Having the option to add more than one VST folder in the preferences would be great, Sonar has this feature (but I hate Sonar and it's practically the only thing I like about it) The advantage of having this feature is that you can add one VST folder at a time and Ableton would scan each individual VST folder. So if you have some plugins that crash on scan you could simply only add the folders with the working plugins. It's specially helpful when you have tons of VSTs installed. Scanning tons of VSTs is very time consuming specially when you have many that crash Ableton on scan.
Have you, or your installer, ever installed a VST or VSTi in the wrong folder? Ableton Live has a perfect and incredibly easy workaround!
One more question, my Folder for VST2 plug-ins is the native instruments folder because it was the first plugin, and in this folder there are the VST32 and VST64 folder where I now put my other plugins inside, because otherwise I had to create a custom folder an put all the dll stuff inside together with the native instrument stuff.
In case the Use Audio Units and Use VST Plug-in System Folders options were not activated, press the Rescan button once. Once your system folders have been scanned, the NI plug-ins will be available in the Third Party Plug-ins section of the Browser. Note: Read this article to learn how to insert Native Instruments plug-ins in Ableton Live.
On reinstall check if the VST version is selected, users can choose what plugins versions to install, VST/AU/etc. Also, check your plugin folder and see if its there. D-One, Jan 18, 2018.
Last but not least, you can find the unused files for all Projects found in a specific folder (and its sub-folders): right-click(PC) / CTRL-click(Mac) on a folder in the browser and choose the Manage Projects command, then see the Unused Files section. Live inspects each Project individually and labels a file unused even if another Projects in.
If you're using Audio Units (AU), switch 'Use Audio Units' on. For VST2 or VST3 Plug-in system folder, switch this on. If using a Custom Plug-in folder, browse and select that folder, then switch it on. Check your compatibility. 32-bit vs 64-bit: Ableton Live 10+ is 64-bit only and 32-bit versions of products will not appear in the browser.
I have been getting a lot of pre-release VST & VSTi for testing and for making tutorial & marketing videos. It is awesome. However, sometimes the installers aren’t completely sculpted as they would be for an official release. One particular upcoming iZotope plug, which is absolutely going to blow you away, didn’t ask me where I wanted it to install the x64 and x86 VST .dll files.
It defaulted into the Steinberg folder. That isn’t where I keep my plugs. So, I tried to copy and paste all the .dll files on the off chance that might work. Sometimes it does. Like with smaller, less expensive plugs. Simply moving the .dll files around isn’t a problem. But, with the bigger more expensive plugs, like those from iZotope, you can’t do that.
I didn’t want to uninstall and reinstall, because no one likes doing that. So, I did a bit of digging and found a simple solution.
All you need to do in order to have multiple VST & VSTi folders recognized and displayed in Ableton Live is create a short cut and drop it into the folder you have designated as you plug-in folder.
No Vst Plugins Folder
My custom VST Folder Location in Ableton Live for Third Party Plug-ins
That is where I keep most of my plugs. So, what I did to get a second, unrelated folder and its contents to show up in Live is created a shortcut and dropped it into that folder. Then hit the “Rescan” button. BLAM-O!! Two VST folder locations recognized by Abelton Live.