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VST Plug-ins and Pro Tools
By Joe Gore
It's no secret that the pooh-bahs
at Digidesign have been placing new emphasis on improving the program's
ability to collaborate with non-Digi applications — witness the
recent ReWire integration of applications like Reason and Live.
That tendency lunges forward with the release of the VST to RTAS
Adapter, a $99 program that converts VST plug-ins into RTAS ones,
greatly expanding the pool of Pro Tools-compatible plug-ins. This
is a big deal, especially for musicians of limited means (in other
words, the normal kind).
This month and next, we'll look at some of the exciting trouble
you can get yourself into using VST within Pro Tools. But first,
some quick VST info that helps explain why this software release
is so important.
The VST plug-in format was conceived by Steinberg for their Cubase
software, but was eventually adopted — or at least accommodated
— by Logic and Digital Performer, so the format developed a large
user base. While many software companies went on to craft plug-ins
for both VST and RTAS/TDM, some of the smaller players had no choice
but to cater solely to the larger VST market. So there's lots of
cool VST stuff that simply never made it to Pro Tools.
Furthermore, the VST community is heavily populated by geeks, freaks,
and tweakers who have created and uploaded countless plug-ins ranging
from the useless to the priceless. Best of all, some of the coolest
ones are relatively inexpensive, and some are even free.
The freebies are our focus this month; next time around we'll look
at some of the most beguiling commercial options.
Deceptively Simple
The VST to RTAS Adapter is one of several recent brainchildren spawned
by the UK-based firm FXpansion. There's no demo version — you've
got to buy it to try it. But as I hope this column proves, the wealth
of free and inexpensive VST plug-ins makes it an essential purchase,
even if you don't currently own any VST plug-ins. This is particularly
true if you possess only the basic RTAS plugs that come with Pro
Tools LE. You can buy and download the adapter online at www.fxpansion.com.
The program works with almost every VST plug-in. It's available
in Mac and PC versions (the Mac app is OS X only). The converted
RTAS plug-ins look and sound just as they would in their original
VST hosts. They support automation and, in most cases, tempo synchronization.
There's no added latency or other nasty stuff.
Here's how the program looks:
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You simply click on the "detect and convert" switch, and the adapter
scours your VST plug-ins folder, replicates the plug-ins in RTAS
form, and then places the results inside your Pro Tools plug-ins
folder. The new plugs are given a "VW" prefix: "TouretteFilter.vst"
becomes "VW_TouretteFilter.vst."
If you already have a large stash of VST plugs, you may want to
click the "Scan only local VST plugs folder" option, and temporarily
drag only the plug-ins you want to convert from the systemwide VST
folder into the adapter application folder. That way, if you've
installed plug-ins that included both RTAS and VST versions, you
won't clutter up your Pro Tools plug-ins folder with, say, both
the RTAS Moog Modular plug and the redundant VW-_MoogModular.vst.
Of course, the adapter does nothing if you've installed no VST
plugs. So let's remedy that situation.
Good starting points for the VST scavenger hunt include: www.kvr-vst.com,
which boasts a huge database of PC and Mac plug-ins, the Apple-only
www.macmusic.org,
and the PC-oriented www.databaseaudio.co.uk.
Here are a few of my favorite free- and donation-ware VST plugs.
I've posted brief mp3 files showing some of their
effects on a simple drum-machine loop. The plug-ins are presented
in ascending order of psychosis.
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Righteous Reverb
What: Ambience
Where: www.smartelectronix.com/~magnus/
Why: Sheesh — why not? Ambience
is a high-quality reverb with substantial programming depth
and a gorgeous interface. It's amazing that programmer Magnus
and Smart Electronix are offering it as donation-ware. Here's
what the Smart Electronix dudes have to say for themselves:
"We prefer to make unusual, interesting, experimental stuff.
We share pretty high quality standards. And we like to make
our software free, though some of us who make our software
available for free also appreciate donations." Somebody send
these heroes some money!
loop.unprocessed.mp3
loop.ambience.mp3 |
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| Badass Dynamics
Processing
What:The Fish Fillets
Where:
www.digitalfishphones.com
Why: Virile compression,
expansion, and de-essing from a potent trio of plug-ins: Blockfish,
Floorfish, and Spitfish. Blockfish is very much a "character"
compressor, with fat saturation, a choice of opto and VCA
modes, and a secondary edit screen with tone-tweaking trimpots.
Kudos to programmer Sascha Eversmeier.
loop.blockfish.mp3
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Raunchy Overdrive
What: Ruby Tube
Where:
www.silverspike.com
Why: Because the basic Pro
Tools install doesn't include an overdrive/distortion plug.
