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Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer Changelog

What's new in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 3.56

Mar 20, 2024
  • Added 15 new styles for macro knobs.
  • offline rendering support: hosted plug-ins are now notified when the host is rendering offline (non-realtime).
  • Fixed multicore performance issues for Apple Silicon systems (random audio dropouts).
  • Improved multicore performance on Windows PC and Intel Macs.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 3.55 (May 16, 2023)

  • Plug-ins oversampling: it is now possible to oversample processing for every plug-in (up to 16x).
  • Custom Colors: Each individual plug-in instance can now be assigned a custom color.
  • Updated hundreds of factory presets and all built-in plug-ins with custom colors.
  • MB-7 Mixer can now use its own parameters in macros, mixed together with loaded plug-ins parameters.
  • Macro Parameters & params assignments can now be saved and copied/pasted.
  • Drag and drop macro parameters to change order / insert / copy.
  • The "Remove" command now removes the selected macro parameter instead of the last one in the list.
  • Graphical user interface refresh performance improvements, especially on Mac.
  • Fixed custom tone maps presets not properly saved for some built-in plug-ins (Reverb, Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Sweep Filter, Wave Shaper, Freq Shifter, Wah, EQ).
  • Fixed plug-in slot menu issues when loading plug-ins with more than 22380 parameters on Windows.
  • Updated parameters layout for GUI-less plug-ins to accomodate plug-ins with multiple parameters.
  • GUI-less plug-ins generic editor now follows the MB-7 Mixer's zoom level.
  • Fixed a crash when opening the editor of a VST2 GUI-less plug-in that uses non-unicode encoding in its parameters (piz-midi plug-ins).
  • LEARN mode is now disabled automatically when the Params Map Editor is closed.
  • AAX plug-in now reports the recording status to hosted plug-ins (in recent versions of Pro Tools that support it).
  • Ableton Live 11: Fixed MB-7 Mixer VST3 MIDI input not detected.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 3.5 (Nov 22, 2022)

  • New macro controls editor to edit plug-in parameters mapping.
  • Assign multiple parameters from multiple plug-ins to a single macro control, and adjust the range for each parameter.
  • Assign a name to each macro control, that is now displayed in automation lanes in most host applications (may require a session reload in some cases).
  • Parameters names for existing sessions will be automatically updated upon load.
  • Select macro knobs appearance among 18 predefined styles.
  • Updated dozens of presets with macro parameters.
  • New learn modes to quickly assign plug-in parameters.
  • Added an option in global & preset input settings to send MIDI events when MIDI-enabled parameters are modified in the plug-in (to update control surfaces accordingly).
  • In most plug-in formats, internal audio I/O configuration can now be selected regardless of the configuration defined by the host (you can for example reduce the number of channels to save CPU and process only selected channels).
  • Improved performance to load the user interface.
  • Improved VST parameter value display in some host applications.
  • Added Apple Silicon support for AAX Plug-in Format.
  • Mac: installers and plug-ins have been notarized to avoid security warnings on Mac OS Catalina and newer.
  • Fixed bypass that did not let MIDI messages go thru for some MIDI plug-ins.
  • Fixed some GUI resizing issues with some VST3 plug-ins.
  • Fixed an issue with some VST3 plug-ins requiring to click twice on the bypass button to get bypassed.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 3.42 (Mar 29, 2022)

  • Native Apple Silicon (M1) version can now load 64-bit Audio Units that are not compatible with Apple Silicon (via the MacOS bridge).
  • Presets can now be loaded via MIDI even when the user interface is closed.
  • Fixed MPC Beat plug-in not loading.
  • Fixed VST3 version not always loading properly in Ableton Live 11.
  • Fixed latency compensation changes not always picked up by host applications.
  • VST3: Fixed parameters update issues in Studio One when bouncing tracks.
  • Fixed VST & VST3 automation not recording properly in some hosts (Cubase 11, Ableton Live).

