How To Manage Vst Plugins
Steinberg's Virtual Studio Technology (VST) is an interface for integrating software audio synthesizer and effect plugins with audio editors and hard-disk recording systems. VST and similar technologies use Digital Signal Processing (DSP) to simulate traditional recording studio hardware with software. Thousands of plugins exist and VST is supported by a large number of audio applications. The technology can be licensed from its creator, Steinberg.
Audio Dj Studio API for .NET allows managing two kinds of VST plugins up to the VST 2.4 implementation:
Instructions to install a VST plugin on FL Studio: Download the VST to your computer. Unzip the VST file. Copy the.dll file to your VST plugin folder. This folder may be named differently for you. In FL Studio click Channels up top and click the Refresh button to scan your VST plugin folder. Use the Plug-in Manager to: Create and load your own menu layouts. Hide plugins by moving them to the plugin exclusion list. After you hide a plugin, it no longer appears in plugin menus. Thousands of plugins exist and VST is supported by a large number of audio applications. The technology can be licensed from its creator, Steinberg. Audio Dj Studio API for.NET allows managing two kinds of VST plugins up to the VST 2.4 implementation:. Click the top left arrow of your VST, and select Add to plugin database (flag as favorite): And you’ll see, that’s the awesome set up FL Studio has provided us users! Your VST is now saved in that folder, with a thumbnail! Now, this will take you some time to get comfortable with, and there may be the odd VST which causes you some troubles.
| • | VST effects: this kind of plugins allows processing the audio input, for example for creating a reverb effect, and/or performing analysis of the audio input, for example for creating custom visual feedbacks. |
So basically, I have 2 folders. One called VST and another called Organised. My VST folder is where I install my plugins and I use the Organised folder as my VST directory in Ableton. Once I've installed a plugin to my VST folder, I'll right click on the.dll file for that plugin and create a shortcut, then put the shortcut in the Organised. In the menu bar, click on Options and select File Settings. A pop-up window will appear showing extra search folders for samples and plug-ins. Click on the folder icon located beneath the VST plugins extra search folder and select the install location of your VST plug-ins. Go to Channels Add one, and select More.
| • | VST Instruments: this kind of plugins allows generating audio without the need to load it from a sound file: they are generally either virtual synthesizers or samplers |
Both kinds of VST plugins are available inside external dynamic-link library (DLL) files.
The first step for integrating a VST plugin is to load it into the control through the VST.EffectLoad method (for VST effects) or through the VST.InstrumentLoad method (for VST instruments). Both mentioned methods receive the filename or the absolute pathname of the external DLL file containing the VST plugin and returns a 32 bits unique identifier that identifies the loaded VST plugin from now on: from a programming perspective, calling this method is quite similar to calling the LoadLibrary Windows API.
Once we have successfully loaded the VST plugin and obtained its unique identifier, we can gain access to other VST-related features.
| • | Generic information about the VST plugin can be obtained through the VST.GetInfo and VST.GetInfoString methods. |
| • | Discriminate if a VST plugin is an effect or an instrument through the VST.GetType method. |
| • | Available programs implemented inside the VST plugin can be enumerated through the VST.ProgramsGetCount method and respective programs names can be obtained/modified through the VST.ProgramNameGet and VST.ProgramNameSet methods. |
| • | The current program can be obtained through the VST.ProgramGetCurrent method and selected through the VST.ProgramSetCurrent method. |
| • | For each program there is the possibility to enumerate the number of available parameters through the VST.ProgramParamsGetCount method and to obtain generic information for each of them through the VST.ProgramParamGetInfo method. |
| • | Each parameter has a default value that can be obtained calling the VST.ProgramParamGetDefaultValue method. The current value can be obtained through the VST.ProgramParamGetValue method and modified through the VST.ProgramParamSetValue method. |
Writing Vst Plugins
| • | Most VST effects come with their own user interface, also known as 'editor': you can know if a loaded VST effect has its own editor through the VST.EditorGetInfo method. |
| • | If an editor is available, you can integrate it and show/hide it on your application's user interface through the VST.EditorShow method and move it through the VST.EditorMove method. |
When a parameter has been modified through the editor, the container application is notified through the CallbackForPlayersEvents delegate which is invoked with the nEvent parameter set to EV_VST_PARAM_CHANGED.
