How to enable 32 bit VST synths

[W. Cameron Bastedo]

I'm confused (and a bit frustrated) as to why some 32 bit VST synths are accepted by CbB and others are excluded. 

First, has anyone reading this downloaded and used JBridge? Does it work with CbB and does it make additional plugins available? I found a post by one user, and from what he had to say about the product, it sounds like a bit of a nightmare. Any positive testimonies about its use?

1. Does anyone know why some VST plugins are accepted and others not?  

2. Why, of all plugs that SHOULD work, are the ones that came with older versions of SONAR excluded. Is that specific? They are no longer available for purchase, so you can't buy 64 bit upgrades. It just seems silly.

3. Maybe this one is for those doing the programming. Could it not be setup so that ALL 32 bit synths are accepted (as all 32 bit effects are)? I know that some won't work, but if they don't then the user can exclude them instead of this choice being made by CbB in some -- seemingly -- mysterious and arbitrary manner.

4. Finally, is there a way to override what the program excludes? When I look at the list of available plugins, some -- like Philharmonik -- are not even listed as possibilities. Others are listed but can't be included when selected. 

Any help or enlightenment on this issue would be appreciated.

Kind regards,

Cam

 

 

 

Edited August 3, 2020 by W. Cameron Bastedo

[scook]

The move to 64bit started over 15 years ago.

 

Most plug-ins that are still 32bit only are that way because

• The tools used to create them were 32bit, for example SynthEdit
• The manufacturer replaced 32bit plug-ins with different products. For example, Cakewalk Sound Center was replace by Rapture Session.
• The product was discontinued.

 

Regardless of the reason, almost all plug-ins that are 32bit only are pretty old.

 

Due to their age, some plug-ins fail to scan because they violate current Windows security policy.

• Changing permissions in the registry or drive can fix some scan issues.
• Installing in non-restricted areas of a drive avoids the drive permissions problem.
• Some plug-ins have no remedy other than running the DAW as administrator.

 

Bridging was created to buy time for developers and ease the transition for users migrating to 64bit software. It was never intended to extend the life of unmaintained and unsupported plug-ins indefinitely.

 

Relying on unmaintained and unsupported software is not a good idea.

 

 

 

[Craig Anderton]

Yesterday's project was to remix an old song done in Sonar, and I was dismayed that many plug-ins wouldn't load. However, when I inserted current plug-ins to replace the missing ones, the song sounded so much better. So while it's inconvenient having to spend 30 minutes inserting and tweaking plug-ins, at least for me, the effort was worth it.

[John Bradley]

Indeed, stop trying to use ancient VSTs. You're just asking for pain, and the state of the art has improved dramatically since the early 2000s.

And I say that as a guy who wrote a (non-music) app* in 1994 that people are still using to this day. Why? Who knows - it wasn't that great then!

* Though we called them 'programs' back then.

[Bapu]

program is a verb now, not a noun.

<wonders what apps will be called in 50 years?>

 

[Bapu]

Back to the OP. 

With all due respect, I would advise you to stop trying to put a 1968 VW engine in a 2020 Porsche.

 

[Craig Anderton]

1 hour ago, Bapu said:

Back to the OP. 

With all due respect, I would advise you to stop trying to put a 1968 VW engine in a 2020 Porsche.

 

Yes! It's soooo much more fun to put a 2020 Porsche engine in a 1968 VW. Just be careful going around curves

[mark skinner]

as a 68 vw owner I'm not sure how to take this ..   

[DeeringAmps]

On 8/3/2020 at 9:47 AM, W. Cameron Bastedo said:

First, has anyone reading this downloaded and used JBridge? Does it work with CbB and does it make additional plugins available?

Let me first say that while all the above "advice" is well intentioned, jBridge continues to work just fine in CbB in the Win 10 environment.
For reasons never explained, I was one of a very small group that IK's Amplitube3x64 stopped working in Sonar.
As it was my "go-to" amp sim I was forced to install jBridge (bit bridge did not work), and it has continued to work flawlessly ever since.
Needless to say I have moved on to Amp4, but I digress.
I also have a couple of 32bit VSTi, namely MrTramp 1 & 2 that are 32 bit only; both work flawlessly using jBridge.
Again no longer my "go-to" electric pianos, but they work just fine.

