I selected all the folders in my D:\VST folder in FreeCommander, then used
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Reaper users don't have problems with plugin hoarding because of the best and very tweakable plug-in organiser
you can rename plugins, put in custom folders, hide temporary, make chains of plugins

*that folder list is not mine, mine is way shorter)

 

Re Reaper - it doesn't help me much, because my main goal is to reduce the number of installed VSTs. I am on Windows 8.1 and am about to upgrade to a new PC with Windows 10 on it (actually a second hand PC with a Ryzen 9 3950X, I think, 32 threads!), so I want to reduce the work of reinstalling VSTs, by cutting right down.

As of now, I'm probably going to keep:

Atlas (for my huge drum sample collection - I particularly recommend Drums Overkill from Best Service, which I imagine doesn't sell a single copy because it's far too expensive nowadays -they could sell thousands of copies by bringing the price down to £20, I reckon)
BlueARP
Cthulhu
DSP56300 Osiris
E-Mu Emulator X3 (with all expansions, most if not all are on Archive.org) - for the sheer variety of non-synth sounds it has
Falcon (I have 898GB of expansions, almost everything except Foley, and it's only one install for all those expansions, so fully justified)
Hypersonic 2 (a nice workstation, super low CPU and instant preset loading, and so easy to layer sounds to make new ones)
Icarus 1.6 (because it was free with Computer Magazine and is incredible for a free gift)
Imposcar 2 (for the same reason as Icarus 1.6)
Instachord
Kontakt 7 (I have 676 libraries, 5.31TB - I also want to cut some of them down, but simply installing Kontakt 7 Portable takes a minute, so it isn't a problem at the moment, and I rarely download Kontakt libraries now (as I have so many!)
ModoBass
Nexus 4 (I have all the expansions, and all the commercial and free expansions for ver 2.32, which now load fine in cracked Nexus 4)
Omnisphere (I have Keyscape and Trilian, I load their presets from within Omnisphere)
Pianoteq Portable (I have version 6 something, with all the expansions, it's incredible)
Purity
Ravity (I like workstation type sounds, and like Hypersonic 2, it's so simple to layer presets into a new sound)
Rhodes Affair (all versions) - beautiful Rhodes sounds
Roland D50 (I have over 600 soundbanks for it)
Roland JD800
Roland JV-1080
Roland SRX Bass, Dance Trax, Electric Piano, all of them - instant loading and very usable sounds
Scaler 2
Sylenth1
Synapse Audio - Dune 3
Triton and Triton Extreme
Zebra 2

I use FL Studio, by the way. I think those VSTs should be enough to last me the rest of my life.

 

feel sorry for you, FL studio was a long time mess in how it deals with 3d party plugins

Falcon -Kontakt-Omnispher-Nexus-Hypersonic - double each other choose one
Zebra-Sylenth-Dune-Icarus-DSP56300Osiris - the same, do you really need all

 

Dunno, personal preferences and all that, you probably spent all this years getting to know what you have, so you know the best what you actually need.

 

only vst i haven't tried that was mention in this thread is the Rhodes Affair vst

 

Your usage history is the best way to see what you really need. The easiest way to determine if you really want to install something again, is to work on your music in your DAW. When you open an older project back up to work on it, it will tell you what plugins it needs to load, and it will tell you they are not on your system. So you install only those. If you do not have a plugin inside a project you are working with, you can safely say you never even used something. So why would you think putting it back would be a good idea?

It's easy trap to fall in to see a list like these, and have "fond memories" of using them. That doesn't mean you should re-install Rebirth. To get rid of this garbage you need to be heartless about it. When in doubt, delete it. Just like with that audio sample in your track you have 14 plugins on.

 

but if you delete it now, you might need it later ....

 

You are not alone my friend.

I am exactly the same as you, I download everything and spend so much more time un-compressing and cataloging everything than I do using it and making music.

It's become a bit obsessive, making sure everything is renamed to my liking, adding an image of the application and as of recent putting a small note as to what the application is and does and then filing it away in an appropriate folder for example.

Synths (OK)
Synths (Good)
Synths (Excellent)
Synths (Large Installs)
EQ
Compressor
Vocal Processor
Arp and Melodics

Just to name a few, I have 76 folders haha

Don't get me wrong its nicely organized like but I am not spending much time actually making music. I check the sister site literally hourly to make sure I am not missing out on anything.

My wife even asks me most days "Anything new from R2R today" and she has no interest in music.

The thing that makes it even worse is the really cream of the crop VST's and DAW's I end up buying especially when I see them on a deal, and then once I have purchased it, I don't use it again apart from BitWig I got that as part of the winter sale and am loving it.

One thing I will say is we are at a great time where there are some really decent VSTs out there.

