Hi there,

Can somebody explane why i can't find my custom geinstalleerde presets of Spire in Ableton? Have Ableton 11.3 and Spire version 1.5

I have already discovered that the stock Spire presets are located in the C\: ProgramData\Arturia\Presets folder. and I think most of them are also displayed in Ableton. But I can't find my custom installed presets.

I have already done a re-scan of the plug-ins in Ableton.
Also a rescan in Spire itself.
The file db.db3 C\: ProgramData\Arturia\Presets deleted.
The files of the presets are really there, and there is a .json file in the presets directory
Did a rescan again.
tried the search option in Spire
I have installed several but can't find any of them in Spire


I must be missing something. Maybe someone can explain it to me.

 

Last edited: Jun 27, 2025

Spoiler: Source: ChatGPT KI

Hi! Thanks for the clear explanation — it sounds like you've already tried quite a few solid troubleshooting steps. Let's go through a few possibilities and clarify where the issue might be, especially considering Spire is made by Reveal Sound, not Arturia (the C:\ProgramData\Arturia\Presets path likely isn't relevant here unless you have Spire inside an Arturia wrapper, which is rare).
Let’s clarify some things first:

• Spire's default preset location is not Arturia's folder.
  Spire stores presets in its own folder, typically in:
  
  mathematica
  C:\Users\YourUsername\Documents\Reveal Sound\Spire\Presets\
  
  or
  
  mathematica
  C:\Program Files\Reveal Sound\Spire\Presets\
  

✅ Things to Check
1. Correct Installation Location
Make sure your custom presets are actually installed into one of Spire’s own preset folders:

• Open Spire inside Ableton.
  
  
• Click on the "Preset Browser" in Spire.
  
  
• At the top of the browser, check which preset folder location it is loading from.
  
  
• If necessary, use the "Import Bank" or "Load Preset" option in Spire to point it to the correct folder where you placed your custom presets.
  

2. Presets Format
Spire uses its own preset formats:

• Single presets: .spf files
  
  
• Preset banks: .sbf files
  

If your custom presets are in a .json format or appear under the Arturia folders, they may be converted formats or not recognized by Spire. You’ll need .spf or .sbf files.

3. Use Spire’s Own File Browser
Sometimes Ableton doesn’t show custom presets unless they are:

• Part of an .fxp file format (used by VST2/3 plugins), or
  
  
• Loaded via the plugin’s internal browser
  

Try this inside Spire:

• Click the "Load Preset" or "Bank" button
  
  
• Navigate manually to the folder where your presets are located
  

4. Check VST2 vs. VST3
Ableton 11.3 supports both VST2 and VST3 — but presets aren't always shared between the two formats.

• Make sure you're loading the same version of Spire (VST2 or VST3) where your presets were installed.
  
  
• You can check which plugin version is loaded in Ableton’s Plugin tab.
  

Optional Fixes
Move Presets to Spire’s User Folder:
Try copying your custom .spf or .sbf files into:

mathematica
C:\Users\YourUsername\Documents\Reveal Sound\Spire\Presets\User\

And then do a Rescan inside Spire.

Regarding the db.db3 and Arturia Presets:
That file is used by Arturia’s Analog Lab/V Collection preset manager, not Reveal Sound Spire. So deleting that has no impact on Spire itself.

Summary
Here's what I'd recommend next:

1. Verify your presets are .spf or .sbf files.
   
   
2. Move them into Documents\Reveal Sound\Spire\Presets\User\
   
   
3. Open Spire in Ableton and rescan presets inside Spire (not Ableton).
   
   
4. Make sure you’re using the same version of Spire (VST2 or VST3) that was used for installing the presets.
   
   
5. Try loading the presets manually via Spire’s “Load Preset” button.
   

If you still can't see them, feel free to upload a screenshot or tell me the file extensions and exact folder path — I’ll help you pinpoint what’s going wrong.

 

If a preset is located 'within' Ableton (ie, not accessed directly through the plugins interface) the default locations are either nested and revealed by clicking the plugin name within the plugin list (many pluginAlliance vsts are like this) or found under the presets heading in the User Library area (default save location when storing user presets yourself that are explicitly saved *to* Ableton, not those saved within the plugin interface).

Anywho, as PulseWave noted, these are in neither of those two locations as the Spire presets aren't associated with Ableton. Just a note to add clarity.

Have you explicitly imported the banks from within Spire? I see you only mention search. Preset Browser > User Library > Import -- pops open the explorer window. Select the bank file from within this window. It should then show up and be accessible under your User Library folder within Spire. 'Search' won't see them without explicitly importing them. The import function is how Spire knows the pathway for user added banks. This is how many plugins do it. Many plugins aren't looking for the initial bank file, they're looking for the associations in their db file, those associations for the db file are created by using the import function from within the plugins browser.

 

I can't import these vst's from Spire. It's an installer that automatically copies the files in the ProgramData>Arturia>Presets folder into the appropriate subdirectories of different synths.

I discovered that the stock sound files (spf2) (which I can also select in Spire) are in User>AppData>Roaming>RevealSound>Banks. But that must be something else? I installed several of these presets, but I can't find any of them.

 

Last edited: Jun 27, 2025

Top left panel
Folder - display folders with presets.
Author - sort by author.
Tag - sort by tags.
Favorite - display your favorite presets.
Bottom left panel
Create - create a folder.
Rename - rename the folder.
Copy - copy the folder to the clipboard.
Paste - paste the folder from the clipboard.
Delete - delete the folder.
Export - export a folder with subfolders to a single file.
Import - import a single file containing folders with presets. You can also import a single preset
(* .spf) or sound bank (*. Sbf) of the old format.
Rescan - rebuild the database, in case of not relevant display of folders with presets