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Blue Cat's PatchWork Changelog

What's new in Blue Cat's PatchWork 2.67

Feb 28, 2024
  • Seamlessly play over backing tracks with the new built-in audio player, supporting wav, mp3, and flac formats.
  • Drag and drop audio files directly into plug-in slots to open the audio player.
  • Choose from additional 15 styles to customize macro knobs.
  • Playback and rewind in the application can now be triggered by MIDI (allowing easy synchronization of plug-ins playback).
  • Offline rendering support: hosted plug-ins are now notified when the host application is rendering offline (non-realtime).
  • Improved multicore performance on Intel Macs and Windows PCs.
  • Improved audio performance when the application is used as a network server for Connector or Fader Hub.
  • Fixed audio recording issues under very low latencies and high CPU usage.
  • Fixed multicore performance issues for Apple Silicon systems (random audio dropouts).
  • Fixed Graphical User Interface performance issues on Mac OS Sonoma (caused by an Apple bug).
  • Fixed a crash with Audio Units reporting corrupted latency (invalid value) upon load.

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 2.66 (Jul 6, 2023)

  • Drag and drop macro parameters to change order / insert / copy.
  • Macro Parameters & params assignments can now be saved and copied/pasted.
  • The "Remove" macro command now removes the currently selected macro parameter instead of the last one.
  • Macro 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).
  • Synchronize multiple MIDI controllers: when "all channels" (0) is used for MIDI input control and "send MIDI events when parameters values change" is active, the plug-in now sends MIDI events to all other channels.
  • Updated parameters layout for GUI-less plug-ins to accomodate plug-ins with multiple parameters.
  • GUI-less plug-ins generic editor now follows PatchWork's zoom level.
  • Improved plug-in loading time.
  • 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).
  • Fixed plug-in slots display issue on Mac OS 10.9.
  • Fixed plug-in slot menu issues when loading plug-ins with more than 22380 parameters on Windows.

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 2.65 (Mar 14, 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 120 factory presets and all built-in plug-ins with custom colors.
  • PatchWork can now use its own parameters in macros, mixed together with loaded plug-ins parameters.
  • Graphical user interface refresh performance improvements, especially on Mac.
  • Improved resampling when the application starts streaming audio as a network server with Blue Cat's Connector.
  • 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 stuck notes with some VST3 instruments.
  • Fixed some VST3 instruments not producing any sound (like Toontrack instruments).
  • Ableton Live 11: Fixed PatchWork VST3 MIDI input not detected and PatchWork Synth VST3 not loading.

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 2.61 (Dec 11, 2022)

  • New transport toolbar in PatchWork app, including pause, rewind and tempo selection (with tap tempo).
  • Added Apple Silicon support for AAX plug-in format.
  • Added Ambisonic (1st order) and alternate surround formats (up to 8ch) support for Pro Tools.
  • Fixed an issue with some VST3 plug-ins requiring to click twice on the bypass button to get bypassed.

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 2.6 (Sep 26, 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 19 predefined styles.
  • New learn modes to quickly assign plug-in parameters.
  • MIDI output is now enabled in standalone application.
  • Select individual MIDI I/O in standalone application.
  • 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).
  • PatchWork App now uses Apple's Hardened Runtime and the installer has been notarized to avoid security warnings on Mac.
  • Improved performance to load the user interface.
  • Improved VST parameter value display in some host applications.
  • 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 signal overflow issues with the Reverb built-in plug-in for some surround configurations.

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 2.52 (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).
  • New "network slave" mode to run as an audio/MIDI processing server for the Connector plug-in.
  • Presets can now be loaded via MIDI even when the user interface is closed.
  • Improved MIDI events timing precision in the application.
  • Windows: ASIO Control panel can now be launched from the audio settings window in the application.
  • Audio engine can now be restarted from the audio settings window in the application.
  • 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.

