Fxpansion
VST to RTAS and VST to AU Adaptors
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Sound:
N/A
Features: 10
Versatility: 10
Simplicity: 9
Playability:N/A
Reliability: 10
Control: 10 |
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Review
by; Chvad SB |
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. |
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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. |
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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.
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
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