This help site covers both Stringer 3.0 (64bit and Mac) and
Stringer 2.0 (Windows 32bit)
Frequently asked questions:
1. OS-X: When I doubleclick the installer OS-X is blocking it. Any help?
2. Windows: When I doubleclick the installer Windows SmartScreen is blocking it. Any help?
3. Mac: The sequencers don't see Stringer after installation. Any help?
4. Mac: Ableton Live doesn't see Stringer although the system is supported. Any help?
5. When I try to paste my key it says "no items available in the clipboard". Any help?
6. Stringer 2.0: When I enter my license key and click on "enter key" nothing happens. Any help?
7. Stringer 2.0: Upon licensing here's a message saying "Can't create license file". Any help?
8. No matter what I do I always get an invalid user id/license key message. Any help?
9. After successful licensing the licensing window remains on top and there's no sound. Any help?
10. After licensing some parts of the entered text remains on the interface. Any help?
11. Do I need to remove the demo version before installing the full version?
12. When I click on BANK > LOAD I can see no banks to load. Any help?
13. When I click on PRESET > LOAD I only can see two presets. Where are the presets?
14. When I try to enter a space character in a text field nothing happens. Any help?
15. After installing windows says "this program might not have installed correctly". Any help?
16. When I click on the "COPY" button nothing happens. Any help?
17. MIDI program changes have no effect in version 3.0 of Stringer. Any help?
18. Bitwig Mac: Is there a way to run Stringer athough VST isn't provided for Mac?
19. Windows: The installer doesn't start after skipping SmartScreen and seems to hang. Any help?
20. When I click on the right list button the preset list remains frozen on top. Is this a bug?
21. I have a desktop computer and a laptop. Am I allowed to install and use the plugin in both?
22. In Mac the banks and presets sometimes appear black and sometimes white. Is this a bug?
23. When I save a modified patch with a new name the showed name doesn't change. Any help?
24. The plugin returns to default sound upon changing the sample rate. Any help?
25. Propellerhead Reason Mac: The plugin isn't listed and doesn't show up. Any help?
26. No licensing mask and no presets shown in the plugin. Any help?
27. Does Stringer work in macOS Big Sur? Has the plugin been tested in it?
28. Mac silicon M1 / Big Sur: The knobs don't change upon changing presets. Any help?
29. The OVER knob doesn't seem to do anything. What is this knob for?
30. The interface is frozen and there's no audio when clicking the keyboard. Any help?
31. Mac: Question marks instead of text with Stringer version 3.1. Any help?
32. The installation of the needed Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable fails. Any help?
33. Does StringerI work in macOS Sonoma 14.1? Has it been tested?
1. OS-X: When I doubleclick the installer OS-X is blocking it. Any help?
If Gatekeeper is active OS-X will block normal double-click installation of
downloaded software not coming from the Appstore.
To install right-click / ctrl + click the installer and choose "Open" from the context menu.
In the upcoming warning window then once more confirm by clicking "Open". For more details read
page 4 of the pdf manual.
2. When I doubleclick the installer Windows SmartScreen is blocking it. Any help?
Upon double-clicking the installer in Windows 10 after downloading there can arise the following message:
"Windows protected your PC - Windows SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized app from starting.
Running this app might put your PC at risk."
Don't worry, there's no risk at all. To execute installation click on "More info" and then click on the
left button saying "Run anyway". Then installation will start.
If the installer doesn't launch immediatly after having skipped smartscreen this may be caused by your
virus scanner scanning the installer. If so simply wait until it's done. This sometimes can take longer
than one would expect. If it shouldn't launch at all afterwards even after waiting 5 minutes or so then
temporarily deactivate your virus scanner for installation. No worries, as said our installers are clean
and save and don't wirite any system or registry files. They just place the plugins to the correct places and the needed
SonicProjects data folder to the public documents folder. So nothing hidden. Also all our
installers have been pre-scanned and examinated by a virus scanner.
