SoundGrid Studio and StudioRack - Support Notes

Jun 24, 2024

The last Waves plugin version supported in SoundGrid Studio is V14.

The last version of StudioRack that supports integration with SoundGrid Studio and offloading plugin processing is V14.

If you need to roll back, refer to this article.

This page presents existing issues, some with workarounds, that we are working to solve in SoundGrid Studio and StudioRack. It also summarizes key improvements and main issues solved in the SoundGrid Studio application and StudioRack plugin. We will update this page on an ongoing basis as more issues are solved. We encourage you to contact Waves Support and report any issue you may encounter.

Table of Contents:

Plugin Compatibility
Known Issues in SoundGrid Studio (Current Version)
Known Issues in StudioRack (Current Version)
Additional Support Notes
Release notes and Bug Fixes
Fixed Known Issues in SoundGrid Studio
Fixed Known Issues in StudioRack

Plugin Compatibility

We recommend using the latest compatible plugin version:

StudioRack V14 supports V14 and V13 plugins on the following operating systems only: Windows 11, Windows 10, macOS 10.15.7, 11.6.5 and 12.4.
StudioRack V14 can load non-Waves VST3 plugins if supported on local OS and the plugin’s VST3 component is installed (not SoundGrid-compatible, no SoundGrid offload capabilities). Learn how to scan VST3 plugins here.
Non-Waves VST3 plugins without ARM support (Apple M1, M2 etc) will open in DAWs that use the Rosetta emulator only.
SoundGrid Studio and StudioRack V13 support V14 and V13 plugins on the following operating systems only: Windows 11, Windows 10, macOS 10.15.7, 11.6.1 and 12.2
SoundGrid Studio and StudioRack V13 support V12 plugins on the following operating systems only: Windows 10, macOS 10.15.7 and 11.6.1 (Intel Only) with the exceptions listed below. To run the following plugins on V13 apps (eMotion LV1, SuperRack, SoundGrid Studio), please update these plugins to the latest version as well:
- Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain
- CLA Bass
- CLA Drums
- CLA EchoSphere
- CLA Effects
- CLA Epic
- CLA Guitars
- CLA MixHub
- CLA Nx
- CLA Unplugged
- CLA Vocals
- Eddie Kramer Bass Channel
- Eddie Kramer Drum Channel
- Eddie Kramer Effect Channel
- Eddie Kramer Guitar Channel
- Eddie Kramer Vocal Channel
- GTR3 Amps
- GTR3 Tool Rack
- GTR3 Stomps
- GTR3 Tuner
- Greg Wells MixCentric
- Greg Wells PianoCentric
- Greg Wells ToneCentric
- Greg Wells VoiceCentric
- Infected Mushroom Pusher
- JJP Bass
- JJP Cymbals & Percussion
- JJP Drums
- JJP Guitars
- JJP Strings & Keys
- JJP Vocals
- L3 MultiMaximizer
- L3 UltraMaximizer
- Linear Phase MultiBand Compressor
- Morphoder
- MultiMod Rack
- Nx Ocean Way Nashville
- OneKnob Wetter
- OVox Vocal Resynthesis
- Scheps Omni Channel
- Scheps Parallel Particles
- Vocal Bender
Plugin resizing is supported with SoundGrid Studio and StudioRack 12.8 and above with 12.7 plugins and above, in the ‘un-docked’ plugin window.

Legacy Versions:

SoundGrid Studio and StudioRack v12 support V13, V12 and V11 plugins, on the following operating systems only: Windows 10, macOS 10.14.6, 10.15.7 and 11.5.2 (Intel only).
SoundGrid Studio and StudioRack v11 support V12, V11, and V10 plugins only.
SoundGrid Studio and StudioRack v11 support v10 plugins on the following operating systems only: Windows 10, macOS 10.13.6 and macOS 10.14.6.
SoundGrid Studio and StudioRack v9 support v10 and v9 plugins, as well as these third-party plugins.

The latest version of SoundGrid Studio and StudioRack require Mac computers with a graphics card that supports ‘Metal’. (Learn more).

On computers that do not support ‘Metal’, SoundGrid Studio and StudioRack will appear without a GUI. Workaround: Roll back to the previous version.

Known Issues in SoundGrid Studio (Current Version)

We are currently working on solutions for these issues. We will announce fixes and update the page as more issues are solved. For some of the issues, we recommend workarounds below.

Using Apple Silicon computers for recording or playback with the SoundGrid driver may result in intermittent audio dropouts. We are working towards fixing this issue, but until resolved, we recommend using Intel based Mac or Windows computers for recording and playback with the SoundGrid driver.

