Adding 3rd Party VSTI's

[Neville John Pearson]

What folder should I put 3rd Party VSTi's into?

[Lord Tim]

It depends on the VST. If you're not letting the installer itself decide, then if it's a VST2 plugin, it's usually at "C:\Program Files\Cakewalk\VstPlugins"  and VST3 plugins always should go in "C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3"

[Philip Jones]

Wil my experience, I had to create a folder in the C root EG: "C\vst" and install ALL 3rd party VST's there, then add that location to CbB plugin options, then do a scan, this is because some 3rd party VST's create a data folder and if the VST is placed in the default CbB vst folder "C:\Program Files\Cakewalk\VstPlugins", then when CbB scans the folder and detects the new VST's, the scan initiates the VST to create a data folder that contains modules for various instruments, but windows will NOT allow this unless the scanning module has elevated privileges, IE admin access, and will cause an error pop up showing that modules are not available, etc etc. 

So, by using the C:\vst folder, elevated privileges will not be needed, then you have all 3rd party VST2 format VST's in one location, some installers insist on placing the dll's in "C:\Program Files\Steinberg" why?  I have no idea, but if you can, always install 3rd party VST's including VSTi's into a folder on "C:\vst", I use the 'vst' location as an example, it can be named whatever you want, as long as it's added to the list of CbB plugin locations, by going to:- Utilities->Cakewalk Plug-In Manager, then click on 'Options' then click on 'Add' then navigate to where the 3rd party VST's are located.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited April 9, 2023 by Philip Jones

[Lord Tim]

I should point out though that this experience is different to most users, though. The default locations will usually be fine, so long as nothing is installed using Admin or any permissions get screwed up. It's really not necessary to do this step unless there's a problem that can't be solved in other ways.

[Starship Krupa]

51 minutes ago, Lord Tim said:

I should point out though that this experience is different to most users, though. The default locations will usually be fine, so long as nothing is installed using Admin or any permissions get screwed up. It's really not necessary to do this step unless there's a problem that can't be solved in other ways.

I try to avoid installing plug-ins under any specific host’s program directory structure, because who knows, I may not always want to use that program. C:\VST or D:\VST usually work and are easy to find.

[Lord Tim]

VST3 is very much recommended (not just by Cakewalk but by the VST3 spec) to go to "C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3" and you'll see it's pre-configured in the VST path in Cakewalk too. If people are having issues with insufficient privileges getting to anything in Program Files, then this goes against the spec itself, which shows a much deeper problem somewhere. Sure, putting things in a different location may fix it, but this is more of a workaround rather than a solution.

[Xoo]

64 bit applications (and dll's like VSTs) should absolutely not be creating folders in Program Files on running (it's part of the "64 bit Windows spec") - 32 bit VSTs may well do because they were written in an age when this was OK to do.   Are these 32 bit VSTs by any chance?  If so, better to move just them out of the Program Files folder into somewhere safe.

[Philip Jones]

On 4/9/2023 at 2:16 PM, kperry said:

64 bit applications (and dll's like VSTs) should absolutely not be creating folders in Program Files on running (it's part of the "64 bit Windows spec") - 32 bit VSTs may well do because they were written in an age when this was OK to do.   Are these 32 bit VSTs by any chance?  If so, better to move just them out of the Program Files folder into somewhere safe.

No, these are 64 bit VST's from  plugins4free, and they have selections for 32 bit or 64 bit, and even Mac format.