Just noticed that a number of plugins (LostIn70s Audio) being installed silently with the installation of 4.7 but can’t see any mention of this in the help, forums, FAQs or installer
TH-U installer being brought up is OK as obvious that this is able to be installed (already have TH-U Pro so don’t install this), but silently installing others without any mention of them anywhere is not good.
Two requests:
provide options during installation with clear information about what is to be installed, should provide ability to select whether or not to install any bundle VSTs separately, so separate options for LostIn70s plugins (with list of what this includes) and TH-U - and if more then provide similar level of control.
make it clear on the Installer when used to MODIFY installation, what the DefaultInstallation really is (guessing it is the LostIn70s plugins but not 100% clear if anything else) and provide a similar level of granularity as suggested in (1) above.
I agree that transparency of what’s being installed is a good thing. I know that the Mac installer does include a ‘Customise’ button, which lists the additional components and allows you to deselect them.
In terms of LostIn70s, these plugins are there to help new users, particularly those new to plugins and who don’t own any yet. They are also used throughout the included ‘Template’ Gig files.
Note: Gig Performer 4 comes with a number of specialized plugins to handle basic MIDI and audio operations. Some third-party plugin vendors have kindly provided us with versions of some of their commercial plugins which are used in some of our templates to make it easier for new users to work with Gig Performer if they do not have their own plugins yet.
So if you had checked the templates, you would’ve seen what plugins are included.
I was aware of the specialised plugins section (having searched for “included plugins”) in the help and understand why third-party plugins have been included for the starter templates although, as none of the templates reflect the way in which I am going to be using Gig Performer, I did not do any deep dives into them and so did not identify the third-party plugins through them.
That all said, there still is no list of third-party VST plugins installed with Gig Performer is provided anywhere whether in the online help, frequently asked questions, detailed product specifications or even the forum (that I could find). I think this lack of clarity should be addressed somewhere especially as, when I noticed new, unexpected plugins appearing in Cubase, my first thought was that something recent had an additional hidden “load” which may even be carrying malware!
This is why transparency is critical when software is documented and installed.
I also still think the Windows installer should be enhanced to offer customisation of what is installed, in the same way that it appears to do for Mac (from other replies) or at the very least should explain what the DefaultInstallation option in MODIFY mode of the installer actually includes (ideally within the installer).
Even before any changes are made to the installer, immediate improvement could be made through:
(1) adding a section in the user manual which details the installation, modification, repair and uninstallation with detailed lists of components/third-party plugins included or optional; and
(2) adding full details of any third-party plugins included with Gig Performer in the detailed product specification web page.
During the Windows install I’ve always been asked (by Windows) if I want to allow the TH-U installer to install its plugins. I decline. I think you’re right about the others.
While I appreciate the point you’re making, it seems to me most DAWs I’ve used also have a tendency to install plugins without asking. I’m not suggesting that makes it “good”, but off the top of my head it seems fairly typical.
Agree that many DAWs install their own plugins/third party plugins with limited/no control, but all of them that I can see (e.g. Cubase, Wavelab, Cakewalk, Reaper, StudioOne, Waveform Pro, Pro Tools, Bitwig and Ableton Live) provide details of what plugins are included/what they will be installing, and some even install their plugins in a way that is, by default, only available to them so you don’t have “bleed” of plugins that are specific. My primary ask is that Gig Performer at least provides this information, and especially if anything changes in terms of plugins installed.
OK I think this has been beaten to death. While I understand the complaint, it’s also the case that there has been just one report of this being a problem since GP4 was originally released so it’s hard to treat it has a serious issue. We’ll add a ticket to at least document these plugins.
