Just wanted to wish everyone a happy, productive and prosperous new year!

Anyone care to share their overall plans and goals for the coming year?

My main goal is to start releasing HISE plugins. I've been learning HISE for a while and it's time to start exporting my efforts!

1. A series of 4 free synth plugins, first one Sublime posted here for design feedback, and another 3, each based around one simple preset concept. Sublime is all about bass.

2. Then I have 2 collaborations I want to work on, both with UK house music producers. One is a multi-output drum plugin based on a series of expansions, the other is a chord synth with some interesting features.

3. I also have a lot of vintage reverb impulses recorded and processed, which I'd like to turn into a suite of free reverbs.

My user base is mostly house music producers & related genres - rave, techno, classic house, etc. I've built a decent brand and I think my customers will love the move from Maize-based ROMpler plugins to way more fully-featured HISE-based plugins.

What are your goals?

I like using overlay images to ensure my Figma design is translated properly to HISE. Currently, the only way I know to toggle the image visibility is to select/unselect the image, or quickly slide the alpha slider, which is difficult because of the 'invert' half of the slider.

This PR adds a toggle button between the image dropdown and the alpha slider. It uses an existing image icon for the button and respects the alpha slider value.

This allows me to toggle the image without taking my eyes off the interface, making it easier to spot changes.

PR here: https://github.com/christophhart/HISE/pull/825

@David-Healey I just had a go at fixing this. Is that what you mean?

HiseSnippet 1112.3ocsVs2aaaCDmJIJKwacqEne.H7e4roYH+pIcACMO8pwxCi4rhMDDTPKcxhKRjFRTMwXneH12z8MH6ndXKO6klZfI.av6Eue2wi2w9QRGHNVFQLpb0jw.w3qLGLQn7O1mwEjdmPL9ZyyYwJHhlw5nIiYwwfKwvX8eRyvX6MHoe+8aNhEvDNvLVDx6jbG3LdHWMia+C9YdPPWlKbEOrj1sOnmiTbrLPlf3YcSaxXlysrQvELsZqYRdKK1mX7sl1scX60zqSqVu9061wcH330.FtqCytCyqCC41l0tSi1DiMO0kqjQCTLEDia5QR2IC7k2Ixbv63w7gAflnAY.54L1ji84At8KRNwDhwF8mkpVOKU8Ryy4t7o7mkxddp.5LKJmzLV6wfTiOCHYTBRajAoWXNvIhOVMShFOeoYOAdB5wvylxPISWxZ+05lGKQMDp5gragtQHwTKp0z11hh+sy9UpfmOwJZ.yi9izBSbh.LRNS5vBNSJu8PgaW.BpoUGUrdDLhqqe5lHbTbonVU2H1c8kiSFeNHRNBOhGEISDtUsndE5LxhJG9G6T4OqPwuQ0iAUVcQsp12am+UEcQlXOrd5W.GUsqssrsz.F+cCJ9iOQTzSAg+29+CrHJCiXjUcFFs3dVvdLy8PjCJ7Z1012P+NZSKJ65FSW07F52SaqW0Jc0M6uPHo2Vd7a4i7CveJvk9FZln35ih.PP+gozCCRf4CacpCb0QOSLJ.pkiHK5d6TBmJ3dUAPy0HCt6YUDCHnmsNE1Md0LFstYIHu.U24yUyfEJuKVaTq5IfGKIPgI1FsqaOUtNyeHFpBv8JDVowuFeVSQoEsZ.3opVbBlU1crLbn7H48MJU7MRikvwRAnc3TMzVNkPCnEJOwhhc1u37lJEWHUvkhZ5i7sq7wJz+sHOukJSiiHYP.DsTw5FbQOlg0DIgCgHK7PRexVnHdgd9tDa9z5R3jkVJonTzSvUWNFxo6JCb0290qWrmBIOup6tjiPTUUZukmm2aoHuR3t5VKSSyjzPnbyexu16DlhUrY39h9ZLDo35Px3D3C3vgrFWaadBDeqRNF6yO8.kXrUlqeVQaMl.BR86VloqaPturCmTl.KICKFlr8lDxCOLO2lkYeG2U4OyZ9A9f9tXYNjR35KdhoDDclFMyPlowKwEgrTdqunO+8CzXCSLei4kBnxU2IqbkOd8GGXtPedbBizMIfoleridfbt.rJatd8594hXtZR4A1eFyhrezYQOUH9By9bki+xw3ZKAiXsy+GXLeB9yLO0yC6bNCfaX182V0w0eB2icpUbwnyYpHttF3hjvAXYnCfdWf0xw55h0z2Ayns0z5Lv.P3lR7.9kKrgl1HWXiBgX0kSj78NY2b0uQXqTNHlDougZa7wbHMcIWVCwmr7dGm42pELr4pZXqU0v1qpgcVUCe0pZ3tqpg68oMT+hxCSTxvrqMDx48OMs4pgwoBFVAlVsR9GztgJYG

