Ableton Forum

When I download VSTs, I always end up with a bunch of .fxb and .fxp files, as well as some .nki and .sxt files. I realize these are patches for the VSTs, but what are they, for what program?

Are .fxb files for Cubase, or am I wrong? Or can I use these on my Mac with Live 5? I'm just confused, and can't find ANY info on this whole issue of patches anywhere, thanks everyone!

.fxb files are VST bank files. You can use them in Live by loading them into an installed plug-in. Use the two small disc icons in the VST view inside of Live for loading and saving .fxb files.

Frank

IMHO, VST banks, patches, and presets are probably one of the most under-documented concepts in sequencing. You can find vague descriptions here and there, but I am not aware of any single, definitive source for a proper explanation.

As I understand it, .fxb are banks of presets. It is a collection of presets for a particular VSTi. Once you load an .fxb into the VSTi it was created for, you should be able to scroll through the presets on within the bank.

The .fxp extension is for a VSTi 'program', but to tell you the truth, I am not sure how this differs from the VST bank.

save as fxb = saves all presets in the current plugin.
save as fxp = saves the current preset only, good for saving a tweak to a sound without creating a new preset in the current bank.

I use .fxp files a lot, some of the vsts has a ton of presets, like Atmospere or my virus that I have like 4000 presets for, whenever I find a favorite I click save and save the .fxp file in a folder in Lives Libary folder named after the synth/effect so I don't have to search for it next time I want to use it, you can also save it under a more descriptive name, some of the plugins does not have enough letters to make a good name and description.

Live also seems to remember the folder you load/save in for each plugin which saves time searching for the folder.

fxb = bank of programs/patches
fxp = single patch
As said previously the above are universal ie format that all vsts will read or write (Obviously you can only load them into the vst that was used to create the patch though)
nki = NI kontakt patch (I Think?)