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Blue Cat Audio - Software Made by Musicians for Musicians
Blue Cat's StereoScope Pro
Blue Cat's StereoScope Pro
"Detailed stereo image analysis with 3D visualization."
Price: 99€ or $99 (tax incl.)
Blue Cat's StereoScope Pro - Real Time Stereo Field Analyzer and Audio to MIDI Plug-in (VST, AU, RTAS, DX)

Blue Cat's StereoScope Pro is a real time stereo field analyzer with multiple views and MIDI/automation output capabilities. It is a powerful help to analyze how the audio signal is spread in the stereo field, and you can easily detect potential phase and mono compatibilities issues.

MacOSUniversal BinaryWindows Vista or newerWindows x64 (64-bit)VSTVST3AAX64-bit AAXAudio Unit

The stereo analysis can be controlled in details, and the precise measurements capabilities combined with the zoomable displays let you monitor what is exactly happening.

Choose your preferred view for your needs: real time stereo field display, evolution of the stereo image over time (2D or 3D) or output parameters that explicitly describe the average position and extent of the audio signal in the stereo field. The 3D waterfall view lets you see in details from your preferred viewpoint the evolution of the stereo image over time.

The four memory slots let you store any curve in memory: it helps you make comparisons between several tracks or effects setup very easily. You can compare your mix with other commercial hits!

Like our other professional analysis tools, the output parameters of this plug-in can be used to control other effects in real time: the generated automation envelopes or MIDI CC messages include the minimum and maximum positions in the stereo field and the perceived position based on the audio energy spread in the stereo image. Check the DP Meter Pro Tutorials to see how to use this capability within your favorite host.

Thanks to Blue Cat's skinning language support and the included window opacity management feature, you can adapt the plug-in user interface to your personal needs and enhance your workflow: work faster and more efficiently.

For multiple tracks stereo analysis, you want to give a try to Blue Cat's StereoScope Multi plugin.

Main Features:

  • Real time stereo image analyzer.
  • Three detailed views: stereo image, "stereogram" (evolution of the image over time) and output parameters.
  • Animated zoom for all views.
  • Precise measurement capabilities.
  • 3D waterfall view with full 3D control.
  • solid or wireframe 3D surface display.
  • Integrated correlation meter.
  • Instant, peak and average stereo image curves display.
  • Easy phase cancelation and mono compatibility issues detection.
  • Save the curves for easy A/B comparison.
  • Opacity control for the user interface.
  • Custom absolute and relative threshold control.

Blue Cat Audio Standards:

  • Available in most plug-in formats for Mac and Windows.
  • Full MIDI control and automation support, MIDI Learn.
  • No CPU load on idle: processing shuts down when fed with silence (optimal CPU usage).
  • Customizable user interface with transparency & zoom.
  • Automation and MIDI output: record output parameters as automation curves or send MIDI CC messages to other plug-ins for powerful side chain effects.
  • Smooth Bypass: noiseless plug-in activation / deactivation.
  • Undo/Redo.
  • Full featured integrated presets manager.
  • Copy/paste the state of the plug-in between instances.
  • Any sample rate supported.
User's GuideOn The BlogTutorialsNewsletter

Blue Cat's StereoScope Pro - Real Time Stereo Field Analyzer and Audio to MIDI Plug-in (VST, AU, RTAS, DX) Blue Cat's StereoScope Pro - typical curves for out of phase signal: most of the energy is in the red area of the display. Blue Cat's StereoScope Pro - Output view: monitor the output parameters over time and apply a transform. Blue Cat's StereoScope Pro - Real Time Stereo Field Analyzer and Audio to MIDI Plug-in (VST, AU, RTAS, DX) Blue Cat's StereoScope Pro - Real Time Stereo Field Analyzer and Audio to MIDI Plug-in (VST, AU, RTAS, DX)

User Comments & Reviews

"Blue Cat Audio's Analysis Pack gives such great visual feedback on my tunes that I'm thinking about ditching the speakers altogether. Its StereoScope in particular is the most intuitive stereo analysis tool I've used" - Lee du-Caine, Deputy Editor at Computer Music Magazine.