Using Apple Silicon Macs to run SoundGrid host applications, such as SuperRack SoundGrid or eMotion LV1, is fully supported.
Changing The Driver Network Buffer in SoundGrid Studio during playback in Bitwig Studio will result in a voice being added to the process and one less voice available.
Loading a channel preset will not recall the routed input source, even if routing is selected in 'preset scope'.
When using a SoundGrid Connect setup with a Non-SoundGrid IO, do not manually set the SoundGrid Driver’s ‘Network Driver Buffer’ to 104, this will result in clicks and pops.
SoundGrid Studio + eMotion ST 16/32/64 Ch. Mixer licenses will not activate the legacy V9 eMotion ST Mixer within SoundGrid Studio V9. To use the legacy V9 eMotion ST Mixer, register a free SoundGrid Studio + eMotion ST 8 Ch. Mixer license and activate it in the ‘Licenses’ page of Waves Central.
While setting SoundGrid Studio to stream audio between your DAW and a SoundGrid audio interface without a SoundGrid server, Outputs 1 & 2 of your interface will be reserved for the eMotion ST mixer’s Control Room, which cannot pass sound without a server. Workaround: Manually patch Channels 1 and 2 of the SoundGrid Driver to Outputs 1 & 2 of your SoundGrid audio interface, in SoundGrid Studio’s Patch page > Device to Device view. For more information refer to this article.
While your DAW is running and assigned to the SoundGrid Driver or using the StudioRack plugin; Quitting SoundGrid Studio, re-configuring, disconnecting and reconnecting SoundGrid Interfaces from the Network may result in a CPU overload in your DAW and unexpected behavior. Workaround: before any of these actions, always quit your DAW and relaunch thereafter.
Changing the Sample Rate of the session in SoundGrid Studio will crash Ableton Live if it the SoundGrid Driver is selected as the ASIO driver.
Mackie Control is not yet fully supported in SoundGrid Studio. This controller may disappear from the list or cause the ‘Link’ layer to appear twice in the eMotion ST Mixer, when toggling between fader banks.
SoundGrid Studio Application introduces high local memory consumption, even with minimal processing requirements and channel count.
Clicking the ‘Gear’ icon on a non-SoundGrid interface assigned for a SoundGrid Connect setup, will result in a momentary disconnection of both the non-SoundGrid interface and the SG Driver from the I/O devices inventory rack.
eMotion ST Mixer’s Control Room controls (Source, Mono, Mute, Dim and Monitor Select) are not yet assignable to a MIDI controller or to the ‘User Keys’ utility.
The ‘Toggle View: Mixer 1’ User Key is not functional in macOS systems.
Currently there is no option to insert plugins on the ‘Main’ channel in the standard Mixer layers. Workaround: To insert plugins on the ‘Main’ channel, create a ‘Custom’ layer and display the Main channel, the insert slots will now be displayed.
After an unexpected shut-down in macOS, SoundGrid Studio will relaunch in a ‘Link Down’ state. Workaround: Quit properly and relaunch – it will load with ‘Link up’.
In 32 and 64 channel configurations of SoundGrid Studio, while viewing the ‘Monitor 9-16’ Mode, the labeling above the ‘Main’ fader used for flipping faders is labeled 1-8 instead on 9-16.
When configuring a DiGiGrid DLI/DLS in SGP mode, with two DigiLink interfaces bridged to the SoundGrid driver (via one or both ports), the analog inputs of the second DigiLink I/O might not be recognized in the DLI/DLS control panel.
Workaround: Power the DLI/DLS and DigiLink interfaces off and back on again, while the SoundGrid Studio application is running. Once the DLI/DLS is back online, the analog inputs of the second DigiLink I/O will be available. This will need to be performed upon each instantiation of SoundGrid Studio.
Audio streamed via the SoundGrid Driver WDM into a SoundGrid network may be distorted if Windows’ ‘High-Performance’ profile is not selected. Selecting ‘High Performance’ may require Admin or IT privileges.
Loading a channel preset does not change or update the channel’s name in the mixer.
MIDI Control is currently not supported in SoundGrid Studio.
If updating the firmware of your SoundGrid server or interface via a network switch results in errors, connect the unit directly to your computer and repeat the firmware update.
Performance of SoundGrid Studio V12 and above may degrade when running for long durations on macOS 10.15 Catalina, due a memory leak in the ‘Metal’ graphic engine.
Solution: If you have macOS 10.15 Catalina on a Macs with ‘Metal’ and use plugins for long durations (e.g. for broadcast), we recommend you update to any newer macOS version.

