Still No vst3 Support?

Hey Gang,

Does anyone have the scoop on why Akai refuses to give vst3 support?
I read where the need for vst3 within the MPC community is very low. Is this true?
Surprising, but it would explain their decision.
One could speculate for days, would be considerate for Akai to make known their official stance.

Mike

I don’t think many people actually use the mpc software, the large majority are exclusively standalone.

Half of those that do use it are on macs so can use AU plugins. Many of the windows users are likely using plugins with a vst 2 version.

Hence the lack of public requests for this (imo). But yes I agree it seems like they should get this sorted, especially if they still hope to entice other daw users to the mpc way (but really, the mpc software is very poor in comparison to mature daws so I think it’s really just a pipe dream for akai until they put some serious work into the software as a whole)

Thanks Tutor, just what I wanted to know.

I keep hoping that the next MPC update will make all my wishes come true, but I'm beginning to accept that the MPC software wasn't written for someone trying to replace their 60.

Wish I hadn't sold mine so fast. but I just didn't think they would change the workflow so drastically.
I thought they would keep everything the same and add modern touches. The 60 was so intuitive. I remember bringing it home and going for hours (days), writing whole songs before even thinking about the manual. Roger Linn (genius that he is) found a way to almost completely remove the machine from the song writing process. You got your inspiration down so fast, you never lost a note. And that's not just me, everyone I knew echoed the same experience.

Not dissing, the X is a beast. But its workflow is so much different than the 60, I wonder if I can ever be as productive.

Thanks again for your input.

Mike

Hey, I do use the MPC software. I use MPC Key 61 mostly in standalone mode, but it's surprising quick and easy after you do it a couple of times to connect the laptop and get the laptop going with the MPC software. IMO, this gives my hardware the more powerful and capable sound engine, while still allowing me to keep my hands on the MPC hardware most of the time.

So yes I really do want my MPC software to handle ALL THE VST PLUGINS that any other major DAW handles!!

Lots of things aren't gonna happen because Akai is trying to deal with developing standalone.
They are catering to that fantasy even though using it with the computer offers so much more capability.

I have to wrap so many plugins to use the MPC I feel like Santa Claus.

I do what I can on the MPC then move it into FLStudio for vst3 instruments.

It is a very easy fix. You can run a VST called Element which can load VST3. By using Element I can run any plugin I want right in the MPC software. It works great. Best of all Kushview Element is free! https://kushview.net/element/

MPC-Tutor wrote:I don’t think many people actually use the mpc software, the large majority are exclusively standalone.

Half of those that do use it are on macs so can use AU plugins. Many of the windows users are likely using plugins with a vst 2 version.

Hence the lack of public requests for this (imo). But yes I agree it seems like they should get this sorted, especially if they still hope to entice other daw users to the mpc way (but really, the mpc software is very poor in comparison to mature daws so I think it’s really just a pipe dream for akai until they put some serious work into the software as a whole)

Kontakt 7 is VST3 Only.

Before the Komplete Kontrol update, the workaround was to run Kontakt through Komplete Kontrol, which had a VST2. However, that loophole is closed now that Komplete Kontrol has gone VST3-only. As a result, libraries like Output Exhale are not accessible unless you still have Kontakt 6 [Player] installed - though many libraries are moving the requirements up to 7.x as they get updated.

All of Steinberg's virtual instruments (Backbone, HALion, etc.) are VST3-only. I use those two a LOT, and I am not looking for alternatives. (I already own UVI Falcon. It cannot access HALion Content, obviously.)

iZotope has largely gone VST3-only (Ozone, Nectar, Neutron).

Honestly, it's getting to the point where the lack of VST3 support is becoming a major issue for Windows users for some software packages, because major developers are starting to ramp up the dropping of VST2 (as it is wasteful to maintain them).

AKAI's MPC Instruments are not good or varied enough, and there is no way I can settle for them in a standalone compared to what I can get on a 14" PC Laptop or MacBook Pro with 30x the Compute Capacity that can produce longer off the charger and with exponentially better performance than an MPC Live II in "Battery Saver" mode and is actually good for recording and comping vocals and other acoustic instruments. For what most people do on an MPC One, you don't even need an Audio Interface if your DAW supports CoreAudio or Windows Low Latency Audio (or at least WASAPI [Exclusive]). The trade-offs are simply not worth it.

For just putting together some beat sketches, the MPC software was fine. It started super fast and it was relatively lightweight. It was like using something like ACID Pro, except better for Sampling, Chopping, etc.

But, as time moved on, more and more of my plug-ins and virtual instruments fell out of compatibility - on top of Akai breaking controller support and the ability to move the huge content directory to external storage (or any non-system drive/volume on Windows).