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 3.41 (Oct 19, 2021)

  • Single Installer on Mac (all plug-ins formats).
  • Apple Silicon (M1 processor) support.
  • Dropped 32-bit support on Mac.
  • Now requires MacOS 10.9 and newer.
  • Improved MIDI & automation control settings with lock, reset and "save as global setting" capabilities.
  • Fixed issues with Wah and Pitch Bender effects when using cheap MIDI controllers not updating values fast enough.
  • VST3: fixed random crash in Ableton Live 11 upon load.
  • Fixed a crash when loading some VST3 plug-ins that define a bypass parameter beyond the last automatable parameter.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 3.4 (Aug 16, 2021)

  • New Features & Improvements:
  • Up to 7 times more processing power with the new multicore engine that processes each band on a separate core.
  • New DSP workload meter that displays the DSP activity and CPU load.
  • Added MIDI control support (MIDI CC messages) for Next and Previous Preset commands, with MIDI learn.
  • Reduced time to load the MB-7 Mixer or any built-in plug-in.
  • Multiple DSP performance improvements.
  • Level meters and spectrum analyzers are not updated anymore when the user interface is closed, reducing CPU usage.
  • Reduced the number of threads used by the plug-in.
  • Improved global and preset settings window loading time on Windows.
  • Added ability to select the plug-in to load when a shell plug-in file is dragged and dropped onto a slot.
  • Full unicode support.
  • Preset files can now be dropped onto the preset LCD area to be loaded.
  • Native Apple M1 version available as a preview.
  • Fixes:
  • Fixed host loop end value not properly passed to hosted plug-ins, for the VST2 version.
  • Fixed several crashes upon load for multiple third party plug-ins (mostly VST3).
  • Fixed MIDI control for hosted plug-ins not always working when fed with silence.
  • Fixed VST3 (and sometimes VST) version freezing Ableton Live upon save on Windows.
  • Fixed harmonizer and Pitch Shifter built-in plug-ins that did not always flush their buffer upon bypass (short sounds could be heard when getting out of bypass)

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 3.34 (May 4, 2021)

  • New Features & Improvements:
  • Up to 7 times more processing power with the new multicore engine that processes each band on a separate core.
  • New DSP workload meter that displays the DSP activity and CPU load.
  • Added MIDI control support (MIDI CC messages) for Next and Previous Preset commands, with MIDI learn.
  • Reduced time to load the MB-7 Mixer or any built-in plug-in.
  • Multiple DSP performance improvements.
  • Level meters and spectrum analyzers are not updated anymore when the user interface is closed, reducing CPU usage.
  • Reduced the number of threads used by the plug-in.
  • Improved global and preset settings window loading time on Windows.
  • Added ability to select the plug-in to load when a shell plug-in file is dragged and dropped onto a slot.
  • Full unicode support.
  • Preset files can now be dropped onto the preset LCD area to be loaded.
  • Native Apple M1 version available as a preview.
  • Fixes:
  • Fixed host loop end value not properly passed to hosted plug-ins, for the VST2 version.
  • Fixed several crashes upon load for multiple third party plug-ins (mostly VST3).
  • Fixed MIDI control for hosted plug-ins not always working when fed with silence.
  • Fixed VST3 (and sometimes VST) version freezing Ableton Live upon save on Windows.
  • Fixed harmonizer and Pitch Shifter built-in plug-ins that did not always flush their buffer upon bypass (short sounds could be heard when getting out of bypass)

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 3.33 (Oct 5, 2020)

  • New Features & Improvements:
  • Tail spillover: activate tail spillover from the toolbar to play effects tail when bypassed (available for PatchWork itself or built-in delays and reverbs).
  • Arrow keys can now be used to navigate presets, in the main view or in the presets browser.
  • The opacity of the tone map window can now be adjusted for built-in effects.
  • Smoother presets switching.
  • Improved smooth plug-in bypass (faster and smoother transition).
  • New high resolution graphics for knobs and sliders.
  • Reduced disk footprint.
  • Fixes:
  • Fixed: the state of some VST2 plug-ins (which do not save their state as chunks) were not be restored properly if their number of parameters had been changed (e.g. FabFilter Pro-Q's latest update).
  • Fixed: several issues with hosted plug-ins bypass (graphical glitches, untriggered bypass...).

