I am very new to Dorico Elements and have been exploring the product over the past few weeks.
I updated from 4.2 to 4.3 (Version 4.3.0.1110 (Nov 13 2022)
Dorico 4 AudioEngine Version 5.5.0.67) on both a Mac M1 running Ventura 10.0.1, and on a Mac Pro Intel running Monterey Version 12.6.1, and noted the following difference:
In Preferences> VST Plug-ins on the Mac M1, I only get ‘Audio Engine Data’. I do not get the Allowed VST2 Plugins option, whereas on the Mac Pro Intel I do.
The main differences of configurations of the two platforms is that I only use the Mac M1 Intel platform for developing ideas with a few VSTs e.g. Pianoteq, (there is no midi keyboard or Cubase installed), whereas on the Mac Pro Intel I have everything installed for music creation.
Does anyone know why this difference exists? Have I a config difference I am missing?
VST2 is being phased out by Steinberg. If you have an M1 Mac, they won’t load with it. Possibly if you run Dorico in Rosetta mode (Intel emulation), it might work.
The best thing would be to get VST3 versions of the plug-ins you use.
The difference between VST2 and VST3 is an enhanced programming interface, allowing a plug-in to have more capabilities as well as running more stable. Version 3 of the VST software development kit is already out since ages, but many plug-in manufacturers denied to make the move from VST2 to 3. Steinberg, as the inventor of VST, is very frustrated about this and therefore pushes the plug-ins makers now to move on. On Apple Silicon we already deprecated VST2, on other platforms this will follow suit.
And if all your favourite plug-ins are already VST3, congratulations, then you won’t even miss the absence of VST2 plugs on apple silicon.