Uh oh, I thought I got the standalone Collective VST but did I not?

[Rahodees]

I got Waveform 11 Free, and went ahead and grabbed Collective at the same time as it was offered at the time for 50% off.

I had read a bit about collective, and understood it originated as just part of Waveform but is now a standalone VST.

But upon installing Collective, I cannot find it in any VST folder. It only appears in Waveform, and in none of my other DAWs. Looking in Waveform's VST folder list, it's the same as all my others except a couple of tracktion-specific ones, and looking in those reveals a "collective" folder in one spot but no vst or dll file that I can find in that folder or subfolders.

Did I accidentally pay $30 for just the Waveform version, rather than the standalone VST?

[pough]

Mine installed into C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VstPlugins

When asking questions like these it's probably a good idea to let us know which OS you use as paths tend to be very different for different OSes.

[Peter Widdicombe]

What happens to the users who already HAVE/use collective as part of the release 9 or 10 package? Does it get "grandfathered" into the v12 release, or does it have to be purchased?

[Spitfire31]

@Rahoodees: by definition, a "VST" is not a "standalone"; you probably mean 'separate'. A VST is a plug-in that needs a host.

A 'standalone' VI (Virtual Instrument) is an app that works as a programme by itself, without needing a host.

It's usesful to get the terminology straight, in order to avoid misunderstandings.

[whyterabbyt]

What happens to the users who already HAVE/use collective as part of the release 9 or 10 package? Does it get "grandfathered" into the v12 release, or does it have to be purchased?

If you already own it, you already own it, and it'll stay available under 'Individual Installers' within 'My Downloads' in your TSC account.

For that reason, dont buy a bundle where any plugins you bought previously are included, whether those plugins were acquired separately or included in a bundle

[whyterabbyt]

And FWIW, after the agreement blurb, and the changelog, the 3rd thing the (Windows version of the) Collective installer is doing here is prompt to customise the location of your VST and AAX directories...

...and even if you already installed it, rerunning the installer gives you that option each time.

[Watchful]

@Rahoodees: by definition, a "VST" is not a "standalone"; you probably mean 'separate'. A VST is a plug-in that needs a host.

Not to split hairs, but I believe Tracktion referred to the VST version as "standalone," and @rahoodees is simply following their usage.

Tracktion called it such simply because you didn't need Waveform to run it--Collective could work in any 64-bit host, now.

(But you're right. I try to use "plugin" exclusively now, regardless of what format it is to avoid this confusion.)