2019-07-01_Computer_Music

Though there are a wide variety of DAWs, each

with its own unique interface, there are

similarities when it comes to loading up and

using plugins, and most stick to one of two

approaches. The first – as seen in Steinberg’s

Cubase, Apple’s Logic, and Cakewalk’s Sonar –

involves insert slots on a track or mixer channel.

These are used in the same way as an insert

effect would be used on a hardware mixer. In

other words, the effect is placed ‘in line’ on that

mixer or track channel. Plugins might be loaded

in by use of a dropdown menu tree or right-

clicking in the effects slot. Clicking in the insert

or effects slot in some DAWs – Cockos’ Reaper,

for instance – will reveal a dedicated browser

from which the desired plugin may be selected.

It’s common to stack multiple effects plugins

together to form an effects ‘chain’, much in the

way a guitarist might connect various

stompboxestogethertoforma customsound.

InsomeDAWs,theseeffectschainsmaybe

savedandrecalledata latertime.

If yourDAWusesa sidebarbrowser,hereyou

canfindyourpluginsdisplayedandpossibly

arrangedintocategories.Thepluginsmaybe

draggedintotheprojectandplaceddirectly

ontoa trackorchannel.AbletonLive,Bitwig

Studio,Cakewalk’sSonarandPreSonusStudio

Onecanallopeneffectsandeveninstrument

pluginsinthismanner.

Onthesubjectofinstrumentplugins,we

shoulddiscussthedifferentmethodsyoumight

encounterwhenloadingupinstruments.As

mentioned,sometimestheycanbedraggedand

droppedfroma browserontoa specifictrack.

However,manyDAWsdistinguishbetween

instrumentandaudiotracks,soyou’llneedto

keepthisinmind.Thosethatallowyoutodrag

instrumentsinfroma browsermightofferthe

choiceofusinganexistinginstrumenttrackor

creatinga newone.SomeDAWs(Cubase,Sonar)

allowyoutoopeninstrumentsina ‘rack’and

thenconnecttothemfromMIDIorinstrument

tracks.Others(Logic)makea pluginmenu

availablefromthetrackitself.

We’vepreparedvideos for eight major DAWs

showingyouthebasics of loading plugins, along

witha fewhandytipsyou won’t want to miss:

> CockosReaper–bit.ly/LPIreaper

> CakewalkSonar–bit.ly/LPIsonar

> PreSonusStudioOne – bit.ly/LPIstudioone

> AppleLogic–bit.ly/LPIlogic

> Image-LineFLStudio – bit.ly/LPIflstudio

> SteinbergCubase–bit.ly/LPIcubase

> BitwigStudio–bit.ly/LPIbitwig

> AbletonLive–bit.ly/LPIableton

Loading plugins in your DAW

SohowdoesyourDAWknowwheretolook

foryourplugins?Actually,it mightnot.Mac

usershaveit easy,asthereareOS-specified

foldersintowhichpluginsareinstalled.These

folderscanbefoundbygoingtoyourLibrary

folder(ifyoucan’tfindit,gototheFinder’sGo

menu,holdAlt, andaLibraryoptionshould

appear).FindtheAudiodirectory,andthen

thePlug-Insfolderwithin.Thereyouwillfind

morefoldersstill.Onewillbelabelled

Components– thisiswhereyourAUplugins

reside.Otherfolderswillbefoundalongsideit

forVSTandVST3plugins.If you’rea ProTools

user,you’llfindyourpluginsinanAvidor

Digidesignfolder.If yourinstallersdon’t

automaticallyinstallthepluginsintothe

properfolder,youshouldmanuallycopythem

into the relevant folders listed above.

One caveat: there will likely be two sets of

folders under two different Library locations.

Oneisforallusers,theotherisfor

administratoruse.If yourDAWhastrouble

seeinga plugin,youmightneedtomoveit

from one Library to the other, though the

system folder is usually the one to use.

Uninstalling plugins from OS X usually

requireslittlemorethan putting the

ComponentorVSTfilein the Trash.

Sometimesanuninstaller will be offered to

you,though.

OnWindows,youcan choose the location

ofyourVSTpluginsfolders. Some DAWs will

createonewhenyouinstall them, but both

DAWandplugininstallers will often give you

anoptionofpointingto the plugin directory

you’dliketouse.It usually looks something

likeC:\ProgramFiles\Steinberg\VST Plugins.

Somepluginsaredelivered as only DLL

files,andneedtobecopied to your chosen

directory.Onceyou’veinstalled your plugins,

thinktwiceaboutmoving them. Some plugins

relyonsupportfilesinstalled into the same

directory.Toduplicateplugins elsewhere on

the drive, use shortcuts on Windows (right-

click to create one) or aliases on Macs (Cmd-

Alt-dragging).

Plugin folder locations

See how to load plugins in eight different DAWs with our videos at the URLs below

If you’re using Apple’s OS X, all your VST, VST3 and

Audio Units go into pre-determined locations

July 2019 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 113

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