3. Mac: The sequencers don't see Stringer after installation. Any help?
If your system is macOS High Sierra (10.13), Mojave (10.14), Catalina (10.15) or higher then you have to re-boot the computer after first
installation of the plugin.
The plugin only will be scanned and listed in Logic after re-booting in the these systems. This is a general macOS bug
which also affects other plugins.
Make sure that your sequencer or host supports AU plugins, since Stringer for Mac only is available in AU format and
not VST or AAX. To use an AU plugin in a sequencer that doesn't support AU plugins you can use a Meta-Plugin like
Blue Cat Patchwork which itself comes in various different plugin formats and can load an AU plugin in itself.
Note that the minimum supported Sytem ist OS-X 10.9 Mavericks. In older systems the plugin simply won't be seen at all since
the code version isn't supported. So there's no way to make Stringer work in a system lower than 10.9.
To check the version number of your system click the apple icon at the top left of the
finder bar and choose "About This Mac". If your computer's hardware supports it you can
update your system by downloading a newer OS-X version from the Appstore.
If your OS-X version is 10.9 or higher, your sequencer supports AU plugins, you re-booted after installation and the plugin nevertheless
isn't listed then it probably simply wasn't scanned yet. Based on our experience, in the system versions 10.9 to 10.12 you sometimes need
to launch Logic Pro X twice until the plugin will be scanned. Once scanned it should appear in AU Instruments->SonicProjects->Stringer.
In Ableton Live make sure that the use of AU plugins is activated (see question 4) since use of AU plugins is deactivated by default.
4. Mac: Ableton Live doesn't see Stringer although the system is supported. Any help?
Since Stringer for Mac only is offered in AU format
you have to use the AU version in Live. The use of AU plugins by default is deactivated in Live,
and you have to switch it on in Live's preferences:
Older version:
Live > Preferences > File/Folder, and here below "Plug-In Sources" set
"Use Audio Units" to "On".
Newer version:
Live > Preferences > Plug-Ins, and here set "Use Audio Units" to "On".
Then Stringer will appear immediatly.
5. Stringer 2.0: Upon licensing here's a message saying "Can't create license file". Any help?
This can happen when the plugin resides in a system's protected area like program files and your
sequencer has no administrator rights. There are several ways to fix this. The easiest is to give
your host administrator running rights. For this right-click its shortcut, choose Properties->
Compatibility and here check "Run as administrator" and confirm. Then licensing will work upon
next sequencer launch. Another way to fix it would be to change the rights of the "SonicProjects"
folder so that writing will be allowed. A thirs way would be to move the entire "SonicProjects"
folder from your plugins folder to an unprotected place like "Documents" and add this path in
the plugin section of your sequencer.
6. Stringer 2.0: When I enter my license key and click on "enter key" nothing happens. Any help?
When nothing happens upon clicking on "enter key" this means the key hasn't been entered
correctly or completely. Be sure to enter the whole expression that can be found below the
"User ID:" headline in your license mail, not just a number. To avoid typing mistakes use
copy and paste (windows: copy: Ctrl + C, paste: Ctrl + V, mac: copy: cmd + C, paste cmd + V).
If paste doesn't work then right-click (mac ctrl + click) into the field and choose "paste".
7. When I try to paste my key it says "no items available in the clipboard". Any help?
This can be the case if your host uses "always on top" windows or blocks entering characters
by keyboard because they're used as sequencer shortcuts. In this case simply right-click (mac:
ctrl + click) into the field and choose "paste".
8. MAC: No matter what I do I always get an invalid user id/license key message. Any help?
Please exactly follow the guide in the LICENSING_GUIDE.pdf which is included in the full version
inastaller packages. Make sure to enter the whole user-id string in the upper field, not just a number.
It's all described in the guide.
9. After successful licensing the licensing window remains on top and there's no sound. Any help?
If this is the case and you had a "thank you for registering!" message before then you simply have to
re-instantiate the plugin once until it will finally start working. So either quit and re-launch your sequencer
or un-instantiate the synth and re-instantiate it.
