SONAR 8.5--Harmony Engine won't configure as VST synth

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Permalink Reply by Lucas on February 3, 2011 at 4:21pm

As soon as you check the "Configure as Synth" box and hit OK, Harmony EFX should immediately pop over to the VSTi section of the plugin manager.  All that stuff about saving the layout isn't necessary, so try skipping it.  It may simply be that configuring as synth and updating a custom layout have to be done in two separate steps.

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Pettit on February 3, 2011 at 4:33pm

"should"...right.

 

It moves to the VSTi section of the plugin manager.  You can save it there.  Looks good.

 

But then...when you go back to your track to actually insert it as a synth--it's not there.  Tried over and over and over again.

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Permalink Reply by Antares Audio Technologies on February 3, 2011 at 5:16pm

It sounds like it's not able to update the plugin cache file.  Are you logged in as a different user than the one that installed Sonar?  If you're logged in as a different user, you might not have the proper permissions set to modify the settings file.  

Also, there should be a button in the Sonar options under VST setting that says "reset all plugins".  (I'm looking at Sonar X1, so it might be in a different spot for 8.5.)  Hit that, and then hit the "scan plugins" button.  That should clear everything out of the plugin cache and rebuild it, which would get rid of anything that may have gone screwy with that cache.

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Pettit on February 3, 2011 at 7:04pm

Ok, I'll try that.

 

I'm "legit" on all of my music software.  :-)

 

I'll do the rescan.  Thanks for weighing in.

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Pettit on February 7, 2011 at 3:14pm

Well, I tried that and same problem.  This is the strangest thing I've ever seen.

 

I rescanned everything.  Watched it scan and accept Harmony Engine (and all of the other AVOX plugins I have).

 

Configured as VSTi--it shows up in my list of VSTis IN PLUGIN MANAGER.  But immediately upon going back to the SONAR program itself and trying to insert a VSTi--it's not there.  Tried over and over and over and over and over again.  Back into Plugin Manager and it's still listed there as a VSTi.  EVERYTHING ELSE ON THE MENU shows in SONAR--except Harmony Engine.

 

HE still works fine as an audio effect AND SHOWS UP IN THE MENU!!!

 

So how do I get it to work?

 

P.S.  No there are no issues of permission--I'm the only one that has ever used this computer.

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Pettit on February 17, 2011 at 8:43am

I wrote to Tech Support about this continuing issue on Monday and have heard nothing back.

 

Should I be concerned?

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Pettit on March 13, 2011 at 5:59pm

Just a little postscript:  Got a terse message from Support, saying it must be SONAR's fault.

 

To avoid hassle, I just bought the Evo upgrade.

 

Three hours later, and I'm still not able to use Antares software due to iLok problems.  (And yes, I hold Antares responsible for their decision to use iLok--don't you?)

 

Very unpleasant experience.

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Permalink Reply by pjfarr on January 11, 2012 at 4:37am

Just installed the trial version (SONAR PE 5, Win7 32-bit system) and am having the same issue exactly as you described it. Can use the Harmony plug-in as an audio effect but it won't register as a synth even though I checked that option (again and again) in the plugin manager.

I've spent a lot of time googling and experimenting to get it to work as a synth, since that's the main reason I wanted it—to use it with MIDI triggers. No luck. The trial period is only 10 days, and it looks like I'm going to be spending that time trying to figure this out and never get a chance to actually use it.

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Pettit on January 11, 2012 at 6:48am

I just picked this up a couple of weeks ago for $49--I see that it's up to $99 again, but might be something to look at:  http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Vielklang

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Permalink Reply by pjfarr on January 11, 2012 at 7:26am

Hey Jerry—So I'm assuming you never did get the Harmony Engine to work? At first I thought it was that maybe my version of SONAR (version 5) wasn't compatible (the system specs listed SONAR 7-8 minimum), but I see you're having this issue with SONAR 8.5. Besides, using the plugin as an audio effect works as expected.

Thanks for the Vielklang link, BTW. I checked it out and it looks great. What do you think of it? I'm glad I didn't take the chance of purchasing the Harmony Engine outright without trying it first. Looks like you didn't get much help from Tech Support after having spent the $$$. Good to know.

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Pettit on January 11, 2012 at 8:27am

No, I never did get it to work the way we wanted--using MIDI to trigger the harmony lines.  And to tell the truth, I haven't used the Vielklang yet.

I'm just a "hobbyist" and haven't been putting a lot of time into things.  Having tried these various "harmony" products though, by far the best thing is Melodyne.  You may really want to look into that.

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