OK, tha'ts it, I'm doing it(!) Deleting Excessive VST's

[Michael L]

I tidy regularly.
I ask, "Does this plugin evoke joy?"
If not, I toss it into a trash folder on another drive.

I hope you thank it as you trash it.

I say prayers when I bury the hard drive so plug-ins will have safe passage into cyberspace where they have an afterlife.

[Synthman2000]

Within a very short time you will need one of the plug ins you deleted. That's how this works.

Unless your HDD is full it is a waste of time, leave them be, relax.

[mjolnir]

part of the problem is the creators each include too many presets and the temptation looms large with those.
but when i go to use them, i can't easily find anything good most of the time.
years ago, it was much easier to find decent presets and even easy to make my own.
i have too much trouble lately. and i like composing with presets.

[Michael L]

Analysis paralysis describes a process where overanalyzing or overthinking a choice can cause the workflow or decision-making process to become "paralyzed", because no plugin can be chosen within a reasonable time frame. A plugin may seem too complicated so a decision is never made, or made too late, due to anxiety that a plugin with a potentially better workflow may exist. A person may desire the perfect plugin, but may fear making a decision that could result in error. Equally, a person may believe that the perfect plugin is just a short step away, and continue an endless pursuit, with no concept of diminishing returns. On the opposite end of the time spectrum is the phrase 'extinct by instinct,' which is making a terrible plugin decision based on hasty judgment or a gut reaction.

Analysis paralysis is when the fear of either making an error or forgoing a superior plugin outweighs the realistic expectation or potential value of success in a decision made in a timely manner. This imbalance results in suppressed decision-making in an unconscious effort to keep all options open. However, an overload of options can overwhelm the user and cause "paralysis", rendering one unable to come to a conclusion. It can become a serious problem in critical situations where a decision must be made, but the user is not able to make a decision fast enough, potentially causing a bigger problem than they would have had, if they made any decision at all.

[mjolnir]

...or we're being overloaded with too much low qualtiy material and not enough high quality material.
so after we download it we realise it and want to delete most of it.

[elassi]

Rule #1 (there are no other rules):

"Having is better than needing."

[mjolnir]

Okay!

UPDATE: I got my excess VSTi's deleted today. And I finally got to the point where I know what each of the remaining ones are and what they're good for and the types of sounds they have. This is really a good improvement and it was worth it. I had to get over the stress at first, but after that it got easier.

Later on, I'm going to prune down my VST effects to only the essential ones. That will be much easier than the instruments because a lot of the effects came together in full kits (like GrimmJack plugins: gClip, gHi, gLow, etc). I also only need some of the basics for effects because of what comes with the DAW (Reaper).

Overall, I'm very relieved and I was able to start messing around with the synths I still have with greater ease.
My computer doesn't have much built-in storage, so it's good to relieve some of that pressure too!

I used to test drive a lot of decent freeware synths but most of them could only do a few interesting sounds so that makes for a lot of "one hit wonders". I did keep a small few, for classic synth bass sounds for example; but it's better not being held back by too much data and too many choices.

If anybody else is on the fence, I recommend purging. Don't worry about it too much; just keep backups somewhere if you need them.

[mjolnir]

I got most of the work done.

It wasn't so hard because some of the VST suites like GVST and Terry West Plugins and KarmaFX and Dead Duck plugins, etc are some of my favorites. TAL stuff is nice too.

I got rid of Melda plugins because I hardly ever use those.

i ended up switching back to 32-bit plugins so I use them in LMMS and EnergyXT.

[TS-12]

I remember back in the 90s the guys that had just one Korg 01/W made much better music than the guys with bunch of Akai, Roland samplers and E-mu modules etc.
I think similar applies today to VSTs and sample libraries

[sqigls]

just make a folder called ALL OLD SHIT or something, put all the culled plugins in there. Over time you'll rescue some from it, you'll add some to it. No need to delete.

I have all my vst2 plugins organised (and my vst3 organised in Cubase) into folders named "Dynamics" "Delay" "Synths" "Drums" etc... then i have a folder called "Old Shit" that has a similar 'effect or instrument type' structure, basically they're plugins i don't really use anymore, but are used in some older projects and ideas so i don't want to delete them.

I also have a handful of go-to plugins i keep in the root folder for easy access.

clarity

[machinesworking]

Been thinking about this for a while. I used to use Absynth, Kontakt, Reaktor ensembles and Zebra 2 on pretty much everything, some basic variables with cheaper simple synths as well, but that was essentially the basis of most of my tracks for years. I do feal I get less done with more, and that's partially because I got good enough to not search for new sounds at programming Absynth and Zebra.

I think it's time to go back to that strategy, cut to a set of synths and samplers that you can carve out without getting lost in learning new features, or scrolling presets. On the line of presets that's a new category, if I can't use the arrow keys to scroll presets, then that plugin is instantly less valuable.

I don't think I'm entirely cutting, but I will cull a few instruments to use most of the time, and sell duplicates.

[sqigls]

i've justified keeping a load of plugins under the premise that they're all different tones, like an artist has all kinds of paints, pencils, charcoals etc... Mostly this is true, but i do miss the days of hardware for the fact that i was so familiar with all of my hardware. I knew how to get into the pockets and get the most out of my machines, what was possible and what was not. Now I have so many f**king soft synths for example - and such little time - i feel embarrassed to say i rarely even make my own patches anymore. Also the amount of ground that plugins and DAWs cover now it's just insane. Too many options!

Limiting the amount of plugins is good in theory, to get more familiar with each plugin. I just know, every time i think RIGHT I'm deleting all of these plugins, i end up missing the sound of something. Hence my folder system. I keep Predator (now v3) around for a single patch i created back on v1. I can recreate it on other synths, but it always lacks something. I generally don't like reusing presets, and i start all songs with a blank canvas, but there are a handful of one-trick synths and effects i can't seem to replace or i just love one aspect of it.

it's lucky i don't use Windows anymore or my plugin folder would be fooking MASSIVE

[machinesworking]

I've got a few options on this without going crazy, one I need to do which is limit the plugins in my DAW itself without having to worry about older songs. Digital Performer and some other DAWs allow you to disable a VST/AU in the DAW itself, i.e. it's not visible outside the plugin preferences window and you can save plugin configurations as sets.

The other is just to use the MPC Live, it's got a few solid Air and Akai embedded instruments.

[zerocrossing]

If anyone wants to transfer their excess plugins to me, I’d appreciate it and I promise I wouldn’t make great tracks with them and then flaunt it in their face.

[machinesworking]

If anyone wants to transfer their excess plugins to me, I’d appreciate it and I promise I wouldn’t make great tracks with them and then flaunt it in their face.

I'm just at that point to where I want to know all the details of the plugins I use, I'm rarely satisfied with presets and enjoy patch creation as part of the process. It ticks me off I have dozens of plugins I only know the common parameters of, not their unique features. I enjoyed using Abysnth and knowing it in and out for the most part. I have 575 AU's and 470 VSTs. From memory I think 130 of them are instrument plugins.

I'm in the maximalist category for the most part, but it's not bad to look at it from the other perspective.