If you collaborate with anyone, you have to use VST3, even on macOS. Otherwise, the plugins will not load properly. This is also an issue for cross platform video editors that support both VST3 and AudioUnits, like DaVinci Resolve. If you use a PC Desktop and MBP, for example, you have to use VST3 on both otherwise the plugins you use will not load properly when you open the project on your desktop. DAWs work the same way.

If you use AU on macOS and move to Windows in 3 years, your projects will not load properly because you used AU everywhere. You're going to have to basically replace the instrument instances and rebuild the patches. So, make sure you stem everything out and back those up - just in case.

Right now, VST3 is the Most Common Factor plug-in format. Support is necessary.

If we were still using 1990s-era laptops, then something like an MPC One would actually be attractive due to the portability... but it is literally less portable than my Laptops, so I don't see the point in even considering one of them. Better to just use a Maschine MK3 Controller that is far superior to use with a 3rd party DAW and benefit from the better software development and ecosystem @ Native Instruments.

Terry Bollea wrote:It is a very easy fix. You can run a VST called Element which can load VST3. By using Element I can run any plugin I want right in the MPC software. It works great. Best of all Kushview Element is free! https://kushview.net/element/

I used to use Kushview Element but at some point it started causing crashes with the MPC software and losing my saved designs.
I then switched to using DDMF Metaplugin and it's been problem free.

Element had served me well, I got it when it was a paid product, could never find what changed or caused the problems so I stopped using it earlier this year.

Everyday I open MPC vst2 plugin within Nuendo 12 to use my MPC X in Controller Mode.

But I did not update to N13 because it only accepts VST 3 plugins. So I am eagerly waiting for MPC VST3 plugin version.

I understand minority of users are using their MPCs this way. I also understand Akai desire to force MPCs as standalone machines / autonomous DAW (which, by the way, will never approach any full fledged DAW). Still there are lots of producers / soundtrack composers using their MPCs in Controller Mode within DAWs.

But why do they keep on updating Controller Mode and Midi Control Mode while including MPC vst2 through every MPC updates ?

Here we are in 2024 : Eleven years after Steinberg stopped vst2 format development and began to switch to VST3 and two years since they announced putting vst2 compatibility to an end. This became reality with Cubendo 13 therefore every future updates.

For now I did test Elements within C13, which is kind of working and wiil give a try to DDMF Metaplugin

I will say not having vst3 is really bad, that is the future and to not have taken advantage of implementing it by now doesn't look good at all. I understand the person talking about Kontakt 7. I know Akai wants to do plugins now, and for the most part I figure they want MPC users to buy all of their plugins and be done with it but that is childish thinking and will never happen. What will happen is if they refuse to move to vst3, after so long the mpc will start to fade away, it will take a while just like the Roland beat machines, but it will happen eventually. The sad part is just like Roland beat machines the MPC is a legend, but you can't stop change and if you don't change with it you get left behind.

I am assuming this will be a big part of the new MPC3 software that they are no doubt working on, and possibly why they are not bothering with MPC2 softw3are if its a root and branch re-write...

I'm not a NI guy. Are you saying the Maschine standalone does VST3?

I don't know if the Akai issue is a matter of priorities and budget, but I can see that with the standalone hardware, you might run into hard impasses with VSTs only running on desktop OS like WIndows and Mac. Tell me if I'm wrong, folks, but the tech and legal and licensing fee factors might just make this a no-go, period,

If VSTs ran on Linux, you might even be able to have a "headless" Linux on a USB stick to run the VST on standalone.


In any case, Akai should not be off the hook when it comes to their desktop MPC. That should run all the VSTs just as well as any major DAW does.

slIc wrote:I am assuming this will be a big part of the new MPC3 software that they are no doubt working on, and possibly why they are not bothering with MPC2 softw3are if its a root and branch re-write...

Well I use the desktop version and as far as I can tell from Googling. There's been zero anything from Akai about a software version being in the works. Obviously, or I should say it should be something they're working on. But without any word of even a beta, I fear we won't see anything for a long time. Look how long it took them to actually get STEMs rolled out for the desktop. I hope I'm wrong, but I have a feeling MPC 3 desktop won't see the light of day until late next year.

Bigheaded1 wrote:

slIc wrote:I am assuming this will be a big part of the new MPC3 software that they are no doubt working on, and possibly why they are not bothering with MPC2 softw3are if its a root and branch re-write...

Well I use the desktop version and as far as I can tell from Googling. There's been zero anything from Akai about a software version being in the works. Obviously, or I should say it should be something they're working on. But without any word of even a beta, I fear we won't see anything for a long time. Look how long it took them to actually get STEMs rolled out for the desktop. I hope I'm wrong, but I have a feeling MPC 3 desktop won't see the light of day until late next year.

I agree, AKAI have said (source Loopop) it wont be this year, but at least that means they are (going to be) working on it and I suspect as I say that it wilk come out more like a DAW than an MPC...