Exploring Vital 1.5.1 update (beta pre-release)

Apple seems like a real pain to developers and users alike. I suppose to them, backwards compatability is for losers.

4 Likes

I’m sorry to say it, but this so reeks of entitlement.
You do realise, that Matt is just a single person, doing all the heavy lifting in developing Vital, don’t you? Apple, repeatedly throwing everyone under the bus, is just additional weight to lift. Feel free to support Matt financially and reap the benefits of M1 support. If you have cash to throw at Apple for a bleeding edge machine, I’m certain you can afford pittance for a Vital subscription.

5 Likes

That is why Windows is the best for audio production. Cheaper and no hassle.

3 Likes

That’s a good idea. Apple Corp should donate some money to Vital really.

I’m just happy and thankful that Vital is M1 compatible, and that it only cost me $25. I bought Massive X for way more, and I don’t like it at all. Matt is doing a so much better job than the entire Massive team over at Native Instruments. (I don’t understand what the f**k those people are doing at all)

1 Like

Yeah I think next time I’ll have a better idea how long things will take. Part of this change was using a new graphics engine and it’s been a bit of a pain tracking down the issues that only happen on certain computers.

2 Likes

I do private beta testing for other developers and just recently a bug was found in version 3 of a plugin and that bug has existed since version 2 going back many years and no one caught it until now.

It requires certain actions to be performed in the DAW and then certain parameter combinations in the plugin. In others words a very specific and obviously very rare use case.

So no matter how rigorously a plugin is tested it’s almost impossible to cover every use case and every system configuration.

You are right !!!
So it depends on Mr. Tytel to decide when a bug level is reached which suits to a puplic release.

One particularly nasty bug in version 1.0.8 was that the vst3 plugin could not resize itself in my DAW. Most of the synth area was outside the visible area. This bug is now gone in vital 1.5.1 and the plugin resizes properly. Kudos to Matt for this (and many other fixes …)

However, I still get a very high DSP usage (up to 50% for a single track) with some patches,that is comparable to the previous version, when other vst instruments barely reach 5-6% for sounds of about the same complexity.
I know, I have a low spec laptop (intel i7 with 4 cores, 8 threads), and also different synths operate differently, but again, I consider the new Vital 1.5.1 heavy on resources…

1 Like

Hey there, I have a question regarding the 1.5.1 update. I’m planning to upgrade to Pro, and I’ll do it nevertheless, but - I don’t know if it has been asked already - will there ever be a way to edit harmonics in rendered wavetables? What is Matt’s word on this? Thank you!

EDIT - I figured I should add that I know that a certain competitor can do this via mathematical equations, so maybe something similar could be done in Vital? Fingers crossed?

I have the impression the whole approach to wavetables is slightly different in vital from the other synth you mention. Nonetheless, in a way, though slightly convoluted you can, you can add another layer and put there the same harmonic with opposite phase… a cool idea imho to make it a lot easier in Vital framework would be to add a band reject filter to the frequency filter modifier in the editor.

I too thought that more options in the Frequency Filter modifier would be cool. For example, a cool thing would be to have a Low High Comb option identical to the one in Filters in the Voice tab.

EDIT - Also the positive and negative Low High Flange filters. (Would it be possible to add all Comb filters to the Wavetable editor?)

EDIT 2 - Or just a precomputed type option to isolate odd or even harmonics from a rendered wavetable?

is there a developer team like on the Surge XT project?

or is this a herculean type rite of passage?

To be accepted, your name must be Matt Tytel :joy:

1 Like

I may have found a 1.5.1 bug:

When Legato is enabed, at least in one patch I get high frequency pops when the last note stops at the same time when the next one starts. It’s especially weird because there is a low pass filter which should cut out those high frequencies. So they seem to happen in a stage very late in the signal chain?
It happens in VST, CLAP and Standalone versoin.

(Quickly jump between two notes to replicate the issue)

Vital 1.5.1 Bug.vital (1.6 MB)

i’m not on the Discord yet, so i didn’t know if there was a thread there or something like they have for Surge XT.

1.5.1 Linux vst3i: Font size in the following sections:
oversampling/osc options/ tune/transpose/rand
are very small, if the normal font size is 12pt on vital108/vitalium, on v 1.5.1 it looks 6pt in size in these areas.

the envelope responsiveness in the oscillator sections are perfect now, that was a pleasant surprise.

edit: i am glad i subscribed, i felt like i was taking a chance but it was totally worth it. :purple_heart:

2 Likes

i noticed that if the filter editor (the new feature in 1.5.1) is open and if i click on the virtual keyboard or anywhere else, the filter editor closes. No doubt there’s a good reason for that, but i wanted to trigger a note every once in a while and tweak the filter editor while the release was going but the editor closes.

alternatively it would be useful to be able to say, shift+click a virtual keyboard note to sustain it while i mess around with the filter editor. because every time i click a note now, i need to then respawn the filter editor window.

1 Like

Any news regarding the final release?

Today I’ve removed Vital from my plugin manager lists. I’ll keep it installed but due to the slow pace of development I no longer feel comfortable keeping it in my working lineup.

I purchased the “In the Mix” early access version which mean those of us who did were some of the first to have Vital but that only gained us the Plus version.

I’ve been looking for a reason to upgrade to the Pro version in these times when money is tight but I don’t need more presets or wavetables and paying for the “privilege” (task) of beta testing the new version doesn’t appeal to me in the least bit since I am a private beta tester for several developers and am compensated for my efforts with NFR copies of whatever I’m testing.

The install date of Vital on this system is 2-26-21 so that means those of us who have the Plus version have dealt with bugs such as the Grid Resize issue etc for over a year and a half. Reports are still coming in for the old versions.

The thing is 1.5.1 won’t be the “final version” as once it hits the full user base there are going to be more issues discovered. Judging by past performance there is no telling how long it will take for those issue to be addressed.

I understand that Vital underwent a complete rewrite and life gets in the way at times especially for one man developers but again the slow pace of development is a major concern.

I like and respect Matt a great deal and Vital is certainly a great sounding top tier synth but I’ve got a folder full of great sounding synths and I simply can’t rely on a plugin or developer that takes so long to address bugs and performance issues.

If you’re going to offer a product for sale then you need to support that product. That’s simply business 101.

Yea that’s harsh but so is reality in an overcrowded market. Good luck, I wish nothing but the best for Matt and Vital in the future.

4 Likes