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LVC-Audio

1 years ago

A {long} word about Clipped-MAX and The Condiments (Phat Ketchup, Mustard, Mayo, & Sriracha)

I get many questions about when Clipped-MAX will be updated and natively support the M1/M2 Apple chips. The answer is: it is complicated. I have been working on it for a long, long, long time. Thanks to Oli and the other coders that have been working on IPlug2 (the SDK I use to develop cross-platform plugins), the framework is there for a native M1/M2 version of Clipped-MAX.

The problem is that all of my code needs updated. When I say all, I mean everything. The new version of IPlug2 that is compatible with M1/M2 includes a totally new way for communication between the controls of the plugin and the audio processing. Most everything you see in Clipped-MAX (and other plugins like Preamp-MAX, Limited-MAX, and Toned-MAX) are elements that I coded from scratch. Using the new IPlug2, I have had to rewrite about 75% of the code.

For me, coding has gotten to the point that it is no longer fun. Opening a 1000-line file of code to update, and then seeing that about 75% of the lines have errors (because of the new SDK) is crushing. It has slowed me down, gotten under my skin, and made LVC-Audio a chore. I am not a trained programmer. Anyone that does this day-in and day-out has my admiration.

So this is the basis for "The Condiments" (i.e., Phat Ketchup, Phat Mustard, Phat Mayo, and Phat Sriracha). The plugins use a simple and silly interface, nothing like the controls (and code) found on Clipped-MAX. The audio processing includes some of the elements that I have been working with for years such as dynamic EQ, mid/side EQ, vintage compression, multiband stereo widening, and multiband transient shaping. The underlying DSP of "The Condiments" is actually more complicated than Clipped-MAX, but the process of coding the new plugins was relatively quick, fun, and exciting. Basically, coding "The Condiments" has rejuvenated my audio-coding-mojo.

Clipped-MAX will still be updated, as will Limited-MAX and Preamp-MAX; however, the overall style of the plugins may need to be reconsidered. For example, is it better to have one Clipped-MAX plugin or four separate clipping plugins (i.e., ClipShifter, Clip-Multiband, Clip-Stereo, and Clip-Master). I don't know the answer right now, but I know I want to keep making plugins that are fun to code, fun/useful to use, and inspire you to create more music.

Thanks - and happy holidays to you, your family, your pets, your synths, your guitars, your basses, and your drums. ... See MoreSee Less