You can report technical support issues via e-mail. Note that we can provide support only to the original purchaser.

Most reported problems have been a result of using SFX Machine Pro with unsupported host versions. See our Requirements page for a list of supported host apps. Also see the Frequently Asked Questions page for answers to many of the more common questions.

Some known issues:

1. If you get an error that says "installation cannot proceed, as not all requirements were met", this is usually due to an older system version; please contact support@sfxmachine.com for instructions on resolving this issue.
   
   
2. If you get a -201 error when trying to authorize the software, this usually means your authorization code is incorrect or doesn't match the software. This can happen for a number of reasons.
   
   
   • You may be using an incompatible auth code for the software version you're actually using. For example, you may have launched an old demo version of the software by mistake, or you may be using an auth code for the old 32-bit version (e.g., 1.1.3) with the new 64-bit version of the software (1.5.0). Launch SFX Machine Pro and click on the SFX icon in the upper right of the GUI to see what version you're actually using.
   • You may be using a PC auth code with the Mac version, or vice versa. The two are sold separately, with separate auth codes. Cross-grade discounts are available.
   • You may have typed the auth code incorrectly. If you typed it in manually, try copying and pasting instead.
   
   
3. If you've encountered an error 315 when trying to authorize a copy of SFX Machine Pro (AU/VST or RTAS) purchased via audioMIDI.com, please contact support@sfxmachine.com for a replacement auth code.
   
   
4. If you're unable to validate SFX Machine Pro in 64-bit Logic (Mac), open Logic in 32-bit mode to validate SFX, then authorize it. Then quit Logic, switch it back to 64-bit mode, re-open it, and SFX Machine Pro should work through the bridge.
   
   
5. There was a bug in the Authorization screen when using earlier versions of SFX Machine Pro, SFX Machine RT or Backwards Machine with Cubase 5 on Windows. This bug has been resolved in the latest versions. Users of previous versions can upload to the latest version, or authorize the plug-in using any other VST host program, such as the ones listed on our System Requirements page. In particular, one possible host to use is http://www.hermannseib.com/english/savihost.htm ; a user report of the workaround is at http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3601230#3601230.
   
   
6. Version 1.1.0 and later are not reverse-compatible with presets from previous versions. This is a bug due to the addition of the extra slider. If this causes problems with sequencers that automatically load plug-in presets associated with a given sequence, you may want to revert to a previous version of SFX Machine Pro when using those sequences.
   
   
7. Currently, saved presets don't save the Host Tempo Sync status. If you load a saved preset or a sequence containing a saved preset, a workaround would be to manually click the Host Tempo Sync button.
   
   
8. Some host programs capture mouse or keyboard events. For example, some Mac OS X VST hosts capture the Option key, which is used to link numerical fields in the Preset Editor to the sliders. A workaround is to click the Edit Parameter button instead.
   
   If you can't enter the serial number because the host captures the number keys, you could try using another host app (even a demo or freeware app) for entering your serial number, and then return to your desired host app. Another workaround is to copy the serial number from the e-mail and paste it into the Description field of the plug-in
   
   Version 3 of Live has a built-in workaround. You can open the plug-in editor window as a normal window by shift+clicking on the editor icon. Then you will be able to enter the registration code and use other keyboard entry.
   
   
9. It appears that Audio Unit plug-ins may not process audio in Melodyne 2.0 if Melodyne's audio hardware buffer size is set to a value larger than 1024; it must be set to 1024 or smaller. You can do that by going to Melodyne Preferences -> Hardware -> Buffer Size. Hopefully this will be / has been changed in a more recent version of Melodyne.
   
   
10. In the Windows version, some of the preset descriptions don't quite fit in the Preset Descriptions window.
    
    
11. In early releases of Sound Forge 8, the host program does not seem to be aware when the user selects a new SFX Machine Pro preset; when the user clicks "Preview," the sliders are moved to the settings for the incorrect preset.
    
    This problem appears to be resolved in the Sound Forge 8.0d update.
    
    
12. SFX Machine Pro causes Wavelab to give an error message when used with mono sound files. This has been fixed in the SFX Machine Pro 1.10 update.
    
    
13. There can be authorization problems if you copied over all your PowerPC files to your Intel Mac machine (including a demo or full installation of SFX Machine Pro) and then installed SFX Machine Pro on the Intel machine. This is fixed in SFX Machine 1.1.1.
    
    
14. If you have trouble updating to a new version, you may need to first delete the old plug-in files. (The location of the files is mentioned in the Read Me document.)
    

Please contact us if you encounter any problems. Information like OS version, host software versions, CPU type, RAM, motherboard, graphics card, etc. would be very helpful.

If you are testing in Mac OS X, it's good to know about crash logs. They are located in

~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter

(~ means your user home folder). If you experience any crashes, please look in there for the crash log for the host app that crashed and e-mail us the log. It can be very helpful.

For other tech support issues, read the friendly manual and then contact The Sound Guy, Inc. or report the problem on The Sound Guy forum.

 

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