MachFive, VST Wrapper, PC: Obscure Question

3over3 · Post by **3over3** » Mon May 14, 2007 1:10 am

Here's a question I half expect not to be answered:

My only gripe with MachFive on PC Pro Tools is that it doesn't have multiple audio outs*. According to the manual, on PC, the VST version has 10 outs (Main stereo, then one to eight) where the RTAS version only has Main stereo.

So does anyone know if the FXpansion VST wrapper will allow Pro Tools to see multiple outs? Does a wrapped version give multi outs on a Mac?

All obscure help and advice gratefully received...

*Yet (coughs loudly).

Sarcazm · Post by **Sarcazm** » Mon May 14, 2007 1:18 am

M5 does have multiple outs on the PC platform, and they work as intended in Ableton Live.

I dunno if the Wrapper will help or not, but, as a last resort perhaps and assuming Pro Tools supports it, you could always rewire, say, Live.

3over3 · Post by **3over3** » Mon May 14, 2007 1:26 am

Sarcazm wrote:M5 does have multiple outs on the PC platform, and they work as intended in Ableton Live.

I dunno if the Wrapper will help or not, but, as a last resort perhaps and assuming Pro Tools supports it, you could always rewire, say, Live.

That's true, as Live uses the VST version. (Annoyingly, Pro Tools ships with a cut down version of Live that... wait for it... doesn't host VSTs.) I understand it's not a limitation of PCs or Pro Tools as the Mac RTAS MachFive does seem to have multiple outs - as do other VIs on my system.

The problem is that the PC RTAS version only does dual-channel out. £50 for the wrapper or £300 for Live? Hmmm...

3over3 · Post by **3over3** » Fri May 25, 2007 4:52 am

... it was £50 for the wrapper.

So just in case anyone else ever needs to know (and at the risk of talking to myself), I'll say that MachFive works great as a VST in Pro Tools on PC (although some people simply won't care, as they have a Mac, ahem).

Interestingly enough (?) there seems to be no difference in processor hit between using one instance per stereo pair and combining every preset into one instance and using the multi-outs.

Also, there's host-based automation available to Pro Tools where the RTAS version only has MIDI control. It's a funny old world, isn't it?

mon · Post by **mon** » Tue May 29, 2007 3:04 am

So maybe all this time, had I had VST wrapper, I could have wrapped MachFive and ran it in Live rewired to DP 5.12 running on Intel Mac...