Known Issues in StudioRack SoundGrid (Current Version)

Activating/De-activating StudioRack's Side chain, while in SoundGrid mode, can cause momentary audio corruption.
In Windows, using Protools’ ‘Enable Automation’ keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+Win+Alt+Click) will display a blank white menu. Workaround: Use the Protools’ main Automation dialog to enable/disable automation for controls.
‘Bypass’ and ‘Input Gain’ automation data created and saved with StudioRack v9 cannot be recalled with StudioRack v11. You may have to recreate the automation for these parameters.
The on/off control of each insert slot in StudioRack is currently not MIDI assignable. All other controls are.
StudioRack does not support Protools ‘Global’ grouping of controls between instances of StudioRack and the plugins populating it, except for StudioRack’s input and Output controls.
Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain’s Meter Bridge component is not supported in StudioRack.
MultiMod and MetaFilter plugins are currently not supported in StudioRack.
StudioRack’s ‘AUTO’ monitoring source selection feature (to toggle between ‘Input’ and ‘Playback’ modes with DAW transport) only works in host applications that support the Mackie HUI protocol. The following hosts applications do not support Mackie HUI: Bitwig Studio and Ableton Live.
StudioRack’s ‘Auto’ setting for toggling input and playback modes will work, but with a delay while using Pre-roll or Post-Roll settings. For instantaneous automatic switching, do not use pre/post roll.
If StudioRack is loaded in the VST2.4 format, then switched to VST3, or both formats are loaded simultaneously, StudioRack will not communicate with the SoundGrid Studio application. Workaround: remove StudioRacks and load all as VST3 and it will communicate with SoundGrid Studio.
On Windows, if Reaper is launched via the “Reaper (x64) (show audio configuration on startup)” desktop shortcut, even if a full SoundGrid network is configured to offload StudioRack processing, stereo instances of StudioRack will load in ‘Native’ processing mode instead of ‘SG’. Workaround: launch Reaper from the (other) “Reaper (x64)” desktop shortcut.
Bouncing/rendering audio with StudioRack in SoundGrid processing mode in Ableton Live and Bitwig Studio will result in corrupted audio. Workaround: Switch All instances of StudioRack to native processing. In Ableton Live you can also choose to bounce/render audio in Real time. https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209067709-How-to-render-audio-in-real-time.
Switching StudioRack in Ableton Live from SoundGrid to Native processing mode will result in StudioRack’s automation being switched off. Take note of this before performing an offline bounce (turn StudioRack automation back on.)
Loading StudioRack Multi-Mono instances in Pro Tools is not supported.

Additional Support Notes

The following are not bugs. Rather, they are features you should be aware of when operating SoundGrid Studio and StudioRack:

Graphic performance of SoundGrid Studio running on macOS Ventura may be slower compared to older versions of macOS.
Workaround: Use and external display, or downgrade to macOS Monterey/Big Sur.
Waves X10 servers (Extreme-C SoundGrid Server, Extreme SoundGrid server, One-C SoundGrid Server, Titan\Titan-R SoundGrid Server) are not compatible with SoundGrid Studio V9.
Unlike SoundGrid Studio v9, SoundGrid Studio v11 requires a license (even without assigning a Server or using the mixer). You can register a free “SoundGrid Studio + eMotion ST 8 Ch. Mixer” license, or purchase 16/32/64 channel licenses on the SoundGrid Studio page. Once registered, you must activate this license via Waves Central, before you can use SoundGrid Studio to patch audio from your IO to the Driver and back.
Please note: StudioRack is not supported in SoundGrid mode in Pro Tools HDX, HD or HD Native.
When running the SoundGrid driver on Windows 10 with Pro Tools 2022.5, HDX is not available. We are looking into this issue and will update this page when more information is available.
Workaround: temporarily disable ‘sgdawnode’ service when launching Pro Tools, or uninstall the SoundGrid driver.
Command Q and Alt F4 do not quit the application, and will only close the window. Press ‘Quit’ in the Setup page to Quit the application.
Control Room and Headphones 1 to 4 and Talkback input/output assignments are not reflected in the Patch pages and can only be viewed, assigned or unassigned within the Control Room interface.
SoundGrid Connect is intended for mixing purposes only. It is not supported or intended to be used for recording with real time monitoring of plugins (latency will be introduced if used for recording) or to be used to aggregate between SoundGrid and Non-SoundGrid devices, doing so might introduce audio corruptions. We recommend not to have both SG Connect and SoundGrid interfaces assigned simultaneously. If you choose so, the interfaces must be synced by an external clock, such as WC.
Sessions created and saved in SoundGrid Studio v9.7 will not open in SoundGrid Studio v11 and above, old sessions will need to be rebuilt in SoundGrid Studio v11 and above.
Only 64bit 3rd party plugins can run in SoundGrid Studio and StudioRack v11 and above. 32bit 3rd party plugins are not supported.
StudioRack can report 2050 automation lanes to a DAW for itself and the plugins that populate it. In order to reserve automation lanes for controls that are important to you, avoid globally activating all plugin controls at once, and activate them as needed. StudioRack’s eight Macro controls are always available.
Apogee Symphony MK1 is not supported with DLS\DLI interfaces in SGP mode.
Presets are saved in the session as part of the SoundGrid Studio ‘*.sgst’ session and not as separate .xml files on your local computer file system, as there were in SoundGrid Studio V9.
After removing all automated plugins from StudioRack, Protools’ automation list will still be populated by the previous controls. Workaround: remove and re-insatiate StudioRack.
The Bucket View in the CLA MixHub is not supported in SoundGrid Studio or StudioRack.
DiGiGrid D, Q and M Interfaces can function as the network SOE (clock) master only when they are the only interface/s in the SoundGrid network. If other SoundGrid interface/s are added to the same network, make sure to set a different SoundGrid interface (not from the D, Q & M product line) as the SOE master.
If the outputs of a DiGiGrid D / Q / M interface are patched to a Soundgrid Driver, audio will not pass if the Driver Network Buffer is set to 1024 samples in the Soundgrid host application.
Workaround: change the driver’s network buffer to 512 or lower.
The latest supported firmware version for the XI-WSG I/O SoundGrid Card for Roland (1.17.14) is available only as part of the V11 offline installer.

