Altiverb Surround Wrapper

A VST3 wrapper that enables 5.1 surround sound processing with Altiverb 7 XL in Studio One and other modern DAWs.

🆕 Latest Update (v1.1.0) - Perfect State Management!

✅ Problem SOLVED: "Not all knobs saved" issue completely fixed!
✅ Hybrid State Management: Perfect session recall - all controls, presets, and settings now save/load flawlessly
✅ Zero Configuration: Works automatically with existing projects
✅ Production Ready: Clean, optimized build for maximum performance

👉 Download v1.1.0 - The definitive version with bulletproof state management!

🎯 The Problem This Solves

Altiverb 7 XL is one of the best convolution reverbs available, with stunning 5.1 surround impulse responses. However:

• Altiverb is only available as VST2 (no VST3 version exists)
• Studio One doesn't support surround processing in VST2 plugins - it loads them in stereo only
• Other modern DAWs have similar VST2 surround limitations
• This means you cannot use Altiverb's beautiful 5.1 surround reverb in Studio One

💡 The Solution

This wrapper:

• Loads your existing Altiverb 7 XL VST2 internally
• Presents itself as a VST3 plugin to your DAW
• Enables full 5.1 surround processing that Studio One recognizes
• Gives you access to Altiverb's original interface through the wrapper

⚠️ Important: You must own a legal copy of Altiverb 7 XL - this wrapper only provides the VST3 interface to your existing Altiverb installation.

✨ Features

• 🎵 5.1 Surround Processing - Full 6-channel audio routing (L, R, C, LFE, Ls, Rs)
• 💾 Perfect State Management - Hybrid system saves both chunks and parameters for 100% session recall
• 🎛️ Native GUI Integration - Opens the original Altiverb interface in a popup window
• ⚙️ Configurable VST2 Path - Browse and select your Altiverb installation location
• 🔄 Multiple Instance Support - Stable operation with multiple plugin instances
• 📁 Smart Configuration - Automatically remembers your VST2 path and all plugin settings

📋 Requirements

• Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
• Altiverb 7 XL VST2 - You must own and have installed a legal copy
• Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable (x64) - Download here
• DAW with VST3 support (Studio One, Cubase, Reaper, etc.)
• JUCE Framework 8.0.8 (only needed for building from source)

🔑 Legal Note: This wrapper does not include Altiverb - you must purchase and install Altiverb 7 XL from Audio Ease separately.

🚀 Quick Start

1. Make sure Altiverb 7 XL VST2 is installed and working in other DAWs
2. Download the latest VST3 from Releases
3. Copy AltiverbSurroundWrapper.vst3 to your VST3 folder:

   C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\
   

4. Launch Studio One (or your preferred DAW) and scan for new plugins
5. Create a 5.1 surround track and load "Altiverb 7 Surround" as an effect
6. If Altiverb doesn't load automatically: Click "Browse VST2 Path..." to locate your Altiverb 7.dll file
7. Click "Open Altiverb Editor" to access the full Altiverb interface with all your impulse responses

🔧 Configuration

First Time Setup

1. Insert the plugin on a 5.1 surround track
2. If Altiverb doesn't load automatically, click "Browse VST2 Path..."
3. Navigate to your Altiverb installation (typically):

   C:\Program Files\VSTPlugins\Altiverb 7\Altiverb 7.dll
   

4. The path is saved automatically for future use

Common Installation Paths

• C:\Program Files\VSTPlugins\Altiverb 7\Altiverb 7.dll
• C:\Program Files (x86)\VSTPlugins\Altiverb 7\Altiverb 7.dll
• C:\Program Files\Audio Ease\Altiverb 7\Altiverb 7.dll

🏗️ Building from Source

Prerequisites

1. JUCE Framework 8.0.8 - Download here
2. Visual Studio 2022 Community or Professional
3. Windows SDK (latest)

Build Steps

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/AltiverbSurroundWrapper.git
cd AltiverbSurroundWrapper

