What happened to DSP plugins in 2021.6 update?

[Dot]

I was so excited for this release just to get disappointed again. All my sessions AAX DSP plugins turned native, My CPU is 30-40% higher than usual, and when I try to enable DSP mode, all the plugins that are NON-DSP become bypassed and it says they can't be used in DSP Mode. Is it really that hard to come up with an update that works? Like Avid, you guys gotta fix up. I literally spent so much money on you guys. Hardware, Software. and each time we get an update it's just sad. Pro Tools Ultimate, HDX card. If anyone has a solution for this please let me know. Cheers!

[Dot]

Actually NVM i realized i can disable the hybrid engine. I got frustrated and my emotions got the best of me. Case closed, life goes on

[Dizzi45Z]

I was thinking the exact same thing as you. But check out DSP safe mode! That totally fixed my concerns. Basically, you can right click on the lightning and choose DSP safe and it will not bypass native plugins on those tracks. For me, it was important because I didn't want my effect busses that have Native reverbs on them to go inactive.

[priorytools]

Originally Posted by Dizzi45Z

I was thinking the exact same thing as you. But check out DSP safe mode! That totally fixed my concerns. Basically, you can right click on the lightning and choose DSP safe and it will not bypass native plugins on those tracks. For me, it was important because I didn't want my effect busses that have Native reverbs on them to go inactive.

Ok.
So can that safe mode be saved / remembered with channel presets ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[off the wall]

RTM - as intended.

I've realized that unless you REALLY need 2048 voices or you're doing large surround mixes and are running out of DSP just for the mixer, most HDX users are better off leaving Hybrid mode OFF.

My 2 cents.

[priorytools]

Originally Posted by off the wall

RTM - as intended.

I've realized that unless you REALLY need 2048 voices or you're doing large surround mixes and are running out of DSP just for the mixer, most HDX users are better off leaving Hybrid mode OFF.

My 2 cents.

Thank you for the info.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MixerGuy]

Originally Posted by Dizzi45Z

I was thinking the exact same thing as you. But check out DSP safe mode! That totally fixed my concerns. Basically, you can right click on the lightning and choose DSP safe and it will not bypass native plugins on those tracks. For me, it was important because I didn't want my effect busses that have Native reverbs on them to go inactive.

Thanks.... I'm also trying to get my head around all this...

so any downside to using DSP Safe Mode? (on any given audio track[s])

I am so used to mixing both Native and DSP plugins on one audio track....

thx

[off the wall]

Originally Posted by MixerGuy

Thanks.... I'm also trying to get my head around all this...

so any downside to using DSP Safe Mode? (on any given audio track[s])

I am so used to mixing both Native and DSP plugins on one audio track....

thx

There are a whole new set of circumstances to consider now with HDX and Hybrid mode. Once you get your head around what Hybrid mode offers and at what expense, you can decide to use it or not for a given workflow.

These are my conclusions so far:
Hybrid mode offers a voice count of 2048 voices. If you need more than 256 voices and only have a single HDX card, this is the way to go. Mixing with DSP and Native plugs on the same track (who doesn't?) on Classic HDX will also eat voices depending on how you have the plugins ordered. But Hybrid mode only uses Native plugs by default so you'll be using more CPU (and literally nothing of your HDX card most times).

Hybrid mode moves the mix engine off the HDX card on onto the host CPU. This really is only an advantage for large multi channel (5.1, 7.1 Atmos) mixes where the DSP of a single HDX card can easily be taken over by just the mix engine.

If you don't need either of the above scenarios, you should disable Hybrid mode and stick with Classic HDX IMO.

If you've got a CPU challenged computer, you'll probably get smoother operation with Hybrid mode off as well.

Hybrid mode offers a little bit more of an idiot proof method of doing a quick OD in the middle of a large mix. As soon as you put a track in DSP mode, the entire path downstream of that track goes into DSP only mode, disabling any Native plugins. Most of us already know to disable all Master Native plugs and any native plugs on the channel in question when doing an OD but Hybrid does it for you - for good or bad.