This behaviour means the plugin actually was successfully licensed,
but it wasn't able yet to read the license data on the fly.
Based on our experiences it sometimes depends on how you paste the license data. If you paste it by right-clicking and
choosing "paste" this behaviour normally doesn't appear and the plugin starts working immediatly after licensing.
10. After licensing some parts of the entered text remains on the interface. Any help?
If this happens (e.g. can be the case in Reaper) simply click somewhere on the GUI and the
text will disappear. If not close and re-open the interface.
11. Do I need to remove the demo version before installing the full version?
No. If you still have the demo version installed you simply can install the full version over the demo version
which will replace it., so no need to delete it first. New presets and banks created with the demo version
won't be deleted or overwritten and can be furthermore used with the unlimited full version.
12. When I click on BANK > LOAD I can see no banks to load. Any help?
Sometimes the bank load button doesn't point
to the banks folder by default, which can happen when you e.g. loaded or saved stuff with your sequencer
and pathes got messed up. In this case simply click all 4 load/save (banks/presets) buttons once which should
reset the pathes. If not then once more go to the correct places manually by browsing folders. The correct load/save pathes are:
PC - Banks:
C:\Users\Public\Documents\SonicProjects\Stringer\Presetbase\Banks
PC - Presets:
C:\Users\Public\Documents\SonicProjects\Stringer\Presetbase\Presets
Mac - Banks:
/Users/Shared/SonicProjects/Stringer/Presetbase/Banks
Mac - Presets:
/Users/Shared/SonicProjects/Stringer/Presetbase/Presets
13. When I click on PRESET > LOAD I only can see two presets. Where are the presets?
The presets (98) all are collected in a bank which is loaded upon instantiation of the plugin. You
can launch the preset list of the loaded bank by clicking one of the dow arrow buttons next to the
number field. The left one launches a temporary list which again disappears after picking a preset.
The right down-arrow button launches a locked sticky list which only again disappears when you click
the button another time.
Regarding single preset files, there's only the init preset and an empty
preset. To re-store the factory default bank in case you should have changed stuff click on the BANK
> LOAD button and load the STRINGER_DEFAULTBANK bank. More about it and how to save presets and create
own banks can be found in a dedicated section of Stringer's pdf manual.
14. When I try to enter a space character in a text field nothing happens. Any help?
In some sequencers the space bar key is tied to sequencer control (start and stop) even when editing
a plugin. So pressing the space bar key actually will start playback instead of entering a blank
space character. The only way to work around this is copying the space character from a text editor
using ctrl + c and then paste it in the field using ctrl + v or if paste doesn't work by right-clicking
the field and choosing "paste". You of course also can copy and paste the whole text you want to enter
instead of just the non-working space character.
15. After installing windows says "this program might not have installed correctly". Any help?
Simply ignore this. Choose "this program installed correctly".
16. When I click on the "COPY" button nothing happens. Any help?
The COPY button "freezes" edits (by copying the made changes to the bank's slot) so that they
remain after switching presets in a bank. If it's not applied the edits get lost and again the
original unedited patch will be loaded after switching presets. Note that also freezing the edits this is
just temporary and will get lost upon quitting the sequencer if you don't save the bank as
new bank using a custom name for later recall. You
also can conserve an edited patch by simply saving it as single preset. You don't need to freeze
it before for this.
17. MIDI program changes have no effect in version 3.0 of Stringer. Any help?
The new cross-platform engine of Stringer version 3.0 is built around the newest VST3 SDK which
doesn't support program changes. That's why MIDI program changes don't work anymore
in version 3.0. For changing patches via MIDI program change use the capabilities of
dedicated live hosts like Cantabile or MainStage which store a separate instance of
the plugin together with the currently chosen sound for each patch.
18. Bitwig Mac: Is there a way to run Stringer athough VST isn't provided for Mac?
Yes. A customer of ours reported that Stringer can be run in Bitwig Studio using the free meta-plugin
"Minihost Modular" from Image-Line.
