Plug-in Manager crash with specific VST dll

[mmarston]

Hello,

A couple of VST plug-ins (that used to work in Audacity 1.3) now crash the Plug-in Manager when I try loading them in v 2.1.2.

The PC uses an Intel Core i5-4760 processor, running Windows 7 Home Premium SP1. The plug-ins are Betabugs PhaseBug and PhaseBug Mono, which can be found here: http://www.betabugsaudio.com/plugs.php.

When I try enabling them, Plug-in Manager hangs without displaying the progress bar, and after several seconds, Windows' "Audacity has stopped working" pop-up appears. It is possible to dismiss the pop-up and leave Audacity running, but the plug-in is not enabled. If I try enabling this plug-in along with others, the same thing happens, except that when I dismiss the "stopped working" pop-up, the progress graph appears, and the other plug-ins are enabled.

If I choose "View Problem Details" the following is shown:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: audacity.exe
Application Version: 2.1.2.0
Application Timestamp: 5691052f
Fault Module Name: PhaseBug.dll
Fault Module Version: 0.0.0.0
Fault Module Timestamp: 2a425e19
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 00005e45
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.768.3
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: 00c8
Additional Information 2: 00c8ac073877e089afafceb7b0c0d221
Additional Information 3: e78e
Additional Information 4: e78e26aae616bd1e5ccc6618e2eedc4d

I have no way to know whether the plug-in fully conforms to VST standards, or if Audacity may be the source of the problem. (I'm really an analog hardware guy; my specialty is radio transmitters.) I have found mention of VST issues in some of the release notes, but nothing specific to my problem.

I've tried several things, including reinstalling both Audacity and the plug-in, altering and/or deleting .cfg files, even had a peek at Windows Registry (though the only thing I changed there was to add a folder to the VST path.)

I really need to use this plug-in, but only on rare occasions, as it is the only freeware I've found that can variably rotate phase a full +/- 180°. It's useful in restoring old recordings made using the "Haeco-CSG" system; I won't bore everyone describing that.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike Marston

[DVDdoug]

Are these plug-ins supposed to work with Audacity?

With free VSTs it's usually hit-or-miss.

Most commercial VSTs will have a web page listing host applications that are officially supported. Audacity is rarely listed, even if the VST might work with Audacity. I assume that's because most Audacity users aren't going to pay for VSTs and they don't want to put-in the testing & support effort. Auto-Tune's support page specifically says it's not compatible with Audacity.

[Gale Andrews]

A couple of VST plug-ins (that used to work in Audacity 1.3) now crash the Plug-in Manager when I try loading them in v 2.1.2.

The PC uses an Intel Core i5-4760 processor, running Windows 7 Home Premium SP1. The plug-ins are Betabugs PhaseBug and PhaseBug Mono, which can be found here: http://www.betabugsaudio.com/plugs.php.

Thanks for the report, which I can reproduce. We can log the issue on our bug tracker but can't say when or if it will be fixed.

You can use these betabugs phase plugins in Audacity 2.0.6 ( http://gaclrecords.org.uk/legacy/ ) or you could try Audiocation Phase which does work in 2.1.2: https://www.audiocation.de/en/plugin#fragment-3.


Gale

[mmarston]

Thanks for the report, which I can reproduce. We can log the issue on our bug tracker but can't say when or if it will be fixed.

You can use these betabugs phase plugins in Audacity 2.0.6 ( http://gaclrecords.org.uk/legacy/ ) or you could try Audiocation Phase which does work in 2.1.2: https://www.audiocation.de/en/plugin#fragment-3.


Gale

Hi, Gale, and thanks for the quick response. I'm not home now, but will try your suggestions later today, and report my results.

Best regards,
Mike

[mmarston]

Thanks also for your reply, DVDdoug. That sort of tends to confirm my thinking that there's little incentive for many vendors to provide much support for "fringe" issues with freeware, especially with limited resources and little chance of payoff. So I've grown accustomed to searching forums and release notes, with varying results. I can say that the Audacity forums have given me several useful answers in the last few years, and having a large user base is helpful. I have some paid software (including a couple DAW programs) that are more difficult to find info for. Much appreciated!

Gale, 2.0.6 didn't work for me here, but your recommended plug-in seems to work fine, performs the function well, though with no numeric display and only a single adjustment for both channels. Easy enough to split and work on each independently. So my issue is resolved, though I'd appreciate if this thread could be tagged in the bug report if possible, so if there is a solution found, I could be notified (though I'll likely download new revs anyway.)

Thanks to both of you!

MM

[Gale Andrews]

2.0.6 didn't work for me here

In what way? I have those plugins running in 2.0.6, which I tested before writing. Note that in 2.0.6 the system for enabling plugins is different. You must open Edit > Preferences..., Effects section, check (tick) the box "Rescan VST effects..." then restart Audacity. The dialogue to enable plugins then appears before Audacity launches.

We can't undertake to notify you about individual bug fixes. We might forget to post about any fix in this topic, even if the topic URL is in the bug report. Instead, please look at the Release Notes for each new Audacity version online, in the "Effects (VST and Audio Units)" section. By the way the crash mentioned in the 2.1.2 Release Notes for Audiocation Phase was in fact already fixed for 2.1.2 release.


Gale

[mmarston]

2.0.6 didn't work for me here

In what way? I have those plugins running in 2.0.6...

Apparently my error; I must have done something incorrectly, as I find it working exactly as you describe today. Sorry for any confusion.

We can't undertake to notify you about individual bug fixes...

Gale

No worries; I had not realistically expected that to be possible. I do have a passing familiarity with how bug reporting works in practice from my hardware career, most recently working with wi-fi modules. Getting info to anyone outside the system is at times cumbersome and not justifiable. And I will (as always) check release notes. Thanks!

Oh, and apologies if you got a "bounce" message from my Earthlink account spam filter. That account came "pre-loaded" with spam, I suspect from a previous user who may have let it lapse, though I've held it for over 15 years. Fixed now.

Best regards,
Mike