what's the real issue in using 32 bit vst on a 64 bit daw?

[Diego_C]

Hi.
Maybe naive but that's a simple curiosity concerning audio quality more than software stability.
Many of us have both 32 bit and 64 bit vst.
Now my daw and obviously the computer are 64 bit, but is not rare that I use still 32 bit vst.

At your ears and concerning the quality of sounds/audio rendering/audio processing is it a big trouble to use 32 bit instead of a 64 bit version of a plug in when the 64 bit is missing ? (which is likely normal to the most of us as many good freeware vst are 32bit only).

Any info, opinion, advice, test, experience is welcome.
Thanks
D.

[Kaboom75]

32bit or 64bit DAW or VST has nothing to do with audio quality they sound the same.

A 64bit DAW can use all your RAM to load samples = more tracks with sampled instruments

A 32bit DAW can only see 3.2GB of your RAM = crash when your mix size hits the RAM limit.

A 64bit DAW requires 64bit plugins for compatibility or you can bridge the 32bit plugs to 64bit using Jbridge.

[Diego_C]

I knew already these info otherwise I was not buying components and setting up
my 64bit PC.
My question is more about what happen then when you use a vst that is 32 bit in this 64bit system.

I'm asking this as many around here are complaining at times on keep using 32 bit vst.

Thanks for your reply.
D.

[chk071]

See this thread: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5376848 Some hosts are able to load (bridge) 32-bit plugins, some are not, and you need 3rd party tools like jbridge.

[Diego_C]

I use Reaper 64bit (and love it )and I'm fine with it,
it loads all I have, 32 and 64 bit vst as well.
Mine is just a curiosity again about why many complain on using a 32 instead of 64 bit vst and if there are audio quality/rendiring/processing differences.
But as Kaboom75 said here, there should not be any audio differences of any kind, it's just a matter of system and software architecture.
Thanks again

[Kaboom75]

Like I said no difference in quality. With a bridger they will work the sound will be perfect but some plugins the sound acts odd while turning the knobs that's due to the bridger.

[Diego_C]

got it
thanks

[chokehold]

Hey, if you have Reaper x64 and some 32-bit VSTs ... try this:

1) Press Play in Reaper, then switch to a 32-bit plugin's GUI and turn a knob or two, and try pressing the Space Bar to stop playback.
Keep trying.

2) From within Reaper, open the GUI of both a 64-bit and a 32-bit plugin side by side. Click a button or knob on the 64-bit plugin, then click a button or knob on the 32-bit plugin. Finally, click on a button or knob in Reaper.

3) To prevent what's happening in 2) , Reaper has the neat little "pin this window" feature. Again, open both a 64-bit and a 32-bit plugin side by side. Click the little pin symbols in the window frames of both GUIs, should be top right. Now see what happens if you switch between the GUIs of the two plugins and Reaper.

4) There's a setting in the "Audio" preferences tab which is a good thing and therefore enabled by default, it's called "Close audio device when stopped and application is inactive". It basically means that Reaper stops processing audio when it's not playing and not the application with foreground focus.
Now guess what happens when you open a 32-bit plugin's bridged GUI, which is running in *tadaa* a different application.
Insert a 32-bit instrument on a new track, arm the track for record - and while Reaper is the application in the foreground you will be able to hear the sound the plugin generates when you hit some keys on your MIDI controller.
Now switch to the plugin's GUI and press some more MIDI keys. Different application, Reaper closes audio device, no sound generated. If the instrument's sound has a long trail, like it contains a reverb or something, then you MIGHT just hear the end of that fading out as Reaper switches the audio device back on.
So you either lose the ability to save CPU while Reaper is not in foreground, which is probably a more drastic thing to people like me who can actually hear their system's fans jumping in and out of work or who don't close Reaper a lot … or you lose the ability to play 32-bit instruments "live" without having Reaper rolling.

In addition to all the above, bridging between 32 and 64 bits is a constant nuisance, as the bridges run a separate process (look at the task manager) and have to send and receive audio to and from Reaper. That creates an unnecessary CPU hit, because a little mini-application has to run alongside Reaper and communicate audio streams and sync info etc … per each plugin instance and all the time, similar to ReWire, and then of course there's that thing about plugins crashing because something during this time-critical process is bound to happen unexpectedly.

Just can't be bothered losing even 5 minutes of unsaved recent work because of something like this, as I would've wasted too much time already anyway by switching windows and processes or soloing instrument tracks and muting media items just to hear what I'm playing.

If someone else can put up with cr*p like this, then they may. I hold no grudge against anyone who would choose to do so. It's just that I won't.

If you're happy - stay happy.
To each his own.

So either 64-bit plugins for me - or no plugins for me.
As easy as that.