Fxpansion VST to RTAS and VST to AU Adaptors

VST plugins are great. As an acquaintance of mine once put it… with VST’s EVERYDAY is Xmas. It’s a hard point to argue really. After all, there are new VST’s released almost daily, from both major software companies and indie programmers working from home. The big problem with the VST format, especially if you are either a Mac-user or a ProTools fiend, is that it isn’t supported. Mac has their Audio Units format (AU) and ProTools uses the proprietary formats RTAS and TDM, and both formats have their shortcomings. Plug-ins for Pro Tools are expensive, and there are few AU plug-ins available compared to the enormous number of VST’s. What’s a Mac- or ProTools-user to do in this day and age?

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the good people over at FXpansion have heard your cries of sorrow. The software developer best known for their BFD series of drum plugins have released software adaptors that address these issues. They’re easy to use, inexpensive, easy to install and easy on system resources. The two adaptors function similarly, so this review applies to both of them, on both Windows machines and Macs.

FXpansion doesn’t require any dongles or any other security measure, which is very convenient.

Installation of the application was straightforward and presented no hiccups. Upon first launch of the wrapper application you are prompted to enter a serial number to activate the product. FXpansion doesn’t require any dongles or any other security measure, which is very convenient. Once the application is launched, you just point it towards any folders containing VST plugins. Once that’s done, you just click the “Detect and wrap VST plugins” button.

…and that’s pretty much it. There are additional tools available to detect new VST’s, “unwrap” VST’s, or to re-detect and wrap already-installed plug-ins, but the primary use of the software adaptor is incredibly simple. The main window of the application lists all available VST’s and useful information about each plug-in, specifying whether or not the wrap was successful, if the plug-in is an instrument or effect, the number of available channels, mono compatibility, midi compatibility and whether or not you want that particular plug-in made available. It’s all pretty self explanatory and very easy to use.

It’s all pretty self explanatory and very easy to use.

In action, the application is almost entirely transparent with the only real indication of its existence being the tagging of the plug in with the letters “VST” to let you know if the plug in as wrapped or not. If for any reason, you’re looking to use VST plug-ins in an environment that doesn’t support them directly, FXpansion’s adaptors are highly recommended. The adaptors retail for $99.00 at www.fxpansion.com.

Sound: N/A
Features: 10
Versatility: 10
Simplicity: 9
Playability:N/A
Reliability: 10
Control: 10

Machines Tested ON:
Pro Tools HD 7.3 HD on a Mac Pro
(Dual-Core Intel Xeon, 2 gigs RAM, OS X 10.4.11)

Pro Tools LE 7.3 & Garage Band on an iMac
(2 ghz Intel Core Duo, 2 gigs RAM running OS X 10.4.11)

Pro Tools M-Powered 7.4cs2 on a PC
(Dual 3.2 ghz P4, 2 gigs RAM running Windows XP SP2)

-Chvad SB

Pro AudioUnit and VST plugins