My particular system: Windows 11 Core I7 32gbyte memory. Wavelab 12 latest version.
The UAD problem: The UAD Native versions of Oxide Tape and Studer Tape don’t pass audio. I’ve logged bugs both with Steinberg and UAD months ago, with no response or resolution.
The Sonnox problem: Sonnox Oxford Inflator and Limiter VST3 both crash Wavelab as soon as you touch a control in the plugin Window. Logged bugs both with Sonnox and Steingberg, no response yet.
Does Wavelab have some sort of wonky VST3 implementation? It seems like plugins that work perfectly in other host applications will behave poorly in Wavelab.
This feels wrong for an application this expensive, and especially since Steinberg INVENTED VST3.
UADx Plugins:
I can confirm it too. But if you change the preset, it immediately works.
Tested with UADx Oxid Tape Recorder and UADx Studer A800 Tape Recorder.
Sonnox:
I can’t confirm. It works on my system.
Wavelab 12.0.51, Win11 25H2
AMD Ryzen 7 5700G with Radeon Graphics
Radeon RX 570
UA Apollo Twin USB
I got them to work - as suggested by Sonnox - by rolling back to earlier versions.
Sonnox isn’t a shady VST dev, and their plugins work fine in other hosts.
Sonnox plugs aren’t the only ones that f*ck up. UAD Oxide Tape and Studer Tape also don’t work properly.
Good on you for defending Steinberg, but there’s something wonky about their plugin hosting.
I own Sound Forge Pro too, and it f*cks up with UAD plugins as well, forgetting plugin settings in saved plugin chains. I actual bought Wavelab because Magix said they weren’t compatible with UAD plugins.
Maybe I need to find yet another editor for my mastering. Too bad there aren’t any that do what I need them to. Magix’s solution was “buy Samplitude.” Whaddaya reckon Samplitude has problems too?
Good to hear, so, it was that version of the Sonnox plug-ins then. Did Sonnox provide any evidence that WaveLab’s hosting of their plug-ins is in any way at fault? Does Sonnox explicity claim that the version of their plug-ins that did not work for you, was compatible with WaveLab 12? If they did, then surely it’s on them to correct the issue?
We’re all in agreement about this, but the fact is that some UAD plug-ins also don’t work properly in some other hosts, therefore it can hardly be WaveLab’s fault, can it? While I totally understand your frustration at the fact that some 3rd-party plug-ins don’t work properly in WaveLab., I think it may be clouding your logic. If UAD plug-ins are known to be unstable in a variety of hosts, then surely that’s where the problem lies?
It’s a tough one. WaveLab is pretty sensitive to 3rd party plugins not being coded 100% accurately, especially because when rendering files, a copy is made and that trips up plugins that are not properly coded but I don’t think it’s wonky or wrong. It’s just strict.
On the other hand, too many plugin developers only test their plugins in Cubase and just assume WaveLab will be fine which is not the case usually. WaveLab is its own animal that must be carefully tested.
I do think Steinberg could do a better job advocating for better testing of WaveLab to the major plugin companies but there are just so many these days.
FWIW, I happen to have a license for UAD Oxide Tape Recorder which I’ve never used, so I decided to try it out in WaveLab, however, right now it currently won’t download using UA Connect.
This may or may not help, but for tape emulation there’s also Ferric TDS Mkiii.
FWIW, my issue with UADx in WaveLab is that despite passing audio on playback when used as a Clip Effect in an audio montage, when the Clip has a certain amount of other plugins applied which can add latency, the UADx plugin is not applied on rendering. It’s as if the plugin was in bypass.
I think I posted a video and test montage here awhile back.
Despite the help of a UA beta tester asking UA to better support WaveLab, and my efforts, at the end of the day UA chooses to not support WaveLab and the support agent told me to use another DAW which isn’t going to happen, so UAD/UADx plugins are dead to me.
As for the Sonnox issue, I only use Inflator and occasionally SuprEsser and haven’t had any issues there. I also do Sonnox beta testing so I can report issues easily. They are solid plugins in my opinion.
The reality is that when you use a more niche DAW like WaveLab, Sequoia, etc, you are essentially a plugin beta tester because there is a good chance the plugin developer didn’t thoroughly test their plugins in WaveLab.
Whenever I consider adding a new plugin to my library for daily use, I do a fair amount of render testing to make sure there are no fatal issues.
If there are issues, I have to decide if it’s worth the time it takes to get the plugin developer to fix the issue if they’re interested.
I have the current version of Sequoia (17) as I was thinking of making a return to it (but decided to stay with WL at this stage).
I can confirm that it also has issues with some well coded 3rd party plugins and the way it handles routing is not nearly as elegant as WL (IMHO).
I only have one UAD plugin … I have never really used it and haven’t tested it in Sequoia because I’m just too busy to try a technical test. At least they were honest enough to let you know up front UAD wasn’t going to work.
