Piapro Studio NT

What works

• Authorization
• Basic functionalities: create, open and save project files; create, edit, delete and export tracks; create, edit and delete regions within tracks; writing and deleting notes
• Import WAV, VSQx/VSQ, MIDI files
• Transportation: playback, seek measure, go to start/end, etc.
• Settings: select audio systems, workflow behaviors, engine,….
• Editor: note writing, settings, EVEC, vibrato and such,…
• Parameters editing
• Misc: almost every other visible function/features..

What does not

• Audio setting: cannot choose ASIO driver as audio backend via WineASIO. This affected both standalone and VST3 plugins.
• Import files: cannot import MP3 files

Workarounds

• Installation: There�s a high chance the voicebank installer won�t work if run seperately, it only copies the voicebank header into the installation folder, thus users need to manually copy the voice database into it.
• VST3 plugin: works out of the box with Windows DAWs via Wine (tested with REAPER), but needs a plugin wrapper (specifically yabridge) to work with native Linux DAWs (tested on Bitwig Studio and REAPER).
• Display: On KWin and Latte Dock, coded UI are not aligned with GUI elements when maximized with borderless maximized window option in Latte Dock, you need to either manually resize the window or disable borderless maximized window.
• Deactivation: Deactivation is done via the user product page on SONICWIRE website. After deactivating an instance on the website, the software keeps activated. You need to alter or delete the registry value at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Crypton Future Media, Inc./NT/Database/Info/{Voicebank Code/ID} to fully deactivate your instance; or simply delete the Wine prefix you installed Piapro Studio NT.

What was not tested

• Multiple voicebanks management, as there isn�t any append or additional voicebanks available as of the testing.
• Other hidden/unobscure features that I don�t know or don�t see.

Hardware tested

Graphics:

• GPU: Intel
• Driver: unknown

Additional Comments

• Due to various reasons, I didn�t test this on the latest Wine version, but aside from 6.5 and 6.7 which broke a lot of ABI/API/libraries compatibility, newer Wine should make Piapro NT work flawlessly. Same with the older version, I guess at least 6.0 is required for Piapro to run without major issues.
• Performance is heavily impacted on my PC, especially after each editing and background rendering. You can turn off background rendering if your playback crackles a lot. A PC with a more powerful CPU (at least 4 cores 8 threads) wouldn�t have much performance drop.
• There is an unconfirmed weird behavior from the person who lends me his Piapro NT license, in which he described some overlapped notes being unrendered and needing more adjustment to make them sound. I couldn�t reproduce it on my end, so more info is needed from both Windows and Linux users. This could be a bug, or just a nitpick case.
• Regarding WineASIO issue, this could be PipeWire-JACK dropin related. I suspect there are missing features/implements in PipeWire-JACK that WineASIO needs, so info from pure JACK users is appreciated. But since we can use Piapro with PipeWire-PulseAudio via WASAPI without issue, I don�t see the point of using WineASIO for it, at least for the time being.