The simple but effective Ruby Tube offers tones ranging from
pseudo-tube warmth to guitar amp-style burn. loop.rubytube.mp3 |
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Monomania
What: The Claw
Where: www.refx.net
Why: Because all of ReFX's
virtual synths have serious knuckle-to-nose attitude. We'll
scope out some of their commercial offerings next month, but
for now, snatch this wicked monophonic freebie with its OSCar-style
overdrive and built-in delay effect. Great for bass lines.
loop+claw.mp3
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| Filthy Phasing
What: Supaphaser 2.0
Where: www.smartelectronix.com/~bram/
Why: Because phase-shifting
can be the coolest effect on earth or the wussiest, and this
plug-in from programmer Bram Bos does its best to plant you
in the former category. Among Supaphaser's armaments: a distortion
section, an envelope follower, and anywhere from three to
23 filter stages. Chewy, chewy goodness.
loop.supaphaser.mp3
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| Delay for Days
What: MFM (More Feedback
Machine)
Where:
www.u-he.com
Why: Because Urs Heckmann's
delay effect is so unrepentantly over-the-top. With its built-in
sequencer, multiple LFOs, and elaborate cross-modulation options,
this baby is guaranteed to keep your head spinning. It looks
great too.
loop.mfm.mp3
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| Cruel & Unusual
Filters
What: Frohmage and NorthPole
Where: www.ohmforce.com
(Frohmage) and www.prosoniq.com
(NorthPole)
Why: Their looks and features
vary, but both these filter effects excel at making even the
most pristine audio files squeal, burble, growl, and fart.
The Neanderthal-looking Frohmage offers the options of tuning
the filter by Hz or pitch. NorthPole includes a rude distortion
effect and a delay section.
loop.frohmage.mp3
loop.northpole.mp3
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| Toxic Reshaping
What: Cyanide
Where: www.smartelectronix.com/~bram/
Why: Because Bram Bos' shaping
filter is a hip alternative to straightforward EQ. You can
think of the effect as a sort of "tuned distortion" — by creating
and dragging breakpoints on the red edit screen, you can tweeze
tones on the fly. Like other effects created by Bos, Cyanide
radiates bad attitude.
loop.cyanide.mp3
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Aphex Cringe
What:
Bouncing Ball Delay
Where:
www.smartelectronix.com/~bram/
Why:
What was I just saying about programmer Bram Bos and his attitude?
There are delays, and then there are neutron bomb detonations
masquerading as delays. Guess which kind this is. The name refers
to the decelerating delay effect you hear on Aphex Twin's "Bucephalus
Bouncing Ball." But this effect does so much more than mimic
a rubber ball. It also does a herd of rogue buffalo stampeding
off a cliff into the Grand Canyon.
loop.bouncy.mp3 |
| Pitch Shift Fever
What: Madshifta
Where: www.smartelectronix.com/~bram/
Why: This collaboration between
Smart Electronix's Bram Bos and renegade VST programmer Tobybear
sounds as great as it looks. The appeal isn't in the quality
of the real-time pitch shifting so much as its interaction
with the plug's delay section and low-pass filters. Just for
evil fun, try automating that tune fader.
loop.madshifta.mp3
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| Radical Reconstructionist
What: Rebuilder
Where: www.plogue.com/e_soft.html
Why: Because the last thing
the world needs is another plug-in that claims to conjure
analog warmth. According to its Montreal-based designers,
Rebuilder "regenerates its audio input using a large matrix
of oscillators." In other words, it makes your audio sound
like a dyspeptic robot — in the nicest possible way, of course.
loop.rebuilder.mp3
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| Ursine Dementia
What: RoboBear
Where: www.tobybear.de
Why: Damn — there's nothing
like a glimpse at the whimsical interfaces of Tobybear's plug-ins
to make me wish I were a PC user. RoboBear is one of the few
plugs he's created that has been ported over to Mac. It's
a granular sonic decomposer that excels at sonorous, Vocoder-like
sounds and clangorous, scraping-metal timbres. In the words
of its creator, "Your audio won't be audio again." So what's
not to like?
loop.robobear.mp3
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| Ultimate Brain-Melt
What: Crazy Ivan
Where: www.smartelectronix.com/~bram/
Why: Smart Electronix's Bram
Bos gets the last word — if you can call it that — with this
merciless audio chainsaw. It's a cacophonous combination of
distortion, pitch- and time-shifting, and granular delay.
Bos labels it "100% pure evil." Whatever Crazy Ivan's motives,
I find myself quoting the South Park kids: "Dude,
this is some seriously f---ed-up s--- here!"
loop.crazyivan.mp3
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Free and Easy
All these noises can be yours for the price of the VST to RTAS Adapter,
plus donations to those hardworking programmers. Next month we'll
survey some of the coolest commercial VST options available to those
willing to part with a few more leaves of the ol' happy cabbage.
Click here to read previous columns.
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