What is a VST? Everything you need to know

It’s a common question among newbie producers. It’s also an important one to understand early in your music production journey.

I’ve been recording and producing music in one way or another since the early 90s. I’ve watched VSTs develop from a novelty into the powerful creation tools they are today.

In this article, I’ve tried to go into enough depth to give the beginner a solid understanding of the subject. However,  I’ve also tried to avoid going too overboard on technical data.

Beyond that, I’m hoping that you’ll learn why VSTs have been so revolutionary to music production.

OK, so what is a VST exactly?

VST stands for Virtual Studio Technology.

It is a plugin, or addon, for your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) that provides a specific function. VSTs either generate, process or manipulate audio or MIDI data.

Origins

VST was first introduced by Steinberg in 1996 as part of Cubase 3. VST offered an alternative to relying on outboard gear by including effects as part of the DAW.

That first suite of plugins included:

• Espacial (Reverb)
• Choirus (Chorus)
• Stereo Echo
• Auto-Panner

Better still, Steinberg released a development kit (SDK) for VST. This enabled anyone to start developing their own VSTs. Needless to say, it caught on like wildfire!

Types of VST

There are 3 main types, or functions, of VST plugins.

VST effects (VSTfx)

What is a VST effect? VSTfx process audio.

If you’re familiar with guitar pedals, VSTfx function in much the same way. You apply these effects to a source, and they alter the sound of it in some way.

Examples include:

• Reverb
• Delay
• Chorus/Flanger/Phaser
• Compressor/Limiter
• EQ
• Distortion/Saturation

Also like guitar pedals, VSTfx can be chained in sequence and affect the sound depending on the order. So, for instance, a chorus into a delay will sound different to a delay into a chorus.

When used in a DAW, there are 2 ways to use VSTfx: As inserts or sends.

What is a VST Insert?

Using an effect as an insert means ‘inserting’ that effect to a single, specific channel on the DAW’s mixer. This means it affects that channel only.

Example:

You might want to add a trippy flanger effect to the lead vocals in the bridge of a song.

You would add the flanger to the lead vocal’s mixer channel. You’d then automate it to punch in (ie switch on) during the bridge and punch out after.

As it’s placed on the lead vocal channel, the flanger won’t affect any other channels.

What is a VST send?

A send effect can affect many channels at once. To create a send, load an effect onto an empty mixer channel. The channels you would like to use this effect on are then routed through this channel. In other words, you ‘send’ them through the effect channel.

You can mix the amount of effect for each channel routed. The mix ranges from “Dry” (no audible effect from the send) to “Wet” (completely effected – no audible dry signal).

Example:

A common use for a send effect is a reverb, like a room reverb, for instance. We want most instruments in our mix to share the sound of that room, so it sounds cohesive.

In this case, using separate inserts of that same room reverb onto each track is redundant. Instead, you would apply that room reverb to an empty channel, and send the other channels through it.

You can then adjust the amount of send on each instrument to bring it forward (dry) or back (wet) in the mix.

VST Instruments (VSTi)

What is a VST Instrument? VSTi generate audio.

VSTi are sampled or synthesized instruments that are ‘played’ by receiving MIDI data.

Before VSTi arrived, options were limited. You either used hardware synths & samplers, or had to record live instruments. Now there’s an enormous variety of VSTi available, from free to paid versions.

They can replicate hardware synths and drum machines. Others replicate live sources like orchestras, guitars or acoustic drums. Then there are those that generate completely off-the-wall, previously unheard of experimental sounds.

MIDI effects

What is a VST MIDI effect? MIDI effects manipulate MIDI data fed to VST/VSTi.

In a similar way to how VSTfx process audio, MIDI effects process MIDI data sent to VST/VSTi.

You don’t hear about these as much as VST or VSTi, but they definitely have their place. MIDI effects are more like tools for writing or inspiration.

Some other examples of MIDI effects include:

• Sequencer. Short MIDI sequences that loop and can then change pitch according to a single note fed into them. Think of the pulsing bassline in the song “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer.
• Chorder. Feed in a single note and it will add harmonic notes to generate chords, in the scale of your choosing.
• Note hold. Hold notes indefinitely, regardless of the length of the note in the original MIDI data.
• Real-time Quantize. Corrects loose playing in real-time. Great for programming beats.

Version History

VST capabilities have continued to evolve over the years. Here’s a brief overview of some of the features added to along the way.

VST

• On initial launch in 1996, VST were virtual effects only.

VST2

• In 1999, Version 2.0 introduced the ability to receive MIDI data. This made virtual instruments (VSTi) a reality.
• Version 2.4 arrived in 2006, and with it came the advent of 64-bit processing.

