How to Manage VST Plug-Ins with Windows

How to Manage VST Plug-Ins with Windows The way you install your plug-ins can help determine how easy they are to use by Craig Anderton Y ou’ve blown your budget on some kick-ass plug-ins, both processors and instruments, and downloaded scores of public domain goodies from the interwebz. Free vst sites. Copy your VST folder (s) onto the new machine, just on your desktop or something. You never know when one of those.dll's will come in handy. Oh, also, if you're a VST whore you may want to take the opportunity to cull the herd. I had so many from back when I grab anything free. I finally upgraded in a major way from my 4 year old slug. Is there anyway to transfer FL studio and all my plugins. Without redownloading and reinstalling and losing all my patches and presets? I don't have an epic amount of time and im going for about 30gigs worth of data here. Excluding all my other stuff.

The way you install your plug-ins can help determine how easy they are to use

by Craig Anderton

You’ve blown your budget on some kick-ass plug-ins, both processors and instruments, and downloaded scores of public domain goodies from the interwebz. Face it: you have a bad case of plug-initis.

But as the number of plug-ins increases, watch out. Some plug-ins are incompatible with certain programs or systems. Or, a program that used to work fine might hang whenever it tries to load a new plug-in—so you can’t open the program to tell it to ignore the problematic plug. And for some reason, that tempo-synched delay simply refuses to sync . . .

Before matters get out of hand, let’s look at how to raise well-behaved plug-ins. We’ll concentrate on the VST format, but also give a nod to the DirectX plug-ins. I call DirectX a “zombie format” because new development ceased a long time ago after Microsoft lost interest, but they remain relevant and are supported by Sony, Cakewalk, Acoustica, and others.

CALLING ALL PLUG-INS

VST plug-ins usually reside in a folder called (surprise!) “Vstplugins.” Ideally, you should keep all your VST plug-ins in one folder. If you have multiple programs that support VST plug-ins, point them to this one folder. Usually you can specify a folder where a program should install its plug-ins during the installation process, or via a Preferences or Options page where you can specify the folder’s path.

Because some program’s plug-ins will work with other programs, you might want to specify C:Program FilesCommon Files as an appropriate location to install common shared executable content like plug-ins. For example, C:Program FilesCommon FilesVST3 can be a suitable location for VST3 files; some vendors (including Celemony) put plug-ins in C:Program FilesCommon FilesVST2.

Some programs will instead insist on installing their own plug-ins folder, and reference that. You may be able to simply drag a plug-in from that folder to your main folder, but that doesn’t always work. Move the plug-in, tell your program not to scan the original folder, and see if the program recognizes the plug-in in your main folder. If so, you should be okay but there may also be presets and other elements scattered around. Often, it’s best just to leave any installed folders (Fig. 1), and include them in the scan path. (Also, do a search on “vstplugins”—you might be surprised at how many folders you unearth.)

Fig. 1: In Live’s Preferences menu, like most other hosts, you can specify a path to the VST plug-in folder. Clicking on the browse button can change the path from the default folder.

This Tuneswill Compliment for Trancethrough to ambient, Dubstep, Progressive, Electro House, Tech House,Goa, and many others! Thiscurrent packages designed in though to produce murky dark vibe sounds.3 Sounds FX CollectionsProducers will also Addicted and liking the versatility of this Pack when creating Tracks from Scratch. Sub bass vst plugin free. All supplied in Wav formats 32 bit.

DirectX plugs can live anywhere, because installing them registers them in the scary Windows Registry. However, you may not know exactly where they are, which can be a hassle if you want to uninstall a troublesome plug-in and there’s no obvious uninstall routine. If you’re a Cakewalk SONAR user, the Plug-In Manager lists your DX plug-ins and shows their file paths, file names, and registry keys; it can also import, export, and manage (delete, rename) plug-in presets.

WHEN GOOD PLUGS GO BAD

Many programs that host plug-ins scan and initialize them when launched. Often there will be a “status line” that shows each plug’s name as it’s being scanned. Sometimes, though, the program will “freeze” at a particular plug-in.

Don’t panic! Like other software, first check for updates on the web, especially if you’ve changed operating systems. Sometimes that alone fixes the problem. If it doesn’t, with a VST host, look at the status line. If it’s stuck on a plug-in name, 99% of the time that will be the plug-in causing the problem. Reboot, go to the Vstplugins folder, then drag the plug-in out of the folder. Now re-launch the program. This time, it won’t hang at the plug-in because the plug-in isn’t there. Hopefully, the program will load completely but if it hangs on another plug-in, remove it too.

