Which operating systems are supported?
macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) and later. Windows 10 and later. Both 64-bit.
On Apple Silicon Macs the plugin runs natively. On Intel Macs it runs natively. No Rosetta required.
Which hosts and plugin formats are supported?
VST3 and a Standalone application.
We test against Reaper, Ableton Live 11+, FL Studio 21+, Cubase 12+, Studio One 6+ and Bitwig 5+. Other VST3 hosts should also work; we treat them as best-effort.
AU and AAX are not currently offered. Logic and Pro Tools users: please wait for future announcements.
The plugin does not appear in my DAW.
First, rescan plugins inside your host. Most DAWs cache the plugin list at startup and need an explicit refresh after a new install.
Second, confirm the file landed in the expected location:
- macOS VST3:
~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/or/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/ - Windows VST3:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\
If your host scans a custom folder, drop the file there instead.
macOS doesn’t work.
Open System Settings → Privacy & Security. Scroll down to the message about the blocked plugin and click Open Anyway.
Our installers are signed and notarised by Apple, so this dialog should not normally appear. If you do see it, write to hello@tauplugins.com.
Windows doesn’t work.
Current builds are self-contained — the Windows VST3 statically links the Microsoft runtime, so it runs on a clean machine with nothing else to install. The classic Windows failure is the host reporting a missing VCRUNTIME140.dll on load. If you do see it on an older build, install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015–2022 (x64) from Microsoft’s website.
Is there a free trial?
Yes, for Tau Null. Download it from the Tau Null page, open it in your DAW and click ACTIVATE OR START TRIAL. You get 14 days with every feature, without paying and without a card or an email.
Starting the trial needs an internet connection; after that it works offline. Each computer gets one trial. When it ends, Tau Null stops processing until you enter a license key, and your sessions and settings stay as they were. If you buy during the trial, enter your key in the same plugin.
Tau Shell doesn’t have a trial yet.
I bought the plugin but never received my license key.
Keys are issued automatically within seconds of purchase, sent to the email address you used at checkout. If you have not received it after 10 minutes:
- Check your spam / promotions folder.
- Confirm the email address on your purchase receipt is the one you have been checking.
- If none of the above resolves it, write to hello@tauplugins.com with your order number.
How many computers can I activate?
Three simultaneous activations per personal license.
This covers the typical “studio + laptop + backup” setup. To move a license off a machine you no longer control, write to support and we’ll free the seat manually.
I changed computers / my drive died. How do I move my license?
Open the plugin on the new machine and enter your license key. If you still have an available seat, the activation completes immediately.
If all three seats are already used — for example because a previous machine is no longer accessible — write to hello@tauplugins.com with your order number and a brief description of which seat to release. We process these requests by hand to prevent abuse; expect a reply within three working days.
Does the plugin need an internet connection to run?
No. Activation requires one connection. After that the plugin runs offline. Starting a free trial also needs a connection; the trial then runs offline until it ends.
A short background re-validation happens every few days, silently. If a network is not available, the plugin keeps running. We grant a generous offline grace window before any prompt is shown.
I upgraded my computer’s hardware. Does my activation still work?
Most hardware changes — RAM, GPU, swapping a drive — are handled silently. Replacing the motherboard or migrating to a brand-new machine will require a fresh activation.
Can I get a refund?
Yes. We offer a 14-day, no-questions refund window. Refunds are processed back to your original payment method and take a couple of days to land.
To request a refund, reply to your purchase receipt or write to hello@tauplugins.com with your order number. After 14 days, refunds are only granted for documented bugs that prevent normal use.
I get no sound at all.
In order of likelihood:
- Check the bypass state in the plugin header.
- Check that the wet / dry mix is not at 0%.
- Confirm signal is entering the plugin — an empty input track produces nothing audible regardless of settings.
- Confirm your host’s master output is not muted.
If all of the above check out, write to support with your host name and the sample rate / buffer size you are running at.
I hear glitches or crackling.
Most commonly this is the host buffer size being smaller than your CPU can sustain. Try increasing the buffer size to 256 or 512 samples.
Buffer sizes below 32 samples are not supported.
What sample rates are supported?