Stability doesn't seem to be perfect, but at least it's a way to use it
without any additional costs. Bitwig announced they plan to support AU anytime in the future which would solve
the problem. Here's the product site of Minihost Modular:
http://www.image-line.com/documents/news.php?tag=minihost+modular
There are also commercial meta-plugins like DDMF Metaplugin
and Blue Cat PatchWork which allow to
host plugins in various different formats and also are able to target other not supported formats like RTAS and AAX.
19. Windows: The installer doesn't start after skipping SmartScreen and seems to hang. Any help?
If this happens this is highly probably caused by your virus scanner which tries to scan the installer file
while it already was launched by Windows after skipping SmartScreen. In this case simply wait until the
plugin was scanned completely which sometimes can take some time.
If this however should take forever then the system probably hangs. In this case launch the task manager
(ctrl + alt + delete) and terminate the open instances of the installer or other processes blocking the system.
If the hanging was caused by your virus scanner (can happen with Avast as reported)
then simply temporarily deactivate your virus scanner for the time of installation, and before
again launching the inastaller kill possible open instances in the task manager (ctrl + alt + del). Our installers
are 100% clean and don't access any system areas and not even the registry. All
they do is copying the plugins to your plugin folders and writing the needed SonicProjects folder including the sounds
to the public documents folder. So it can't harm your system in any way. There are no hidden files. If you nevertheless
want to go sure then scan the installers manually before installation and then deactivate the scanner during installation
if the scanner blocks the installer.
20. When I click on the right list button the preset list remains frozen on top. Is this a bug?
This is no bug but conceived to be like that. There's a reason why there are not only one but two list buttons:
The left one launches a temporary list which again disdappears once you picked a preset from it. That's probably
what you're used to from other synths. The right list button however launches a sticky list which remains opened
until you click a second time on the right list button. This can be handy to browse around a bit in the preset list
and quickly check sounds without having to re-open the list everytime again after having chosen a preset. So since
there are both options you're free which one to use. You even can make the temporary list launched with the left
list button sticky/always on top too after launching by simply clicking the right list button.
21. I have a desktop computer and a laptop. Am I allowed to install and use the plugin in both?
Yes, it's allowed to install and use the plugin in more than one computer as long as it's only
you using it. You don't need a new license for a new computer. The license is bound to you as
person and licensee.
22. In Mac the banks and presets sometimes appear black and sometimes white. Is this a bug?
This has no meaning at all. Since macOS doesn't know the file type it sometimes can't decide
how to show the files. The displayed color has no influence at all on the functionality of the
files. The only thing that counts is the file extension.
23. When I save a modified patch with a new name the showed name doesn't change. Any help?
The displayed patch name is an independent parameter and isn't linked to the file name. So it's
independent from the saved file name. If you want a patch to display a different or changed name
in the name field then click into the name field and change the displayed name to your liking and hit enter to confirm
it. The default filename for saving always defaults to the displayed patch name, but if needed you
can save it under a different or changed name, e.g. for variants of the same sound, which won't
change the displayed patch name. This gives you great flexibility and full control.
24. The plugin returns to default sound upon changing the sample rate. Any help?
This only can happen when you change the sample rate in an already loaded session and you changed the
presets to a preset number other than preset 1 which is the slot a session-recalled patch is stored to.
In this case again switch to the preset you've chosen before. After saving and recalling the sesion this
preset will reside in slot 1, and if you don't change patches the sound will remain upon sample rate
change.
If this is happening also if your patch was recalled by the sequencer before and sits on slot 1 then this
this highly probably is caused by using buffer sizes that aren't 2 power x, which is highly probable in FL
Studio since the buffer size can be changed seamlessly via slider instead of in fixed 2 power x steps. 2
power x buffer sizes e.g. are 128, 256, 512 and 1024 samples.
Since it's a bit difficult to set one of these fixed buffer sizes via slider you also can fix the issue by
activating "Use fixed size buffers" in the plugin wrapper settings. For this first on click on the cogwheel
icon at the top left of the plugin window to open the detailed settings. In the icons that appear below click
on the middle one (plug plus cogwheel) which are the vst wrapper settings. Here click the "Processor" tab, and
then at the bottom right activate "Use fixed size buffers". Then things will work as they should at any buffer
size. So either activate this, or use 128, 256, 512 or 1024 samples buffer size.
