Cakewalk by Bandlab: How to Install and Manage VST Plugins

💡 *MY ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS GUIDE TO CAKEWALK COURSE* 💡

In this video we will be learning how to install and manage VST plugins in Cakewalk by Bandlab.

Common VST File Locations:
=== VST2 ===
C:\Program Files\VSTPlugins
C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VSTPlugins
C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST2
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Steinberg\VST2
32-bit plug-ins on 64-bit Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\VstPlugins

=== VST3 ===
C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3
32-bit VST3 plug-ins on 64-bit Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\VST3

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[edwincabassa]

I am not a professional musician. I played in school bands and churches. I used SONAR 8, X1, X2, and X3 and have the original instructions. The instructions were poorly written and had limited basic information and written in technical terminology, not common to musicians or other members of the society. After all, SONAR was made for the general public to have as well as professionals. These Videos are superior because the terminology is first clearly explained. As with any profession, the terminology is key to understanding any topic. As a medical provider and university educator, I too can explain the coronavirus in medical and scientific terms, What good is that to the average person, we all have to understand. Theses videos are professionally presented, clear, entertaining, short and to the point. Keep up the great work!

[OhighOSkater]

Thank you for all of these informative videos. I truly do appreciate you!

[ph_stuff]

I'm kind of a noob in daws and after seeing several tutorials, this one was by far the best about installing and managing VST plugins (and yes, it solved my problem).

Congratulations, you have a new subscriber. ;)

[ArtistryMusication]

I have 74 plugins 🤣 You have 1747!!! Holy Cakewalk Batman 🤣

[jacobh]

This is exactly what I was looking for, perfect step by step for what I need to do. I want to install my Plug In's on an SD card to save SSD storage space on my laptop. Brilliant! Thanks again!

[justmejammin]

Man, what would I do without you Mike. Thank you so much for your work and helpful vids.💥💥💥👏👍🏻

[wewerebornbeloved]

This series has taught me way more than the actual Cakewalk support site. Great work always!

[wiltonwarlock]

When I import a MIDI file, the program immediately assigns its own VSTs. How do I change them to the VSTs I've downloaded? Right-clicking on the track number would seem to allow one to change the VST, but it doesn't. There must be something more. Can you do a video on importing MIDI files, then changing the VSTs. Thank you

[charliegomabay]

Thank u very much. This is very helpful for me

[Momo-cuxl]

My computer keeps saying "A Vst scan is already running. Please wait for it to complete before starting up" when I try to click on options in the plugin manager, any tips?

[eihan]

I tried copy pasting all of Fl studio effect plugins to commonfiles/VST3 files. But other than para eq i see no other in cakewalk.

[pierreducos]

@CreativeSauce! how do you install .nki files? I've been trying to figure this out for a bit now (i'm following your Record, Mix, Release class, and I realized I needed instruments :) so I got some from your top 5 free VST video. I'm trying to install pocketBlakus, but it doesn't have a .exe, or a .dll file that I can run for a simple install.) Do you have already have a video for this??

[jorsanaalin]

Hello, I would like to ask you a typical beginner's question. I have Kontakt 6 and 7 installed in my Cakewalk. But it is empty. Inside the NI everything is Installed. How do I get all into the Kontakt instruments in Cakewalk? Thank you

[michaelsherron]

I appreciate your work, but this video hasn't helped me with utilizing BBC Symphony Orchestra.

[londonshere]

Excellent channel. +1 subscriber. Cheers!

[jimfogle]

Another great video Mike. I appreciate how you mentioned the different VST groups, instruments, audio effects and midi effects as well as the division between 32 and 64 bits and VST2 versus VST3. Lots of piles for VSTs to be divided between!


Using 32 bit VSTs in Cakewalk by BandLab appears to be problematic with some working using jBridge but many not working at all.


As you mentioned in your video, the same is true with VST3s. Some VST3s crash in Cakewalk by BandLab but the VST2 works fine. Even most software developers say on their website to try the VST3 first and if it doesn't work use the corresponding VST2.

[theodorussay]

Hey Mike, absolutely love your videos - they are truly evergreen contents! I wonder if there's any way to customize the location of shared folders where audio plugins or other utilities will stay via advance installation options? I have a very small system drive (c drive) so I wonder if you could make a video on how to maximize other drives/external ssd etc for those fat babies (plugins, synths and more) at the beginning of installing the software. Thanks a lot Mike!

[mikaelschulin]

Thanks! I installed The Instrument by Phil Speiser both as VST3 and VST2. The VST3 doesn't fully correctly so I was going to try the VST2-version which is fully seen in the Plug-in Manager and enabled but this VST2-version doesn't show up as instrument in Cakewalk and can't be used. :-/ Is there a solution?

[YouWhoKC]

Thanks much for all the things you continue to teach me. I appeciate the file paths as well. Prior to VST3, it was easy to manage your VSTi's. However, since the dawn of VST3, some of them like to 'crap all over your hard drive' ....\programData ...\users\x\common files\blah blah blah....it can become maddening. Thanks for your explanations!

[peterrobinson]

Thanks for this video tutorial. As a Cakewalk newby I found it useful, and especially the section on setting up plug-ins in non-standard directories (since I also have a D:\ data drive and an E:\ programs drive separate from my C:\ Windows drive.
You suggested that given the option of 32 and 64 bit plugins, you'd go for 64 bit, which is fair enough - I also have 64 bit Windows 11 as my OS. But then you said that in the example there was an option for VST2 AND VST3 so you went for the VST2 version. Why was that? And why would you not go for VST3? What is the difference between 2 and 3? And would it 'harm' Cakewalk if you installed both?
Thanks. I've subscribed to your video channel now, so am looking forward to learning more about the software (and watching more videos!).