Re: VST Effects for MAC, Hosts, etc

[Per Boysen <per@boysen.se>]

On Aug 16, 2005, at 21:25, Krispen Hartung wrote:

> I am doing some research for someone who has a Powerbok, 12 inch w/
> about a gig or ram.  He has Reason, Pro-tools, Garage Band, and  
> Ableton.
>
> He wants to get into the free VST effect world and get some cool synth
> guitar sounds, weird distortions, modulators, tap tempoed tremolos,
> etc... going in real time.
>
> I know nothing about MACs, so have no idea whether those above  
> programs
> will host a VST effect, or whether most VST effects are compatible  
> with
> MACs. Can someone help me out?


No problem; VST, as a plug-in format, has been available on Mac  
longer than on Windows based PC's. Garageband does not support the  
VST format though. For GB he should go with the AU version of the  
plug-in. Ableton on the Mac is nice because it does run both VST and  
AU plug-ins. If the Mac runs OS X he can make use of the built-in  
MIDI pipeline called IAC Bus, to route MIDI between plug-ins and  
applications (like a virtual pedal fx patching board). He has to  
activate it in the OS X system utility "Audio MIDI setup". I'm not  
totally sure, but I think Reason and Protools can run both AU and  
VST. The free plug-ins for Mac are basically the same as for Windows.

Greetings from Sweden

Per Boysen
www.looproom.com (international)
www.boysen.se (Swedish)
--->  iTunes Music Store (digital)
www.cdbaby.com/perboysen