4.0

16
Audio effects
Installing and managing effect plug-
ins
Cubase LE supports two plug-in formats; the VST 2 for-
mat (extension “.dll”) and the VST 3 format (extension
“.vst3”). The formats are handled differently when it comes
to installation and organizing.
Installing additional VST plug-ins
Installing VST 3 plug-ins under Mac OS X
To install a VST 3.x plug-in under Mac OS X, quit Cubase
LE and drag the plug-in file to one of the following folders:
• /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/
This is only possible if you are the system administrator. Plug-ins in-
stalled in this folder will be available to all users, for all programs that
support them.
• Users/Username/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/
“Username” above is the name you use to log on to the computer (the
easiest way to open this folder is to go to your “Home” folder and use the
path /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/ from there). Plug-ins installed in this
folder are only available to you.
When you launch Cubase LE again, the new effects will ap-
pear on the effect pop-up menus. In the VST 3 protocol, the
effect category, sub-folder structure etc. is built-in and can-
not be changed. The effect(s) will show up in the assigned
category folder(s) on the Effect pop-up menu.
Installing VST 2.x plug-ins under Mac OS X
To install a VST 2.x plug-in under Mac OS X, quit Cubase
LE and drag the plug-in file to one of the following folders:
• /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/
This is only possible if you are the system administrator. Plug-ins in-
stalled in this folder will be available to all users, for all programs that
support them.
• Username/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/
“Username” above is the name you use to log on to the computer (the
easiest way to open this folder is to go to your “Home” folder and use the
path /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/ from there). Plug-ins installed in this
folder are only available to you.
When you launch Cubase LE again, the new effects will
appear on the effect pop-up menus.
Ö An effect plug-in may also come with its own installa-
tion application, in which case you should use this.
Generally, always read the documentation or readme files before install-
ing new plug-ins.
Installing VST 3 plug-ins under Windows
Under Windows, VST 3 plug-ins are installed simply by
dragging the files (extension “.vst3”) into the vst3 folder in
the Cubase LE application folder. When you launch Cu-
base LE again, the new effects will appear on the Effect
pop-up menus. In the VST 3 protocol, the effect category,
sub-folder structure etc. is built-in and cannot be changed.
The installed new effect(s) will show up in the assigned
category folder(s) on the Effect pop-up menu.
Installing VST 2 plug-ins under Windows
Under Windows, VST 2.x plug-ins are usually installed
simply by dragging the files (with the extension “.dll”) into
the Vstplugins folder in the Cubase LE application folder,
or into the Shared VST Plug-in folder – see below. When
you launch Cubase LE again, the new effects will appear
on the Effect pop-up menus.
Ö If the effect plug-in comes with its own installation ap-
plication, you should use this.
Generally, always read the documentation before installing new plug-ins.
Organizing VST 2 plug-ins
If you have a large number of VST 2 plug-ins, having them
all on a single pop-up menu in the program may become
unmanageable. For this reason, the VST 2 plug-ins in-
stalled with Cubase LE are placed in appropriate subfold-
ers according to the effect type.
• Under Windows, you can rearrange this by moving,
adding or renaming subfolders within the Vstplugins folder
if you like.
When you launch the program and pull down an Effects pop-up menu,
the subfolders will be represented by hierarchical submenus, each listing
the plug-ins in the corresponding subfolder.
• Under Mac OS X, you cannot change the hierarchic ar-
rangement of the “built-in” VST plug-ins.
You can however arrange any additional plug-ins you have installed (in the
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/ folders, see above) by placing them in sub-
folders. In the program, the subfolders will be represented by hierarchical
submenus, each listing the plug-ins in the corresponding subfolder.
!
Plug-ins in Mac OS 9.X format cannot be used.