Content.makeFrontInterface(200, 200);

const laf = Content.createLocalLookAndFeel();

laf.registerFunction("drawPopupMenuBackground", function(g, obj)
{
    g.setColour("0x00000000"); // any transparent colour
    g.fillRect([0,0,200,200]);
});

laf.registerFunction("drawPopupMenuItem", function(g, obj)
{
    var a = obj.area;

    var padArea = [a[0] + 2, a[1] + 2, a[2] - 4, a[3] - 4];
    g.setColour(obj.isHighlighted ? Colours.green : Colours.blue);
    g.fillRoundedRectangle(padArea, 8);

    var textArea = [padArea[0] + 8, padArea[1], padArea[2] - 16, padArea[3]];
    g.setColour(Colours.white);
    g.setFont("Default", 14.0);
    g.drawAlignedText(obj.text, textArea, "left");
});

const ComboBox1 = Content.getComponent("ComboBox1");
ComboBox1.setLocalLookAndFeel(laf);

The drawPopupMenuBackground object should probably include an area, and the popup menu items still have a subtle drop shadow. But they're both fixes for another day.

PR here, if it's useful: https://github.com/christophhart/HISE/pull/805

@bendurso Today I learned that right-clicking a module in edit mode shows a different context menu to right-clicking not in edit mode.

Posting this in case it helps anyone else. I just banged my head against a brick wall for too long before I realised how simple this was!

When using a Floating Tile with content type Waveform (to display the waveform of Sine Wave Generator or Waveform Generator, for example) the default waveform path is a filled shape.

You can override this with LAF function drawAnalyserPath and draw a line path instead of a filled path:

laf.registerFunction("drawAnalyserPath", function(g, obj)
{
	g.setColour(Colours.white);
	g.drawPath(obj.path, obj.area, 5);
});

However, this means that the path is clipped at the bounds of the floating tile, especially at wider line thicknesses:

To prevent the clipping, I fudged around with it for longer than I want to admit before I realised the answer is to simply reduce the area that the path is drawn in, by half the thickness of the path:

laf.registerFunction("drawAnalyserPath", function(g, obj)
{
	g.setColour(Colours.white);
	g.drawPath(obj.path, obj.area.reduced(2.5), 5);
});

Voila! No more clipped paths! Top row is using obj.area, bottom row is using area reduced by half line thickness:

You might want the left/right of the path to bleed out of bounds, in which case change the reduction from all-round to y-only:

obj.area.reduced(5) 👈 all-round
obj.area.reduced(0, 5) 👈 y-only

Note: you might need to compile with HISE_USE_SCRIPT_RECTANGLE_OBJECT=1 for the reduced and other Rectangle helper functions, as per the docs: https://docs.hise.dev/scripting/scripting-api/rectangle/index.html. Not sure if it's still the same, or if it's built-in to all new builds.

PR that adds StartPhase1 and StartPhase2 to Waveform Generator.

Coded for my own needs but someone else might find it useful.

Works great for setting a random phase offset on MIDI note-on.

Works independently for Osc1 and Osc2.

https://github.com/christophhart/HISE/pull/792

EDIT: from this conversation https://forum.hise.audio/topic/13720/free-running-or-randomised-phase-for-waveform-generator-oscillators/9

I'm fortunate that I started with a (small) audience, and I'm selling to a focussed crowd. My plugins serve a very specific niche and the producers there are always hungry for more authentic products.

I've never done any paid ads. I might do an experiment on Instagram one day. I see a lot of adverts for plugins in my feed and I'm curious how effective they are.

I sell on Gumroad. They take about 15% fee, then you pay payment processor fees. I haven't done the maths for the total cut but I'd say it's less than 20%.

It's a good deal for me because it includes basic web presence, file hosting, secure delivery, payment processing (cards, Apple Pay, Google and PayPal), email marketing and analytics.

I started selling in September 2022. I'd done a couple of free plugins before that through various platforms like SimpleGoods and SendOwl but didn't take it seriously until later.

When I started selling I posted each new product on my Facebook and Instagram accounts. The engagement was pretty good to start with but I noticed that over time, I got more results from sending emails to my ever-growing email list. When I launch a new product now, I only send it to my email list at first. Then later I post short clips to Instagram but they're supplemental to the email list.

You NEED an email list. They say "the money's in the list" and in my experience, that's 100% correct.

Free products are a great way to build your email list. Most people stay subscribed and as long as you don't flood them with emails, they're happy to receive them.

This is my email strategy:

• Launch email for every new product with 20% discount code, valid for 2 weeks
• Reminder email 48 hours before the launch discount ends
• One email per month with 20% discount off a single product, valid for 2-3 days

That's it. I don't like to bombard my list with too many emails. I'm on some Gumroad seller lists where they send continual discounts, sometimes daily. This would be way too much for me as a customer.

Gumroad includes email marketing, which is a bonus because when your list gets large things like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, etc get into the $100's/month.

I can target emails to people who have or haven't bought specific products. Very handy for offering a discount only to those who haven't bought something. Or offering a discount for a product Y to those who have already bought product X. You can also target by how much someone has spent, so you can offer extra discounts or free stuff to your most loyal customers.