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 3.32 (Jan 6, 2020)

  • New Features & Improvements:
  • Navigate presets and create new tones easily with "Tone Maps" for 9 built-in effects: Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Wah, Sweep Filter, EQ, Freq Shifter, Reverb and Waveshaper.
  • New presets for the built-in wah plug-in.
  • Built-in EQ: improved impulse response convolution performance (long reverb tails are now supported, with low CPU usage).
  • Mac: faster GUI rendering on recent Mac OS systems (up to 5x faster).
  • Fixes:
  • Mac: fixed user interface not properly shown on retina displays in some applications built with the 10.14 Mac OS SDK (Cubase 10.5 for example).
  • Mac: fixed settings panel rendering issues in dark mode on Mac OS Mojave and newer.
  • Fixed issue with some VST3 plug-ins that failed to initialize when loaded (Roland Cloud VST3)
  • Fixed built-in Wah plug-in that could exceed selected range in reverse mode.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 3.2 (Nov 21, 2018)

  • Drag and drop support (same as in our video for PatchWork):
  • Drag and drop plug-ins between slots.
  • Hold the alt key on Mac and Ctrl key on windows to copy (duplicate) a plug-in instead of moving it.
  • Drop the plug-in before another to insert it in the chain.
  • Drag and drop plug-ins between several instances of the MB-7 Mixer or across plug-ins (compatible with the latest version of PatchWork, Late Replies and Axiom).
  • Drag and drop .dll, .vst, .vst3, or .component files directly from the Finder or Explorer onto plug-in slots.
  • Drag and drop .plgnfo files (previously saved from the software) directly from the Finder or Explorer onto plug-in slots.
  • Built-in EQ plug-in can now load and manipulate impulse responses (IR).
  • Spectrum analysis is now performed in the background and does not affect audio performance.
  • Improved performance of the built-in EQ plug-in.
  • Improved performance when saving preset/session with many built-in plug-ins.
  • Fixed: effect tail not processed anymore when just inserted on a track (avoids using CPU when not necessary).
  • Fixed: built-in multitap delay plug-in could get out of sync in some host applications.
  • Fixed: sweep filter, flanger and tremolo plug-ins could fail to initialize rate when using tempo sync and loaded from an MB-7 Mixer preset.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 3.1 (Jun 18, 2018)

  • The GUI can now be zoomed from 70% to 200%.
  • Added 28 built-in plug-ins borrowed from the Late Replies plug-in.
  • New spectral manipulation and sound design presets using the built-in effects.
  • Last loaded preset is now remembered in session and displayed in the presets menu.
  • Plug-in state can now be reverted to the last loaded preset.
  • Default preset now also saves the state of locks (when using "save as user default").
  • Major presets loading improvements: hosted plug-ins are now reloaded only when changed, and updated otherwise. Improves performance and audio rendering when loading presets using the same plug-ins.
  • Faster GUI loading / instantaneous GUI display after it has been opened once.
  • New option to keep plug-ins windows always on top.
  • Performance and memory usage improvements.
  • Mac: new installer.
  • VST3: factory presets are not exposed to the host application anymore.
  • Fixed minor compatibility issues with Mac OS High Sierra.
  • Fixed host keyboard shortcuts lost when a sub plug-in is opened (in several host applications).
  • Fixed sub-plug-ins automation overwritten when using touch mode in some hosts.
  • Fixed: changing bypass in the Audio Unit version did not update host application's bypass state.
  • Fixed: bypass buttons are now in sync with the hosted plug-ins' state.
  • Win: fixed copy/paste that sometimes stopped working until next app restart.
  • Dropped support for legacy RTAS and DirectX plug-ins formats.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 3.0 (Feb 23, 2017)

  • Brand new GUI design, with improved usability and touchscreen support.
  • Favorite plug-ins and their settings can be saved to be quickly reloaded later from a menu.
  • Unused channels for each hosted plug-in can now be muted (instead of default pass-thru).
  • Load/save native VST, VST3 or AU preset files.
  • Presets and parameters menus are now split in sub menus instead of a single list.
  • Additional user VST path to locate VST plug-ins is now available.
  • Missing VST & VST3 plug-ins are now automatically relocated.
  • Copy/paste and save band settings (including plug-ins) as sub-presets.
  • Map sub plug-ins parameters to automate them in host or control them with MIDI.
  • Lock GUI state to prevent changes when loading presets.
  • Band Controls Groups can now be identified by colors.
  • Adjust contrast for spectrogram display.
  • Spectrogram now keeps history when resized.
  • Import spectrum curves for EQ compare & matching, and export EQ curves to share with other Blue Cat Audio plug-ins.
  • Now supports retina displays on Mac (text and graphs using high resolution).
  • Now compatible with most recent Audio Units (Waves for example).
  • Changed demo limitations: up to 5 instances allowed, bypass time changed to half a second, and bypass parameter is not affected anymore.
  • Fully compatible with previous versions of the plug-in.
  • Dropped support for Windows XP and Mac OS X 10.6 and earlier.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 2.54 (Dec 30, 2016)

