MOTUnation.com

UPDATE! Skip down to my later post. Plugin is now crippled if you are not connected to the internet. I'm restoring from an APFS snapshot to remove this.

Spitfire LABS Free Instruments updated

I ran the Spitfire Audio app to check for updates just now and when I clicked the LABS tab, there was this notice:

LABS has moved. Please download the latest update from the LABS website:
https://labs.spitfireaudio.com/download/
The new version of LABS allows you to download all LABS libraries from within the plugin itself. Projects that use existing LABS libraries will remain intact after you update.

Looks like they have their own installer now. I'm going to do a Time Machine backup first just in case the new LABS don't play nice with some custom Komplete Kontrol NKS support libraries I'm using.

James Steele wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 4:47 pm Spitfire LABS Free Instruments updated

I ran the Spitfire Audio app to check for updates just now and when I clicked the LABS tab, there was this notice:

Isn’t this a new subscription or paid model?

cuttime wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 4:54 pm

James Steele wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 4:47 pm Spitfire LABS Free Instruments updated

I ran the Spitfire Audio app to check for updates just now and when I clicked the LABS tab, there was this notice:

Isn’t this a new subscription or paid model?

I don't think so. I'm running a Time Machine backup now so I have an APFS Snapshot of my boot drive in case they pull a fast one, but it doesn't look like that. I appears they're just separating the LAB product into it's own thing. When I followed that link, it takes to you a page that looks customized to be just about LABS.

I haven't run the new installer yet. Waiting until my backup is done. Recent APFS snapshots of my boot volume have saved by butt more than once!! I do that before doing anything risky. I still don't know how the new LABS instruments will behave with the NKS support files I have.

Okay... so I ran the installer and it made me sign in with my Spitfire credentials and then it installed the new plugins. I think after it was done it was in some sort of standalone mode. In fact it installed a LABS.app. When you run it, it has a login screen that automatically logs you in to Spitfire's LABS server I suppose... so they retained the credentials.

Okay before I explain why I will probably be restoring from the APFS snapshot... Here's the new, ugly (IMHO) GUI:


All the free stuff works if you're logged in on the internet...

It appears Spitfire is trying to sell users on paying for a LABS+ subscription which gives you access to additional "premium" instruments that are designated as LABS+. Now, you can ignore those and still use the new plug with just the existing free instruments, and I almost did, until I noticed that when I instantiated the new plugin in DP, a log in screen appeared in it's plugin window and my credentials were automatically entered. This, all before I saw the actual plugin GUI.

So for giggles, I quit DP, turned off my WiFi connection, then restarted DP and loaded the project that had the instance of the new LABS plugin. The GUI never came up... just this screen:


YOU CANNOT ACCESS THE NORMAL LABS GUI WITHOUT LOGGING IN OVER THE INTERNET!!!!

Now your project will probably still play back, because I tried playing my MIDI controller and the instrument that was loaded when I saved the project could still be heard in the background, but unless you login, your ability to select different instruments or otherwise access the normal GUI is taken away!!

So yeah... the hell with that, Spitfire! The plugin and FREE instruments should be completely functional when the user is offline. I admit, I usually am online, but that's not the point. If my internet goes down... LABS is broken. Existing projects will play back, but forget changing instruments or instantiating the plugin and choosing an instrument. It would be interesting to see if I could get instruments to change using this inside Komplete Kontrol (which did work, BTW) and thus not need to access the plugin's GUI, but not worth the effort I think.

Soon as I post this, I'm booting my Mac into the recovery partition and saying bye bye to this new LABS.

James Steele wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 6:05 pmSoon as I post this, I'm booting my Mac into the recovery partition and saying bye bye to this new LABS.

Have done so. Thank goodness for APFS snapshots. Restored from just before I installed this new LABS and am all good again. I cannot recommend this until Spitfire makes the new LABS fully navigable and useable when your computer is offline and NOT connected to the internet!

Tokyo Dawn Labs SlickEQ M 2.0.6 updated to 2.0.7

Run TDR Collector to update.

James Steele wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 6:24 pm

James Steele wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 6:05 pmSoon as I post this, I'm booting my Mac into the recovery partition and saying bye bye to this new LABS.