Gumroad also includes extra features like affiliates (having others push your products for a % split), collaborators (where you can split a products revenue with someone else), email automations (for sending drip emails to customers - I don't use those) and upsells (recommended products at checkout).

It does have some downsides. The download links in the receipt emails sometimes don't work and you have to send a link manually to the customer (Gumroad have so far refused to acknowledge this as an issue). I also find their fees to be expensive compared to other services, but for what I get built-in I still think it's worth it for now.

Something else that might be of interest is that Gumroad recently made the source code available, so if there's a feature you want to add and you're handy with Ruby on Rails and JavaScript you might be able to contribute.

Happy to report this has been merged in to develop branch!

@ustk Just made a quick proof of concept in Claude. Haven't read all the code yet, so no idea if it's well implemented or performant, but it does look kinda nice!

@Christoph-Hart

Maybe the 32GB RAM on my MacBook Air means there's enough to go around so it's not like typing through syrup.

I interact with Xcode, and now Visual Studio, as little as possible anyway. Launch, press Build keyboard shortcut, wait, quit.

Good news. I have a fully working volume knob plugin in Reaper.

Had to add MSBuild to the PATH because HISE doesn't detect it properly for VS2026 (I'm guessing the snazzy new Setup Wizard will fix that), and wait a painfully long export time of 22 minutes. But it works!

So this is an x64 VST3 running in an emulated x64 version of Reaper, in ARM Windows 11 in Parallels Desktop, on an Apple Silicon M4 MacBook Air.

What a crazy world.

@lloyduss @David-Healey Sorry to necro this, but just wanted to add my experience.

I followed David's Building HISE on Windows video form the HISE Bootcamp course, and it all seems to have worked fine.

I'm running Windows 11 in Parallels Desktop 26.2.2, on macOS Sequoia 15.7.3 on a 2025 M4 MacBook Air.

I installed git and cloned the HISE repo. Then installed Visual Studio 2026 and built both Debug and Release (no Faust) x64 versions of HISE.

HISE launches properly and responds to scripts, UI actions, etc.

I haven't exported a plugin from HISE yet. That's the next step.

But as far as building x64 HISE on ARM Windows 11 running on Parallels on macOS, it's all good here.

Note: I didn't use IPP or FFTW when building HISE. IPP doesn't work (the clue is in the name) and I can't use FFTW because I'm building closed source. I'm not using convolution anyway (not directly at least) so I don't think that will matter too much.

@David-Healey I see your Rhapsody website says:

OS: Debian 9+, Windows 7+, MacOS 10.14+

Which sounds good to me.

According to Claude, for Windows:

No explicit minimum Windows version is set in the exported plugin templates. The effective minimum depends on the Visual Studio version and Windows SDK used:

• VS2019/2022 default to Windows SDK 10.0
• VS2017 defaults to Latest SDK
• VS2015 defaults to SDK 8.1

And from Google's horrendous AI results:

• VS2026 Supported Target Versions: The minimum supported target operating systems are Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016.
• The MSVC Build Tools version 14.50 (shipped with VS 2026) has officially dropped support for targeting Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1

Does this mean if I use VS2022/26 to export Windows VST3, I can only support Win 10.0+? 🫠

All my existing Maize-based plugins are:

Mac: VST2/VST3/AU back to macOS 10.14
Win: VST2/VST3 back to Windows 8.1

Just trying to figure out what I should be targeting now with HISE plugins?

(I already know I can't do VST2, thank goodness!)

@kliin In the button handler use Engine.openWebsite(); with the URL of your web page.

https://docs.hise.dev/scripting/scripting-api/engine/index.html#openwebsite

inline function onButton1Control(component, value)
{
	if (value) Engine.openWebsite("https://hise.dev");
};

Content.getComponent("Button1").setControlCallback(onButton1Control);

@Christoph-Hart Is there a specific reason you used Haiku? It's not the best model for reasoning about code. It's quite lightweight.

I find Opus to be the best, but it's the most expensive I think, and Sonnet is a good balance between cost and performance.

@David-Healey I suggested this snippet in their other post about this, but I've never used it so can't advise on implementation:

https://forum.hise.audio/topic/14397/hihat-open-e-hihat-closed?_=1771175779155

Have you used it?

Other post(s):
https://forum.hise.audio/topic/14397/hihat-open-e-hihat-closed
https://forum.hise.audio/topic/14404/dificuldade-para-o-hihat

@David-Healey said in HISE Transformation to the new age:

It's about time we got back to the master I think.

Agreed!

@Christoph-Hart When I fixed those bugs, and added small features or enhancements, I went for stuff that [1] had small surface area, [2] I was familiar with the feature, and [3] had been mentioned recently.

Bonus if there was a reproducible example included in the issue or a forum post.

It also helped that a lot of them were useful for my current work.

If something started to get complex or far-reaching I backed off and moved on to another issue. If I recall, some of the ScriptNode bugs were like this.