  • Fixed MIDI channel issue with VST3: MIDI channel for note events was offset by one in the VST3 plug-in version and when hosting VST3 plug-ins.
  • Improved perfomance when loading presets.
  • Increased fine edit window width (opens when double clicking on a control).
  • Fixed random crash in Cubase.
  • VST: fixed random latency compensation issues upon project load or when loading plug-ins while not playing.
  • VST: fixed bypass issue when using reverse range in MIDI/automation settings.
  • (Mac AU) Fixed latency compensation issues in Logic, on project load, or when loading plug-ins while not playing.
  • (Mac AU) Fixed GUI display issues when changing size in Ableton Live.
  • (Windows) new graphics for Windows installer.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 2.53 (Sep 5, 2016)

  • VST3 plug-ins hosting
  • Fixed VST3 version crash in Wavelab 9
  • Fixed issue with parameters precison in VST3 version
  • Improved automatic I/O configuration for VST and VST3 versions

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 2.51 (Jul 21, 2015)

  • Last loaded preset can now be saved directly from the presets menu without having to select the file.
  • VST: fixed latency compensation reporting in Cubase (no need to re-enable the plug-in to update the latency anymore).
  • AAX & RTAS: fixed feedback loop that could occur in bypass mode when the plug-in was inserted before another one.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 2.5 (Apr 30, 2015)

  • New Features:
  • External side chain support: side chain input can be used by sub plug-ins on each band.
  • Sub plug-ins audio i/o routing: connect the inputs and outputs of each plug-in to any channel (enabling multi-mono or creative side chain usage).
  • Latency is now compensated for individual channels when a plug-in is processing only a subset of all available channels.
  • GUI-less plug-ins support: a generic user interface is now provided for VST or AU plug-ins that do not include a graphical editor.
  • Presets can now be selected using MIDI Program change and bank select messages (can be activated with the presets menu/MIDI Program Change item).
  • Factory and user skins can now be selected directly from the plug-in menu.
  • Improved crossovers precision and performance.
  • Improved presets and session load/save performance (up to 4 times faster in some situations).
  • Fixes and compatibility improvements:
  • Fixed issue with Izotope Audio Units that were configured as mono effects on stereo tracks.
  • Fixed issue with some Audio Unit instruments that did not produce any sound (IK Multimedia, Kontakt...)
  • Fixed crashes during auto save with Kontakt 5 in Pro Tools 11.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 2.4 (Oct 21, 2014)

  • New Features:
  • Missing VST plug-ins can now be relocated if not found.
  • The plug-in now saves missing plug-ins' state so that they can be restored later.
  • Fixes and compatibility improvements:
  • Fixed issue on Mac when loading sessions created on Windows using VST plug-ins in sub-directories.
  • Fixing compatibility issues with several plug-ins that used to crash when unloaded (Image Line, MeldaProduction, Catanya...).
  • VST Plug-in name is now displayed when loaded from a missing VST shell bundle (instead of just the name of the bundle).

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 2.3 (Jul 4, 2014)

  • New Features:
  • Audio Unit hosting support: Audio Units can now be loaded into the plug-in on Mac.
  • Plug-ins can now be cut from a slot for cut/paste operations.
  • Improvements:
  • User interface loading or resizing is now faster.
  • Reduced the size of windows installers.
  • Fixes and compatibility improvements:
  • Fixed undo/redo compatibility issues with some plug-ins.
  • (Mac) Fixed random crashes when unloading some plug-ins on Mac (Waves plug-ins for example).
  • (AAX) Fixed inaccurate transport information reported to sub plug-ins when stopping playback in Pro Tools.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 2.2 (Apr 24, 2014)