24. Propellerhead Reason Mac: The plugin isn't listed and doesn't show up. Any help?
Reason only supports the VST2 (VST) standard, and not AU. Stringer for Mac is
only available in AU format, so it currently can't be used in Reason. The only
way to use it in Reason would be using a meta-plugin like Blue Cat Patchwork.
26. No licensing mask and no presets shown in the plugin. Any help?
In this case your host has set the plugin to "sleep" mode, which means that the DSP side isn't
running. To activate it again simply send some MIDI data to the plugin (e.g. by playing some
notes on your MIDI keyboard, or by playing your session or some MIDI notes inserted in the intrument
track) and it should become active and alive again.
M1 silicon Macs: The licensing mask has to be launched manually by clicking on the "Standard Edition"
text at the bottom left. Please read the provided guide.
27. Does Stringer work in macOS Big Sur? Has the plugin been tested in it?
Stringer works fine in MacOS Big Sur in intel Macs. In silicon M1 Macs there's the small GUI-related
inconvenience that the knobs and buttons don't update their shown state upon patch change. Preset names
and preset number however are updated correctly. Since the audio part of the plugin isn't affected at
all by this you can use the plugin normally. Read more in article 28 just below.
28. Mac silicon M1 / Big Sur: The knobs don't change upon changing presets. Any help?
This is due to Rosetta 2 since Stringer is no native M1 plugin. Changes however always apply
to the patch (as son as you move a knob or button) and presets are shown normally and can be
navigated normally. If you want to create an own patch by scratch and want the controls to
show the actual parameter state then start from the DEFAULT patch (Preset 1).
This all has no effect on the audio side, so your sessions will load fine, and the plugin
works and recalls the saved patch perfectly in MainStage.
29. The OVER knob doesn't seem to do anything. What is this knob for?
When none of the two engine is in "Pure" mode (all buttons off) then the knob makes the
lower keyboard zone expand into the upper zone in split mode. As soon as one or both engines
are in "Pure" mode (all buttons off) the OVER knob acts as inverted low pass filter control for
the generated saw waves from the "Pure" mode. In zero position the filter is fully opened. When
you turn the knob clock-wise the filter closes and makes the saw waves sound warmer and less
bright if required. The sample sounds aren't treated by the filter.
30. The interface is frozen and there's no audio when clicking the keyboard. Any help?
This can happen when the plugin is set into inactive "sleep" mode. This mainly can happen when
you use it in a battery powered laptop with enery saving activated. To make the plugin "awake"
again simply send some MIDI data in its input, either by playing some notes on an attached
USB MIDI keyboard, or by playing some recorded MIDI notes in its sequencer track.
31. Mac: Question marks instead of text with Stringer version 3.1. Any help?
Validate the "Arial" font in FontBook, then the text will be displayed correctly again.
32. The installation of the needed Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable fails. Any help?
At the end of installation (Windows) the installer says that the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable
is missing on your computer which then launches a Redist installer from Microsoft. Now the problem: If the
installer detects an other (newer) already installed version of this package it aborts installation. How to
proceed now?
If a newer version of this redist package is installed already the plugin will work fine. Unfortunately the
installer can't detect a newer installed version by itself (which then only the Redist installer by itself will).
So simply close the failed Redist installer. The installer then asks "Do you want to install it again?". Now simply
click on "No". The installer then terminates with the message "Installation successfully completed!" and everything
is fine.
33. Does StringerI work in macOS Sonoma 14.1? Has it been tested?
We tested Stringer version 3.1 in macOS Sonoma 14.1 both in Intel and M1/M2 silicon Macs in Logic Pro 10.7.9 and MainStage
3.6.4 and it validates and works well.
Don't hesitate to contact us by email if your question could not be answered here.
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