Newbie question about plug-ins

Xeeko

New member
I'm brand new here at FP and I'm new to music production (besides messing around with ejay), so I have a question:

What is a plug-in? Alot of programs say that they are for example VST plug-ins. As far as I've understood, that means that it doesn't act like a standalone program, instead you run the VST (as I've understood is a software synth) through another program. Is this the case, and if so, which program should I use? For example, now I use Sound Forge 6.0 for recording and Vegas 4.0 to put the loops together. Could I use any of these programs to play a VST plug-in? Or use other plug-ins like the Steinberg Voice Designer?

Thanks for any answer.
 
Welcome to FP, Xeeko !! :cheers:

I'll try to make this clear...

A (software) plugin is a program which can't be run as a standalone application; there's an other host program required to let it work.

VST plugins are one of the most typical kind of plugins used in the music production business. "VST" was found by Steinberg (makers of a.o. Cubase, Nuendo, WaveLab) and stands for "Virtual Studio Technology".

There are 3 types of VST plugins:

1° VST fx (like delay, reverb, phaser, flanger, distortion, ... )
2° VST mastering tools (like EQ, compressor, ... )
3° VST synths (usually called " VST i ", which stands for 'VSTinstrument').

In non-sequensing recording programs such as SoundForge or WaveLab you can definitely use any VST fx and/or any VST mastering tools, however most VSTi synths are not working - 'cause a VSTi usually needs a host sequenser to be controlled (via MIDI controls) such like Cubase, Logic, ...

Got it ? Keep it ! :cheers:
 
Carnage said:
But some plugins can be used without the host program, such as FM7
Because they come in plug-in and standalone format. NI generally try to make their products as compatible as possible so usually include standalone versions.
 
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