FAQ & Quickstart Guide
Updated 2026-03-01
Plug-in Version 0.9.2 and 0.9.3 for macOS
Welcome to SONALAB
Plug-ins that put Voice AI to your fingertips!
All current versions are pre-release, and provided “as is”.
This license is NOT for commercial distribution. All content created with any of our services is currently only for evaluation purposes.
With that out of the way:
Thank you for using SONALAB, we hope you enjoy working with it, as much as we are developing it!
Happy testing!
Alex, Sören & Philipp
Setup
Run the provided setup file to install the plug-in as an AAX and/or VST3 ARA plug-in.
When running the installer for the first time, you may receive a warning that the installer could not be verified. Go to System Preferences > Privacy and Security, then scroll down until you see the message: The following file was blocked by macOS. Click “run anyway” to run the installer.
What is an ARA plug-in anyway?
ARA (Audio Random Access) plug-ins work a bit different from what you’re used to, as they don’t require real-time playback of the audio material to do their job. Instead of instantiating the plug-in in an insert slot of a track or channel, it is applied directly to your tracks and audio clips.
Your digital audio workstation (DAW) needs to support ARA2 for the plug-in to work. Currently, we are only supporting AAX and VST3.
We are prioritizing AVID Pro Tools at the moment, but other ARA-enabled DAWS, such as Steinberg Nuendo, Cockos REAPER or Presonus Studio One, should be supported as well. Hit us up, if you have any wishes regarding your favorite DAW.
Using ARA in AVID Pro Tools
1.: Right-click the audio clip you want to work on and select from the ARA Plugins menu.
2. If the plug-in comes up in docked mode, we highly recommend un-docking it. Compatibility with docked view will be improved in future versions.
Using ARA in Steinberg Nuendo
1.: Right-click the audio clip you want to work on and select from the Extensions menu.
2. If the plug-in comes up in docked mode, we highly recommend un-docking it. Compatibility with docked view will be improved in future versions.
Dialog Replacement (ADR)
Example:
Dubbing
Example:
Known Issues / Quirks
Since SONALAB is still in development, if you encounter any issues, please let let us know at support@sonalab.eu
For best results, please include any relevant information, such as operating system, DAW version, plug-in version and anything else that might be relevant.
Temp folder not cleared automatically
The folder containing all temporary audio files will fill up over time. For now, just clean up once in a while. But make sure the files you’re actually using have been copied to you project folder, before you do! 🙂
Usually the folder should be at ~/Library/sonalab but if you can’t find it, send us an email!