Are there stand-alone VSTs ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter spantini
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Paj said:
*Of course, if SeGtGruff had not posted that time-saving tip on the iLok manager, I'd probably have a lot more vendors on my s-list.
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I still occasionally get the problem of the PACE License Services not starting automatically as it's set to do, and a few months ago while searching the web I found some information from support about the issue. I can't seem to find it right now, but if I remember correctly they suggested going to the Services and changing the properties on the service from the "Automatic" startup type to "Automatic (Delayed Start)." This means it won't start right away whenever you boot your computer or log into your account, but will wait for a while and then try to start, but I'm not sure how long it will wait. If this seems to resolve the issue, then it's likely there are other services or applications that are taking a while to start, and this is preventing the PACE License Services from starting successfully.

I do have a number of applications and services set to start up automatically, so that may be what's going on in my case. I did change to "Automatic (Delayed Start)" for a while, but soon decided to go back to "Automatic" and just start the service manually if necessary. Usually it does start up as it's supposed to, so I figure the problem might be caused by something that doesn't happen all the time-- e.g., maybe it's only if I log in and Windows immediately starts downloading and installing a large update, or doing some other maintenance activity (cleaning up the hard drive, re-indexing the directories, etc.). In any case, as long as I now know what to check for and how to fix it, I can live with it! :)
 
Bobbsy said:
Pondering this question, I think that a stand alone VST would, in fact, be any rack hardware for reverb, EQ or whatever.

Most of these units are digital on the inside--the have A to D and D to A converters on the inputs and outputs and front panel knobs and switches to control things.

A VST plug in works exactly the same way but eliminates the need for the converters and delegates the various controls to pictures on the screen controlled by your mouse and keyboard.

(Yeah, I know there are still boutique bits of rack gear that are analogue all the way but I don't think that's what we're talking about here.)
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I had about a half-dozen rack-mounts in my old tape studio. Those, of course, plugged in via cables - easy 1 2 3. At first, I was wondering if these digital software plug-ins might run inside Windows 10.. like an app, but I've read here that another control program has to be used so the VST has a shell to run in.

And SeaGtGruff mentioned a program called VSTHost for running a VST plug-in.
 
Some VST programs can run either as a plugin inside a DAW, or as a standalone. Those that can't run as a standalone need some other program to provide them with a shell. SAVIHost, that I linked to in an earlier post, lets you run exactly one VST-- i.e., it essentially runs a specified VST to create a sort of standalone VST. If you have multiple VSTs, you can put multiple copies of SAVIHost on your computer, with each one dedicated to running a different VST. The other program I linked to-- VSTHost, by the same programmer-- acts as a host for multiple VSTs, i.e., it isn't dedicated to hosting one and only one specific VST.
 
I did a Google search for VST for Windows 10 - hoping for a miracle that one was out there which would work as a Windows app.. but no - and got this YouTube tutorial on how to install VSTs in Windows.

I wasn't looking for this exactly, but I suppose this will need to be done at some point in the future, if I decide to add extra VSTs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5xR5-OhsSs
 
I haven't looked at the video, but I've got Windows 10 and I've never had a problem installing a VST. Different VSTs install differently. Some are nothing more than a .DLL file (maybe with an accompanying README.TXT file) that you can essentially put anywhere on your computer-- as long as your DAW and other programs know where to look for it, so it's usually best to put the .DLL in the same folder where your other VSTs are located. Others are a little more sophisticated, with a folder that contains presets for the VST, but still with no installation program, so you can put it wherever you want. And the ones that have an actual installation program will default to some directory but will usually give you the opportunity to change to a different one. I've rarely seen a VST that didn't give me the opportunity to change the target directory, although some don't.
 
EZmix is another package that would fall into the VST/Standalone category.

I did get my IK stuff reauthorized but, based on past experience: for how long (reinstalled SampleTank for the fifth time). KV331 came through and got my SynthMaster VST recognized by Reaper5 (the KV331 folder in the VSTplugins folder apparently now has to be manually pointed to if not automatically found). I have a current use for Morphoder but I just don't have the ambition to try and figure out the WAVES issues at the moment. Oh well, it still beats getting hardware repaired.

Paj
8^)
 
SeaGtGruff said:
I haven't looked at the video, but I've got Windows 10 and I've never had a problem installing a VST. Different VSTs install differently. Some are nothing more than a .DLL file (maybe with an accompanying README.TXT file) that you can essentially put anywhere on your computer-- as long as your DAW and other programs know where to look for it, so it's usually best to put the .DLL in the same folder where your other VSTs are located. Others are a little more sophisticated, with a folder that contains presets for the VST, but still with no installation program, so you can put it wherever you want. And the ones that have an actual installation program will default to some directory but will usually give you the opportunity to change to a different one. I've rarely seen a VST that didn't give me the opportunity to change the target directory, although some don't.
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That's sums up the video: Walks you through geting the .DLL files in the correct folder.
 
I have to share this with you. I don't know if this happened as a result of reauthorizing T-Racks, reinstalling SampleTank, updating my Melda plugins, getting a Win10 update (not set to automatic), possibly not closing out my browser during an installation (which I'm usually religious about), or some combination of all of these, but two bad things happened: (a) all of my favorites folders disappeared from my File Explorer navigation panes and (b), QuickAccess no longer allowed pinning by any method/button/menu. Favorites, all gone and no way to reset/rebuild them. Like file navigating in Windows 3.

I was looking for the Windows repair function and the Win10 system restore/repair options didn't seem as straight-forward to me as the ones in previous Win versions, so I went to the Microsoft support site and left a question. This was the response I received:

"Hello PajMS,
Your question on Microsoft Community has received a reply from Eeshwar Kumar.
Title: No Quick Access after recent (7-14-16) update

Reply
Hi,
We apologize for the delay in response. The issue might be caused due to corruption in System Files. I suggest you to follow the methods provided below and check if it helps.

Method 1: Run SFC (System File Checker) scan.
1.Press Windows + X keys and click command prompt(admin).
2.Type “sfc /scannow” and press Enter.
3.After the scan is complete, type “exit” and press Enter.

For more information about SFC scan, click on the link below:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929833

Method 2: Run the DISM Tool.
1.Press Windows + X keys and click command prompt(admin).
2.Type the following commands in command prompt one by one and press Enter after each command.
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Hope this helps. Keep us posted on the status for further assistance."

I followed both methods, even though Method1 found no errors. Help? Wow---did it ever! The next time I booted up, all my favorites returned and everything worked as before, maybe even a little more peppy.

Paj
8^)
 
That's great, Paj! It's always nice when problems have a happy ending-- especially computer problems. ;)
 
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