WaveStack also runs inside your DAW as an instrument plugin. The plugin window has the same editor as the app, so you can draw, build, import and reshape tables while you play them from your DAW, and the table is saved with your project.
| System | Formats |
|---|---|
| Mac | CLAP, VST3 and Audio Unit. Apple silicon and Intel, macOS 12 or later. Signed and notarized. |
| Windows | CLAP and VST3. Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. Not code-signed yet. |
The Mac plugin has been played in Ableton Live and Bitwig Studio. The Windows plugin is newer and less tested, so tell us how it goes in your DAW.
On the iPad, WaveStack is an AUv3 instead. See WaveStack on the iPad.
Installing
Download the plugin zip for your system from the download section and unzip it. It includes these steps in Install.txt. Copy only the formats your DAW uses.
Mac (create a folder if it doesn’t exist; in the Finder, Go › Go to Folder opens a path):
| File | Folder |
|---|---|
WaveStack.clap | ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/CLAP/ |
WaveStack.vst3 | ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/ |
WaveStack.component | ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/ |
Windows:
| File | Folder |
|---|---|
WaveStack.clap | C:\Program Files\Common Files\CLAP\ |
WaveStack.vst3 | C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\ |
Then rescan plug-ins in your DAW. Logic and GarageBand find the Audio Unit after a restart. The plugin shows up as WaveStack by Signal Function Set.
To update, replace the files and rescan. Projects that use the plugin keep loading.
What’s in the plugin window
The plugin window has the table, the frame strip and frame editor with all their tools, the New menu (Empty table, Build table, Sample, Wavetable file, Image and Morph between tables), the Edit and Sound tabs, undo and redo, and Settings. The window can be resized.
Some parts of the app aren’t there, because the DAW does those jobs:
- No library, Save or Export. The table is saved with your project. To keep a table as a file or send it to a synth, use the app.
- No audition bar. Your DAW plays the notes. The X, Y and Z position sliders are in the Sound tab.
- No MIDI input section or MIDI learn. Your DAW sends the plugin its MIDI, and you map knobs to parameters in the DAW.
- No Scan. Use an LFO, which can sync to the DAW’s tempo, or automate the position.
Loading a table
- Drop a file on the plugin window: a WaveStack, Serum-style or wt3d WAV, or a Surge
.wt. Only the first file dropped is used. A WAV without a frame-size tag loads only if its length is a multiple of 2048 samples; otherwise, export it from the WaveStack app (or another tool) with a frame-size tag first. - Use the New menu for samples, images, several files or a morph. These open the plugin’s own file dialog and the same import dialogs as the app. See Importing.
Until you load something, the plugin plays a built-in table of five shapes: sine, triangle, saw, square and pulse.
Saved with your project
The DAW saves the table (its frames, frame size, shape and name) and every setting with the project, so a session reopens sounding the way you left it.
Automation
Almost everything in the Sound tab is a host parameter, grouped so it’s easy to find in your DAW:
- Position: Position X, Y and Z
- Envelope 1 and Envelope 2: attack, decay, sustain and release
- Filter: type, cutoff and resonance
- LFO 1 to LFO 3: rate, shape, polarity and sync
- Modulation: every source-to-target amount, from each LFO and envelope, velocity, mod wheel, pressure and key, to X, Y, Z, cutoff, resonance, pitch and amp
Changes in the editor show up in the DAW, and automation from the DAW moves the editor’s controls. Map a DAW LFO or automation lane to Position X and the plugin glides smoothly through the table.
Tempo sync
Set an LFO to Tempo sync and it follows the DAW’s tempo instead of the app’s Tempo field. While the transport plays, synced LFOs also line up with the bar.
Keyboard
The plugin leaves the keyboard to your DAW: Space, the note keys and the app’s ⌘S, ⌘O and ⌘E shortcuts all go to the DAW. The plugin keeps the keys for editing a table: undo and redo, ⌘A, ⌘D, the arrows, [ and ], Esc, Delete and K. ⌘, (Ctrl+, on Windows) opens Settings.
If Space doesn’t reach your DAW while the plugin window has focus, click the DAW’s own window first, and let us know which DAW you use.
MIDI
The plugin plays notes with velocity, and responds to the mod wheel, channel and polyphonic aftertouch (both drive the Pressure source), pitch bend (±2 semitones) and All Notes Off. It doesn’t respond to the sustain pedal or other controllers directly; map them to parameters in your DAW instead. It has 8 voices.
Pro
The plugin is listed as part of WaveStack Pro, and is free to use during the preview.