Hartmann Neuron synth in software form available free

[David Polich]

I stumbled across this last night, after searching for "Hartmann Neuron" -
the Neuron VS has been made available for free as a VST 2.3 Mac virtual
instrument:

http://www.neuronsynth.com/html/Home.html

Yes - free. But there's a catch. It requires a VST 2.3 host, and DP is (as
far as I know) VST 2.4. I downloaded the installer and the model database,
put them in the specified folders, and launched DP 8.04 in 32-bit mode and
was able to get DP to see the Neuron VS and pass it (after several tries).
But upon launch, only a blank GUI shows up. No sound.

Apparently it will work in Logic 9 via fxPansion's VST-to-AU Wrapper.I don't
have Logic 9 so can't test that. I already tried loading it in Cubase 7 and
it's a no go there.

The Neuron VS home page reports that Neuron VS will work in Plogue Bidule.
I don't have PB but maybe some synth enthusiast here who has it could download Neuron VS and see if they can get it to show up in Bidule.

The Hartmann Neuron was quite an interesting synthesizer. It's closest "cousin" would likely be Logic's Sculpture, or AAS' Chromaphone, crossed with Izotope's Iris. It used a waveguide-esque form of physical modeling,
similar to Sculpture's structure, the difference being that it was a hardware synth, looked incredible, sounded very cool, and cost 5 grand.
Only a few were ever sold, and Hartmann Music Company went out of business
in 2004 after problems with their manufacturer, who also was their distributor.

Axel Hartmann is currently doing some work for either Native Instruments or
Steinberg (or Rob Papen or someone). I met him at Winter 2012 NAMM and he's quite a character.

[cuttime]

I ran across this a couple of weeks ago and I tried it with several different VST wrappers, and I couldn't get it to work work with any of them. I'd be interested in any success stories.

[stubbsonic]

The docs mention AudioHijack Pro (Rogue Amoeba) as a possible host for this VST VI. I have AudioHijack Pro and still use it quite often. It hosts effects & instruments and might allow some patching via soundflower. What I don't see in AHJP is the ability to route the output of that app to a specific output pair (which would make some inter-app routings possible).

[nk_e]

Hey everyone.

There's a very active Facebook group for the Neuron. Stephan Bernsee was the guy moreorless behind the guts of the neuron's software, and he sponsors the group. If you are interested in things Neuronal, that is the place to go. (Stephan is also one of the founders of Prosoniq aka Zynaptiq.)

There's a lot of info and tips there on how to get it to work. Lots of folks have had success with Plogue Bidule and FXPansion's wrapper in various hosts. The thing works near flawlessly in VEPRO's 32bit plugin. It's stable and everything works.

Stephan is supporting the VST as a side project, but he is considering the instruments future. The other members of the original team (Axel among them) have been quite gracious about IP issues thus far.

I'm a huge fan of the Neuron and not having to run an aging G5 iMac to access the old plug-in is fantastic.

[David Polich]

Hey everyone.

There's a lot of info and tips there on how to get it to work. Lots of folks have had success with Plogue Bidule and FXPansion's wrapper in various hosts. The thing works near flawlessly in VEPRO's 32bit plugin. It's stable and everything works.

So are you saying it works in DP 8.04 using VE PRO in 32-bit mode?
I have VE Pro 5, that would be way cool if this is true.

[nk_e]

I'll try it in DP 8.04 later this afternoon and let you know. I tried it in Logic 8 & 9, Live 8 (and 9 I seem to recall) and StudioOne v 2.5. In one of them, the interface acted a little weird. If the plugin was open but you clicked another window, the interface would go blank until you gave focus back to the plugin. (Sound was unaffected.) I think that was StudioOne.

Will let you know.

[nk_e]

OK. Here it is is working in DP 8.04 using VEPro 5.2.12785 (20 Sep 2013 build).

http://www.gesslr.com/NeuronalDP2.png

A couple of notes:

1) I forgot: I did wrap this using FXPansion's wrapper. The original VST was developed with the VST SDK version 2.1 I believe, and wrapping it brings it up to version 2.4 or something like that. Still not far enough along to be used in most hosts today, but it gets it to the point that you can develop some workarounds. (Other solutions like the Rogue Amoeba one, may not need this step. I encourage you to join the FB group if you want in depth information.)

2) To really be able to use this, you need the nuke controller. Without it, this is really a rompler with a few parameters available to you. There are partial work arounds for this apparently, but again, check the FB group for more info.

If you have the wrapper (or buy it...it's still available as a discontinued product from FXPansion and it works in the current MacOS), the nuke, and VEPRO, you essentially can have a Neuron on your desktop. There are some differences in functionality, and of course you don't have all of the Resynator joysticks and other real time controls available, but the sonic engine is pretty much there and that Neuronal sound too.

EDIT: The interface exhibits the behavior mentioned in my earlier post: When the plug in is not the focus, it will go blank, but everything still works. Clicking on the plug in window brings it back.

[David Polich]

Thanks for being so diligent and checking this out! Great to know.

Just one tiny question - you said you used fxPansion's wrapper. Do you mean
you wrapped it as an AU?

Update: Just installed fxPansion VST-AU Wrapper 2.0, it's a no-go - the
app just keeps reporting that it "can't locate or can't access the components
folder."

[nk_e]

Hmmm. Odd. It sounds like perhaps a permissions issue ("can't access components folder")? Try repairing permissions, then another go?

I'm running the latest OS on an intel macPro and have used the app several times with success.

I'll check the FB group to see if anyone reported similar issues. In the meantime, I encourazge you to join the group as there has been a lot of discussion on the plug-in, issues, needed work arounds, etc. Stephan discusses using the wrapper in one of the threads I believe along with others.

[David Polich]

Followed your suggestion and joined the FB group. From some of Stephan's posts
it looks like there's serious consideration of making the Neuron available again commercially, as a virtual instrument, possibly with a new hardware controller.

No mention of troubles with getting fxPansion's wrapper working on ML, other
than "please refer to the FAQ section" on the Neuron website. So I'm not sure
what the heck is going on. I repaired permissions, no joy, it still reports that it "cannot access the VST folder". Gonna try Audio Hijack Pro next.

Update: I found the problem with fxPansion's Wrapper. As the Neuron
ReadMe states (and I missed it), you have to set the permissions for the VST
folder to "Read & Write". Otherwise you get the "Access Denied" message.

I downloaded and installed Audio Hijack Pro and yes, Neuron VS does work in
that (you place it in an insert slot) and can be played from a MIDI controller, as Audio Hijack Pro employs AudioMidiSetup.

So I can hear the Neuron now. Still working on getting it working from DP.

[nk_e]

Yep. Saw you joined. Welcome!

Your persistence is admirable!