It’s what VCV Rack users have been waiting for. Instruō has Apple Silicon-native support for its software module clones, plus, for all platforms, the cèis envelope generator and powerful øchd modulation expander. And it’s all freeware.
This dropped Christmas Eve, but in case you missed it – Mac users now get Apple Silicon native support for the full Instruō line. It was probably the single most awaited holdout for ARM support. Hit update if you’ve got these modules already, and you should be set. (For some reason, that didn’t work for me, but ticking Open in Rosetta, restarting, updating, and then loading outside Rosetta did the trick. But that might just be me – try an update first.) For new installations, check the Library:
There are two new modules here, too. Calling the [ø]4^2 – øchd Expander an “expander” almost seems unfair. Yes, it’s an add-on for the clever 4HP øchd, developed with DivKid. But it doesn’t just add some jacks: you get additional LFO outs (wave rectified unipolar positive – turn that frown upside … up!) and some really interesting additions, including stochastic trigger signals for pattern generation and some random voltage sources. It’s worth spending an evening or three just seeing what you can do with this.
The cèis envelope generator was already ported to VCV Rack, but now the updated sequel is available in software form, too. This one crucially has a retrigger input, and I’m guessing the software also models the new behavior of the voltage-controlled slew limiter and how the segment gates trigger. I just started playing and… forgot to pay attention to what changed; sorry.
I’m just thoroughly enjoying messing around with VCV Rack collabs and what Jeremy Wentworth has been posting:
Careful out there! The wind and snow are crazy!
— Jeremy Wentworth 🎧🎛🎚 (@jeremywentworth.com) December 24, 2024 at 10:10 PM
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collab with @pkirn.bsky.social #vcvrack #synthsky
— Jeremy Wentworth 🎧🎛🎚 (@jeremywentworth.com) December 24, 2024 at 3:19 PM
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More on that soon, I hope!
Some notes, since people were asking —
Why is a new build necessary? This came up in comments. VCV Rack modules are coded in C++. That means they need to be built for the target OS and architecture. This also requires access to the current API (and, in most cases, VCV’s own SDK). You don’t need to run each target platform yourself; there’s a convenient Docker image that handles that. But it does require some updates. (If you’re curious, see the well-written, casual coder-friendly developer guide.)
What does “free” mean, and will we see this in Cardinal, etc.? Many modules like the Instruō are freeware, but “free as in beer” – not open source – so the community relies on the original developer to create the build. That’s also VCV Rack has greater module compatibility than something like the open-source fork Cardinal; you get a bunch of great free-but-proprietary modules on Rack. (I run both Rack Pro and Cardinal on my system and use both in teaching.)
Speaking as a hardware maker who has released both open source and proprietary hardware, having access to both approaches makes ton of sense. It’s possible to be an open source advocate, but also recognize that some projects need to remain proprietary for business and/or technical reasons. And as we see in the Rack ecosystem, open source and proprietary tools can coexist in literally the same rack. Free proprietary support for this open environment also benefits the open source community in the long run. (It also means there’s massive module support on Linux via VCV Rack, too, which cannot be said of other competing software modular – though I hope we’ll see a day when it makes sense for the likes of AAS, Softube, and Cherry Audio to consider supporting Linux!)
That was way longer than I intended, but maybe it’s useful to someone!