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Piano Roll Redesign, Complete Track Freeze Overhaul, VST3 High-DPI & Process Safety — Omni Update August 2026

Omni receives a major workflow and performance upgrade. Introducing a completely redesigned Piano Roll with dedicated generator panels and left tool rail, native ASIO low-latency audio support on Windows, a ground-up overhaul of Track Freeze preserving FX chains and automation, VST3 High-DPI scale negotiation, and real-time safe plugin process garbage collection.

August 6, 2026 Tomasz Głuc
Piano Roll Redesign, Complete Track Freeze Overhaul, VST3 High-DPI & Process Safety — Omni Update August 2026

Build: 0d03f8a | July 21 – August 6, 2026

🎹 Piano Roll Workspace Redesign & Dedicated Generator Panel

The core MIDI composition environment in Omni has undergone a comprehensive structural redesign. The Piano Roll editor (omni_host/src/ui/clip_editor/) now features a modular split layout engineered for maximum editing efficiency and uncluttered composition:

  • Left Tool Rail — a streamlined vertical sidebar containing mode selection tabs, quick-access editing tool shortcuts (Select, Paint, Eraser, Slice), and unified control controls for Snap, Root Key, Scale Selection, and Fold (collapsing the grid strictly to active scale degrees or notes present in the clip).
  • Right Collapsible Generator Panel — a dedicated sidebar housing Omni's generative composition engines:
    • Melody Generator & Progression Generator — instant access to AI and algorithmic pattern generation without modal dialog popups.
    • Scale & Harmony Controls — intuitive key, chord, and harmonic constraint management.
  • Maximized Central Note Grid — the central note editing matrix now occupies maximum screen real estate. The bottom parameter expression lanes (Velocity, Chance, Velocity Deviation, Volume) render inline within the editor shell, perfectly aligned to grid boundaries.
  • UI Physics & Smooth Resizing — resolved detail panel "springing" physics in egui. Bottom panel heights are now explicitly calculated and enforced from cursor positions during user drag operations, eliminating layout jumps and flickering.

🧊 Complete Track Freeze Engine Overhaul & Automation Restoration

We have completely rebuilt the Track Freeze engine (freeze_render.rs), transforming it from a basic dry-stem exporter into an exact, sample-accurate snapshot renderer:

  • Full Plugin State Extraction (GetPluginState) — when freezing a track containing CLAP, VST3, or LV2 instruments and effects, Omni queries live binary state blobs directly from active plugin instances. Custom sound patches and parameter tweaks are preserved 1:1 in the rendered audio stem.
  • Insert Chain & Automation Preserved — frozen tracks now process full insert FX chains and evaluate real-time parameter automation envelopes (inject_autom_param_events), accurately capturing filter sweeps and dynamic modulations.
  • Builtin FX Alias Resolution — fixed internal string mapping (fx_type_from_string) for UI display names like EQ, Modal Resonator, Granular Clouds, and ConvolutionReverb. This guarantees that both Track Freeze and FTR project exports process all internal effect units flawlessly.

🛡️ Real-Time Safety & Plugin Sandbox Hardening

We conducted a deep real-time safety audit of Omni's audio thread (omni_engine), targeting host stability during live plugin management:

  • Off-Thread FX Garbage Collector (fx_gc_tx) — removing or swapping a CLAP, VST3, or LV2 plugin previously executed the plugin's synchronous Drop logic directly on the real-time audio thread (which can block up to 5 seconds waiting for GUI thread handshakes). Deletions and replacements are now dispatched via non-blocking channels to a dedicated Omni-FX-GC background thread, completely eliminating audio stutters and host freezes during playback.
  • JUCE Process-Wide State Preservation — resolved host crashes caused by static memory cleanup in JUCE-based plugins (such as Surge XT or Scintillate). Retired plugin instances are retained in a process-level memory graveyard until application exit, preventing static C++ state corruption when creating new plugins after deleting old ones.

🖥️ Windows VST3 High-DPI Scaling & Native Owned GUI Windows

Third-party plugin editor windows on Windows OS receive significant visual and integration fixes:

  • Pre-Size High-DPI Scale Negotiation — fixed an issue where VST3 plugins (using JUCE or VSTGUI4) assumed 100% display scale prior to receiving host DPI notifications, resulting in cropped GUI windows on 4K/High-DPI monitors. The host now queries window scale factors (GetDpiForWindow / 96.0) and notifies plugins via IPlugViewContentScaleSupport before the first getSize() request.
  • Native Owned Window Hosting — VST3 and CLAP plugin editor viewports are now attached as native owned windows of Omni's main OS viewport on Windows, resolving z-order focus issues and preventing plugin windows from dropping behind the DAW interface.

🎛️ Modulator Rack & UI Refinements

  • Collapsible Routing Sections — individual modulator cards in the Modulator Rack now feature an independent routing section fold button, collapsing routing destination lists into a compact status strip with active assignment counters.
  • Responsive Header Layouts — section headers now utilize horizontal_wrapped layouts, ensuring controls like the "Listen" button remain visible and clickable even in narrow sidebars.
  • Unclassified Plugin Visibility — plugins missing standard category tags now appear under a clear "Unclassified" section in the "Load Instrument" and "Add FX" menus, ensuring no installed plugin is hidden from selection.

Over the past two weeks, Omni has gained a sleek modular Piano Roll workspace, a rock-solid Track Freeze engine, and major real-time plugin process hardening. Upgrade your build today and experience next-level stability and creative flow! 🚀

Piano Roll Redesign, Complete Track Freeze Overhaul, VST3 High-DPI & Process Safety — Omni Update August 2026 | OMNi DAW