VST3

• Version 3.0 first appeared in 2008. It brought features such as audio inputs for VSTi and multiple MIDI I/O.
• In 2011, Version 3.5 appeared, adding “Note Expression”. Note Expression brought articulation messages to individual notes in a polyphonic arrangement. Before this, articulation only applied to channels.
• Version 3.6.7 arrived in 2017 delivering a preview of VST3 for Linux and a new license model for developers.

Other formats

You know how sometimes someone will ask “can you pass me a Kleenex?” when they actually just want a tissue regardless of which brand it is?

The same thing often applies to DAW plugins. Although VST is the most well-known format, it is not the only format available.

When asking “What is a VST?”, people may actually be referring to any of the following formats as well:

• AU
• AAX
• RTAS
• TDM

So what’s the difference?

AU (Audio Units)

VST started life as Windows-exclusive. Apple developed AU as a proprietary format for Mac OS/iOS. So in fact, AU was actually a competing technology for VST.

The main difference between VST and AU is that AU is built into MacOS itself. This, in theory, should offer advantages over VST in latency, stability and processing speed.

Despite developments in VST, AU is still the format of choice for a number of Mac users.

AAX (Avid Audio eXtension)

Avid (formerly Digidesign) developed AAX exclusively for their popular Pro Tools DAW. This replaced previous Pro Tools formats RTAS and TDM from Pro Tools 10 onwards.

As Pro Tools moved into 64-bit territory, it needed the ability to implement 64-bit plugins. Neither RTAS nor TDM were not capable of this, hence the change.

RTAS (Real-Time Audio Suite) and TDM (Time-division Multiplexing)

RTAS and TDM were the native plugin format for Pro Tools up to version 10.

RTAS relied on using the host computer’s CPU for processing, whereas TDM carried out processing on external hardware DSP cards.

TDM took a huge load off the main CPU, eliminating a lot of problems like crashes, glitches and latency. It also allowed for a lot more processing power than CPU-reliant RTAS.

This, of course, also meant that TDM was a lot more expensive than the other formats. As such, it was out of the question for most home studio users.

Avid finally pulled the plug on both RTAS and TDM in 2013 with the release of Pro Tools 11.

Which format should I use?

“Out with the old, in with the new”. It’s the nature of technology, and is no different here. There are some factors to take into consideration when deciding on which format to use.

• Which DAW you are using
• Your OS (MacOS or Windows)
• Your CPU (processing power)

The DAW

• If you are using Pro Tools as your DAW, stick to AAX format. You may also want to install a VST version if you intend to use other DAWs alongside Pro Tools.
• Being Mac’s flagship DAW, Logic Pro uses AU format with no native option for VST.

MacOS vs Windows

• If you are using Windows, VST is your only choice – preferably VST3 on a 64-bit system
• If you are using MacOS, you can use either, but VST3 is preferable nowadays. There are arguably more VST users than AU users on Mac right now.

64-bit vs 32-bit

Most DAWs these days operate at 64-bit.

64-bit offers significant performance improvements over 32-bit. For example, 64-bit makes use of all available RAM for processing, whereas 32-bit is limited to 4GB.

The only reason you would choose 32-bit over 64-bit is if you are running an older system and your computer or DAW physically can’t handle 64-bit. In any other scenario, it’s 64-bit all the way.

VST vs Hardware

VST has torn down many of the barriers that had previously hindered music producers. While an emulation is never going to replace the real thing, VST certainly has its advantages over hardware.

Cost-effective

We’ve all heard the stories about the early synths and samplers costing as much as a car, or even a house (such as the Fairlight CMI).

Yet here we are today. We’re able to get accurate representations of those very synths for a fraction of what they used to cost.

But what if you need the services of a full choir or orchestra? How much would that set you back? Well, there are some incredibly realistic VSTs for that exact purpose. Once again, for a fraction of the hire fee for the real thing.

Only limited by your CPU

Have a favorite VST synth that you want to use on multiple tracks? No problem, just add more instances of it. Each one can still be fully controlled in real-time, too.

If this was a hardware synth though, you’d have to choose between

• recording individually to audio, forgoing any real-time control over the track or
• purchasing more synths, which is not going to go easy on the wallet

The only limit for VSTs is the processing power of your CPU.

Space-saving

VSTs literally take up no space in your studio, something they have over hardware, hands down. These days we can fit an entire studio into a backpack and produce music wherever our mood takes us.

A breakthrough for music producers

Next time you hear the question “What is a VST?”, you can tell them that VSTs changed the music production world forever.

Speaking personally, it’s been an exciting journey for me. Watching them develop and become what they are today, I can only imagine what’s in store for the format in future. I say…bring on VST4!

Want to put those VSTs to use? Head on over to my guide to setting up a home recording studio to learn what else you need to get up and running.