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How To Install Vst3 Plugins Ableton Mac

PROCESS.AUDIO plug-ins are compatible with Ableton Live 8 and above in 64-bit mode ONLY.

VST and AudioUnits (AU) are the two native plugin formats for Mac OS X. Rescan your plugins folder and detect your recently installed plugin. Live Versions: All Operating System: Mac AU or VST? How to install VST or AU plug-ins on Mac AU or VST? Live on Mac supports both the.

Live Versions: 9-10 Operating System: All Supported Plug-in formats VST2 - 64 & 32-bit VST3 - 64-bit (Live 10.1 and later only). Ableton Live 8 and 9 need to be installed with their 64-bit installers whereas. /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/ (AU). May 10, 2018 Although Ableton Live 10 comes with several stock instruments and plugins that can be very effective and useful, there are tons of 3rd party VST plugins out there that can help you take your. We install the AU and VST plugins in the user's Library folder NOT the system Library folder. The AU plugin is at location. Here's some instructions to show you how to use VST plugins in Ableton Live: Ableton Live. Setup your VST Plug-ins Directory. Mac OS X users can skip this step! In the Ableton Live preferences, go to the 'File Folder' tab. Ensure 'Use VST Plug-In Custom Folder' is ON, and click 'Browse' to choose the folder where all your VST plugins are.

1. PROCESS.AUDIO plug-ins are 64-bit only. So make sure you are NOT running your DAW in 32-bit in a 32-bit environment. Ableton Live 8 and 9 need to be installed with their 64-bit installers whereas Ableton Live 10 is already 64-bit only.

2. Make sure your plug-ins are installed in the correct and default locations:

Live 8 and 9 only use VST2 plug-ins wherease Live 10+ can use VST3 plug-ins.

MAC

  • /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/ (AU)

  • /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/ (VST2)

  • /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/ (VST3) Live 10+ only

WINDOWS

  • C:Program FilesVstplugins (VST2)

  • C:Program FilesCommon FilesVST3 (VST3) Live 10+ only

3. Close Ableton, and then right-click and select ‘Run as Administrator’ (you will only have to do this once). If the plug-ins show up at this point, you're set. If not, move on to the next step.

4. Open Live's Preferences > Plug-ins (Live 10.1 and later) or > File Folder (all Live versions until 10.1). Try to spot the Plug-In Sources section (usually at the bottom of the pane).

WINDOWS

  • If using Live > 10 and VST3, enable the System folder. This is where your PROCESS.AUDIO plug-ins are installed by default (C:Program FilesCommon FilesVST3).

  • If using a VST3 or VST2 Plug-in Custom Folder, make sure your PROCESS.AUDIO plug-ins are actually installed in this folder and switch it on (usually C:Program FilesVSTPlugins).

In any event, make sure to switch ‘Off’ both VST2 and VST3 locations first, hit Rescan, then switch them back ‘On’ and hit Rescan again.

MAC

  • If using Audio Units (AU), switch ‘Use Audio Units’ on.

  • If using the VST2 or VST3 Plug-in system folder, switch this on.

  • If using a VST3 or VST2 Plug-in Custom Folder, make sure your PROCESS.AUDIO plug-ins are actually installed in this folder and switch it on (Usually /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/).

  • Trick: Hit Rescan while pressing the Option key. It will force a deeper full rescan

In any event, make sure to switch ‘Off’ both VST2 and VST3 locations first, hit Rescan, then switch them back ‘On’ and hit Rescan again.

How To Install Vst3 Plugins Ableton Mac

4. If everything fails, remove the plug-ins manually, trash the plug-ins, rescan, re-install them with the PROCESS.AUDIO installers and hit rescan again.

VST and AudioUnits (AU) are the two native plugin formats for Mac OS X. Although there are other DAW specific formats for plugins, VST and AudioUnits are more common and compatible across various DAWs like Cubase, Logic, etc. There is an abundance of VST and AU plugins for expanding your DAW and building your collection of effects. However, it can be difficult to know how to get those plugins running on your computer. Especially if they are free and do not come with installers or instructions. I'll help you get those files in the right places and make them appear in your plugin stacks.

Finding the Audio Plugins folder

The plugin folder is nested in the Macintosh HD Library. There are usually a minimum of two Libraries on your Mac, one in Macintosh HD and another in your user account. You should only place the plugins in the Macintosh HD Library so that it can be accessed by all users on the computer. The usual location of the folder should be:

Ableton Vst Folder Mac

Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/

How to Install VST Plugins

How To Install Vst3 Plugins Ableton Mac Download

  1. Unzip the downloaded file if it is an archive like .zip or .rar. You should only see a file with a .vst extension. This is the actual file required for the plugin.
  2. Move the .vst file to the VST folder in your audio plugins folder.
  3. If your DAW is running, close it and restart it. When your DAW starts up, it will rescan your plugins folder and detect your recently installed plugin.

How to Install AudioUnits Plugins

  1. Unzip the downloaded file if it is an archive like .zip or .rar. You should only see a file with a .component extension. This is the actual file required for the plugin.
  2. Move the .component file to the Components folder in your audio plugins folder.
  3. If your DAW is running, close it and restart it. When your DAW starts up, it will rescan your plugins folder and detect your recently installed plugin.

Other Plugin Formats

How To Install Vst Ableton Windows

You might come across another folder labelled VST3, this is for VST3 plugins which are not as common as of yet. They can be identified with the .vst3 file extension. MAS is used for MOTU Audio System. HAL is Hardware Abstraction Layer and you should not be needing to change anything there.

Tips and Tricks

There some things that you can do to make managing plugins easier. If you have a huge collection of plugins but you do not use them all at the same time, you can waste a lot of time waiting for your DAW/host to scan all of them.

  1. Create a folder as seen in the picture above labelled Components (Disabled) or VST (Disabled).
  2. Simply drag the associated plugin to the respective ‘Disabled’ folder if you do not wish to load the plugin or have problems loading it.
  3. Restart your DAW if it is running. Your DAW will rescan and load the plugins in your Components or VST folder, and ignore the ones in the 'Disabled' folders.

Remember to check for updates for your plugin first if they are giving you problems. Updates could provide compatibility fixes for newer DAWs or operating systems. Keeping your plugins in check and trimming it down can make your music making experience more responsive and trouble-free.