To add your own comment about this product, please contact us.

Demo Limitations:

  • One single instance of the plug-in per session.
  • The plug-in is frozen for 4 seconds every 40 seconds.

System Requirements

An OpenGL-compatible graphics card for the 3D View.

MacOS

  • An Intel or Apple Silicon processor.
  • Mac OS 10.9 or newer.
  • Any VST / Audio Unit / AAX compatible application (64-bit) .

Windows

  • An SSE2-enabled processor (Pentium 4 or newer).
  • Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows 7, 8 or 10.
  • Any VST / AAX compatible host software (32 or 64 bit).

For more information about supported platforms, see our Knowledge Base.

Versions History

V2.11 (2022/12/12)

  • Added Apple Silicon support for AAX Plug-in Format.
  • Fixed VST3 version not always loading properly in Ableton Live 11.
  • Improved VST parameter value display in some host applications.
  • Added an option in global & preset input settings to send MIDI events when MIDI-enabled parameters are modified in the plug-in (to update control surfaces accordingly).
  • Improved undo management and automation when using the mouse wheel to move knobs.
  • Fixed VST & VST3 automation not recording properly in some hosts for output parameters (Cubase 11, Ableton Live).
  • AAX: Fixed erratic mouse behavior in Pro Tools on Mac.
  • Mac: installers and plug-ins have been notarized to avoid security warnings on Mac OS Catalina and newer.

V2.1 (2021/10/19)

  • Single Installer on Mac (all plug-ins formats).
  • Apple Silicon (M1 processor) support.
  • Dropped 32-bit support on Mac.
  • Now requires MacOS 10.9 and newer.
  • Arrow keys can now be used to navigate presets.
  • Added MIDI control support (MIDI CC messages) for Next and Previous Preset commands, with MIDI learn.
  • Improved MIDI & automation control settings with lock, reset and "save as global setting" capabilities.
  • Improved smooth plug-in bypass (faster and smoother transition).
  • Unicode support.
  • Reduced the number of threads used by the plug-in.
  • Reduced memory footprint.
  • Windows: improved GUI loading performance.
  • VST3: fixed random crash in Ableton Live 11 upon load.

V2.0 (2020/11/12)

DSP:
  • Audio analysis is now performed in the background and does not affect audio performance at all.
  • New "Stereo Spread" measurement that shows how the signal is spread in the stereo field.
User Interface:
  • Refreshed GUI design, with improved usability and touchscreen support.
  • The GUI can now be zoomed from 70% to 200%.
  • Now supports retina displays on Mac (text and graphs using high resolution).
  • Save each memory curve as a file that can be reloaded later as a reference.
  • Copy and paste memory curves between instances using the system clipboard.
  • Factory and user skins can now be selected directly from the plug-in menu.
  • VST: the user interface is now properly resized in Cubase on Windows.
  • New installer on Mac.
Presets Management:
  • Brand new presets management system.
  • Presets can now be selected using MIDI Program change and bank select messages (can be activated with the presets menu/MIDI Program Change item).
  • Copy/paste the plug-in's current state from the presets menu using the system clipboard.
Compatibility:
  • Now compatible with MacOS Catalina and Big Sur.
  • VST3 plug-in format support.
  • Audio Suite support for offline analysis in Pro Tools.
  • Dropped support for Windows XP and Mac OS X 10.6 and earlier.
  • Dropped support for legacy RTAS and DirectX plug-ins formats.
Note: this new version can be installed side by side with the previous version for backward compatibility reasons. Installing this new version won't break your previous projects.

V1.91 (2014/03/20)

  • Fixed 64-bit VST MIDI Events not sent for the first output parameter in the list.
  • Windows VST installer now detects the VST plug-ins path and remembers previous install location for updates.
  • Fixed Audio Unit validation issue on OSX Mavericks/Logic Pro X.
  • Fixed VST plug-in window frame not showing in Cubase 7.5 (32-bit) on Mac.
  • Fixed VST version that could not be loaded in Audio HiJack Pro (Mac).

