SOUND ON SOUND

[Mike Stranks]

This came up in another thread so rather than derail that I've brought it here...

I'm on Windows 10 64-bit - all updates applied.

I use Mixcraft 8 as my DAW and Goldwave for detailed non-mix work.

I've never even considered it as an issue, but someone pointed out that a plugin I referenced was 32-bit only...

Is that an issue? I use it in 64-bit set-up with no apparent problems. Am I missing something? Genuine question.

[BJG145]

Nah, no probs. If your DAW can work with it, it's all good.

(Assuming you're using the 64bit version of Mixcraft, it seems to apply its own "wrapper" to 32bit plugins. In general, it's preferable to use the 64bit versions when available but perfectly acceptable to use the 32bit version otherwise if the DAW can handle it. It's usually a good idea to keep 32bit and 64bit plugins in separate folders just to keep things tidy and organised so you can keep track of which is which, but it's not essential.)

[Hugh Robjohns]

Assuming Mixcraft is a 64bit application, it must have a built-in wrapper to allow it to run 32-bit plugins. And that's completely fine.

The only potential problem comes if you change DAW in the future or a Mixcraft update drops 32-bit plugin compatibility... and then, if you're reliant on a specific old 32bit plugin, you might not be able to use it any more!

[The Elf]

Cubase (and Nuendo, I presume) automatically and irrevocably blacklists 32-bit plug-ins - and has done for the past few years. They did provide a wrapper for quite a long time, but we were always warned that they'd eventually drop it.

I've had to leave a couple of very useful 32-bit plug-ins behind. wah!

There are a few ways to make 32-bit plugs work, but for myself I feel it's better to just move on.

[Mike Stranks]

OK. Understood. Thanks.

I'd be up the creek if Mixcraft and Goldwave dropped 32-bit plugin support. The plugin in question is a Master bus one... so can be applied outside of the DAW if needed.

I really heavily on this particular plugin for my 'broadcast' work... Of course, if I had to I could find other ways of achieving the same effect, but, as with most of us, I like what I know and can set it up very quickly now.

[CS70]

Yeah I think it's mostly Cubase specific. And some newer DAWs, such as Studio One I think.

Cakewalk has a rock-solid built in bitbridge, for DAWs which have not (and do not blacklist 32 bit plugins) the common choice is JBridge (https://jstuff.wordpress.com/jbridge/)

[Zukan]

Cubase (and Nuendo, I presume) automatically and irrevocably blacklists 32-bit plug-ins - and has done for the past few years. They did provide a wrapper for quite a long time, but we were always warned that they'd eventually drop it.

I've had to leave a couple of very useful 32-bit plug-ins behind. wah!

There are a few ways to make 32-bit plugs work, but for myself I feel it's better to just move on.

I think J-bridge works well with Cubase. But Like you I only use 64-bit....

[blinddrew]

Reaper will happily run 32bit plugins on Windows, not sure about on Mac.

[shufflebeat]

When I swapped to 64 bit Reaper I thought my laptop couldn't handle it because all my projects groaned along then ground to a halt.

A little experimentation revealed that the more 32 bit VSTs I had in place the grindier the result.

It may be that the machine was on the edge of it's capacity and it wouldn't be an issue for anyone else but dropping the 32 bit plugins made everything run smoothly.

[Moroccomoose]

I also largely just moved on to 64 bit plug ins....but... my lexicon MX400 uses a vst to control it in the DAW and its a 32bit plug.

In cubase, I have to use J Bridge, but I did have to fiddle with the back ground jbridge settings because it is a dual fx unit and it has a quirky way the hardware works. For normal vst, jbridge works fine.

Reaper, of course can use 32bit without any such complications.

Stu.

[garrettendi]

Reaper will happily run 32bit plugins on Windows, not sure about on Mac.

32-bit support on Mac was dropped with Catalina, so even with Reaper, you can't load 32-bit plugins.

This has frustrated me for some time, but not enough to switch back to Windows.

[blinddrew]

Reaper will happily run 32bit plugins on Windows, not sure about on Mac.

32-bit support on Mac was dropped with Catalina, so even with Reaper, you can't load 32-bit plugins.

This has frustrated me for some time, but not enough to switch back to Windows.

I did think it was something like that, the Mac in the office is still on High Sierra so I'm kind of behind. Also I haven't been into the office for 8 months...