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 2.51 (Nov 18, 2021)

  • Added MIDI tap tempo support for standalone application
  • 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.
  • VST3: fixed parameters update issues in Studio One when bouncing tracks.
  • Fixed a crash when loading some VST3 plug-ins that define a bypass parameter beyond the last automatable parameter.
  • Fixed skin loading issue when loading the built-in PatchWork plug-in in the PatchWork Synth version.

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 2.5 (Apr 6, 2021)

  • New Features & Improvements:
  • Up to 8 times more processing power with the new multicore engine that processes each parallel chain 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 PatchWork or any built-in plug-in.
  • Multiple DSP performance improvements.
  • Improved buffer management in standalone application on Mac, reducing both latency and CPU usage.
  • Level meters 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.
  • Improved "Tone Maps" user interface (available for 9 built-in effects).
  • Fixes:
  • Fixed standalone app not always asking for Microphone access on most recent MacOS systems.
  • 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 display issues with Waves plug-ins V12 in Mac standalone application.
  • 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 PatchWork 2.42 (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.
  • Mac application now fully supports dark mode on Mac OS Mojave and newer.
  • 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 for level meters).
  • 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 PatchWork 2.41 (Jul 23, 2019)

  • Fixed an issue with hosted plug-ins editors not always restored in the right position in Cubase on Windows.
  • Changing the slope of lowpass and highpass filters in the built-in EQ is now smoother.

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 2.31 (Dec 6, 2018)

  • Spectrum analysis is now performed in the background and does not affect audio performance (built-in EQ).
  • Improved convolution performance for the impulse response loader on multicore processors (built-in EQ).
  • Fixed modulation plug-ins that did not always properly set rate when used in host sync mode (sweep filter, flanger, tremolo).

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 2.3 (Oct 22, 2018)

  • Drag and drop support:
  • 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 PatchWork or accross plug-ins (compatible with the latest preview of Late Replies, MB-7 Mixer 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).
  • 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.
  • Improved performance of the built-in EQ plug-in.
  • Improved performance when saving preset/session with many built-in plug-ins.

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 2.2 (Sep 7, 2018)

  • Added 4 new built-in plug-ins (reverb, harmonizer, wah, mute).
  • New factory presets.
  • 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.
  • Performance and memory usage improvements.
  • 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.
  • Mac: fixed crash in Ableton Live when hitting space bar while a sub plug-in window is opened

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 2.11 (Feb 21, 2018)

  • 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.
  • VST3: factory presets are not exposed to the host application anymore - this fixes the problem of Cubase resetting the state of the instrument version upon session reload.

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 1.71 (Jul 28, 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 PatchWork 1.7 (Mar 26, 2015)

  • New features:
  • The effect version now supports external side chain input.
  • The synth version now includes multiple output busses (up to 16 output channels).
  • The standalone application now offers up to 16 audio I/O.
  • Sub plug-ins audio i/o routing: connect the inputs and outputs of each plug-in to any channel.
  • Latency is now compensated for individual channels when a plug-in is processing only a subset of all available channels.
  • Fixes:
  • Fixed side chain input always fed with silence for some Audio Unit plug-ins.
  • Fixed issue with standalone application: displayed i/o were not reset properly when changing i/o configuration.
  • Fixed a crash with some VST plug-ins that use long preset names.
  • Fixed demo version popup window freezing Pro Tools in some situations.

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 1.63 (Feb 10, 2015)

  • 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).
  • Fixed issue with some Audio Unit instruments that did not produce any sound (IK Multimedia, Kontakt...)
  • Added log scale support for Audio Unit parameters.

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 1.62 (Feb 10, 2015)

  • New alternative light theme skin (light color scheme and lower contrast).
  • Factory and user skins can now be selected directly from the plug-in menu.
  • Added 192 kHz samplerate support to the standalone application.

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 1.61 (Feb 10, 2015)

  • Bug Fixes (Standalone application only - plug-ins unchanged):
  • Windows: improved audio drivers compatibility.
  • Windows: fixed a crash with some audio drivers on Windows 8, for the 64-bit application.

