Blue Cat's PatchWork is a macOS application designed to host multiple AU and VST plugins while allowing users to create parallel chain effects. The app can support up to 64 different plugins at the same time, thanks to a feature that lets users create up to 8 parallel chains.
When you start the application, you may find the interface to be overcrowded and confusing. This is primarily because of the multiple buttons, poorly placed and with a bad text formatting. Also, the toolbar menu icons look too small and feel clunky. Yet, if you're not pleased with the default theme, you can choose another one from the Preset skin tab.
As for its features, Blue Cat's PatchWork comes with 30 effects, such as filters, delays, modulation effects, waveshaper, gate, bit crusher and more. It also has a function, called Parameters Mapping, that maps sub plugins parameters in order to automate them or use a control surface. Moreover, it supports VST Shell plugins and comes with Global Dry/Wet control. Last but not least, it can host up to 8 virtual instruments in parallel, while mixing them with the plugin.
In conclusion, Blue Cat's PatchWork is a reliable tool for hosting Audio Unit or VST plugins simultaneously, and it comes with many cool features, but the price seems a bit high. Still, feel free to give it a try.
v2.4 [Jun 23, 2019]
New Features & Improvements:
- Navigate presets and create new tones easily with "Tone Maps" for 9 built-in effects: Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Wah, Sweep Filter, EQ, Freq Shifter, Reverb and Waveshaper.
- Mac application now fully supports dark mode on Mac OS Mojave and newer.
- New presets for the built-in wah plug-in.
- Built-in EQ: improved impulse response convolution performance (long reverb tails are now supported, with low CPU usage).
- Mac: faster GUI rendering on recent Mac OS systems (up to 5x faster for level meters).
Fixes:
- Mac: fixed user interface not properly shown on retina displays in some applications built with the 10.14 Mac OS SDK (Cubase 10.5 for example).
- Mac: fixed settings panel rendering issues in dark mode on Mac OS Mojave and newer.
- Fixed issue with some VST3 plug-ins that failed to initialize when loaded (Roland Cloud VST3)
- Fixed built-in Wah plug-in that could exceed selected range in reverse mode.
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