I feel your pain bro but I am in the same club I'm afraid

 

Last edited: Dec 18, 2023

I hope you don't mind but I have taken a screenshot of this there are a few folders I can add to my already 76 folders.

I feel so much better knowing that I am not alone in doing this lol.

 

I’ve got over 2500 plugs. I use maybe less than 2% lol… On that note. I just noticed Sylenth has been updated to V3. Back when I became a pirate, Sylenth was one of the first things I downloaded. Ironically I now own it. And I’m about to download the legit update lol… But yes, my library could use a good pruning.

PS/ I want to say it’s not the vast amounts of plugs that's the problem. It’s the analysis paralysis & constant FOMO for keeping things up to date that create a non productive environment in my situation.

 

I have met two engineers in full-on professional studios who have a lot of plugins and they know exactly what, how and when to use every one of them. That said, they have been working in those same studios for 10-20 years. Many of the plugins are owned by the studios, and that's not including the actual hardware that gets used more often than some people think.

I cannot critically admonish anyone for making different choices to me. Whatever spins your dial is never a bad thing, as long as you get the music out there finished However, it is very easy to get caught up trying the abundance of plugins out there. Perhaps the trick is giving oneself a cut-off point of 'no more'? Whatever works for you.

 

This is why I said stick them into a folder. Once they are gone for a while and not returned, then you can delete them. This is probably easier on MacOS; you can move stuff like this with almost no concerns.

I see a lot of people in tutorial videos refer to doing all sorts of prep work, like curating sample libraries, separate sound design sessions, making presets, and other time drains. They have been doing this forever, and it used to make some more sense because getting samples to your hardware samplers was a bit of a chore. I'd rather spend the time to make something in the context it will be used, rather than just spending time on stuff I may never even use. Otherwise you are just working around clutter you do not even need. Like 250 synth plugins you haven't used in a project in 4 years, or 20 gig of Arturia presets. Making hundreds of great presets/sounds is like being a pilot and making great landings at the wrong airports.

 

Instruments

Synths

Serum - Xfer Records
Spire - Reveal Sound

Drums

Microtonic - Sonic Charge
Kick 2 - Sonic Academy


Effects

Reverb

Raum - Native Instruments
Pro-R 2 - Fabfilter

Delay

Replika XT - Native Instruments
Timeless 3 - Fabfilter
Supermassive - Valhalla (Free)

Distortion / Saturation

Output - Thermal
Saturn 2 - Fabfilter

Chorus / Flanger / Phaser

Choral - Native Instruments
Flair - Native Instruments
Phasis - Native Instruments
Dimension Expander - Xfer Records (Free)

Filter

Volcano 3 - Fabfilter

Volume

Duck - Devious Machines


Mixing

EQ

Pro-Q 3 - Fabfilter

Comp

Pro-C 2 - Fabfilter
Pro-MB - Fabfilter
OTT - Xfer Records (Free)

Limit

Pro-L 2 - Fabfilter

Transient Shaper

DS-10 - XLN Audio


VOCAL

Auto-tune Artist - Antares Tech (Pitch Correction)
Articulator - Antares Tech (Talkbox)
Aspire - Antares Tech (Aspiration Noise Processor)
Choir - Antares Tech (Vocal Amp)
Duo - Antares Tech (Vocal Doubler)
Harmony Engine - Antares Tech (Vocal Harmonics Generator)
Mutator - Antares Tech (Voice Designer)
Punch - Antares Tech (Vocal Impact Amp)
Sybil - Antares Tech (De-Esser)


OTHER (Frequent)

Apple - Quick Sampler
Apple - Arpeggiator
Apple - Drum Synth


OTHER (Sometimes)

Anything Logic Pro stock


TOOLS I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE

Shaperbox 3 - Cableguys
Spiff - Oeksound
Soothe2 - Oeksound


I Tried about anything available on the sister site and the Russian site up until 2020/2021, these are currently the only tools installed on my computer. I will be interested in "Serum 2" if it ever comes out or any "game changing" tech, wich is actually very rare.

Cutting down on plugins helped me to be more creative and forced me to invest time into learning and understanding clearly the tools I selected without getting distracted. I was a heavy samples/presets user but now I am satisfied with my sound design and my "pre-mixing" abilities, like many I will always be learning and hopefully improving.

Edit : I am not a mixing/mastering engineer, I produce music (Techno, Experimental and Dance).

 

Last edited: Dec 18, 2023

Hello, my name's Xupito and I'm an addict.
I began with hallucinogens... oh wait.. ahem... ok. Wrong thread. Wrong rehab. Wrong everything

Now seriously. As said before this is a common problem for us users of plugins with "massive discount"... ahem. Every year some thread about this is created, and rightfully so.

 

I blame R2R for my crack addiction.

 

Absolutely, this is the golden advice!