FabFilter

Good afternoon,

My name is James and I recently purchased your great distortion/saturation plug-in 'Saturn'.

I am having issues with VST2 and VST3 files, where to move dll's and other similar matters, to get this into my DAW (Cubase)

I have uninstalled and reinstalled quite a few times. Selected and de-selected options, moved things around different folders. Also, I have installed by default, what the installer/setup suggested. Anyway, I can't seem to open it up on my DAW.

I downloaded the trial a few months back and it seemed to work fine and I didn't need to move anything around except for dragging dll's into my preferred vst3 folder.

It is a bit confusing as I have a hybrid of VST2 and VST3 and.. 64 and 32 bit plugins and programs going on. I can't keep track of what is what at this point!

If I could get some assistance on this I would much appreciate it.

Cheers,

James

What OS are you using?

I can at least provide some insight if you're using Windows.

I can say this, since it's system agnostic:

32-bit vs 64-bit is only relevant to your DAW. If you're running it in 64-bit, which I assume you do, you'll be needing 64-bit plugins. If you're still running it in 32-bit, then you'd need 32-bit plugins (and seriously consider starting to use the 64-bit version).

Do note that this has nothing to do with the sound quality of the audio engine in the DAW. Some people get confused about that (in the DAW's where you can select a 64-bit audio engine).

If you aren't running anything in 32-bit anymore there's no reason to install the 32-bit plugins.

If Cubase supports VST3 (I assume it does, it is Steinberg after all), there's really no reason to install VST2, unless you have other programs that don't support VST3 yet (for instance Ableton Live doesn't).

Hi Torben,

Thanks for your response.
I am operating on Windows 7 64 bit and running Cubase 5
which I can't seem to find out in the documentation or help
info..or online(!), if it's 32 bit. Not sure because I have
quite a few plugin 64bit / vst3 all functioning in Cubase.

It's kind of a strange issue because I have never had trouble with
this, even if I select the wrong folder to install or just simply, not pay attention to where (program files, (x86), common files etc.) the plug-in installs. I have downloaded a whole whack of plug-ins - paid, free-ware and trials, in the past, and I can always seem to open
them up in Cubase, even if I move dll's around into specific
folders.

I have un-installed again and I was about to try the 32 bit version.
But from your comments, I'm not sure now!
I should stick with 64 bit and go from there?!

Thanks,
James

Cubase 5 has a 64-bit client at least. Start Cubase and check Task Manager - find it in the list. It will show (32-bit) or *32 (can't quite recall for Windows 7) at the end of the program's name in the list, if it's running 32-bit. If nothing is shown at the end you're running the 64-bit version.

VST3, at least on Windows, installs to a default directory. Pretty much no installers out there will allow you to change where you install VST3 to, because there's no reason to (and they shouldn't allow this to be changed). Their location is C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\ (for 64-bit ones). Don't move them. These should automatically be picked up by any DAW that supports VST3.

VST2 allows for more chaos, which is why it's usually easiest to always install them to the same location, for instance C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VstPlugins\ or whatever you prefer.
Naturally you will need to configure this in your DAW, so that it knows where to look for VST2 plugins.
DAW's will of course scan any sub-folders within the folder(s) you select to scan for plugins.

Again if you're running Cubase in 64-bit, there's no reason to concern yourself with the 32-bit versions of the plugins.
So yes, stick with 64-bit.

It's also important to note that when you move the plugins manually, you break the ability to uninstall them properly. Some uninstallers might even refuse to complete the uninstall because they can't find the files, which will cause another round of headaches. It will also potentially mess up any updaters, because they again can't find the files. All in all you're creating a mess over time doing this, at the very least you're creating a lot of extra work for yourself - work that isn't needed.

To try and sum up:

Don't mess with VST3 files. They always go into this pre-defined location and that just works (magic!). At least it should. ;)

Install all VST2 plugins to the same location. It's okay to create sub-folders for specific plugins within the main location.

Add this location to Cubase to scan for it.

Don't bother with 32-bit plugins.

You'd generally prefer VST3 over VST2. There's usually no issues installing both versions (for instance if you have programs that can't use VST3).
How DAW's handle multiple versions of the same plugin is up to them. Some will hide the VST2 versions, if the VST2 and VST3 versions have the same ID (basically what is used by the programs to identify plugins). If both show up you might be able to hide the VST2 version so you don't see it. Again all of this is up to the DAW.

I hope this helps and clears up things!

Another way to check if you're running the 64-bit version of Cubase is likely to just open it up and check the "About" screen, if it has such a thing. At least I'm sure it has some kind of info screen you can open that will show you the exact version of the program and such, which will certainly show if you're running the 64-bit version.

Thanks again for your input and advice. Well received.

I have learned (then un-learned!) much of this information along the way, from installing software and plugins and moving to computer based recording/production.
..Not even 15 years ago..I was recording on reel-to-reel and 4 track
tape machines..then stand alone digital recording devices (that
market didn't last long!) to using a PC workstation as a main studio hub.

One tends to forget a lot of basics as years go on! All focus is applied to actual music creation, production, mixing and so forth once everything is up and running with no issues..Then once in a while..
Ahhh!, How did I get that software?..where's my install CD's..where are the serials?! There is peace of mind though, once you are registered to whatever software company you've bought programs or plugins from.

You were helpful..Task manager..of course! *32 bit. So I'm good now.

Saturn is ready to party. I am getting the funds and gumption to soon purchase Cubase Pro (latest version). I'm ready for that upgrade..

Cheers,
James