Building upon the announcement that it has joined forces with industry pioneer DiGiCo, Fourier Audio revealed the transform.engine, previously known as codename “Project Core.”
The transform.engine is a Dante-connected server designed to run all VST3-native software plugins in a live environment, bringing premium studio software to live sound and broadcast applications. Compatible with any VST3 plugin that can run on Windows, the new device gives engineers and creatives access to studio-grade processing on a platform that is specifically designed for the rigors and complexities of live productions.
Designed as a turnkey solution for plugin hosting, the transform.engine is controlled by a remote Windows or macOS client application. Users can simply connect to the engine via a standard Ethernet cable, install their plugins, and get directly to processing.
Designed to be integrated into live audio workflows, transform.engine will soon put control of plugins directly under the fingers of engineers on their own worksurfaces, starting with DiGiCo consoles.
Controlled remotely by a Windows/macOS application, with plugin user interfaces “teleported” and controlled in ultra-low-latency over the network, the product has been tuned to deliver the lowest-latency solution on the market for hosting VST3 plugins, while preserving the reliability and performance of the server.
“In the meantime, we’re inviting studio software manufacturers to contact us about potentially offering their plugins as part of transform.engine’s ever-expanding open ecosystem of live tools,” commented Fourier Audio CEO Henry Harrod. “We want to introduce them to a whole new market segment that they’ve not previously had access to. At the same time, we want to offer live sound engineers not just ‘good’ emulations of various studio plugins, but the absolute best-sounding authentic versions of every plugin they might possibly want from the professional recording world. It’s a ‘win-win’ situation for everyone.”
Fourier Audio CCO Gareth Owen points out that transform.engine’s reliability will be one of its greatest hallmarks. “There are a lot of other VST hosting approaches out there, but when you have a theater, arena, or stadium full of people listening to your show, there’s no margin for error,” he commented. “With the backing and support of DiGiCo, which is celebrated for its decades of designing tourable, reliable, and long-lasting hardware, we are building the ultimate plugin solution.”
Fourier Audio’s team of engineers, led by CTO Peter Bridgman, has followed two years of R&D with a recent collaboration with DiGiCo to deliver a new hardware platform for transform.engine.
DiGiCo Technical Director John Stadius noted: “It has been an exciting challenge for our teams to design a brand new bespoke hardware platform. The Fourier Audio team reminds me of an early-stage DiGiCo, and that enthusiasm really motivated us all to get it done. I couldn’t be happier with the end result and what it will mean for live sound engineers.”
