32-bit vst-compatibility in general

[enroe]

I am considering doing more things in Reaper, but if I do that
then a whole bunch of "older" 32-bit should work. I know from
a friend that he had a lot of problems with 32-bit plugins. That's
why he advises me not to even try Reaper.

Therefore, my question here is aimed at whether it is generally
possible and what special settings there are for "problems". OS
is Windows 10. And here we go:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

global compatibilty settings (preferences) (1):



global compatibilty settings (preferences) (2):



per plugin compatibility setting:



Do you have some experience about these settings:

--> What is preferable for 32-plugins?
--> What is your successful setting?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the global compatibilty settings (preferences) you can
choose for bridging:



1. Automatic bridging
2. In separate plug-in process
3. In dedicated process per plugin

--> What are the advantages and disadvantages of each (1), (2) and (3)?
--> What experiences do you have?

Unfortunately, the 400-page Reaper-docu gives hardly any
information, but maybe some experts or some experienced can
shed light on what is important for 32-bit plugins - and what
problems arise.

[wildschwein]

I have always just used default settings and 32 bit VSTs are automatically bridged. You can move pretty effortlessly between 32 and 64 bit plugs. There are always going to be the odd troublesome ones though. If I find any that regularly crash my system I get rid of them. I think Reaper in general is very good with older plugs. In Cubase anything 32 bit is blacklisted and can’t be used.

[DarkStar]

Or ... just use the 32-bit edition of Reaper?

[enroe]

Originally Posted by wildschwein

I have always just used default settings and 32 bit VSTs are automatically bridged. You can move pretty effortlessly between 32 and 64 bit plugs.

Yeah, that is good news. The reason why I have listed all the Preferences
options is: I don't like lengthy and tedious try + error scenarios! In order
to escape them, one would have to know what the individual settings mean.

Originally Posted by wildschwein

In Cubase anything 32 bit is blacklisted and can’t be used.

Yes, I still keep an old Cubase SX2.2 version which understands 32-bit
perfeclty well.

[enroe]

Originally Posted by DarkStar

Or ... just use the 32-bit edition of Reaper?

Yesss, yesss, but the attraction lies precisely in using 64-bit plugins
AND 32-bit plugins in one project.

[enroe]

Encouraged by "Wildschwein" I set up a Reaper-Test Project
with 32-bit plugins from "digitalfishbones" and "VOS". And yes:
everything works perfectly with the default settings. First of
all, that's great.

But the right test would of course be a complex song project
with many different plugins.

[xackley]

Blockfish used to be a favorite of mine and it worked until it didn't.
Several instances of losing a sound (track) to find that turning off Blockfish would bring the track back to life.

Blockfish did it's thing for countless plays and then would for no reason we can control stop processing sound.
Even closing a project and reopening did not help.

Then if I replaced FX Blockfish with Blockfish it would work until it didn't.

The point being the only way to know if a 32 bit plugin is 100% compatible is in the long run.

[enroe]

Tcha, Blockfish seems to show a very erratic, non-reproducible
crash behavior. It would be nice if you could avoid the crashes
with a certain "compatibility setting".

So far - in my small testproject - Blockfish behaves optimally.

[Fabian]

Each 32-bit plugin that crashes on me, I set to be Run As... > Dedicated process. That way, if it crashes, it doesn't bring Reaper down with or any other plugin.

In the Add FX to Track dialog, right-click the plugin and select Run As...

And if I understand this correctly:

• Separate process, means all set to this option run in the same process, so one of them crashing could take down all of the others
• Dedicated process, means each with this option set run in a process of its own, so that if it crashes, it does so all alone.
• Native only, I think means that it can only be used with the same bit-size as Reaper itself (I'm guessing, I have never used it)

The option to Embed bridged UI, usually works fine, but caution is advised.

[wildschwein]

Originally Posted by enroe

Encouraged by "Wildschwein" I set up a Reaper-Test Project
with 32-bit plugins from "digitalfishbones" and "VOS". And yes:
everything works perfectly with the default settings. First of
all, that's great.

But the right test would of course be a complex song project
with many different plugins.

I have used all the VOS plugs for many years without issues in Reaper. I know one day they’ll stop working though so have started to actually pay money for more 64 bit plugins going forward. Still love a good freebie though.

[enroe]

Originally Posted by Fabian

• Separate process, means all set to this option run in the same process, so one of them crashing could take down all of the others
• Dedicated process, means each with this option set run in a process of its own, so that if it crashes, it does so all alone.
• Native only, I think means that it can only be used with the same bit-size as Reaper itself (I'm guessing, I have never used it)

Thanks for explaining these settings! That should help
to deal with the 32-bit plugins in such a way that you
can work with them.

[valy]

I've been using this for years, although there's only one or two 32-bit VSTs that are still in my arsenal:

https://jstuff.wordpress.com/jbridge/

[ivansc]

Odd - the general consensus for years has been that Reapers own native bridge is more reliable than jbridge.

[valy]

Originally Posted by ivansc

Odd - the general consensus for years has been that Reapers own native bridge is more reliable than jbridge.

Maybe, but then what's the point of this thread?

[enroe]

Originally Posted by valy

Maybe, but then what's the point of this thread?

The point is that the automatic elegant bridging in
Reaper "doesn't just work like that", but that you
have to choose the right settings in the Preferences.

And this thread is exactly about these settings.

[valy]

I guess I misunderstood your intent in posting. It sounded like you wanted to do more in REAPER but were concerned about whether 32-bit plugins could and would continue to be usable in it.

My post was simply intended to show a viable, DAW-agnostic alternative to REAPER's native bridging feature. In fact, most of my experience using JBridge involved creating 64-bit versions of 32-bit VSTs to use inside a VST wrapper in Pro Tools. And I never had any problems with it that I can recall.

Still, JBridge isn't free, and if REAPER's feature works well enough I see no reason not to use it. As I stated, I use almost no 32-bit plugins anymore, so I'll defer to ivansc's wisdom on how REAPER gets along with those.

[TonE]

Originally Posted by DarkStar

Or ... just use the 32-bit edition of Reaper?

I am using this for a long time, in linux in wine, no problems. Directly in linux 64 bit. It is not Reapers fault, but the users I would guess. Greetings to your friend with Cubase, ahhahahahaha

[enroe]

Originally Posted by TonE

Greetings to your friend with Cubase, ahhahahahaha

Well, Cubase is a fantastic DAW. However, also a puristic, inflexible
DIVA: 32-bit plugins are not allowed, DX has long been abolished ...

That is also the reason why you have to run old versions in parallel.