May 18th, 2021
- Updated: SoundGrid Studio v12.8.0
December 31st, 2020
Updated: SoundGrid Studio v12.4.0.174.
- Fixed: Bug (Windows only) causing missing patches in the control room when selectively running Auto Config / Configure.
December 28th, 2020
Update: WaveShell VST3 12.4.0.170 (Mac Only)
- Fixed: Bug causing some key commands within Cubase to be blocked once StudioRack is opened in a session.
December 14th, 2020
- Updated: StudioRack v12.4.0.161
- Updated: SoundGrid Studio v12.4.0.150
October 19th, 2020
- Updated: SoundGrid Studio 11.0.70.257
- Updated: StudioRack 11.0.70.89
- Updated: SoundGrid Driver (ASIO/Core Audio) 11.2.70.257 (included in SoundGrid Studio, eMotion LV1 and SuperRack).
- Updated: SoundGrid server firmware 11.2.70.257 (included in SoundGrid Studio, eMotion LV1 and SuperRack).
July 30th, 2020
- Updated: StudioRack 11.0.68.183
General bug fixes:
- Fixed: General improvement in preset loading time.
- Fixed: General improvement in expand/collapse graphics in all hosts.
- Fixed: GUI corruption in Logic when loading a Split chain within a Split chain.
- Fixed: Incorrect macro transition between mono and stereo in the multiband split section.
- Fixed: Bug causing Pro Tools gain reduction meter not to function when the GUI is minimized.
- Fixed: Bug causing Macro assignments to remain after racks are removed.
- Fixed: Bug causing Undo/Redo not to affect the On/Off button in inserts.
- Fixed: Bug causing plugin window location to be saved outside the screen.
- Fixed: Bug causing Setup A/B to change views in certain scenarios.
- Fixed: Bug causing the sidechain indicator to flip after plugins are copied from another insert.
- Updated: SoundGrid Driver (ASIO/Core Audio) v11.2.65.178
- Updated: SoundGrid server firmware v11.2.65.178 (included in SoundGrid Studio, eMotion LV1 and SuperRack)