44.1 kHz through 192 kHz. Outside this range the behaviour is undefined.
Is there a safety limit on the wet path?
Yes. Feedback is internally capped at a stable maximum and the wet output is bounded so the plugin cannot produce uncontrolled levels regardless of parameter combinations.
This is not a substitute for monitoring at sensible levels. Please always start a session with your monitors low and bring them up.
Are the reverberant fields impulse responses?
No. They are algorithmic. The plugin does not load or convolve any external impulse responses.
How many regimes are included?
Twenty-five, spanning atmospheric tails, smooth diffusion, reverse swells, shimmer, shimmer with rhythm, and experimental processing. Each is a fully-formed starting point; every parameter is editable from there.
How is this different from a static EQ?
Tau Null is dynamic. The three amber nodes set targeting curves, not fixed cuts — the plugin only attenuates a band when the input signal develops energy there. On quiet passages it is transparent; on resonant material it engages exactly as much as needed.
Can I play live with Tau Null?
Yes — switch to LIVE mode. Latency drops to under 6 ms at 44.1 kHz, short enough to track and monitor through. HQ mode trades latency up (about 23 ms) for finer low-frequency resolution when mixing, where latency does not matter. The host’s plugin delay compensation updates immediately on mode change.
How many presets are included?
Twelve, covering acoustic and metal guitar, vocal de-harsh and de-essing, kick, snare, cymbal, drum bus, piano, violin, and two master-bus shapes (soft + pro). Each is a hand-tuned starting point; every node is draggable from there.
Can I use the plugin commercially?
Yes. A personal license includes the right to use the plugin on commercial productions you are personally involved in. There are no per-track or per-release fees.
Are there any discounts available?
Tau Null and Tau Shell are $29 each, plus VAT where it applies.
We don’t offer a standing educational or returning-customer discount. From time to time we run promotional discount codes — follow announcements on the website for those.
Do you offer studio / group / site licenses?
Not at the moment. A personal license covers up to three computers; each one uses a seat. We will revisit studio bundles once we have more data on demand.
How are updates delivered?
Free updates within the v1 series. Notifications are sent by email when a new build is published; downloads are available from the same account page that hosts your purchase.
Cross-major upgrades may be paid, with discounted upgrade pricing for existing customers. Any such terms will be published well in advance.
Will my activation expire?
No. A personal license is perpetual within the v1 series.
Will you ever require a subscription?
No plans. We do not believe a stereo effect plugin is a service.
Does the plugin send any data back to you?
Only to activate, to start a free trial, and for an occasional re-check. Activation sends your license key, a hashed machine identifier, and a hash of your computer’s name with its processor model, operating system and network-card maker. Starting a trial sends the same machine details without a key, plus hashed network-card addresses, the plugin version and the name of your DAW. No audio, no parameter values, no project information. Full detail is in the privacy policy.
Does the website track me?
Not personally. We count visits anonymously with PostHog in cookie-free mode: no cookies, nothing stored on your device, no profiles, and no IP addresses kept. We see visitor numbers, rough location from your timezone, and taps on a few key buttons (buy, play, trial download, plugin and featured-artist links) — nothing more. Switch it off any time with ANALYTICS at the bottom of every page; browsers sending Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track are never counted. No advertising tags, no cross-site tracking.
Our hosting provider also keeps standard server logs for 7 days for security and abuse prevention; we do not analyse them. The plugins themselves never send usage data. Full detail is in the privacy policy.
How do I delete my data?
Write to hello@tauplugins.com from the email tied to your purchase. We delete personal data on request within 30 days, subject to legal retention obligations (tax records, accounting).
How quickly do you reply?
Within three working days for routine tickets. Purchase and activation failures are triaged faster.
Mark the subject line [URGENT] for activation outages, confirmed audio safety issues, or projects that will not open.
What information should I include in a support email?
Order email, operating system and version, host name and version, plugin version (visible in the info panel), and a clear description of what you did and what happened.
For audio issues, a short bounced clip is often the fastest path to a fix.
Do you offer phone or live-chat support?
No. A single inbox keeps everything traceable and means nothing gets lost between platforms. See the contact page for details.