Blue Cat Audio has released version 2.5 of their MB-7 Mixer, a new version of the multiband mixing plug-in and VST/AU host.

Blue Cat’s MB-7 Mixer 2.5 now includes an external side chain input that can be used by sub-plug-ins for multiband side chain
applications. It is now also possible to select the audio i/o used by each sub-plug-in on each band for more flexible audio routing.

This new version also improves compatibility with third party plug-ins, adding support for plug-ins that do not provide a user
interface (“gui-less” plug-ins), and fixing several compatibility problems.

Moreover, several other areas such as presets loading, skin management and performance have been improved (full list below)

MB-7 Mixer v2.5 Changes:
- External side chain support: side chain input can be used by sub plug-ins on each band
- Sub plugins audio i/o routing: connect inputs & outputs of each plugin to any channel (enabling multi-mono or side chain usage)
- Latency is now compensated for individual channels when a plug-in is processing only a subset of all available channels
- GUI-less plug-ins support: a generic user interface is now provided for VST or AU plug-ins that do not include a graphical editor
- Presets can now be selected using MIDI Program change and bank select messages
- Factory and user skins can now be selected directly from the plug-in menu
- Improved crossovers precision and performance
- Improved presets and session load/save performance (up to 4 times faster in some situations)
- Fixed issue with Izotope Audio Units that were configured as mono effects on stereo tracks
- Fixed issue with some Audio Unit instruments that did not produce any sound (IK Multimedia, Kontakt...)
- Fixed crashes during auto save with Kontakt 5 in Pro Tools 11/12

Blue Cat’s MB-7 Mixer for Windows and Mac (VST/AU/RTAS/AAX/DirectX) is available for 99 EUR / $129 USD (VAT excluded)
The update is free for existing customers.

More INFO: Blue Cat Audio | MB-7 Mixer