FAQ

You get a personal, non-transferable Satellite license tied to your Rakus account. The license lets you activate the full plugin on up to three devices at the same time.

The full plugin is delivered from your account dashboard. You do not need to buy AU and VST3 separately.

No. Satellite does not use iLok, hardware dongles, or a separate background license manager.

The full paid build activates from inside the plugin and then stores local activation state on your computer. The demo build is separate and does require periodic online validation during the trial.

No. The plugin does not send usage analytics, session data, presets, audio, DAW information, or tracking events.

Activation uses account, license, and device information needed to manage your license. The demo uses periodic validation because it is a time-limited trial.

Log in to your Rakus account and open the account dashboard. Owned plugins show the full installer. If you do not own Satellite yet, the dashboard can show the demo download instead.

They are separate builds. The demo is for evaluation and requires Rakus account validation during the trial. The full build is for paid users and can work offline after activation.

If you buy Satellite after using the demo, download and install the full version from your account dashboard.

The Satellite demo is currently a 30-day trial. The dashboard and plugin should show the remaining trial time after the demo has been connected.

Yes. The demo must periodically validate online during the trial period. This is intentional.

The paid full build is different: after activation, it is designed to keep working offline.

First restart your DAW completely. If the old plugin is still cached, rescan plugins in your DAW.

On macOS/Logic, clearing the Audio Unit cache can help if Logic keeps showing stale plugin state.

Open Satellite in your DAW, go to the activation screen, log in with your Rakus account, and activate the device.

Activation must happen inside the plugin, not from the website dashboard.

The full paid build can be used offline after it has been activated once online.

The demo build is not intended for offline use and must periodically validate online.

Satellite currently allows up to three active devices per license.

A device means one computer activation. AU and VST3 on the same computer do not count as separate devices.

If you still have access to the computer, open Satellite on that computer and use Deactivate from inside the plugin. That frees the slot and clears local activation state.

The dashboard does not silently revoke a working offline plugin. That would be misleading, because the plugin does not phone home in the background.

Use the account dashboard and mark the device as lost. Do this only when you permanently cannot deactivate from inside the plugin.

Marking a device as lost frees a slot and is intended for real lost-device situations. Abuse may affect account support.

Not currently. Rakus licenses are personal and tied to the purchasing account.

The macOS installer currently installs AU and VST3. AU is used by Logic Pro. VST3 is used by hosts such as REAPER, Ableton Live, Cubase, Studio One, and others.

The installer uses the standard system plugin locations:

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/Satellite.component

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/Satellite.vst3

Because these are system-wide plugin folders, macOS may ask for an administrator password during installation.

Quit and reopen Logic first. If that is not enough, open Logic Pro > Settings > Plug-in Manager and rescan Satellite.

If Logic still shows stale behavior, clear the Audio Unit cache manually, then reopen Logic. In Finder, go to ~/Library/Caches/AudioUnitCache/ and delete com.apple.audiounits.cache and com.apple.audiounits.sandboxed.cache. Logic will rebuild the cache on next launch.

Make sure the DAW scans VST3 plugins and is looking at the system VST3 folder. Then run a plugin rescan from the DAW preferences.

If a DAW has a failed-plugin blacklist, remove Satellite from the blacklist or force a full rescan.

Normally, no. The installer removes the old Satellite bundles before installing the new ones so stale WebView files do not survive inside the plugin bundle.

Still, restart the DAW after installing a different build type.

Log in to your account dashboard. If a newer build is available, download the latest installer from the owned plugin card.

Install it over the previous version, then restart your DAW.

Your Satellite license includes updates for the version you purchased. If Rakus ever changes the update model for a future major version, it will be stated clearly before purchase.

The account dashboard links to available receipts for completed purchases. Payments are processed by Stripe; Rakus does not store your card details.

The dashboard is intended to serve installers with the correct file extension. If your browser saves a file without an extension, try renaming it to end in .pkg and contact support so the file metadata can be checked.

For digital products, EU withdrawal rights are normally waived once the plugin has been downloaded or activated. If you have not downloaded or activated the product, contact support within 14 days.

Outside that case, refunds are handled individually. If there is a real technical problem, send details and it will be treated seriously.

Use the account settings page. Email changes may require verification.

Yes. Account deletion is available from account settings. Be aware that deleting an account removes the data tied to it, including license and order records.

The Satellite web manual is available at /manual/satellite and from the Resources section of your account dashboard.

Start with two different stage models, set broad frequency ranges, keep saturation moderate, and use Blend before Dry/Wet.

Use the Listen button in the frequency range section to hear what each stage is actually contributing.

Input gain is before the saturation stages. Raising it drives the models harder. Lowering it cleans them up. Output gain is the final trim after processing.

Auto Gain is designed to help level-match settings without becoming a hidden compressor. It should not chase every transient or flatten the dynamics of the source.

Include your Rakus account email, plugin version, macOS version, DAW and DAW version, plugin format used (AU or VST3), and the exact steps that reproduce the issue.

If the issue is visual, include a screenshot. If the issue is audio-related, describe the source material and settings. Please do not send private sessions unless requested.

Email hello@rakus.audio. Keep the subject specific, for example: Satellite activation issue, Satellite Logic scan issue, or Satellite audio glitch.