# 2. Update JUCE path in AltiverbSurroundWrapper.jucer if needed

# 3. Generate Visual Studio project with Projucer
"C:\Path\To\JUCE\Projucer.exe" --resave AltiverbSurroundWrapper.jucer

# 4. Build the project
MSBuild "Builds\VisualStudio2022\AltiverbSurroundWrapper.sln" /p:Configuration=Release /p:Platform=x64

# 5. VST3 output location
Builds\VisualStudio2022\x64\Release\VST3\AltiverbSurroundWrapper.vst3

🎚️ Technical Details

Channel Mapping

The wrapper automatically maps 5.1 channels as follows:

• Channel 0: Left (L)
• Channel 1: Right (R)
• Channel 2: Center (C)
• Channel 3: LFE (Low Frequency Effects)
• Channel 4: Left Surround (Ls)
• Channel 5: Right Surround (Rs)

VST2 Integration

• Uses custom VST2 hosting engine with audioMaster callbacks
• Implements proper 5.1 speaker arrangement negotiation
• Handles VST2 editor lifecycle management
• Registry-based configuration storage

🐛 Troubleshooting

Plugin Not Loading in Studio One

• Install Visual C++ Redistributable - Most common cause on clean systems
• Download: Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable (x64)
• Restart Studio One after installing redistributable
• Rescan plugins if needed

VST2 Path Issues

• Click "Browse VST2 Path..." to manually select your Altiverb installation
• Common locations: C:\Program Files\VSTPlugins\Altiverb 7\Altiverb 7.dll
• Verify Altiverb VST2 works in other hosts first

No Sound Processing

• Confirm your DAW track is set to 5.1 surround mode
• Check input/output routing in your DAW
• Verify Altiverb has reverb settings loaded

Editor Window Issues

• Close and reopen the Altiverb editor window
• Try scanning for plugins again in your DAW
• Restart your DAW if editor becomes unresponsive

📝 Version History

v1.0.2 - Production Ready 🚀

• ✅ Universal compatibility - Works on all Windows systems
• ✅ Release build - No debug dependencies required
• ✅ Enhanced VST2 detection - 17+ common installation paths
• ✅ Lightweight - 75% smaller binary size
• ✅ Clean professional codebase

v1.0.1 - Enhanced Path Detection

• ✅ Improved VST2 path auto-detection
• ✅ Registry configuration fixes
• ✅ Removed problematic hardcoded paths

v1.0.0 - Initial Release

• ✅ 5.1 surround processing
• ✅ VST2 to VST3 wrapping
• ✅ GUI with Altiverb editor integration
• ✅ Configurable VST2 path selection
• ✅ Multiple instance stability

📄 License

This project is released under the MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

❓ Why This Wrapper is Needed

Studio One's VST2 Limitation: Studio One (and other modern DAWs) only load VST2 plugins in stereo mode, regardless of the plugin's actual surround capabilities. This prevents access to Altiverb's incredible 5.1 surround impulse responses.

No Official VST3: Audio Ease has not released a VST3 version of Altiverb, leaving surround users without options in modern DAWs.

This Wrapper's Approach: Acts as a "translator" between your existing Altiverb VST2 and your DAW's VST3 interface, enabling the surround processing that was always possible but blocked by format limitations.

🔐 Legal & Ethical Notice

• This wrapper does NOT contain any Audio Ease code or content
• You must own a legal license for Altiverb 7 XL
• This is similar to using a VST host or ReWire - it just provides a different interface to your existing plugin
• All audio processing is performed by your licensed Altiverb installation
• Respects Audio Ease's intellectual property while solving a technical limitation

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Audio Ease for creating Altiverb 7 XL - still the gold standard for convolution reverb
• JUCE Framework for excellent audio plugin development tools
• VST SDK by Steinberg for plugin standards

🤝 Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please read CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

⭐ Support

If this wrapper helped you achieve 5.1 surround reverb in your DAW, please give it a star! ⭐

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Made with ❤️ for the audio production community