VFX Version for Mac

Despite OP-X PRO-II natively is a windows only plugin, we offer a a special package that allows you to play and record OP-X PRO-II on intel macs.

It's not as comfortable as using a normal plugin since OP-X PRO-II runs in a separate wine based host application called VFX application and so can't be used directly as plugin in a sequencer, but it works for the described tasks.

Check this video to see how it performs:

So the facts are: 

- OP-X PRO-II runs in a separate host which is called VFX application
- It can be played like a standalone instrument
- To record its output to a sequencer track you can use SoundFlower

What's the VFX application?

It's a wine based host program from SM Pro Audio that can be used to run windows plugins on intel macs. It's actually the preparation software for their hardware VST players, but too can be used without them as independent host.

This also means that the synth presumably can be directly used in the coming V-Rack. It however won't work in the V-Machine since it has not enough processing power.

Requirements:

- Any intel based mac
- OS-X 10.5.x or higher with installed X11

Installation is as fast and easy as on windows systems.

Demo Version

The best you go ahead and check the demo version to see how it works on your system. Installation is very easy. Download (15mb) Demo limitations: - short audio breaks - restart needed after 10 minutes To restart vfx click on the white "vfx" icon on the top left corner and choose "quit vfx". Then launch vfx again for another 10 minutes. There's an installation guide in pdf format included. The steps in short are: 1. Download and install the newest (20100505 or newer) VFX application from www.smproaudio.com 2. Doubleclick the "OP-X PRO-II Demo.vfxlibrary" and import it Video installation guide:

HOW TO USE SOUNDFLOWER

You can use the free SoundFlower from Cycling74 to route the audio output of VFX to a sequencer to be able to record it on a track. This works flawlessly in realtime as you can see in the video above.

There's also a way to route MIDI from your sequencer to VFX so that you first can record and edit a track in MIDI format before recording to audio. This can be done using the virtual IAC MIDI driver in the Audio/MIDI settings of your system.

How to set up everything is described in detail in the pdf installation guide included in the demo version download package. You additionally can watch this video for visual support:

Full Version - Info and purchase

If you want to get rid of the demo version limitations and go ahead with serious work then buy the full version. Installation is as easy as the one of the demo version. A detailed installation guide is included. You again can check the second part of this video for visual support: Since there of course are some obvious disadvantages over using a native plugin we offer this special VFX version for reduced price. Note that this special VFX version only will work within the VFX application! So if you plan to use OP-X PRO-II in other wine based environments or windows solutions on mac (like bootcamp, crossover games or parallels) then you need to buy the normal windows version which includes the VFX version. We also can't guarantee for total hundred percent stability since wine is still no completely perfect windows emulation. Since the GUI is handled over the separate X11 application it does not work as fluently as it should be, and intense use of controllers can lead to freezes or crashes sometimes. But as you can see in the video it works well for normal playing and recording. Read everything? Get OP-X PRO-II VFX now! $99  OP-X PRO-II VFX edition

IMPORTANT APPLICATION NOTE

Since the graphical user interface (GUI) is handled over the separate X11 application the GUI has a minimal but noticeable delay over the audio processing engine. Since the two are linked tweaking parameters on the GUI is not as fluent and smooth as it should be.

Even more important is that this behaviour can lead to delayed notes on articulated and fast playing when the keyboard animation is active. That's why it simply can be deactivated with this button:

This setting will stay presistent as long as the plugin is active. Since the keyboard animation is just a nice visual effect and is not really needed we recommend to switch it off by default for better response.

MIDI learn: In order to make settings persistent you need to change VFX banks once. Just create a new empty VFX bank for this. Intense use of controllers however is not recommended since X11 doesn't allow for smooth operation.