If you have 32 bit VST or VSTi that bit bridge will not get working for you, jBridge is certainly worth the "price of admission"...

HTH, feel free to PM if you need help/advice to get jBridge up and running.

tom

PS: I just loaded up CbB 2020.8 and verified that both Amp2 and MrTramp are working flawlessly.

[paulo]

On 8/3/2020 at 7:57 PM, Bapu said:

Back to the OP. 

With all due respect, I would advise you to stop trying to put a 1968 VW engine in a 2020 Porsche.

 

Why not? They're still practically the same car.

[Bapu]

2 minutes ago, paulo said:

Why not? They're still practically the same car.

And Win-7 32bit and Win-10 64bit are practically the same OS too. ? 

[paulo]

On 8/4/2020 at 3:18 PM, mark skinner said:

as a 68 vw owner I'm not sure how to take this ..   

Probably very slowly with a noise that far exceeds the amount of forward progress being made.

[paulo]

Just now, Bapu said:

And Win-7 32bit and Win-10 64bit are practically the same OS too. ? 

No, win 7 is way better.

[twelvetone]

@scook - so if I understand you correctly, this problem comes mostly from Windows?

Edited August 8, 2020 by twelvetone

[scook]

The main problem is updating everything but a few pieces of software. This is not a reasonable approach for computer-based solutions.

Software is developed on contemporary hardware and operating systems. As the hardware and operating systems change over time, the software needs to change with it. When software stops being supported by the manufacturer it shifts from being an asset to a liability for the user.

Software developed in the Windows XP era relied on how XP worked. There were some changes made in Vista leaving manufacturers with a choice:

• update the software or
• leave it to the users to figure out how to deal with the changes.

This is when "run as administrator" became a popular workaround. By running software as administrator users are bypassing Windows security. While an easy workaround it is less than ideal. Better solutions require knowledge about how the OS and software interact. This is not something most users are likely to research.

 

FWIW, this is not just a Windows problem. This is how software works regardless of the OS.

 

[Mr Gruust]

 

Quote

FWIW, this is not just a Windows problem. This is how software works regardless of the OS.

That's nonsense. That's how Macs work since they dropped support for one of the most durable and generic graphics APIs: OpenGL.

Under Linux, the core API (file operations etc.) is still compatible with one of the earliest versions. It has been extended, but not broken. Yes, some plugins may use not-so-core-functions of windows and therefore break. However, the VST interface itself is stable. Many devs intentionally build statically linked plugins with NO external dependencies beyond core OS functions exactly to prevent any such issues.

Also, the software I buy - I actually expect it to run forever. Not just until some DAW decides to drop support for it. Just think about it: Steinberg - the great and only inventor of VST - simply drops 32 bit support for no good reason beyond saving a few cents. That's why many Cubase users stay with v8.5. And that apparently still runs fine. Quite sad state of affairs.

Not quite related, but dongles and copy protections are endangering my lifetime licenses. It's time we get some regulation to force vendors, who use such stuff, to take precautionary measures in case they go out of business. Spectrasonics apparently did that already on their own volition - according to their FAQ. However, there are quite some stories out there, where plugins simply stopped working after the company said good bye. That's simply not acceptable: selling perpetual licenses with inbuilt cardiac infarction risk.

Edited February 13, 2022 by Mr Gruust

[abacab]

6 hours ago, Mr Gruust said:

That's nonsense.

Way to go, reviving an old thread with an off-topic rant. ?

[John Vere]

This forum needs a thread time out that automatically locks threads after at least a year. 6 months would be even better. I end up reading these with out checking the date. Big waste of time and frustrating.  
If there something in an old thread you wanted then you can simply post the link to the original thread in your OP. Just like if you post links to the old forum.