  • New Features:
  • Plug-in instance Renaming: it is now possible to give a name to each instance of a plug-in.
  • Improvements:
  • Improved performance of undo tracking when loading presets for plug-ins with many parameters.
  • Fixes and compatibility improvements:
  • Fixed keyboard stealing issue in many host applications when sub plug-ins editors are opened (except 32-bit applications on Mac).
  • Fixed compatibility issue with Pro Tools 9 on Mac (random crashes).
  • Fixing crashes with some plug-ins requesting information while being opened.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 2.11 (Dec 3, 2013)

  • Plug-ins compatibility improvements:
  • Improved compatibility with plug-ins that do not support sample rate changes (Nebula).
  • Improved compatibility with synths or effects that internally use VST presets banks: the entire state was not properly restored with the session (Nexus, Korg Legacy series or D16 Sigmund for example).
  • Other improvements:
  • Reduced the plug-in's memory usage so that more instances can be used in a session.
  • Windows VST Installer now remembers where the plug-in was initially installed to simplify upgrades.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 2.1 (Oct 30, 2013)

  • New features:
  • Bypass and display editor commands are now directly available from buttons in the plug-in slots.
  • Plug-ins editors can now be restored on open (position on screen is now saved in session and presets), with an option in the preferences to disable restoration.
  • Copy/paste plug-ins between slots using the system clipboard (you can copy paste between instances, or in different applications).
  • Copy/paste the plug-in's current state from the presets menu using the system clipboard.
  • "Center Plug-in Editor" command to bring back plug-ins editors that may be lost on the screen.
  • Improved support for plug-ins with multiple I/O configurations (the number of channels is now passed to the plug-ins).
  • Fixes:
  • Alt-Click on a control now resets the value to default in Pro Tools, as expected.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 2.03 (Sep 23, 2013)

  • New Features:
  • Tempo sync support for hosted plug-ins.
  • AudioSuite support (offline processing) for the AAX version.
  • Plug-ins Compatibility Improvements:
  • Some plug-ins that required tempo sync used to crash on load.
  • Fixed compatibility issues with FabFilter plug-ins.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 2.02 (Sep 23, 2013)

  • New Features:
  • Added support for plug-ins bundled into a VST Shell.
  • Bug Fixes:
  • Some plug-ins used to crash when reloading a Pro Tools session in Pro Tools 11.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 2.01 (Sep 23, 2013)

  • Bug Fixes:
  • When inserting soft synths in the plug-in, no output was produced when the plug-in was fed with silence.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 2.0 (Sep 23, 2013)

  • New Features:
  • Brand new, fully customizable user interface
  • New look and feel.
  • Show only what you need.
  • New color or greyscale overlayed spectrogram view.
  • Multiple display sizes.
  • Customizable gain range.
  • Improved readability.
  • Animated transitions.
  • Multiband VST Hosting
  • Apply VST effects to a selected frequency range.
  • Add up to 4 VST plug-ins on each band.
  • Pre and post fader plug-ins slots.
  • Integrated latency compensation engine, with real time host reporting.
  • Optional undo/redo integration.
  • VST Presets Management.
  • Bypass inserted plug-ins individually.
  • New integrated presets manager
  • Load/save presets from the plug-in's user interface.
  • Organize presets with folders.
  • Customize the default preset.
  • Exchange presets easily.
  • Automation range and response curve can now be customized for each parameter (in and out).
  • Automation and MIDI settings (channel, MIDI learn etc.) are now accessible from the main user interface.
  • Improvements:
  • New presets to get started faster.
  • The windows installer now automatically detects the most appropriate VST install path.
  • License is now shared between plug-ins types (register only once for all formats).
  • Improved value display in fine edit window.
  • Improved parameters display on control surfaces.
  • Optimizations and Performance Improvements:
  • Improved parameters precision (now stored as 64-bit).
  • More compact presets format (uses less space and loads faster).
  • Smaller binaries on Mac (dropped PowerPC support).
  • Bug Fixes:
  • (RTAS) Fixed parameters control with EUCON control surfaces in Pro Tools.

New in Blue Cat's MB-7 Mixer 1.1 (Sep 1, 2011)

  • A "dual channel" version of the plug-in is now available. It can process the left/right or mid/side channels separately.
  • Output data rate (MIDI CC or automation) can now be customized, from 20 to 500 Hz.
  • Increased the default output data rate (from 20 to 50 Hz) for smoother side chaining and more precise spectrum display.
  • Windows: improved settings dialog loading time.