User manual

Table Of Contents
249
Audio effects
Installing and managing effect plug-ins
Ö If an effect plug-in comes with its own installation application, you should use this. As
a general rule, always read the documentation or readme files before installing new
plug-ins.
Installing VST 3 plug-ins on Windows systems
On Windows systems, VST 3 plug-ins are installed by dragging the files (with the
extension “.vst3”) into the VST3 folder in the Cubase application folder. When you
launch Cubase again, the new effects appear on the effect selectors. In the VST 3
protocol, the effect category, subfolder structure, etc. are built-in and cannot be
changed. Therefore you will find the new effects in the corresponding category folders.
Installing VST 2 plug-ins on Windows systems
On Windows systems, VST 2.x plug-ins are installed by dragging the files (with the
extension “.dll”) into the Vstplugins folder in the Cubase application folder, or into the
Shared VST Plug-in folder – see below. When you launch Cubase again, the new
effects will appear on the effect pop-up menus.
Ö If an effect plug-in comes with its own installation application, you should use this. As
a general rule, always read the documentation before installing new plug-ins.
Organizing VST 2 plug-ins
If you have a large number of VST 2 plug-ins, having them all on a single hierarchy in the
effects selector may become unmanageable. For this reason, the VST 2 plug-ins
installed with Cubase are placed in appropriate subfolders according to the effect type.
On Windows systems, you can organize VST plug-ins by moving, adding or
renaming subfolders within the Vstplugins folder.
When you launch the program and open the effects selector, the subfolders are
represented by nodes, each listing the plug-ins in the corresponding subfolder.
On Mac OS X systems, you cannot change the hierarchic arrangement of the
“built-in” VST plug-ins.
However, you can arrange any additional plug-ins you have installed (in the
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/ folders, see above) by placing them in subfolders. In
the program, the subfolders are represented by nodes, each listing the plug-ins in
the corresponding subfolder.
The Plug-in Information window
On the Devices menu, you will find an item called “Plug-in Information”. Selecting this
opens a dialog listing all the available VST compatible plug-ins in your system
(including VST instruments), along with all MIDI plug-ins.