Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Suggestions for an easy-to-use VST host

From the Multitrack Studio website -
Where do I install VST plugins?
On Windows the Preferences window (Studio menu) lets you specify the folder that contains your VST plugins. By default the C:\Program Files\MtStudio\VSTplugins folder is used. On Mac VST plugins go in either the user or system Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST folder.

Well, don't forget about trying Forte 3 if you really require stability, I plan to try it in next weeks also.

Regarding the original question, about a VST host, for the sake of completeness I thought I'd mention MOS (music operating system I think) from OpenLabs. I'm not recommending it, just mentioning it. It's not free, it's about $200 at the moment. Mine came with the Neko production station I use. Also, it's a bit quirky.

However, it was designed as a VST host for live performance; on the Open Labs machines, it replaced something called Karsyn. One of its claims to fame is that it was designed specifically with touch screens in mind; however it does work with a mouse.

The main screen is laid out like a grid. Each grid button represents a "song"; although there's nothing to stop you changing "songs" in the middle of a song. Each "song" can load up a bunch of VSTs. For example on my production station you can load one piano into the bottom half of the keyboard, another piano into the top half of the keyboard, and drums onto the drum pad. Then a the press of another grid button, you could instantly switch to a different "song" with a Hammond organ VST assigned to the keyboard.

As I sat, it's not cheap and it's quirky; but there is (or used to be) a demo version to try: http://shop.openlabs.com/music-os-3-2-free-trial/

Yes, there are lots of them! For me, the best is Reaper. It is as stable as any program I've used (never actually crashed and is very lithe and efficient). It's about 50 dollars I think, but but the demo is fully functional.

And what about Cakewalk, Cubase, Logic (for Mac), Samplitude and DOZENS of others. I don't think these are bad or unstable programs, quite the contrary.

Thanks. Remember, though, that I'm looking for something simple. The ideal would be (almost) ZERO controls ... just a way to specify MIDI input and audio output, and to load at least two VSTs. Anything more than that is unwanted. And too much more is intolerable.

If you've seen Mini Host, you'll know what I want ... except that it only keeps one VST loaded. I need two VSTs, maybe three. (And ditto for asHost ... it's almost as simple as Mini Host, but it, too, can handle only one VST. And anyway, it quit working when I upgraded to Win 7, 64-bit.)

The others I've tried are either complicated, crash-prone, or both.

...umm....don't know, I'm afraid. But once you've found your way round one of the above mentioned programs, they shouldn't be difficult to make do what you want. Also, many of them come with 'LE' versions (lite edition?) which can be free or less than fifty dollars.

Joy at last! I found my Studio One CD. It was buried after our move in April.

And it works! It's still more complicated than I'd like, but at least the manual is written in workflow fashion, rather than button/menu fashion, so I was able to get it working.

The best part: I can save my configuration as a single file. I double-click that file and Studio One opens, along with my Ivory 1.5 VST (with 3 pianos inside) and my Kontakt 5 (with 6 pianos inside) and my Sonivox harpsichord. And a single click in Studio One takes me from one piano to another instantly.

This is good news. There is a 'lite' version available free online here.

This has the double advantage of being both free and simpler than the full version. It appears to have all the functions you need to host VSTs along side each other, and to record them.

And here's the setup ...

This picture shows the main Studio One screen on the left, squeezed down as small as it will go. This both hides the fluff I don't need, and leaves the three selectable VST items on the left (just right-click to select Kontakt, Ivory, or Dvi Harpsichord) ... and it also shows the folder contents (on the right) containing the other available VSTs.

Meanwhile, the right hand window shows each VST screen, each in its own tab.

This indeed looks pretty need, especially with a free version available .

MacMacMac, great, good luck with it



Free version can't work with VST. from FAQ: