How to specify plugin locations

How to specify plugin locations

If you are running Gig Performer on a Windows computer, your VST3 and VST plugins can be installed in arbitrary locations specified by the plugin developer and/or modified by you. In either case, if some of your plugins do not show up in Gig Performer, you will need to tell Gig Performer where it should look to find your plugins.

Please also be aware that Gig Performer only supports 64-bit VST and VST3 plugins.

Step 1: Click on Window -> Plug-in manager… to open the plugin manager:

Gig Performer, Window menu, Plug'in manager...

Step 2: When the Plugin Manager opens, it will display a list of all plugins that were found. If a plugin is displayed in green, it has been validated. If a plugin is displayed in red, it has not been validated and is consequently unavailable.

Note: all 32-bit plugins will show up in red as they cannot be used (check this article to learn more).

Click on the Manage… button at the bottom left of the Plugin Manager window. Then select the Set VST folders for scanning menu item.

Gig Performer, Manage Available Plugins in Plugin Manager; Set VST folders for scanning

Step 3: You will see a dialog containing the folders that Gig Performer already knows to check. Press the + to specify another folder. You can do this as many times as necessary.

Gig Performer, Select folders to scan, Set location of VST plugins

Step 4: Navigate to and then select the folder where your plugins are located and press OK

Gig Performer, Browse for folder, where VST plugins are located

Step 5: Click the Scan… button and select Scan for new or updated plugins or Rescan all plugins

Gig Performer, available plugins, Scan for new or updated plugins, Rescan all plugins

Step 6: Gig Performer will look for your plugins in the new locations and when complete your plugins should now be available.

Similarly, add VST3 plugin folders by selecting the Set VST3 folders for scanning… menu item and repeat the above-mentioned steps.

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Related topics:
Gig Performer didn’t find my plugin
How to troubleshoot and identify plugins that crash
Top websites for free audio plugins and how to use them in Gig Performer
Troubleshooting
(User Manual) and Tips to troubleshoot your setup (Blog)



Scaling Curves


Scaling curves allow you to control the shape of the output of a widget or convert an incoming note velocity to a new velocity. Various predefined curves are available and they can be tweaked as necessary. You can also just draw your own curve as well to achieve the effect you require.

 

MIDI File Player Plugin


You can load up to 128 MIDI song files in a single plugin instance. Switch from one song to another, mute tracks and/or change their channel numbers. Tempo can be controlled by individual songs or you can use the global tempo and tap tempo to control the BPM interactively.

 

Favorites and Presets


Create a sound by placing and interconnecting your desired plugins, such as a synth, some effects and perhaps a mixer. Select them all and then save the selection as a named favorite. The favorite will subsequently show up in all plugin insert menus, making it easy for you to recreate that configuration whenever you need it again. This feature is also very powerful for creating your needed sounds on your studio computer and then transferring them to your touring laptop.

 

Probabilistic Sound Designer


Parameters you select in an open plugin are captured into the Probabilistic Sound Designer dialog window. When you click Randomize, you're only adjusting those selected parameters. Each entry in the PSD dialog has a curve but unlike widgets where the curve controls scaling, in the PSD the curves are used to define the probability of particular values being selected. Make sure the filter cutoff never gets too slow so as to block all sound. Perhaps adjust the max range of the VCA attack parameter so that the sound doesn't have too much delay. Constrain the octave ranges of the oscillators, perhaps ensuring that 1/3rd of the time we select 8' and 2/3rds of the time we select 4'. The possibilities are endless.

 

More Widgets


Numerous new widgets are included in Gig Performer - a new sustain pedal, plastic knobs, drum pads and more colored sliders. Shapes can be colored with different borders and fill colors and morphed from rectangular to circular. Your creativity is now the limit to creating fabulous front panels in Gig Performer.

 

MIDI Message Helper


Select MIDI devices by name. Choose the MIDI message type and adjust the appropriate parameters for the specific type

 

  

Layout management


Gig Performer supports arbitrary resizing. Layout your widgets the way you want - resize the main window and the widgets will grow or shrink as necessary to maintain the same interrelationships. No matter what size screen you have, your front panels will still be neat and usable.

 

Undo Support


If you move your widgets around and/or resize them, or even delete them by mistake, the Undo facility will correct your mistake. Minor moves to a widget by mistake will no longer spoil your design

 

Plugin Channel Count


Some plugins support a large number of outputs and they depend on the traditional channel strip to control how many ports should be available.   When you only need a stereo pair, it is convenient not to have a large horizontal block. In Gig Performer, the number of available ports  is controlled by the channel count override, which can be applied to individual plugins and will be remembered when the gigfile is reloaded or if the plugin is saved as a favorite.

 

Input muting and output fading


Rather than a single audio length tail, Gig Performer 4 gives you the ability to control input muting and output fading separately. Input muting controls how much time it takes for audio input to be silenced when you leave the rackspace. Output fading controls how much time will be taken for audio to fade out when you leave the rackspace.

 

Faster Plugin Finder


Instead of searching through menus of perhaps hundreds of plugins (you know who you are!), the Quick Plugin Finder makes it easy to find the plugin you need by simply typing partial strings. For example, as shown here, to find the Modartt Pianoteq 7 plugins, it's enough to type pia mod 7 (in any order, by the way)  to restrict the list of available plugins to those matching your query. The Quick Plugin Finder also knows about manufacturers, presets and favorites.

 

  

Touch Friendly Input


Any entry field can be changed by either dragging your mouse (or finger) up or down, or by using the large popup touchpad where you can just tap on the squares to enter a value. The large popup keypad also does validation so you can't enter an invalid value. You can also just tap the BPM field to pop up a larger view where you can quickly change tempo, tranpose, trigger Tap Tempo and enable Ableton Link, the last allowing you to synchronize Gig Performer with any other application that also supports Ableton Link.

 

New Tuner Display


The tuner view makes it easy for guitarists to quickly check and adjust their tuning. You can toggle into the tuner view from any other view and toggle right back as soon as you're done. All output will be silenced automatically while you're in tuning mode. You can adjust the concert reference pitch from its default of 440 Hz to suit your own needs. The tuner view fills the entire screen so you can easily see it from a distance.