How To Move A Vst Plugin To Another Computer Windows

After the program loads successfully, quit the program, then drag one of the plug-ins back into the Vstplugins folder and re-launch the program. Often times, the plug-in will now be recognized. Repeat for all the plug-ins you removed. If the program still hangs at a particular plug-in, try re-booting and re-launching. If a problem remains after a few reboots/re-launches, the plug-in may simply be incompatible.

If a particular program is allergic to certain plug-ins, you can:

• Create a separate plug-ins folder, drag over copies of all the plug-ins known to work with the program (or re-install if needed), and point the program to this folder.
• Disable problematic plug-ins from within the program. For example, Steinberg Wavelab has an Organize Master Section Plug-Ins function under the Options menu where you can “turn off” plug-ins (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2: Wavelab’s plug-in organizer can enable and disable specific plug-ins; it also provides some information about them.

This problem seems less common with DirectX, but if a DX host program hangs on launch while scanning plug-ins, close it and launch again. In almost every time this has happened to me, running the program a couple of times will eventually recognize all the plug-ins. With some programs, you can create different plug-in layouts so that, for example, you could create a set that excludes all DirectX plug-ins (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3: SONAR’s plug-in manager lets you enable or exclude plug-ins. It also furnishes path and registry information, allows exchanging plug-in presets with other SONAR users, and lets you create “layouts” for particular plug-ins—for example, you can create one with only 64-bit plug-ins, and another with particular collections of plug-ins.

32-BIT PLUG-INS IN A 64-BIT WORLD

People often ask if their favorite 32-bit plug-ins will work with 64-bit programs. The answer is a definitive..maybe. There are two popular “wrappers,” BitBridge and JBridge, which allow 32-bit plug-ins to work in 64-bit systems. It’s amazing they work at all, but do note that some plug-ins simply will not play nice. Also, some users report one program being able to wrap some plug-ins while the other one can’t, so it is somewhat hit-or-miss. It’s highly recommended that if you’re running a 64-bit DAW with a 64-bit OS that you use true 64-bit plug-ins, but that said, these utilities can extend the life of your 32-bit plug-ins while you wait for 64-bit versions to arrive..assuming they ever do, of course.

Bear in mind that plug-in bridging can make some systems less stable. This isn’t really the fault of the bridge software, but the result of trying to do something that stretches the boundaries of compatibility.

How To Move A Vst Plugin To Another Computer

LEAN AND FRESH

If you don’t use a plug-in, remove it from your system (for VST, uinstall or if that's not possible, drag to a different folder or delete; for DirectX, use the uninstall routine). Although plug-ins tend to be pretty solid, fewer plug-ins mean less scanning time when a program launches, and a tidier selection process.

You might try copying the plugin dlls to your premiere VSTPlugins folder, usually located at C:Program FilesAdobeAdobe Premiere Pro CS6PluginsenUSVSTPlugins - and then just start the Premiere, to see if they will be listed in the effects. There are some plugins which employ more complex input options, like side-chaining, and those might not work properly.However, some time ago Waves plugins were not true VST plugins, and could not have been run in Premiere. I'm not sure what the situation is now. Premiere pro vst plugins folder.

Okay! Caustic 3 vst plugins. Now go weed out the clutter and refresh your plug-ins—your system will thank you for it. -HC-

______________________________________________

Craig Anderton is Editorial Director of Harmony Central. He has played on, mixed, or produced over 20 major label releases (as well as mastered over a hundred tracks for various musicians), and written over a thousand articles for magazines like Guitar Player, Keyboard, Sound on Sound (UK), and Sound + Recording (Germany). He has also lectured on technology and the arts in 38 states, 10 countries, and three languages.

How To Move A Vst Plugin To Another Computer Screen

• Band-in-a-Box for Windows
• Band-in-a-Box for Mac
• Other software

• PG Music User Forums
• sales@pgmusic.com
  support@pgmusic.com

Current time is:

One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from 6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.

• Tel: 1-800-268-6272 or 1-888-746-8742 (Within USA and Canada)
• Tel: + 800-4746-8742 (Outside USA and Canada where International Freephone service is available - International access codes).
• Email: sales@pgmusic.com

One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from 6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.

• Email: support@pgmusic.com
• Web: Tech support