From the download to your PCM81.

1. Check your setup

You need a physical PCM81, a MIDI interface that passes SysEx in both directions, and the audio connections you normally use with the hardware. PCM81 Control edits the hardware; the PCM81 produces the sound. Plug-in audio passes through unchanged.

Tested with hardware on Windows and macOS across various DAWs and systems.

2. Install the download

For Full, choose macOS or Windows on your purchase or demo confirmation page. Choose macOS or Windows for Free on the product page. Free includes no plug-ins.

macOS

1. Download Full from your purchase confirmation or email, or download Free from the product page. Double-click the downloaded DMG to open it.
2. Quit your DAW and any running copies of PCM81 Control before copying the bundles.
3. In the DMG, drag the app onto the Applications shortcut. Full also includes AU and VST3 bundles with shortcuts to the shared /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components and /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3 folders. Copy the formats you use; macOS may ask for administrator approval. To install plug-ins for your account only, use the folders below. In Finder, choose Go → Go to Folder and enter a folder path. Create the folder if it does not exist. The ~ means your home folder.

Full standalone · PCM81 Control.app

/Applications/PCM81 Control.app

Free standalone · PCM81 Control Free.app

/Applications/PCM81 Control Free.app

AU · PCM81 Control.component

~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/PCM81 Control.component

VST3 · PCM81 Control.vst3

~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/PCM81 Control.vst3

If you are updating an existing installation, replace its bundles in their current folders rather than keeping duplicate copies.

Eject the DMG after copying. Open the standalone app from Applications. For a plug-in, reopen your DAW and let its plug-in scan finish. Use AU in Logic or VST3 in Ableton Live. If it does not appear, check the folder and use your DAW's plug-in rescan controls, then restart the host.

The macOS Full 0.5.1 bundles and Free 0.4.4 app are signed with Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple. Open them normally; macOS may show its standard first-open confirmation for a downloaded app. If opening or a plug-in scan fails, send support the exact warning.

Windows x64

1. Download the Windows ZIP for your edition and use Extract All in File Explorer. Free contains the standalone app; Full also includes VST3. Neither has an installer.
2. Quit your DAW and any running copies of PCM81 Control. Keep the extracted folder in a location you can write to, then run PCM81 Control Free.exe for Free or PCM81 Control.exe for Full. Free installation is complete at this step.
3. For Full’s plug-in, copy the entire PCM81 Control.vst3 folder from the ZIP's VST3 folder to C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\PCM81 Control.vst3. Windows may ask for administrator approval to copy into Program Files.
4. Reopen your 64-bit VST3 host and rescan plug-ins if needed. Look for PCM81 Control. Keep the complete .vst3 folder together.

The Windows application and plug-in are unsigned, with no Authenticode signature. Windows may show a reputation or SmartScreen warning. Use the ZIP from the official Free, purchase or demo download. If it does not open or scan, send support the exact warning.

3. Connect MIDI and audio

1. Connect your MIDI interface's OUT → PCM81 IN, and the PCM81 OUT → interface IN.
2. Keep the hardware's audio connected through your mixer or audio interface. MIDI carries settings; your existing audio routing carries the sound.
3. In PCM81 Control's MIDI controls, select the ports connected to the PCM81. Both directions must pass SysEx, so allow SysEx through any MIDI filters in your setup.
4. In Full 0.5.1, Connect defaults to Send editor state on connection, which backs up the unit's current edit buffer and verifies the send. To begin with the unit's patch, switch to Read unit state on connection before Connect, or use Read Current State. Free's Connect reads the unit first. Keep a backup before a permanent hardware Store.
5. Make a small parameter change and use Undo to return to the previous setting. Ordinary edits affect the temporary edit buffer; use Store only when you intend to save a hardware register.

If MIDI does not respond, check the two cable directions, port selections and SysEx filtering first. Try the standalone app with other MIDI applications closed to narrow down the connection.

To copy every stored hardware register into the preset library, open Import SysEx / JSON → Import all from unit and confirm. This reads the PCM81 without writing to it. Empty registers are skipped; the unit may briefly display “MIDI Dump has failed” for each empty register.

Neither edition supplies a preset collection. Save your own patches, import existing files or retrieve them from your PCM81. Full 0.5.1 retires unchanged bundled examples from older versions to a recoverable folder outside the library; edited patches and all User/Imported files remain. Free lets you adjust the primary controls and inspect advanced settings read-only; save a Complete preset to preserve the full patch for use in either edition.

4. Activate Full

Free needs no code; skip this step if you installed Free. AU and VST3 are included with Full only.

1. While online, quit all PCM81 Control instances and DAW hosts, then open one copy of the standalone app.
2. Click License at the bottom right. Enter the activation code from your purchase and click Activate.
3. Once the panel shows Licensed, quit and reopen the app to check that activation is saved. You can then reopen your DAW.

Full is a one-time purchase, with two simultaneous activations and lifetime updates. The current price is shown on the product page and in checkout. It is not a subscription. Paid activation issues a license valid offline for 90 days; the app refreshes it automatically when online. The expiry date and app version are shown in the License panel, and Refresh lets you check it manually.

To move an activation, use Deactivate this computer in the License panel while online. Quit the app and DAW hosts after deactivating, then activate on the other computer.

Try Full for 14 days

Request a demo code by email, with no card required. Install Full, open License, paste the PCM81T code and click Activate. The fourteen days start on the first successful activation, on one computer. Use the code within seven days of email verification. Deactivation, reinstalling or requesting another code does not restart the demo.

The demo validates online at each new app or DAW launch, then checks every fifteen minutes. A successful check permits at most one hour offline. The License panel shows the fixed demo end date and remaining network lease. Reconnect and click Refresh if access locks. Expiry locks new advanced manual edits; saved sessions, audio pass-through, MIDI automation, preset recall and export remain available. The demo never charges you automatically.

5. Get updates

For Free, download the macOS standalone DMG or Windows x64 ZIP. No code is needed.

For Full, open the update downloads and enter your existing paid, comp or demo code privately. Choose macOS DMG or Windows ZIP. Lifetime updates are included with your purchase, and your original purchase email or confirmation-page download link still works.

The app's Update button opens this download flow when a newer version is available. If an older cached link opens the shop, choose Already have Full? Get updates. Downloading does not use a computer activation or start, extend or restart a demo. Demo access must still be eligible under its original deadline; revoked licenses cannot download.

Quit every PCM81 Control app and DAW host, then replace the installed bundles with the new versions in the same folders. Keep the existing activation and settings. Reopen your host and rescan if needed. Keep your purchase email and activation code private.

6. Get help

Email info@cass.app or send a message for setup, licensing, billing or refund questions.

To request a refund, email info@cass.app within seven days of purchase. Read the refund, updates and privacy information for the purchase policies.

Include the PCM81 Control version, operating system version, DAW version and plug-in format, MIDI interface, and a short description of what happened. An exact error message helps. Leave activation codes, private purchase links and card details out of the message.