FX bin / vst chainer

[gthibert]

I had a dream !

It would be nice to have a Usine module that act as a VST chainer/rack.

It would allow to create FX bins, like in DAW and other audio softwares. The advantages would be to be able to add VSTs live, on the fly, change the order of the plugins and bypass them. And maybe save chains. These functions could be accessible by a little FX rack interface that could be placed in patches. I think four VST slots should be enough for most setups.

I've tryed some VST chainers like XLutop (http://www.xlutop.com/) and Acon Digital Media EffectChainer (http://www.kvraudio.com/get/2497.html) but there's problem with stability and parameters access. And the interfaces are simply too big to intergrate them in patches.

I hope my idea is clear, and implementable. Maybe it's doable with the SDK : I've found an open source vst host in C++ that could be used as a startup.

[senso]

I'm not sure I understand: Usine is a perfect modular VST chainer?
- chain vst's inside a patch
- on the grid use the rack mode

[martignasse]

hi gthibert;

i'm mot sure to understand,

The advantages would be to be able to add VSTs live, on the fly, change the order of the plugins and bypass them.

seems similar to the rack mode off the grid.

I believe all of this is already possible in usine, by patching or maybe IML.

I hope my idea is clear, and implementable. Maybe it's doable with the SDK : I've found an open source vst host in C++ that could be used as a startup.

Usine is already a vst host by it's own !

[edit] oops, cross post with senso

[gthibert]

Hi Senso and Martin,

Yes, Usine is a good VST chainer on it's own.

But the idea is to be able to insert VSTs at a precise place inside of patches. Says I have a step sequencer beat box with 6 samplers. On each sampler the chain could be output->delay(Usine)->vst chainer->limiter(Usine)->pan. You could imagine a more complex patching, with sends pre/pos VST, gain pre/post VST, etc.

Then I would be able to add different Vsts on each sampler (snare, kick, hi-hat, etc.) and change order on the fly. Without having to modify the patch itself. It would be realy flexible.

I hope my idea is more precise

Guillaume

[woodslanding]

The ability to recall presets from different VSTs via program change is something I've asked for in this forum before..... the example you give isn't really a 'chain' (although I suppose that would be even better) it's just the idea of creating a bank of useful patches using different VSTs.

I am looking into using BigTick Zen for this purpose. It now hosts any VST, and can run as a VST itself. It doesn't load 'chains' but it will allow you to create a bank of patches from different VSTs, so you can collect all your favorite snare drum patches from all your different VSTs and put them in one bank, and then select between them with a single program change command....

-e

[gurulogic]

I have put a good amount of thought into these things since discovering Usine. Where I find Usine lacking as a VST "chainer" is the inability to easily (and automaticly) recall various routing configurations and to easily (and automaticly) swap one plugin for another. In line with what gthibert is saying, it would be quite nice if there were a UI interface for rearranging VST's within a chain that could be recalled via preset manager. As Usine works now, you can easily enough drag and drop a patch from one row to another to change the order but this operation is not automatable without getting into the complexity of the loadpatch module.

The loadpatch module is another functional method to load entire FX chains within only one patch, but there is additional wait times and additional cpu load with this method as the entire patch needs to load.
Alternativly there is ways to reroute VSTs by using busses but this introduces latency in a multiprocessing environment.

A really user friendly approach would be if there were a way to have a simple UI interface in which specified plugins could be re-ordered as desired and the wiring could be completed automaticly. (in series and/or parallel), and the entire routing scheme could be stored as part of a preset.
Also incredibly usefull in this environment would be to swap any VST out for another as part of the preset save.

I have tried doing something similar by storing the state of Bidule VST (or Easine VST) in a preset manager and recalling it, however this solution is painfull because every VST loaded in VST host is reloaded when a Usine preset is loaded. (this is a good example of what I am getting at )

I think a clever solution for this "problem" would become a solid asset for Usine.

[bewithmot]

I am looking into using BigTick Zen for this purpose. It now hosts any VST, and can run as a VST itself. It doesn't load 'chains' but it will allow you to create a bank of patches from different VSTs, so you can collect all your favorite snare drum patches from all your different VSTs and put them in one bank, and then select between them with a single program change command....

Thanks for the info!
I gotta check out BigTick Zen now.

[James R]

Interesting Thanks