Fixed Known Issues in SoundGrid Studio

If SoundGrid Studio is open while restarting your computer, it will prompt to save the session (even if unused or unchanged) – Fixed in v13.
The talkback channel Input is Mono only. Stereo input does not work in the talkback section – Fixed in v13.
When loading a SoundGrid Studio session, via StudioRack, SoundGrid Studio’s patch will not be updated – Fixed in v13.
Certain Soundgrid IO’s may display input and output channels groups (i.e. Mic/Line, Mic/Line/DI, Digital) in a different order in the Patch than in the Route layer of the mixer – Fixed in v13.
On Windows systems, manually running the auto-config “Configure” wizard after IO devices are assigned will not patch the control room properly. Workaround: (Note that this resets your session including plugins and all controls) Load an empty session, run the ‘AutoConfig’, ‘Add Devices’, select your Monitor and press ‘Done’. – Fixed in v12.8.
In Logic Pro, only 126 voices are available for StudioRack instances to offload plugin processing to a SoundGrid Server, even though StudioRack indicates there are 128 voices – Fixed in v12.8.
MyMon controller cannot control the StudioRack mixer layer in SoundGrid Studio – Fixed in v12.8.
After assigning a Shared Driver (managed by a different SoundGrid system) in the Setup page, the Shared driver will appear Red (instead of Orange) but will pass audio and SOE clock successfully. This only happens when the driver is sharing 32 channels – Fixed in v12.
Clicking on Peak Meters in the Control Room or headphone monitoring sections may display ‘-inf’ instead of the correct value – Fixed in v12.
Loading a SoundGrid Studio Session via StudioRack will not load the ‘Tempo Sync’ button on the top bar. It needs to be engaged manually – Fixed in v11.
When assigning a mono Mic input as the source to Headphones 1 to 4, the signal will be heard in the left or right channel only and will not be summed to stereo – Fixed in 11.0.70.257.
After assigning a Shared Driver (managed by a different SoundGrid system) in the Setup page and clicking ‘OK’ to apply the same clock source to both systems, the ‘Shared to’ Driver does not become the local clock Master. Workaround: Manually set the ‘Shared to’ driver as Master – Fixed in 11.0.70.257.
The Solo buttons on Monitor and Auxiliary channels are non-functional – Solo buttons removed in 11.0.70.257.
Switching the Mixer Configuration from 16/32/64 channels to 8 channels will lose all Talkback routings to Groups, Auxiliaries and Monitors – Fixed in 11.0.70.257.
If ‘Auto-Config’ is initiated to set up audio streaming between your DAW and a SoundGrid audio interface without a SoundGrid server, a prompt will appear asking you to select where you wish to monitor from. Selecting ‘None’ will patch Channel/s 3 (and above) of the SoundGrid Driver to Output/s 1 (and above). Workaround: Manually patch Channel/s 1 (and above) of the SoundGrid Driver to Output/s 1 (and above) of your SoundGrid audio interface, in SoundGrid Studio’s Patch page > Device to Device view. For more information refer to this article – Fixed in 11.0.70.257.
If a channel is patched to several destinations, these patch assignments cannot be disconnected individually from the ‘Route’ channel mode, Workaround: disconnect them all at once via the ‘Disconnect all’ option in ‘Route’ channel mode, or via the patch – Fixed in 11.0.70.257.
The StudioRack layer’s meter displays are not affected by the U/I settings selected in SoundGrid Studio Setup page – Fixed in 11.0.70.257 StudioRack’s output meters display post-plugin / pre-fader measurements.
In macOS, SoundGrid Studio’s ‘Full Screen’ button may not appear until (any) device menu is accessed in the ‘Setup’ page inventory – Fixed in 11.0.70.257.

Fixed Known Issues in StudioRack

When using StudioRack in SG Mode in REAPER, you may experience a very short audio mute when pressing play – Fixed in v13.
Editing macro control ranges in JJP signature series is not possible – Fixed in v13.
GTR3.5 controls assigned to macros in StudioRack are not marked with a red frame – Fixed in v13.
Duplicating tracks that include StudioRack Instances in SoundGrid mode in your DAW, will not apply the low latency monitoring ‘Group’ assignment of StudioRack. Workaround: assign duplicated tracks to ‘Group’ manually – Fixed in 11.0.68.178.
Applying ‘Undo’ on a Macro control movement might apply only to the Macro control itself, and not the control behind it. Workaround: Touch the Macro control again and the control behind it will apply the same value – Fixed in 11.0.65.145.
StudioRack input gain knob automation can be written in Ableton Live, but not read – Fixed in 11.0.65.145.
Studio One on Windows will crash after closing StudioRack’s interface with its ‘Macro Edit’ window open. Workaround: close StudioRack’s Edit Window before closing the plugin interface – Fixed in 11.0.65.145.
Loading a preset may reset channel selection of StudioRack’s low-latency input, while in SoundGrid processing mode – Fixed in 11.0.65.145.
Switching StudioRack in Cubase from SoundGrid to Native processing mode will result in additional automation lanes being displayed – Fixed in 11.0.65.145.
In some DAWs, disabling StudioRack while in ‘Input’ mode, will result in a stuck audio buffer – Fixed in 11.0.65.145.
When a Multiband or Parallel Split Rack is loaded in to another Split rack, the insert LED will be yellow and wrongly indicate that you are in SC mode – Fixed in 11.0.65.145.

SoundGrid Studio & StudioRack