Mini host for VST?

[sl23]

I know this is a long shot, but no harm asking, right?

I've been using Toby Bear's Mini Host program for many years, it's getting a bit outdated and is only AISO compatible.

I wondered if there was any chance of Mr u-he creating such a thing?

There is a similar program aw Tone2 called Nano Host, but it's not as good. Doesn't contain half of Toby Bear's creation. I find these extremely useful for trying out VST's quickly, testing for portability, and general messing about with hardware controllers.

I'm willing to pay for such a product. It is one of those things that few people probably use but those that do find it invaluable. It's so much easier than installing it in your DAW just to quickly try it out, or just see what it is if it's an effect.

Does anyone else like the idea?

[whyterabbyt]

Personally I'd rather not see u-he resources not go into Zebra3, Uhbik etc.

I usually use Bidule for this sort of thing, but you mention MuLab in your sig, which is just as lightweight to load and test with, what's it lacking?

[dune_rave]

I never really used these mini/nano hosts. IMHO most peaple use vst in full virtual studios. if you want such free thing, maybe you should try:
- Reaper
- Ableton Live lite
etc..

[dune_rave]

or Flstudio demo

[Urs]

Personally I'd rather not see u-he resources not go into Zebra3, Uhbik etc.

Yep. Z3 it is for me, while the other devs have to deal with Uhbik etc.

The the OP: If we do a mini host, it will be for CLAP. Wait a moment! We *are* sponsoring an effort for an open source host, albeit a "headless" one... but since CLAP also comes with an example host and our efforts and so on... I doubt it'll take long until there's an abundance of these.

[noiseresearch]

SAVIHost - Standalone Vsti Host x64 works like a charm here. Not sure what you want to do though. I like to have standalone of my favorite synths so I can quickly load them and make some patches without being distracted by something else.

[EvilDragon]

SAVIhost is really nice but it is not cross-platform.

[whyterabbyt]

SAVIhost is really nice but it is not cross-platform.

OP didnt actually specify crossplatform, in fact both of the hosts he mentioned are Windows-only, like SAVIhost.

[EvilDragon]

Right you are. But in this day and age having that would be quite important, if not mandatory.

[sl23]

Thanks for the feedback. I wasn't expecting it would happen, but like I said, can't hurt to ask.

Apart from Mini Host and Nano Host, there are no other apps as easy and quick to open and load a VST spur of the moment. ALL other hosts require a setup of some sort beforehand, i.e. setting path to VST folder as MuLab and every other DAW does, or changing file names for apps like SAVI Host, which incidentally gapmt worked for me since Vista days.

Btw, I wasn't expecting it to be free, I am willing to pay as it is extremely handy to have.

Also, I would've presumed CLAP would be an integral part of such a program. The ability to load any plugin format would be best solution.

Thanks again for the quick responses tho!

[whyterabbyt]

Apart from Mini Host and Nano Host, there are no other apps as easy and quick to open and load a VST spur of the moment. ALL other hosts require a setup of some sort beforehand

I might be wrong, but I -think- I recall that you could just drag and drop plugins into ImageLine Minihost Modular. It was free as a beta, not sure if its still available though. If you can find a download of that, you could give it a try.

[sl23]

Ooh ok thanks for the tip. I'll take a look when I get a chance.

[sl23]

Thing is, I do something naughty that I probably shouldn't do! I associate DLL files with Mini host so double clicking a VST opens it directly. I've done it for around 12years with no adverse effects, yet! Lol

[EvilDragon]

Oh that is completely gnarly indeed!

[sl23]

I know!