A VSTi can be not only a Synth, it´s a virtual instrument like Ample Guitars or Pianoteq or Massive, don´t know what BBCSO is. Reaper sees all as VSTi´s.

 

I have been trying to train my brain to start reaching for VST3s first, since Steinberg has decided to dump support for VST2. I'm not too worried about any VST2 plugins going away or my DAW (Reaper) stopping supporting them any time soon, but might as well get prepared now. GUI scaling alone is probably a good enough

In addition to that, proper GUI scaling is a nice addition too.

 

I see you have Diva installed. In Reaper add FX if you go to Options > Show in left pane list > (tick) Categories, you will have categories like Delay, EQ, Synth... automatically displayed for you. Diva (vst3i) will not be under "Synth" category - it will be under "u-he" category (mind, we are not looking at Vendors, "u-he" shouldn't even be a category).

And why is that? Because Urs fucked something up when tagging

 

Iklk

 

Last edited: Aug 12, 2022

I simply move Diva to my Instruments folder as you can see in the image.

 

sometimes events like these which are out of your control actually work out better than expected. If it was me, it would be a chance to do find *.vst2 and delete them all. I exaggerate, but not much. I would find new VST3 plugins to replace my older ones. Time for some fresh new things anyway, most likely. And all the new warez you get to dl and compare to old ones! even better.

How many of them will you even need once you get UA Spark?

 

Last edited: Apr 3, 2022

Possibly one of my favorite features of Reaper. Out of curiosity, what theme are you using? That is pretty slick.

 

I used to only install vst3, because it was the newest version and I thought (foolishly) the best, but I have been finding problems with it, the worst thing is the fact you can't control where they are installed.

I have done a search and found them in many different locations. Sometimes I have been asked where I want the vst3 plugin and it puts it somewhere else, other times it puts it where I want it but my DAW will not see the plugin even though it is pointed to look there. Other plugins wont let you choose where it goes because they know it wont work with some DAWs. So in reality you must put it where it tells you.

If you are an ample guitar user you should not use vst3 for now because there are problems, one example is that the pinch harmonic option need 127 velocity to work but with vst3 the velocity only goes up to 126 (fail) this may not happen in all DAWs but beware.
From reading others comments there are more hidden issues with vst3, so for now I will install both and if I find a problem I will just use the vst2 version. It feels like we are all guinea pigs and vst3 is being tested on us so be careful and don't get caught out.

 

https://stash.reaper.fm/theme/2084/LCS_BugFix_ ALBERT-C ( SOLARIS-PRO ).zip Enjoy.

 

I have had absolutely zero issues with any VST3. I guess I'm lucky. If I want to tidy up the VST3 folder, I just move the files around after. It takes seconds.

 

Thanks!

 

I install VST 2 unless I'm given no other choice. When that happens I grab that sob VST 3 and put it in with the VST 2s so it can get it's butt kicked by the VST 2s in gang warfare. I really don't like those VST 3s, little boogers with their stupid name.



I guess I'll have some work to do when VST 2 gets abandoned.

 

2-3 years ago I preferred VST2. Today, I prefer VST3. All devs are producing stable VST3 plugins these days.

 

I know. That is customizing the most customizable DAW ;) and it isn't really about VST3(i)s.

I was talking about VST3 out of the box. Especially the tagging by Vendors/Developers, Categories.. You can see the mess, even in Reaper - you can hide those folders but that's not really a solution to the problem.

Other DAWs rely on that info to sort the plugins. And why wouldn't they? It's there for that purpose. And when it's all upside-down they will blame the dev, like - they didn't get their tags right. AFAIK, there are no tag editors for VST3s, like for MP3s.

I always use VST3 versions of plugins if available. Don't know why, though..;) Feels "better". But now I started questioning myself. One of the synths that I use almost daily is Serum, so VST2 only. I am far from being a Duda fan, but for many of us it's just "industry standard". Love/hate relationship. This is what he wrote on the forum as many are asking for a VST3 version:

"I don't have an ETA. This is Steinberg's decision to kill VST2, which has no fundamental issues. It's a significant departure from VST2, in my case it means re-writing most everything as I am doing it properly, e.g. most all VST3's are e.g. juce-built and don't even support the VST3 "benefits" such as sample-accurate automation. Progress is being made, but it's too early to make any promises."

Maybe he's just a lazy mofo.. or maybe NI, iZo, u-he etc. didn't rewrite their stuff from the ground up

 

"All devs are producing stable VST3 plugins these days."

That is simply untrue. MANY devs still release VST2 plugins only and others only code .au or .axx plugs. While it is true that
more and more devs are starting to ALSO offer VST3's, (and a few only work in VST3), ALL of them most certainly do not.

 

Yep. That.

And if there is no choice and the dev forces me to have VST3 installed, I Install VST3, fire up Everything, search for the new installed VST3 and move it over to D:\VSTplugins, where ALL my VSTs are. Thanks to Reaper that is no issue. VST3 only work in the dev-forced installation path is a myth, a lie. It doesn't matter where your .dll or VST3 is as long as your DAW can see it - and that is the beauty of having only 1 (in words: one!!!) plugin-folder. Related content to the plugin I wouldn't touch and never do or did. I try to have it together with the plugins, but these installers seem to do what they like. And you never know if there are registry-entries involved, which you don't want to fix by hand.

But the .dll or the VST3 goes where I command it to go. And I always install only one version, if I can choose I take VST2/.dll. Sparing me the hassle of of searching and moving a file.

I do that since 1999 (?) Steinberg Cubase Audio VST24. Never changed that, never will, always worked like a charm.

Pay attention to the installer options when installing plugins.

 

Yes, that's a valid point, why this involution in a new version?
My guess is that things could change, as @demberto pointed out.
In the meanwhile, I still use the search bar in Reaper and create categories in Ableton, but I personally don't use much vsts, and most of times are the same, so it's an easy management.