There are many types of plugin formats, although basically this blog is dedicated to the format VST plugins, but the collection in it covers all types of plugin formats.
Different Plug-in Standards
Different plug-ins use different standards to communicate with the host software which can make things a bit confusing when it comes to choosing new plug-ins. Which software uses what standards? Which standards are supported by PC or Mac? Where did they all come from? To make things easier for you we have prepared this guide to the different standards.
The five commonly used plug-in standards are:
VST: A standard developed by Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, the creators of Cubase and Nuendo. This standard works with PC (Windows) and Macintosh (OS-X) based computers. Some of the different DAWs available that support VST plug-ins are Steinberg Cubase and Nuendo, Ableton Live, Cakewalk Sonar and ImageLine FL-Studio.
AU: A standard developed by Apple Inc, and is a plug-in architecture provided by Core Audio within OS-X on Macintosh computers. AU is not supported by PC based systems. Examples of DAWs that support AU plug-ins are Apple Logic and Ableton Live.
DX: The DX or DirectX plug-in standard was developed by Microsoft Corporation, and is a component of the overall DirectX system. DirectX plug-ins are not supported on Macintosh systems. Examples of DAWs that support DirectX plug-ins are Cakewalk Sonar and ImageLine FL-Studio.
RTAS: The RTAS plug-in standard was developed by Digidesign, and is supported by software including ProTools LE and ProTools HD on both PC (Windows) and Mac (OS-X) based systems
TDM: The TDM plug-in standard was also developed by Digidesign, however unlike the standards mentioned previously TDM plug-ins are processed using proprietary Digidesign hardware rather than the computer's CPU. Software that supports TDM plug-ins includes ProTools HD (PC/Mac) and Apple Logic (Mac).
Reference: http://conservatoriumofaudio.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=54
Get from the wikipedia definition of the VST: Virtual Studio Technology and its acronym VST refer to an interface standard for connecting audio synthesizer and effect plugins to audio editors and hard-disk recording systems. VST and similar technologies allow the replacement of traditional recording studio hardware with software counterparts. VST plug-ins are software modules that can take the form of real-time instruments or effects. Thousands of plugins exist, making VST the most widespread audio plugin architecture.
Steinberg's Virtual Studio Technology (VST) is an interface for integrating software audio synthesizer and effect plugins with audio editors and hard-disk recording systems. VST and similar technologies use Digital Signal Processing to simulate traditional recording studio hardware with software. Thousands of plugins exist, both commercial and freeware, and VST is supported by a large number of audio applications. The technology can be licensed from its creator, Steinberg.
There are three types of VST plugin
- VST instruments generate audio. They are generally either virtual synthesizers or samplers. Some, such as Native Instruments' Pro-53, specifically recreate the look and sound of famous synthesizers from years past (in this case, the Prophet-5).
- VST effects, such as reverb and phaser effects, process audio input. Other monitoring effects provide visual feedback of the input signal without processing the audio. Most hosts allow multiple effects to be chained.
- VST MIDI effects process MIDI messages prior to routing the MIDI data to other VST instruments or hardware devices; for example, to transpose or create arpeggios.
And to facilitate the search, in this blog I categorize the types of VST Plug-ins with the names of the label as follows: Development Tools, Effects, Hosts, Instruments, Linux, Mac OS X, Windows
VST hosts
VST plugins are available here can be used in a variety of DAW because
There is a wide range of VST hosts available, including the following:
* Ableton Live
* ACID Pro
* Adobe Audition
* Adobe Premiere Elements
* Adobe Premiere Pro
* Ardour (open source)
* Audacity (only the Beta version displays full VST graphical interfaces)(open source)
* AudioMulch
* Bidule
* Presonus Studio One
* Steinberg Cubase
* Steinberg Nuendo
* Steinberg Wavelab
* FL Studio
* Kore
* LMMS (open source)
* Max MSP
* Mixcraft
* MadTracker 2
* ModPlug Tracker
* MU.LAB
* Musagi
* Podium
* REAPER
* Renoise
* Samplitude
* Usine
* Sonar
* Vienna Ensemble Pro
* WavePad Sound Editor
* SADiE 6
* Turbo Play
There are also stand-alone "dedicated hosts" whose sole purpose is to serve as a host for the VST plugins rather than as an extension of their sequencing or audio capabilities. These are usually optimized for live performance use, with features like fast song configuration switching. Examples of popular dedicated VST host software include:
* Cantabile
* Brainspawn Forte
* Chainer
* Deckadance
* eLektra Performance System (for 4 or 5 string electric violin only)
* LiveProfessor
* SAVIHost
* Tobybear MiniHost
* Vienna Ensemble Pro
* VSTHost
* Turbo Play
VST plugins can be hosted in incompatible environments using a translation layer, or shim. For example, FL Studio fundamentally supports only its own internal plugin architecture, but a native "wrapper" plugin exists that can, in turn, load VST plugins, among others. As another example, FXpansion offers a VST to RTAS (Real Time AudioSuite) wrapper (allowing VST plugins to be hosted in the popular Pro Tools digital audio workstation), and a VST to Audio Units wrapper (allowing VST plugins to be hosted in Apple Logic Pro Digital Audio Workstation).
References
1. ^ http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1996_articles/jul96/steinbergcubase3.html
2. ^ http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep99/articles/cubase37.htm
3. ^ http://www.kvraudio.com/get/74.html
4. ^ http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep99/articles/cubase37.htm
5. ^ http://www.steinberg.net/index.php?id=334&L=1
6. ^ http://www.kvraudio.com/news/8522.html
7. ^ http://www.steinberg.net/en/newsandevents/news/newsdetail/archive/2011/02/10/article/vst-35-a-milestone-in-vst-development-1451.html