V1.9 (2013/06/27)

  • 64-bit AAX support for Pro Tools 11.

V1.9 (2011/07/11)

  • Output data rate (MIDI CC or automation) can now be customized, from 20 to 500 Hz.
  • Increased the default output data rate (from 20 to 50 Hz) for smoother side chaining and more precise display.
  • Several pan laws can now be selected to match your preferences.
  • Center position is now displayed with numbers in addition to the graphical meter.
  • Windows: improved settings dialog loading time.
  • Mac: user interface performance improvement (up to 30% lighter on cpu).

V1.82 (2011/02/10)

  • Fixed keyboard focus stealing issue in Pro Tools and several other host applications.
  • Controls visibility is now persistent.

V1.81 (2010/11/29)

Fixed incompatibility issues with older presets in the previous version.

V1.8 (2010/11/18)

  • 64-bit Mac VST support.
  • User interface enhancements:
    • Improved readability.
    • Zooming is now animated.
    • Controls can be collapsed to reduce the size of the user interface and focus on the analysis.
    • Improved consistency with our other analysis tools.
  • Improved MIDI and automation output precision: now prevents hosts from wrongly interpolating between values.
  • Default release time is now shorter.

V1.7 (2010/06/19)

Performance Improvements (all platforms):
  • Improved user interface performance and increased graphs display refresh rate.
  • Improved signal processing performance (up to twice faster on some systems!). The plug-in now requires a processor supporting SSE2.
  • Reduced memory footprint.
  • Faster skin loading.

V1.62 (2010/03/19)

This update only concerns the RTAS version of the plug-in:
  • RTAS plug-in bug fix: when using both the mono and stereo versions in the same session, the controls of the instances were linked together.

V1.61 (2010/02/25)

  • Demo version now displays a nag screen only once per session, and only when opening the user interface of the plug-in.
  • Mac: fixed crash with demo version in Ableton Live 8.1.1.
  • Mac AU: output parameters routing now works for more than one instance in Logic Pro's Environment.
  • Mac AU: fixed output parameters that could exceed defined range and not record properly as automation curves.

V1.6 (2010/02/15)

  • RTAS plugin format support for Pro Tools (Mac and Windows).
  • 64-bit applications support for Windows DX and VST under Windows x64.
  • Mac AU 64-bit format support (compatible with 64-bit Logic 9.1 on Snow Leopard)
  • Fixed MIDI learn issues.
  • Space bar does not trigger plug-in buttons anymore (avoids conflict with transport control in most applications).
  • Mac: fixed user interface crashes in some hosts under Snow Leopard.
  • Mac: fixed keyboard/mouse focus issues in some hosts.
  • Mac: fixed user interface crashes in some hosts, when used with particular display settings.
  • Mac: fixed multiple screens issue.
  • Mac-AU: fixed user interface resizing issue when changing skin in some hosts (Logic).
  • Mac-AU: fixed settings lost issue when doing offline rendering in some applications.

V1.5 (2009/08/10)

  • New 3D waterfall view to monitor the evolution of the stereo image over time.
  • Drag the rulers to move the curve when zoomed (can keep measurement/selection mode and still drag the curves).
  • Output automation is now disabled by default.
  • Updated documentation.
  • Bug Fix (PC): Cubase freezes when loading a preset using a different skin while the plugin window is open.

V1.41 (2009/05/05)

Mac VST update: fixed incompatibility issues with Cubase 5 on Mac.

V1.4 (2009/02/27)

  • Mac Audio Unit support.
  • Improved accuracy of MIDI output.
  • Automation output can now be disabled for hosts that do not propose automated parameters choice.
  • New Windows Installer (you should uninstall any previous version before installing this new one).
  • New documentation format.

V1.3 (2008/12/10)

  • Now available for Mac in VST format.
  • Minor user interface changes.

V1.2 (2008/02/25)

  • Fixed a crash on certain configurations while opening the global settings window.
  • Settings window is now faster to open.

V1.1 (2007/12/13)

  • Improved display refresh rate.
  • New "zoom by selection" feature: analysis is now even smoother!

V1.0 (2007/11/05)

First version.