This post will hopefully help you easily extract the dll files from the WaveShell without the issues or failure that many have run into. It will also possibly show people an easy way to re)organize their plugin folder without having to worry about uninstalling/re-installing or moving the folders/files of the currently installed Vsts.

This was tested/validated on Windows PC only (Windows 8, but should work on 7), Daw/Host used to validate was Ableton Live 9.


*Separating the Waves Plugins (Extracting the dlls from the WaveShell)*

1) Have installed/working versions of Waves products, preferably the latest releases.

2) Have the latest/validated (from trustworthy source) copy of shell2vst.

3) Open the folder containing the file WaveShell-VST 9.2.dll (usually your vst plugin folder ie. C:\Program Files (x86)\VstPlugIns\Waves or such).

4) Right click on WaveShell-VST 9.2.dll and select Properties.

*Make sure that on the General tab, under Attributes, Read-only is NOT selected (Deselect if selected), nor hidden.

*Go to the Security tab and enable Full Control for System, and Administrators (click Edit, next to change permissions. Select System and click on the box to allow Full Control then click apply. Repeat the process for Administrators, be sure to hit Apply and then press OK).

5) Locate and open the folder containing the shell2vst file. Right click and copy the the file, then paste it in the same folder that the WaveShell-VST 9.2.dll file is located in.

6) Right click on the shell2vst file and select properties.(the copy compatible to your system, x86 or x64 of course).

*Make sure that on the General tab, under Attributes, Read-only is NOT selected (Deselect if selected), nor hidden.

*Go to the Compatibilty tab, Find Privelege Level and select Run As Administrator then click apply.

*Go to the Security tab and enable Full Control for System, and Administrator ( PC UserName) (click Edit, next to change permissions. Select System and
click on the box to allow Full Control then click apply. Repeat the process for Administrator, be sure to hit Apply and then press OK).

7) Click on the WaveShell-VST 9.2.dll file and drag it onto the shell2vst file and select open with.
The shell2vst should now open and create a separate folder containing dll files for each Waves plugin.

Upon success you can now delete shell2vst from the folder, and you're left with the WaveShell-VST dll and the folder containing the individual dll files which you can now organize to your liking.

(Edited Error).

If you ever move the WaveShell you must repeat the process in that file location, but the dlls can be moved as you like as long as you keep the WaveShell in the location the dlls were extracted from.

*A Simple and Easy Way to Organize Your Vst Folder for Better Workflow*

1) Create a new folder to start your new Vst Folder in (Not in the Current Vst folder). Create Sub-folders to your liking
ie. *Effects. *Instruments *Midi Tools, etc.
-Dynamic, EQ, Amp etc, -Synth, Sampler, etc

2) Open the folder containing your current Vst installations.

3) Open/Align the two folders side by side.

4) Select the dll file of a vst in the current Vst folder, right click on it and drag it to the new Vst folder in a subfolder of your choice and select
create shortcut. You must right click and drag to get this option.

5) Repeat the process until your new Vst library folder is organized to your liking.

6) Direct your DAW to your new Vst folder and scan.(In Live this is done in Preferences under File/Folder).

Your new and organized folder should be recognized,as should the Vst shortcuts contained within. Using shortcuts and doing it this way allows you more freedom and flexibily to organize your Vsts without having to uninstall/reinstall or move a bunch of folders.

Hope this helps. This is my first post/topic. Let me know if it helped, or if you have any problems/questions.

 

Last edited: Dec 12, 2015

uhhhh hangover - much much text
but the idead behind it is awesome, cause i dont know all the plugs by name

 

Does the shell create separate vst3 too...?

 

Great post, I ll definitelly try it. Sometimes when I m on a creative fly I tend to use 2nd best plug ins not from waves cause searching through the waves shell activates that other part of the brain. Thanks

 

What Don said.

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

olson h. - Haha. I thought so too, but I just wanted to make it as fail-proof as possible. Thanks.

Carface - I dont think so, I will look deeper and see if that possibility exist, but at the moment I would have to say no.

don_questo - Thanks. I feel you, thats exactly why I was determined to get those dlls out.

 

Hello! I deleted my vote because I'm not sure that I have understood the question.. However it's not a problem for me to have the waves in one folder!!

 

angie - Thanks. I was wondering what might might have led to the no, but a forum is nothing without the right to opinion..lol. But if you have time try it out, it definitely has time/workflow efficiency compared to the waveshell.

 

Thanks, I want to try this, 'cause I'm not taking advantage of waves plugin as the search through the big list is anti creative flow.

 

Hi there,

How to do it in Mac OS please?

Thanks.

 

Yes, same here. I haven't installed anything by Waves in quite some time because of this.

 

I use vstwrapperbuilder much better than shell2vst and more reliable also its windows based so therefore no problem.
And i also use totalcommander i extract all dll in one click with the >"wrapper" to a tempfolder
Wich i for some odd reason always create on the left side in totalcommander
And then i create folders/subfolders on the right side (of course already in the default vst folder) and then simply move the dll created with "wrapper" to the right folders on the right side

 

would this work for NI maschine .... as all plugins in maschine are a very long list ?

 

Thanks, and bookmarked

 

Great walkthrough, thanks

 

What I did was to go to the Waves folder where all DLLs are kept and removed those I am not interested in (2/3 of the all) so now when I click on the Waveshell it only lists the few plugins I left in there.
As for the DDLs that I removed, I placed them in a folder elsewhere, should I need them or change my mind all I have to do is put them back in the original folder.

But thank you for the very clear (and long) post.. great work on your side.

 

@TalkingStrings man thanx a lot for this post....
tonight i thought of organizing my VST Lib and man was it messed up like hell..!!
was stuck with Waves though.... haha
so yeah

regards
Sam (BASSiX)

 

Hi all! i use hardlinkshellext to organize my plugins. I install all plugins into one folder and then create hard links to another folders. (It's simple - right click "Create sym link" and the same - "Paste sym link"

Simlinks have "0" size. You may have a seperate folder with hardlinks for Sonar, separate one for Audition etc. If you delete a symlink the file still remains in its place.

The same with Waves.

 

Cubase affords you this ability in a drop down menu called "Plug in Manager" but there is also Meta data in the shell that Cubase reads and organises it auto magically great tip though for other SDAW that don't read meta data

 

do not delete waveshell dll!
individual dlls are just links to it, not independent files.
they will not work without the waveshell dll file .

 

Last edited: Dec 11, 2015