed unless i really max out the cores. Either way, I'd be interested in the opinions of those with similar setups. Lastly, i have read here and on other sites that ASIO G2 has caused issues with audio mixdown exports taking longer then actual real time mixdown's due to ASIO G2 conflict with VEP 5. So is this a VSL or Steinberg issue..........(my bet is that it's a Steinberg coding issue coz my VSL stuff has always worked straight out of the box ;-)

Cheers,

MD

Hi,

If i load a repetitions matrix from either a single player, desk or 'All violins'. Only a few of the sequncer patterns play and most of them incorrectly. By that i mean, if i compare the notes writtern on the sequncer page with what i'm hearing, it's completely different. Also, if i've selected a 'pizz' cell for example, i don't hear anything although the repetitions on the advanced page go through the reps but nothing comes out. I've enabled all the cells and made sure i', selecting the correct 'row' by key swtich etc. so i 'can't think of anything missed. Would be grateful for anyone's advice on this.

Thanks,

MD

Hi Paul

It turns out to be my ISP which has now been corrected. Only 9hrs 17mins to go

Thanks

MD

HI,

Am trying to DL the DS Cellos' but it seems the servers have stopped serving

Anyone else having the same problem?

Thanks,

MD

Hi,

I'm running a mac pro 8 core as the master and VEP5 on an i7 iMac. Both macs' are running OSX 10.6.8 and my DAW is Cubase 6.5. When VEP5 is running in 64bit mode it will inadvertently crash any time I try and either save or select a loaded instrument whether it's a VIP or kontakt. This doesn't happen when the exact same instruments are loaded in the 32bit version. The crash log indicates a possible memory allocation error (ie: VEP is looking for something that is not there). I can upload the log if that would be of use. It's strange the 64bit server version should be so flakey but I suspect it's not VEP5 but a conflict between Cubase in 64bit mode and itself.

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

Thanks,

MD

+1 Great idea, especially for those who aren't as 'educated' to the whole array of articulations and playing styles such as myself

EDIT: Can i also add, there's a large market of potential buyers out there who stay away from VSL products because it's viewed as the 'Elite' of sample libraries. Which is by no means a bad thing. "Only the pros' use it because they know what they're doing". Very much how Pro Tools used to be seen. Mschmitt's suggestion would not only displell the 'VSL' myth but also more importantly, educate which is never a bad thing.

+1 to that!!!

from a practical point of view, how challenging would that be for VSL to implement?

it seems like an obvious addition but I suspect it would take a lot of under the hood reprogramming.

but would offer so much more flexibility to the user!

DM