FXpansion VST to RTAS Adapter v2.0 1 Introduction The VST-RTAS Adapter detects VST plug-ins and places them inside an RTAS ‘wrapper’. Each of these wrappers appears as an individual RTAS plug-in inside Pro Tools. The wrapper is a small piece of code which loads the original VST plug-in and allows it to talk to Pro Tools using the RTAS protocol. Wrapped plug-ins behave exactly like any other RTAS plug-in.
FXpansion VST to RTAS Adapter v2.0 2 Installation VST-RTAS Adapter v2 is designed especially for Pro Tools 7 or higher. If you’re using Pro Tools v6.x, you’ll need to use v1.06 of the adapter. Please register your adapter on the FXpansion website, after which you’ll have access to the download area containing the older version. If you have VST-RTAS Adapter v1.x installed, please run it prior to using VSTRTAS Adapter v2, choose ‘Remove Converted Plug-Ins’ and Quit.
FXpansion VST to RTAS Adapter v2.0 IMPORTANT: Online Registration Please make sure you register your serial number at www.fxpansion.com so that we have a record of it should you lose your purchase confirmation email. Registering also allows you access to the user download area, containing software updates. Your serial number represents your license to use the software. Lost serials will NOT be replaced. Technical support If you run into problems with the Adapter, please make sure that : 1.
FXpansion VST to RTAS Adapter v2.0 3 The Adapter configuration program ‘Detect and wrap’ button Tools menu VST plug-in locations Message window Wrapping Options and Information Quit button VST plug-in locations VST-RTAS Adapter will scan for plug-ins in the folders listed here. By default, the system VST folder(s) and VST-RTAS Adapter’s ‘local’ VST folder are selected: • Mac /Library/Audio/Plugins/VST /Users//Library/Audio/Plugins/VST /Applications/VST to RTAS Adapter v2.
FXpansion VST to RTAS Adapter v2.0 Message window This window shows a log of the detection/wrapping process. Use the scroll-bar on the right of the window to scroll through the contents. Wrapping Options and Information This part of the Adapter shows a list of VST plug-ins detected in the specified VST plug-in folders. There are a number of columns displaying options and information for each detected plug-in.
FXpansion VST to RTAS Adapter v2.0 4 Commands and the Tools menu Detect and wrap VST plug-ins... Clicking this button is a one-click method of scanning the specified VST folders and automatically creating wrapped RTAS plug-ins from them. Use this method if you want to quickly convert all your VST plug-ins into RTAS plug-ins.
FXpansion VST to RTAS Adapter v2.0 5 Wrapping Options and Information This part of the Configuration application is a table showing a summary of detected plug-ins on your system. Use the scrollbar to the right of the table to navigate through the list. It is important to remember that a plug-in will only appear as an RTAS plug-in within Pro Tools if the ‘Wrap’ parameter is set to ‘Yes’. Colour-coding Each plug-in in the list is colour-coded to help you verify a plug-in’s status at a glance.
FXpansion VST to RTAS Adapter v2.0 MIDI (Yes/No) Indicates if a plug-in supports MIDI. In order for a plug-in to synchronize with the tempo of your Pro Tools session, it requires a MIDI port. Some plug-ins do not possess this by default: manually changing this parameter to ‘Yes’ forces the plug-in to be MIDI-enabled, thereby enabling host tempo synchronization. Type (Effect/Instrument) Indicates whether a plug-in is an effect or an instrument.
FXpansion VST to RTAS Adapter v2.0 6 A guide to using RTAS plug-ins in Pro Tools 7 This brief guide to using wrapped plug-ins in Pro Tools does not have the scope for giving a full understanding of the Pro Tools audio routing system, or for the various other functions of the software which can be involved when using plugins, such as automation, MIDI etc. Please do not contact us with questions about using Pro Tools. Consult your Pro Tools documentation or contact Digidesign support.
FXpansion VST to RTAS Adapter v2.0 Inserting an RTAS effects plug-in onto a track 1. Click on an available insert point on the desired channel, and navigate through the plug-in menu to the effect plug-in. 2. C lick on the effect plug-in in order to launch it as an insert on the channel. The interface will appear automatically.
FXpansion VST to RTAS Adapter v2.0 Using RTAS instruments 1. Create a new stereo Instrument track. 2. Click on an available insert point on the Instrument track, and navigate through the plug-in menu to the desired instrument plug-in. 3. C lick on the instrument plug-in in order to launch it as an insert on the track. The interface will appear automatically.
FXpansion VST to RTAS Adapter v2.0 4. Record or draw some MIDI notes onto the Instrument track. When you play back the sequence, the instrument should respond. 5. To record the output of the instrument as audio, firstly set the output of the Instrument track to a Bus. Create a new Audio track and set its input to the same Bus. You’re now ready to record the output of the instrument to this new Audio track.
FXpansion VST to RTAS Adapter v2.0 Working with multiple-output instrument plug-ins Some instrument plug-ins have more than one stereo output. Please run the Adapter configuration program and inspect the ‘Out’ parameter in order to verify the number of outputs for your instrument plug-ins. When using such instrument plug-ins, the primary stereo output pair is routed to the output of the Instrument track on which the plug-in is inserted. To hear each extra output: 1. Create an Aux track.
FXpansion VST to RTAS Adapter v2.0 7 Troubleshooting Certain plug-ins don’t wrap! The main reasons for this are as follows: • The plug-in may need to be authorized. • The plug-in may be trying to display a dialog box (for example, an authorization dialog box) before properly initializing itself. Solution: If the plug-in requires a specific authorization procedure prior to launching it, resolve this now.
w w w . f x p a n s i o n .
