Old 06-27-2017, 10:23 PM   #1
upside24
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Default Help with plug-in organization

Hi friends,

Every so often I will load a project up and (some of) the plug ins are no longer at the same location that my project is searching for them in. I could be in that project on Monday night only o find on Tuesday night it's changed. What could be causing this? most recently I purchased some Waves plugins, scanned for them and then started using them in my project. But now, today, Fab Filter plugins location has changed.

On the same note, I think it would benefit me to simply things A LOT. I have folders upon folder of different locations, ie) Steinberg, VST3, VST 32, VST 64. I even have these particular Fab Filter plug ins in multiple locations, but they don't need to be as far as I'm concerned. Which brings up one more question: If I have multiple versions of each plug in, should I remove the others from my PC and if so, which is considered the best now, VS3?

Many thanks for anyone willing to help me out.

Best- josh

Last edited by upside24; 06-27-2017 at 10:33 PM.
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Old 06-28-2017, 06:40 AM   #2
DarkStar
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Plug-ins do not move by themselves (except for the FXPansion's limited edition polterGEIST )

I have never heard of any malware moving them either.

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Anyway, organising your plug-ins, removing duplicates etc would be a good idea. But it may take some time.

Are you using Reaper 64-bit or Reaper 32-bit? Are you using any other hosts?

Many people set up 2specific folders for their 64-bit and 32-bit VST2 plug-ins; e.g. C:/VST_plugins/64 and C:/VST_plugins/32, with sub-folders for different developers or categories (reverbs, EQ, synths, etc). VST3 plug-ins have to go (I think[*]) in specific folders ( C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3 and C:\Program Files\Common Files (x86)\VST3 ) or sub-folders therein.

Once you have decided on the folder organisation you would need to uninstall each plug-in, using the developer's recommended method, tidy up any debris then reinstall the plug-in into the desired location.

As for VST2 vs VST3, I cannot comment as I have never used the latter.
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Old 06-28-2017, 07:17 AM   #3
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Thank you DarkStar. I follow your posts and appreciate your feedback.

I'm using the 64 bit version of Reaper. I actually did a clean up not too long ago, but I don't think I removed the previous locations of the VST's. I'll try what you are suggesting and will remove the plug-ins based on the manufacturer suggestions. Regarding the initial "clean up" phase. Do you think it would be a bad idea to copy all FX to an external hard drive to organize them and then drag those folders back onto the C drive?

Thanks again!
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Old 06-28-2017, 07:22 AM   #4
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It all depends.

Simple plug-ins (installed just by copying a dll file) can probably be moved to a different folder. Many plug-ins that are installed by an installer may have additional files, Registry entries, dependencies etc - just moving them may not be successful and could get messy. It would be best and cleaner to uninstall / reinstall them. If in doubt, contact the developer.
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