I am trying to organize my 3rd party Plug in VST's. So I have made a VST folder and will direct ableton to this folder when loading.
My questions are:
1. is it beneficial to have this folder on C drive rather than an external drive? I would like to keep them on external to free up space on C drive however will that slow down load time or performance at all?
2. do I only need to move dll to this file? for example... I have a Waves Bundle, In C/program files/Waves there are dll's and other file types and folders (i.e. plugin settings,setup library...) if i Cut the dll's only and paste them into my new VST FOLDER and leave these other files and folders in C/program files will the Vst work correctly or do I need to send everything in that waves folder over to new VST FOLDER? I want to just open plugs ins tab in ableton and there's my waves vst's with out having to open plug ins tab, then waves folder, then get to vst's
3. Last... where is the best place to put 3rd party sample packs? same question as (1.) performance wise is it better to have in C drive rather than external drive and I want them to show up with other loops and drum hits that came with factory packs, w/o going to user tab, then trying to find them anytime I want to use them
using Windows 7 and Ableton Live 9 Suite
need help organizing VST's
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Richie Witch
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Re: need help organizing VST's
The answer is .... it depends. 
1. You can safely put all your vst's on a separate drive as long as the drive is fast enough. I have my vst's on my C: drive, but all my sampler libraries on another drive. So, for example, Kontakt.dll is in a custom folder on my C: drive, but all my Kontakt libraries on are my E: drive and I have never had any issues. Keep in mind, that I'm using high-speed SATA drives, so your mileage may vary.
2. When it comes to dragging dll's into a custom folder, most plugins are happy to live in whatever folder you put them in. There are however rare exceptions that will no longer run after you move them, or might lose their preset libraries, etc. In those cases, you'll just have to uninstall and reinstall to the new location to get them to work again. In any case, it's usually better to move any supporting subfolders with the dll.
3. I have all my third-party sample packs on my E drive and have never had any issues. But again, this is on a high-speed SATA drive.
One last bit--save yourself more work in the future. Make subfolders in your new custom folder now with a view for the future. For example, my vst folder has subfolders like Dynamics, EQ, Reverb & Echo, Distortion, etc. Some of these have further subfolders. Set those up now and it will be less work later on.
1. You can safely put all your vst's on a separate drive as long as the drive is fast enough. I have my vst's on my C: drive, but all my sampler libraries on another drive. So, for example, Kontakt.dll is in a custom folder on my C: drive, but all my Kontakt libraries on are my E: drive and I have never had any issues. Keep in mind, that I'm using high-speed SATA drives, so your mileage may vary.
2. When it comes to dragging dll's into a custom folder, most plugins are happy to live in whatever folder you put them in. There are however rare exceptions that will no longer run after you move them, or might lose their preset libraries, etc. In those cases, you'll just have to uninstall and reinstall to the new location to get them to work again. In any case, it's usually better to move any supporting subfolders with the dll.
3. I have all my third-party sample packs on my E drive and have never had any issues. But again, this is on a high-speed SATA drive.
One last bit--save yourself more work in the future. Make subfolders in your new custom folder now with a view for the future. For example, my vst folder has subfolders like Dynamics, EQ, Reverb & Echo, Distortion, etc. Some of these have further subfolders. Set those up now and it will be less work later on.
"Watching the Sky" ~ A 4-track EP of piano, strings, and Native American flute
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Richie Witch
- Posts: 1018
- Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2014 10:10 pm
- Location: Washington, DC
- Contact:
Re: need help organizing VST's
Good point!
It's a "human factors" thing that I learned as a technical writer. If any folder contains more than 12 things, I use subfolders to consolidate those things into smaller groups.
It really helped when I first started using Ableton and manically downloaded every free plugin I could find. I had so much crap that I couldn't remember what half of it did, so having subfolders helped me realize "oh... that must be a compressor.."
I've narrowed down my plugin to the few I actually understand and use, but the folders remain because I still find things easier to locate that way. Particularly because I like using distortion on samples to mangle and modify them, so having subfolders labeled: glitch, saturation, overdrive, etc helps me grab the right type quickly and keep the creativity flowing.
It's a "human factors" thing that I learned as a technical writer. If any folder contains more than 12 things, I use subfolders to consolidate those things into smaller groups.
It really helped when I first started using Ableton and manically downloaded every free plugin I could find. I had so much crap that I couldn't remember what half of it did, so having subfolders helped me realize "oh... that must be a compressor.."
I've narrowed down my plugin to the few I actually understand and use, but the folders remain because I still find things easier to locate that way. Particularly because I like using distortion on samples to mangle and modify them, so having subfolders labeled: glitch, saturation, overdrive, etc helps me grab the right type quickly and keep the creativity flowing.
"Watching the Sky" ~ A 4-track EP of piano, strings, and Native American flute
Re: need help organizing VST's
Thanks for your input. I particularly like your last point... never thought of thatRichie Witch wrote:The answer is .... it depends.
1. You can safely put all your vst's on a separate drive as long as the drive is fast enough. I have my vst's on my C: drive, but all my sampler libraries on another drive. So, for example, Kontakt.dll is in a custom folder on my C: drive, but all my Kontakt libraries on are my E: drive and I have never had any issues. Keep in mind, that I'm using high-speed SATA drives, so your mileage may vary.
2. When it comes to dragging dll's into a custom folder, most plugins are happy to live in whatever folder you put them in. There are however rare exceptions that will no longer run after you move them, or might lose their preset libraries, etc. In those cases, you'll just have to uninstall and reinstall to the new location to get them to work again. In any case, it's usually better to move any supporting subfolders with the dll.
3. I have all my third-party sample packs on my E drive and have never had any issues. But again, this is on a high-speed SATA drive.
One last bit--save yourself more work in the future. Make subfolders in your new custom folder now with a view for the future. For example, my vst folder has subfolders like Dynamics, EQ, Reverb & Echo, Distortion, etc. Some of these have further subfolders. Set those up now and it will be less work later on.