Things you probably want to ALWAYS do when using Hybrid mode:
Put any reverb/FX auxes that use only DSP plugins in DSP mode. I usually have 4 or so Revibes in my mix template, I've DSP'd all those auxes. Then these are running back on your HDX card.

DSP isolate any reverb/FX auxes that use Native plugins. That way when you do drop a track into DSP mode, your reverbs stay on - you'll never notice the latency during an OD.

Anyway, that's what I got after two days of messing with this. :)

[MixerGuy]

Originally Posted by off the wall

There are a whole new set of circumstances to consider now with HDX and Hybrid mode. Once you get your head around what Hybrid mode offers and at what expense, you can decide to use it or not for a given workflow.

These are my conclusions so far:
Hybrid mode offers a voice count of 2048 voices. If you need more than 256 voices and only have a single HDX card, this is the way to go. Mixing with DSP and Native plugs on the same track (who doesn't?) on Classic HDX will also eat voices depending on how you have the plugins ordered. But Hybrid mode only uses Native plugs by default so you'll be using more CPU (and literally nothing of your HDX card most times).

Hybrid mode moves the mix engine off the HDX card on onto the host CPU. This really is only an advantage for large multi channel (5.1, 7.1 Atmos) mixes where the DSP of a single HDX card can easily be taken over by just the mix engine.

If you don't need either of the above scenarios, you should disable Hybrid mode and stick with Classic HDX IMO.

If you've got a CPU challenged computer, you'll probably get smoother operation with Hybrid mode off as well.

Hybrid mode offers a little bit more of an idiot proof method of doing a quick OD in the middle of a large mix. As soon as you put a track in DSP mode, the entire path downstream of that track goes into DSP only mode, disabling any Native plugins. Most of us already know to disable all Master Native plugs and any native plugs on the channel in question when doing an OD but Hybrid does it for you - for good or bad.

Things you probably want to ALWAYS do when using Hybrid mode:
Put any reverb/FX auxes that use only DSP plugins in DSP mode. I usually have 4 or so Revibes in my mix template, I've DSP'd all those auxes. Then these are running back on your HDX card.

DSP isolate any reverb/FX auxes that use Native plugins. That way when you do drop a track into DSP mode, your reverbs stay on - you'll never notice the latency during an OD.

Anyway, that's what I got after two days of messing with this. :)

many thanks - very helpful

so as i do very very large + complex 5.1 mixes.... it seems that if i want the extra voices of Hybrid Mix Engine (I do) and to put the mix engine on the 2019 MacPro host (I do) then the only good place for DSP plugins would be across my (many) 5.1 auxes that my stem mixes go thru. Downstream of them are only the 5.1 print audio tracks (that never ever have any plugins on them)

sound about right?

thx.

[Dizzi45Z]

Good points. I've only had mixing sessions the last couple days, so I haven't been able to really dig in yet. So far, here are pros and cons of the Hybrid Engine.

Pros:
1. 2000+ tracks for any sample rate.
2. DSP mode when tracking if you are using DSP plugins
3. You can still track in Native mode at lower buffer settings with Native plugins. This is great for using those Native Amp emulators or AutoTune Native. In the non Hybrid environment, using a Trim plug-in before a Native plugin always added too much latency to be usable. Now HDX users can track through Native plugins with lower latency (if buffer settings are low).
4. Instrument tracks appear to have low latency even when the Buffer setting is at 1064. Audio tracks have too much latency to track through at the higher buffer setting.

Cons:
1. You can't load tracks that have Native only plug-ins onto the DSP system and have the Native Plugins work. This means that you will likely load far less tracks on the DSP side causing a larger load on the CPU and less on the Hybrid engine.

2. You have to be aware of DSP safe and manage that to allow reverbs, etc. to work when tracking.

3. It takes several seconds to load and unload off the DSP engine which can feel a little sluggish.