I've recently switched from Ableton to Pro Tools but the latest pirated version 12.5 was just not cutting it and I bought the legit version. Some plugins came straight with me from Ableton because I forgot to uncheck the AAX box while installing them last time. Some of them didn't so I went to the forums and got some recent pirated versions, but Pro Tools tells me they "aren't valid AAX plugins" and puts them in the unused folder. So far I've had this problem with the Valhalla bundle, the FabFilter bundle and Soundtheory Gulfoss. Can I solve this?

 

AFAIK no patched, cracked or otherwise tampered with AAX will run with legit protools. You need to look for "incl.Keygen" only - those are untampered plugins.
As a side note, protools isn't a good DAW for in-the-box music making. A lot of its features are archaic, to put it mildly, and its advantages are only noticeable if you have a huge console and need a good hardware integration.

 

Thanks for the tips! Is there a way I can find a version of those plugins that would run?

 

You have to check post description, they usually tell if the AAX is untouched and works wit legit protools.

 

as mentioned ^^, ProTools validate plugin integrity, if there's any modification done to a plugin, ProTools won't validate (accept) it

 

Then as another note, I already know about running VST through Studio Rack, but is there a way to run VST instruments?

 

Only RETAiL (no protection), Regged (key is already inserted) and Keygen (key generation required) releases are untampered with. If you see any other words (Patched, Cracked) or no words at all in the release's headline, it won't run.
Crack teams largely ignore protools nowadays due to its tedious protection coupled with irrelevance for modern production.

 

What exactly "wasn't cutting it"? Been running the PT HD 12.5 scene release almost since it was born. The valhalla and fab filter plugins both run fine on PT HD 12.5 here. Couldn't tell you about the last one you mentioned as I don't use it.