There are basically two different ways that you can use DXi or VSTi synths for playback. You can choose a single DXi/VSTi synth to play all tracks, or you can assign DXi/VSTi synths on a track-by-track basis.

Choosing a single synth to play all tracks: The easiest way to use a single DXi or VSTi synth for all of your MIDI tracks is to go to Options | MIDI Devices and place a checkmark beside "Re-Route MIDI playback to default DXi Synth". In the "Default DXi Synth" combo box, choose the synth that you want to use and press OK. Now all of your MIDI tracks will use the DXi synth you have selected. If you want to view the control panel for the synth, you can click on the [DXi] button in the main PowerTracks toolbar. If you want to select a default VSTi synth, you must first open the DirectX Window and manually add the VSTi synth to your plugin list. To do this:

1. Click the DXi button in the toolbar, or click any of [Edit DXi] buttons in the Track Info fields. To find the [Edit DXi] button, click the Track Disclosure button (the little triangle) in any of the Track Info fields.
2. In the top plugin combo box, select "Add VSTi Plugin".
3. Navigate to the location of the VSTi plugin .dll, select it, and press Open.
4. The VSTi plugin will appear in your plugin list from now on - you won't need to do this procedure again unless you reinstall PowerTracks. It will show up near the bottom of the list as "<VSTi>synthname". Note that native VSTi plugins that you have added to the list have brackets surrounding "VSTi" and appear near the bottom of the list.

Assigning synths on a track-by-track basis: If you want, you can use different synths for different MIDI tracks, or use DXi/VSTi synths for some tracks and non-DXi/VSTi synths for other tracks. If you have PowerTracks 12 Build 10 (or higher) installed, you can find a tutorial about this in the Help file - Features and Tutorials - Using DXi and VSTi synths with PowerTracks.

Note:

• DXi and VSTi tracks will use your audio driver for playback. In Options | Preferences | Audio | Drivers, if you have Microsoft SoundMapper selected for Audio Output, playback will be through the default audio driver you have selected in the Windows Control Panel (Sounds and Audio Devices or Multimedia). If you have an audio driver other than the SoundMapper selected, playback will go through that driver.

• PowerTracks Pro Audio 10 and higher support DXi/VSTi play-thru as long as you are using an ASIO driver. See this FAQ topic for more information.

• If you want to render your song to a wave file, you can use the Audio | Merge audio and DXi tracks to stereo wave file command to quickly convert your DXi/VSTi and audio tracks to a wave file.

• PowerTracks scans for DXi plugins automatically, but VSTi synths need to manually be added to the list of plugins. To add a VSTi plugin to the list:

  1. Click the DXi button in the toolbar, or click any of [Edit DXi] buttons in the Track Info fields. To find the [Edit DXi] button, click the Track Disclosure button (the little triangle) in any of the Track Info fields.

  2. In the top plugin combo box, select "Add VSTi Plugin".

  3. Navigate to the location of the VSTi plugin .dll, select it, and press Open.

  4. The VSTi plugin will appear in your plugin list from now on - you won't need to do this procedure again unless you reinstall PowerTracks. It will show up near the bottom of the list as "<VSTi>synthname". Note that native VSTi plugins that you have added to the list have brackets surrounding "VSTi" and appear near the bottom of the list.

PowerTracks Pro Audio 12, Build 10 has introduced a more intuitive method for selecting and using multiple DXi or VSTi synths in a single song. So if you have PowerTracks 12, make sure that you have the latest build installed. For older versions of PowerTracks, see the PowerTracks 11 and earlier FAQ topic.