by MP » Sat Jul 08, 2006 12:17 pm
Hi All,
On a MacIntel, you can always run the latest UB version of Metro alongside a stand-alone PPC plugin host, like UglyVSTi.
UglyVSTi opens with Rosetta and will load PPC VSTi plugins. Using an IAC bus, you can route midi from Metro into UglyVSTi and the old plugins will sound - with very little latency, I might add. Forget about routing the audio back into Metro via Rewire (which UglyVSTi usually supports), as Rewire is not currently able to jump between Rosetta and native Intel apps.
To get the synth's audio back into Metro, you'll need to record UglyVSTi's output using a patch cable (output to linein). Just be sure to disable Metro's Software Audio Thru feature, or mute the record enabled track (to avoid a feedback loop).
UglyVSTi is a MAX/MSP application and there are a few critical settings to be aware of when running it in Rosetta. In the "output options" dialog, be sure that "Overdrive Mode" is ON and "Scheduler in Audio Interrupt" is ON. I have had success setting the 'The I/O Vector Size" to 256. If you hear glitches, you can increase this setting.
This option doesn't solve all PPC plugin issues, but it does allow you to use "some" of your old VSTi plugs when running the more recent versions of Metro. A final warning - test individual VSTi plugins at low volume before using them . . . if they don't work, you can get a rather loud noise. Good luck.
Mike