How do you organize your vst plugins folder?

[aMUSEd]

I noticed this today as CodeOperator have a promotion in Marketplace:

PlugAdmin

Might be a good way to approach organisation - anyone had experience with it? (esp the Windows version) - pity it doesn't seem to do DX

[Westex]

I usually just make 2 folders for FX and Instruments:

Vstplugins/3rd_party_FX/
Vstplugins/3rd_party_instruments/

Then, make subfolders for each manufacturer:

Vstplugins/3rd_party_FX/Digital_Fish_Phones/
Vstplugins/3rd_party_FX/Kjaerhus/
Vstplugins/3rd_party_FX/Tritone_Digital/

Works well to keep things tidy.

Also, I keep a "removed" folder (not in the "Vstplugins" directory) for plugs that i don't use but don't want to uninstall.

[aMUSEd]

Also if you are using Ableton Live I find it's ability to make use of Shortcuts to plugins invaluable for organisation. More hosts should enable that - then everyone could just have one central VST folder and in each host just use the appropriate shortcut set.

[rsmus7]

I have three main-folders:
one for
FX plugs

with subfolders, like :

delay
chorus-pahser-flanger
distortion
reverb
others
master
...

and one main folder for Synths
with subfolders
like:
analog
FM
drums
PAD
Instrumental sounds (piano/strings/clavinet..)
payed
NI komplete
others
favs
beta
demo


and some for company-folders in both FX and Synth

and a third folder for midi plugs
no subfolders there


this helps me to find stuff in some hundred plugs

[Evan]

... which is why it would be great if VST plugs could hold metadata/tags. This is up to Steinberg.

[DELUDE]

I tried plugadmin and it made a real mess in my vst folder, copying and moving files... better make a backup before you try it.

So I just made my own subfolders
\Vstplugins\1 Synths\
\Vstplugins\2 Samplers\
\Vstplugins\3 Standard FX\
\Vstplugins\4 Special FX\
\Vstplugins\5 Tools\
\Vstplugins\6 Test\

[aMUSEd]

I tried plugadmin and it made a real mess in my vst folder, copying and moving files... better make a backup before you try it.

So that's how it works - poor approach I think. I thought it would have some way to turn plugins on and off - not move them completely.

[eduardo_b]

So that's how it works - poor approach I think. I thought it would have some way to turn plugins on and off - not move them completely.

What's your thinking on this? That it might be easier to simply have only those plugs showing that you're likely to use with a project? Never really thought about this. It would make the plug-in list much shorter, but how would one know which ones to turn on or off? Might be a lot of work if one had dozens, even hundreds, of plugs.

[CC4]

i'll leave every commercial vst in their own folder so they're easily accessible, and if i paid for them i figure i better use them.

in SX i put all instruments in the 2nd vst plugin folder and make category folders, for example - analog subtractive, additive, drum synth, etc. i fx in the vst plugin folder in the SX directory and organize by type... distortion, fsu, etc. i mostly use the category given in the kvr database for easy crossreference.

[rn99]

like a lot of other people; a mix of sorted by type (delay, reverb, filters, spectral etc), some by company, some get mixed up...

[aMUSEd]

So that's how it works - poor approach I think. I thought it would have some way to turn plugins on and off - not move them completely.

What's your thinking on this? That it might be easier to simply have only those plugs showing that you're likely to use with a project? Never really thought about this. It would make the plug-in list much shorter, but how would one know which ones to turn on or off? Might be a lot of work if one had dozens, even hundreds, of plugs.

I think if there was a Plugin organiser that did the job properly it would be possible to have per app or per task configurations - possibly this would be easier with Audio units or DX plugins which are managed and can be turned on/off at a system level, than VST''s which depend on recursive folder scanning (hence the need to move them as a workaround).

That's why I think more hosts should support shotcuts/aliases to plugins like Live does - then it would be far easier to have per app or task configs without duplication of plugins which leads to extra space and confusion.

[whyterabbyt]

How do you organize your vst plugins folder?

With SUBSonar, of course.

[grymmjack]

Also if you are using Ableton Live I find it's ability to make use of Shortcuts to plugins invaluable for organisation. More hosts should enable that - then everyone could just have one central VST folder and in each host just use the appropriate shortcut set.

that's a cool feature, but does it work well with plugs that have external dependencies and aren't just one enormous DLL file? for example, something with a .dat, like a GTG synth?

it's definitely a great feature. i wish also that windows shortcuts were treated by the OS as symbolic links at the file level, that way it wouldn't be up to the programs we use, it would simply be a feature of the OS. ntfs junctions have saved me (hardlinks/symlinks to directories), but i'm not aware of any way to do the same thing with files...

definitely a great feature to minimize on redundancy since we could simply create folders of shortcuts and point our progs at it. live has done this always or is it new in v5?

[grymmjack]

the way i organize is simple;

c:\vst\effects
.\_favorite
.\ampsim
.\buffer
.\chorus
.\compressor
.\deesser
.\delay
.\distortion
.\eq
.\exciter
.\filter
.\flanger
.\gain
.\gate
.\limiter
.\meter
.\multi
.\overdrive
.\pedals
.\phaser
.\pitch
.\reverb
.\ringmod
.\tremolo
.\utility
.\vocoder
.\wah


c:\vst\instruments
.\_favorite
.\drums
.\modeler
.\rompler
.\sampler
.\synth
..\analog
..\bass
..\chip
..\fm
..\hybrid
..\keys
..\organ
..\pad
..\string
.\tryout

c:\vst\hosts (ext/phrazor are here)

c:\vst\midi
.\_favorite
.\editor
.\filter
.\input
.\status
.\utility

and c:\vst is ntfs junction to m:\vst (more room there on m:\usic drive)

_favorites in each folder contain my goto's

[sidrat]

the way i organize is simple;

c:\vst\effects
.\_favorite
.\ampsim
.\buffer
.\chorus
.\compressor
.\deesser
.\delay
.\distortion
.\eq
.\exciter
.\filter
.\flanger
.\gain
.\gate
.\limiter
.\meter
.\multi
.\overdrive
.\pedals
.\phaser
.\pitch
.\reverb
.\ringmod
.\tremolo
.\utility
.\vocoder
.\wah


c:\vst\instruments
.\_favorite
.\drums
.\modeler
.\rompler
.\sampler
.\synth
..\analog
..\bass
..\chip
..\fm
..\hybrid
..\keys
..\organ
..\pad
..\string
.\tryout

c:\vst\hosts (ext/phrazor are here)

c:\vst\midi
.\_favorite
.\editor
.\filter
.\input
.\status
.\utility

and c:\vst is ntfs junction to m:\vst (more room there on m:\usic drive)

_favorites in each folder contain my goto's

simple???