Opening very old projects and attempting to get the plugins back

[mail@bryanturner.com]

So..

Where do I start? I used Sonar from VS3.0 forward to VS8 then stability issues etc..I went to Pro Tools
I have possibly 200 song ideas as .bun files from "back in the day" and wish I could open them with the 32 bit plugins that had shipped with cakewalk OR the 32 bit Waves plugins that I used (I own Mercury Bundle Legit).

Did we cross into a realm where 32 bit plugs will no longer work in Sonar?

Where do I get legacy plugs?

Hopeful to find answers even if its not possible to attempt a recreation of the old setup.

By the way, if you are a PT HD Native user with large Sonar projects from the past, the Analog 16/16 will freak out if you try to load a huge project and basically flicker and lock up. You will need to use an alternate sound card, I use my X32 Rack for this and it boots the files just fine.

 

 

 

 

 

[Colin Nicholls]

Cakewalk By Bandlab will use 32-bit VST plugins (via built-in bitbridge) if they are found in the appropriate location on the file system.

You can only get legacy plugins by running the installers of the software with which they originally came.

I think Cakewalk will still open projects even if the plugins can not be found. You can then replace them with current plugins one by one, if you are willing to recreate the patches or presets used originally which obviously won't be available.

[scook]

The best was to run 32bit plug-ins is in a 32bit host. Use the 32bit host to aid in transitioning to 64bit.

32bit DX plug-ins cannot load into 64bit DAWs. That said, there is way to wrap  them as VST plug-ins so the will actually load using the bridging tech for VST's but this tends to be unreliable and projects that used the plug-ins natively will not recognize them.

Some 32bit DX plug-ins were ported to 64bit. These are all in the SONAR 8 installer. Use an advanced install of 64bit SONAR to get them installed. These plug-ins will work in CbB and replace any 32bit versions found in existing projects.

There is bridge software to load 32bit VST plug-ins. It was intended as a stopgap measure so manufacturers could develop there 64bit replacements. Bridging is still available. CbB included BitBridge and jBridge is a low cost alternative which may offer better support for some plug-ins.

 

 

[mail@bryanturner.com]

4 minutes ago, scook said:

any idea what to search for on this?

There is bridge software to load 32bit VST plug-ins was intended as a stopgap measure so that manufacturers could develop there 64bit replacements. Bridging is still available.

 

 

 

[scook]

BitBridge is bundled with CbB.

jBridge may be purchased here.

 

 

[scook]

If I had a bunch of old projects, I would install the most recent 32bit host available and use it to open and transition the projects to plug-ins that had 64bit versions. Creating new projects with old unsupported 32bit software is not a good idea.

 

[mail@bryanturner.com]

yikes, gearsltz page has it all....time to forget it, or face instability issues.

I guess recreating the FX will be the way to go, I am smarter and faster than I was, so its likely a win win.

Fun Fact: exporting OMF files from Sonar to PT... fail when the crossfades in Sonar are beyond some limits. IE unfade the clips (I know its a pain!)

[mail@bryanturner.com]

Thank you Scook!

[mail@bryanturner.com]

32 bit Host... Yeah, that's some old code there, running in a current win OS I will pass on that!

[scook]

It's no older than the plug-ins and is way more compatible given it will run 32bit plug-ins natively. IMO, the best way to transition projects made in 32bit hosts. Once the plug-ins are swapped out with plug-ins that have 64bit versions, the projects are ready to run in a modern host.

 

[mail@bryanturner.com]

I agree, yet the it is likely I can just proceed with the songs if I go the recreation route instead of all the porting over..

about the same amount of work in the end

I am grateful for your responses.

I sticking point is that my OS on new computer is rather clean and stable and introducing old software then uninstalling it will likely make some residual mess.

[Xoo]

I've been doing this with some old projects: open in CbB, note which plugins don't load, re-open in the last SONAR Platinum (x86), note down 32 bit settings (actually, I usually have the project open in both hosts simultaneously, just am very careful which one I save from!) and listen in isolation then try to recreate in CbB. Tedious but you can get some wins too!

Even Microsoft haven't killed 32 bit completely...Windows Media Player 32 bit is still the default media player in 64 bit Windows 10 (and it's a complete pain trying to get the 63 bit version to be the default in its place...I'm not sure it's even possible in recent Windows 10 releases!).

[Craig Anderton]

Now is a good time to note the virtues of rendering virtual instruments and tracks with plug-ins, so if you ever have to open a project in the future and all else fails, you can at least open the WAV files.