When the editor's user interface is resized, the container application is notified through the CallbackForPlayersEvents delegate which is invoked with the nEvent parameter set to EV_VST_EDITOR_RESIZED.
During playback VST effects can be enabled/disabled through the VST.EffectEnable method: through this method you can not only create a chain of VST effects but, through its nPriority parameter, you can establish which VST effect will be processed first.
IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT EFFECTS APPLIED TO THE OUTPUT OF A STREAM MIXER BEING SENT TO A CASTING SERVER OR TO THE RECORDER VST effects can be applied to the output of a custom stream mixer by using the unique identifier of the custom stream mixer itself for the nPlayer parameter of the effect to apply; if you want that these effects are reflected to the stream going to the casting server or to the recorder control also, you need to set the nPriority parameter of the VST to a value higher than 0. |
Differently from VST effects, which process the audio generated by a player taking audio from an external source like an audio file, VST instruments cannot be chained because they are audio source themselves so each of them needs a separate player. You can mix more VST instruments into a single audio stream by creating a custom stream mixer and attaching each separate VST instrument to the mixer.
For VST instruments there is the possibility to apply MIDI events through the VST.InstrumentEventApply method or raw MIDI events through the VST.InstrumentEventRawApply method.
Once the VST plugin is no more needed, it can be discarded from memory using the VST.EffectFree method (for VST effects) or through the VST.InstrumentFree method (for VST instruments).
A sample of use of the VST object in Visual C# and Visual Basic.NET can be found inside the following samples installed with the product's setup package:
- VstEffects
There are a few different way to use VST and AU plugins in Pro Tools 12. It’s even possible to use VST/AU plugins in Pro Tools First, the free version of Pro Tools 12.
One of the things that separates Pro Tools from other DAWs is the proprietary AAX format that it uses for plugins.
Not all plugins are available in AAX, especially some really good free ones, so Pro Tools users have to find workarounds to get their favorite VST and AU plugins to work.
Luckily there are a few methods that can get the job done.
Unfortunately none are free, but they all have demos to try for free, and each offers a number of other features as well.
Not all of these options will work with Pro Tools First since one of the main limitations with the free version is you have to get all the plugins through Avid’s marketplace.
Pro Tools First does supports ReWire, though, and that’s a big plus because that means it can run other DAWs that support ReWire. It can use Ableton Live’s built-in instruments, for example, and if you ReWire with Reaper it can run VST plugins within Pro Tools. Bidule is another option that works with Pro Tools First.
Using Reaper in Pro Tools to Host VST Instruments and Plugins
Reaper is a good option to use VST plugins in Pro Tools because it has a 60-day free fully-functioning demo and it only costs $60 to purchase. Plus it’s a full DAW and not just a plugin like the other options.
How To Use Any Virtual Instrument Plugin in Pro Tools First
The folks at Pro Tools Expert uploaded the helpful video above showing how to use Bidule with ReWire to load VST instruments into Pro Tools First. Bidule sells for $95 and can be used for a number of other things as well.
How To Use VST/AU in Pro Tools 12 with Blue Cat Audio Patchwork
Another option to run VST and AU plugins in the full version of Pro Tools 12 is with the Blue Cat Audio Patchwork plugin. It’s capable of hosting up to 64 VST, VST3 or Audio Unit plugins in one instance. It sells for $99 (79 euros).
Vst Plugins For Fl Studio
Pro Tools 12 and Metaplugin – Wes Renaud
Programming Vst Plugins
The Metaplugin is an AAX plugin that can host VST and AU plugins in the full version of Pro Tools. It supports up to eight individual channels and sells for $49.