hi sundance.
happy new year.
tips...049
topic... handling third party plug ins.
it seems in various daw host software sometimes people
have trouble loading a particular plug in.
sometimes plug ins can be downloaded as just a simple naked dll.
others require unzipping and.or clicking on an installer that comes with the plug in.
a typical problem ive seen friends have is after downloading a particular plug in
they cant seem to load it in their fav host daw software.

heres one reason why.
sometimes its hidden deep in the layers of a directory/file structure.
thus sometimes its difficult to find.

heres a simple solution.
instead of haveing plug ins scattered deep in a dir structure..
set up a folder on the desktop called "plug ins".
ie a central easily located folder containing your plug ins.
this way when you want to try a plug in..
you know exactly the folder it will be in ..
viz "plugins folder". or call it a unique name like
"thirdpartyvst's".
you could even set up 2 folders.
one for instrument plug ins and one for fx.
this way you will know exactly where to go to load a plug in.
so when you download a new plug in just set it up
in your central plug ins folder.

now the question becomes ..but i already have 50 odd plug ins
scattered around my system. what about them ??
do i move em all to the new plug ins folder ??
on this aspect you might want to be carefull..
cos i dont have a good answer.
mainly cos i dont know every plug in.
if the plug in was downloaded as a simple naked dll with no installer.
you should be ok moving it to the new plug ins folder.
but if it used a special installer i would be carefull.
you might ant to ask the developer of the plug in bout this aspect.
cos it might be hairy depending on the plug in and how it was registered
in windows.

something else i do re plug ins is...
if i am trying a new plug in for the first time i
try and assess how much of my pc resources it uses.
i would suggest folks be sensitive to this aspect.
i also undertake a performance test.
i look for clues like how fast does the plug in take to load and display.
and does my system seem to suddenly become much more sluggish.
after a time you sorta get a feel for this.

i personally stay away from plug ins needing dongles etc.
but thats up to the individual person whether they make that decision.
cos i dont want to get into that debate as its been debated on
various recording forums.

the other thing to be aware of is even the most powerfull
system has a limit to its resources.
it is also important to remember that if you wish to run lots of plug in instances
you should really assess your memory needs.
cos plug ins can consume lots of memory depending on how the plug ins are designed.
a typical problem ive seen is someone records a few traks and loads a few plug ins..
and gets a sense of security that all will be ok with more traks and plug ins.
please dont make this assumption.
also its important to remember that the OS itself needs memory.
in summary if you have low real memory and/or an older processor
monitor very carefull useing win task manager your processor and memory useage.
particularly problems ive seen are with systems with older processors
and 512 or 1 gig of ram. thus i normally recommend at least 2 gigs of ram.
to be on the safe side. anyhoo memory is cheap these days.
many studios with heavy plug in needs are now in fact useing much more than 2 gigs of ram.
in summary ..if you want to use lots of plug ins but have a low real memory system.
you might want to monitor carefully your memory useage.
another good clue to look out for is when the time read outs in your daw
are not as fluid as usual. and become "sticky".
this is a clue that your system might be getting under strain.

finally just cos your mate fred loves a certain plug in..still make sure
you test it on your own system.
cos for all you know your mate fred might have a super duper i7 system
with scads of fast memory while you still have an older single core system
with slower memory for example.

good luck n happy new year.

retired puter engr....powertracks on amd......NICE !
"what is the black art of audio engineering ?"
my silly songs...motagator.com/bmanning
see my tips in the tips section.