KVR Audio

zzzimon · Post by **zzzimon** » Sun May 07, 2006 5:28 pm

Hi

Anyone know of free vst hosts capable of hosting several vst plugins at the samt time, and prefereably resembles a rack, and preferrably can save all the settings of each synth in one single performance file.

Ive seen some hosts like cantabile and minihost and savihost, which are good but they can only host one vst-plugin at a time.
Then Ive seen some that do what I want like VstHost and FXpansion Virtual Host but they seem very buggy, cant get them quite to work.

Im a computer teacher that want to have my students try using some software synths.
The students have been using a great free MIDI editing program called AnvilStudio. Unfortunantely it wont allow you to insert vst-plugins.
So Ive downloaded some free vst-plugin synths like Synth1 and Crystal. But they cant run stand-alone, they need a host that can run them.

Thanks for any help,
Kind regards, Simon

Romwell · Post by **Romwell** » Sun May 07, 2006 7:00 pm

Check this out:
fXpansion Simple Virtual Host
http://www.kvraudio.com/get/278.html

I got some problems with Asio4ALL driver with it though (worked fine through DirectX), but probably it was a result of misconfiguration.

pljones · Post by **pljones** » Sun May 07, 2006 8:45 pm

How about LUNA Free?

brambos · Post by **brambos** » Sun May 07, 2006 8:52 pm

zzzimon wrote:Im a computer teacher that want to have my students try using some software synths.
The students have been using a great free MIDI editing program called AnvilStudio. Unfortunantely it wont allow you to insert vst-plugins.
So Ive downloaded some free vst-plugin synths like Synth1 and Crystal. But they cant run stand-alone, they need a host that can run them.

Tunafish does what you want, is very simple, and is already in use on a lot of schools. But alas, it's not completely free.

funkadil · Post by **funkadil** » Sun May 07, 2006 8:53 pm

Buzz works well for this, but it may be more than what you need and can be tricky setting it up. I would just get the basic .exe or stealth pack and then get Polac's VST loader, its very nice. Modular, easy to use. Asio input type stuff can be tricky you have to use machine.

plastique · Post by **plastique** » Sun May 07, 2006 9:00 pm

Usine looks promising but seems to still have some teething problems (like e.g. doesn't reliably save the state of the loaded plugins), so it's maybe a bit early or asking too much from your students to already deal with something like that.

S.HUSH · Post by **S.HUSH** » Sun May 07, 2006 9:02 pm

Actually Chainer is the answer...BUT...taint free

http://www.xlutop.com/html/products.html

U can get the demo and it's fully functional just can't save.

spacefox · Post by **spacefox** » Sun May 07, 2006 11:00 pm

zzzimon wrote:Hi

Anyone know of free vst hosts capable of hosting several vst plugins at the samt time, and prefereably resembles a rack, and preferrably can save all the settings of each synth in one single performance file.

Ive seen some hosts like cantabile and minihost and savihost, which are good but they can only host one vst-plugin at a time.
Then Ive seen some that do what I want like VstHost and FXpansion Virtual Host but they seem very buggy, cant get them quite to work.

Im a computer teacher that want to have my students try using some software synths.
The students have been using a great free MIDI editing program called AnvilStudio. Unfortunantely it wont allow you to insert vst-plugins.
So Ive downloaded some free vst-plugin synths like Synth1 and Crystal. But they cant run stand-alone, they need a host that can run them.

Thanks for any help,
Kind regards, Simon

Well, your'e asking quite a lot for free.

One thing you can try is getting Phrazor preview, and sticking it inside something like minihost or savihost. You should check if the license allows you do so, or even check with the dev - Phrazor is a commercial software in development and the dev (Holger aka SONICBYTES) is giving away a Preview version.
If the rack-alike structure isn't that important, do check Luna Free like pljones suggested.

Also note that Minihost isn't free - it's donationware.

Art Evans · Post by **Art Evans** » Mon May 08, 2006 12:16 am

You could use Reaper I would have thought - and introduce them to recording and editing while you're at it.

keyman_sam · Post by **keyman_sam** » Mon May 08, 2006 12:31 am

Download chainer demo. Only one limitation : saving of presets is disabled.

I tried contacting the author to buy that thing some time ago, but he never responded.

sinkmusic · Post by **sinkmusic** » Mon May 08, 2006 12:48 am

Cockos Reaper : not a plugin chainer, but a powerful audio & midi sequencer that can chain VST & VSTI...
It is free !

zzzimon · Post by **zzzimon** » Mon May 08, 2006 5:31 pm

Thanks for all the nice and helpful replies. I will check out the Luna program. Sounds good. And also the chainer program sounds good even though it wont allow you to save the presets.

Thanks guys
kind regards, Simon

soma · Post by **soma** » Mon May 08, 2006 6:29 pm

Buzz or airrack.

soma · Post by **soma** » Mon May 08, 2006 6:30 pm

Or XT demo for that matter (doesn't reload saved data, but lets you stack vsts and build huge patches, arps, chords, enveoples and trigger sequences). The pay version will load saved data.

arakula · Post by **arakula** » Wed May 10, 2006 9:01 am

zzzimon wrote:Then Ive seen some that do what I want like VstHost [...] but they seem very buggy, cant get them quite to work.

Could you please elaborate on that (PM preferrably)?

Where can I find free host with multiple plugin support