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 1.6 (Nov 26, 2014)

  • New Features:
  • Now available as a standalone application.
  • Fixes and compatibility improvements:
  • Improved presets and session load/save performance (up to 4 times faster in some situations).
  • Fixed issue with Izotope Audio Units that were configured as mono effects on stereo tracks.
  • Fixed crashes during auto save with Kontakt 5 in Pro Tools 11.

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 1.5 (Nov 26, 2014)

  • New Features:
  • The Audio Unit can now be loaded as a MIDI FX in Logic Pro X.
  • MIDI FX Audio Units can now be loaded into the plug-in.
  • 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 PatchWork 1.4 (Nov 26, 2014)

  • New Features:
  • Selectable parallel processing chains summing mode: sum or average.
  • Solo button for parallel chains.
  • MIDI Channel filtering for each plug-in input.
  • Fixes and compatibility improvements:
  • Fixed undo/redo incompatibilities with some plug-ins.
  • (Mac) Fixed crash introduced in 1.3 when trying to load missing VST plug-ins.
  • (Mac) Fixed wrong plug-in instantiated in some cases when selected from a VST shell package.
  • (Mac) Fixed crash after closing the editor of an Audio Unit plug-in loaded with SoundRadix's 32Lives.

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 1.3 (Nov 26, 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.
  • Plug-ins can now be pasted into a slot with their params map.
  • Improvements:
  • User interface loading or resizing is now up to 50% faster.
  • Reduced the size of windows installers.
  • Minor layout changes.
  • Fixes and compatibility improvements:
  • Fixed undo/redo incompatibilities with some plug-ins.
  • (Mac) Fixed random crashes when unloading some plug-ins on Mac (Waves plug-ins for example).
  • (Win/AAX) Fixed shortcut to user manual in start menu.
  • (AAX) Fixed inaccurate transport information reported to sub plug-ins when stopping playback in Pro Tools.

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 1.2 (Nov 26, 2014)

  • New Features:
  • MIDI Routing: custom MIDI routes can be created to connect plug-ins together and with the host application to send and receive MIDI.
  • Plug-in instance Renaming: it is now possible to give a name to each instance of a plug-in.
  • Mono to stereo processing: the plug-in can now be used as a mono to stereo plug-in and process mono tracks with stereo effects in hosts that support it.
  • Improvements:
  • Improved performance of undo tracking when loading presets for plug-ins with many parameters.
  • The "Parameters Map" menu item is now checked when a parameter is mapped.
  • Improved performance when changing the size of the plug-in user interface.
  • 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 PatchWork 1.1 (Nov 26, 2014)

  • New Features:
  • New parameters mapping feature for sub plug-ins automation (includes a "learn" mode for easy mapping): Up to 40 parameters can be mapped to external controls. Our plug-in's advanced automation and MIDI control features can also be used to map controllers to sub-plug-ins parameters.
  • New layout to display mapped automation controls in the main user interface.
  • Added phase flip buttons for each parallel chain, so that you can easily compute differences between signals or correct phase problems introduced by some plug-ins.
  • Link all pre and post gain knobs so that pre gain changes are automatically compensated by the post gain knobs. This can be used to easily push dynamics or distortion plug-ins without increasing the volume.
  • Fixes and compatibility improvements:
  • when no plug-in is inserted, level meters remained frozen when stopping transport.
  • fixing crashes with GRM Tools plug-ins that changed their audio I/O count dynamically ("Reson" for example).
  • fixing sample rate initialization issue with Nebula when using copy/paste.
  • The plug-in can now be used as a virtual instrument in Cubase and Studio One (it used to be silent).
  • Some plug-ins that required the deprecated "effIdle" VST message should now work properly (Steinberg's Virtual Guitarist for example).

New in Blue Cat's PatchWork 1.01 (Nov 26, 2014)

  • Fixes and compatibility improvements:
  • Improved compatibility with plug-ins that do not support sample rate changes (Nebula).
  • Improved compatibility with synths that internally use VST presets banks: the entire state was not properly restored with the session (Nexus or Korg Legacy series).
  • Fixed output gain compensation issue: when using parallel chains, the global output gain stage was skipped.