Old 09-01-2018, 07:42 AM   #1
Tyrannocaster
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Default How do you arrange your VST plugins?

I'm creating a fresh installation on a new machine and I want to avoid some of the stuff that I just let build up over time on the last one. As I added drives and got more plugins I started having to have multiple paths and although it works fine functionally, it's a mess organizationally.

I have an SSD as a system disk, and I have put Reaper on it and a simple path to VST 32 and VST 64 plugins. Since I do not yet have the big storage disk I will put in, I'm not installing everything now, but when I get the 3T second drive that's where most everything except the stuff that has to be installed in the system will go - all the Kontakt libraries and other samples, for instance. I have already installed Kontakt on the system drive and it's working. I installed 3 U-he synths and they are working, and the single test Kontakt library I put on the current (smaller) second drive works, so everything seems okay. I'm just curious how you guys organize your plugins because I want something a little neater than what I had last time.
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Old 09-01-2018, 08:29 AM   #2
peter5992
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I keep and update a large spreadsheet with the exact location where every VST is installed, how much space they take up, where are samples installed (I have several hard drives), and where each program (Reaper, Dorico, Sibelius) looks for VSTs; broken down by 32 bit (increasingly rare these days), 64 bit, and whether VST2 or 3. I send it to myself and make a backup in the cloud.

The samples are stored on separate samples drives (SSD, and I also have an SSD for the boot drive).

I can recommend doing this, after a while you tend to lose track of where stuff is, and after a reinstall, you even forget that you had purchased this one or that.



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Old 09-01-2018, 08:40 AM   #3
Stews
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Is the large disk you're getting an SSD?

If not, I'd highly recommend putting sample libraries on an SSD. For some libraries it's the difference between it loading instantly and having to wait for a flow-killing period to load it.

As far as the organizing, I put all the dlls on the system ssd and the libraries on a separate ssd. Only because I got more and outgrew the first ssd, having them all on one big ssd is the same.

I don't bother with any kind of spreadsheet or anything. If I loaded up a project that had used an obscure vst that I forgot about, I'd just install it then but it's never happened to me.
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Old 09-01-2018, 09:41 AM   #4
Tyrannocaster
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stews View Post
Is the large disk you're getting an SSD?

If not, I'd highly recommend putting sample libraries on an SSD. For some libraries it's the difference between it loading instantly and having to wait for a flow-killing period to load it.

As far as the organizing, I put all the dlls on the system ssd and the libraries on a separate ssd. Only because I got more and outgrew the first ssd, having them all on one big ssd is the same.

I don't bother with any kind of spreadsheet or anything. If I loaded up a project that had used an obscure vst that I forgot about, I'd just install it then but it's never happened to me.
No, it's not an SSD. I can't afford one that big. I can see how that would be nice, though. On my old machine, the problem did not seem to be hd transfer speed - it was processor speed and memory availability. With the new, much faster processor in this one and the huge memory increase I would think that should take care of the issue, as the old system was still usable, it was just on the edge with big projects, and even then it was just when the processor was running high and/or the memory was getting maxed out.
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Old 09-01-2018, 11:01 AM   #5
Stews
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrannocaster View Post
No, it's not an SSD. I can't afford one that big. I can see how that would be nice, though. On my old machine, the problem did not seem to be hd transfer speed - it was processor speed and memory availability. With the new, much faster processor in this one and the huge memory increase I would think that should take care of the issue, as the old system was still usable, it was just on the edge with big projects, and even then it was just when the processor was running high and/or the memory was getting maxed out.
Wouldn't have to be 3tb, just the size of your sample library data. Even just putting your most used ones on would help.

With some large instruments that stream from disk, a hard disk can cause stuttering if there's a lot going on. But the fact you can load up instruments almost instantly is such a big improvement in my opinion, I hate having to wait for loading when I'm itching to play an idea.
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Old 09-01-2018, 11:04 AM   #6
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I'm pretty aggressive about relocating everything to my VST Plugins folder, with a subfolder per company.
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Old 09-01-2018, 11:16 AM   #7
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I'm going to see if I can get away with a 32 bit folder and a 64 bit folder on the SSD for dlls, and one folder on the big drive for everything else. I hate having stuff all over the place.

My SSD is only 250 gigs, and I have too many big Kontakt libraries to try to put them on it, especially since Windows and all its crap uses so much space. The 3T size is because I have tons of graphics and videos as well as all the tunes I've done - I've been a professional for decades and I have a lot of stuff. I certainly don't have 3T of vst plugins, LOL, but I do have about 350 gigs of Kontakt libraries IIRC.
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