Thanks for confirming this. You just saved me a lot of aggravation.

cuttime wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 8:02 pm

James Steele wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 6:24 pm

James Steele wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 6:05 pmSoon as I post this, I'm booting my Mac into the recovery partition and saying bye bye to this new LABS.

Thanks for confirming this. You just saved me a lot of aggravation.

Glad I saw this. No Labs updates for me for now. Do we know this is something they actually intended to do, rather than a stupid error.

bayswater wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 9:15 pm

cuttime wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 8:02 pm

James Steele wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 6:24 pm

Thanks for confirming this. You just saved me a lot of aggravation.

Glad I saw this. No Labs updates for me for now. Do we know this is something they actually intended to do, rather than a stupid error.

I have no idea. There is a topic about the new LABS plugin over at VI Control:
https://vi-control.net/community/thread ... od.151612/

The topic began on May 3, so I guess this new LABS has been around a while. I made a post today in that topic basically summarizing my experience today and that I removed it from my system because the new LABS plugin will not function completely without "phoning home" to the Spitfire mothership and logging in.

Again... my experience was that if I turned off my connection to the internet and opened a project containing an instance of LABS, the plugin displayed the log in screen I posted earlier with the error message about needing to be updated and the instrument that was loaded when the project was save was still loaded "behind" this log in screen, but I could not find any way to access the GUI unless I entered my Spitfire login credentials.

James Steele wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 10:05 pm

bayswater wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 9:15 pm Glad I saw this. No Labs updates for me for now. Do we know this is something they actually intended to do, rather than a stupid error.

I have no idea. There is a topic about the new LABS plugin over at VI Control:
https://vi-control.net/community/thread ... od.151612/

So it’s real. Too bad. I suppose they’ve decided to cash in on their investment in free samples. There was some interesting stuff there, but mostly novelties rather than really useful stuff you’d use every day.

bayswater wrote: ↑Sat Jul 06, 2024 8:36 am

James Steele wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 10:05 pm

bayswater wrote: ↑Fri Jul 05, 2024 9:15 pm Glad I saw this. No Labs updates for me for now. Do we know this is something they actually intended to do, rather than a stupid error.

I have no idea. There is a topic about the new LABS plugin over at VI Control:
https://vi-control.net/community/thread ... od.151612/

So it’s real. Too bad. I suppose they’ve decided to cash in on their investment in free samples. There was some interesting stuff there, but mostly novelties rather than really useful stuff you’d use every day.

Yeah... the fact that I hardly ever use them was enough reason for me to go back to the older version. The new graphics, IMHO, are really ugly and cheesy as well. I might have used it if not for the "phone home and log in" issue. I understand they're trying to tempt users into paying a subscription to get the bonus/premium instruments and I wouldn't necessarily begrudge them that if they are trying to simply "up-sell" users. It's like saying "Would you like fries with that?" It's easy enough to say "No, thank you." But I can't abide having any plugins on my Mac that have been intentionally crippled by a developer such that they won't fully function should I lose internet access. That's why all my iLok licenses are on my physical iLok dongle.

James Steele wrote: ↑Sat Jul 06, 2024 1:29 pm That's why all my iLok licenses are on my physical iLok dongle.

We're going way off topic but since you bring it up, I wonder why some suppliers want your iLok password, while others seem to be able licence their wares without knowing your password (e.g. PSP). I was looking into some stuff from Avid, but they wanted the iLok ID AND password, so I bailed.

bayswater wrote: ↑Sat Jul 06, 2024 3:47 pm

James Steele wrote: ↑Sat Jul 06, 2024 1:29 pm That's why all my iLok licenses are on my physical iLok dongle.

We're going way off topic but since you bring it up, I wonder why some suppliers want your iLok password, while others seem to be able licence their wares without knowing your password (e.g. PSP). I was looking into some stuff from Avid, but they wanted the iLok ID AND password, so I bailed.

I have no idea. Maybe if they have your password they can deposit licenses into your account with their own API/code and don't need to license or pay for access to PACE? I'm guessing though. No idea.

Tracktion/Wavesequencer Updates

Hyperion updated from 1.5.6 to 1.5.7
Theia updated from 1.1.3 to 1.14

Update via Tracktion Download Manager

A while back I had gotten Hyperion on sale.

It appears that Theia is included with that purchase.