![]() These were both developed by Avid Technology and they can be fairly considered obsolete since the creation of AAX. Unless you’ve started making music in the last two years or so, you’ve probably also stumbled upon the audio plug-in formats RTAS and TDM. Irrelevant technological specifications aside, AAX is the go-to audio plug-in format for Pro Tools users, in the same way that VST is the gold standard for Windows users and that AU is the best option for Mac users. If Pro Tools is your music program of choice, it would be illogical not to do so.ĪAX is the successor of two other Pro Tools-specific audio plug-in architectures developed by Avid Technology: RTAS and TDM (more on that below). If you’re working inside Ableton Live, Logic Pro, or any other DAW, it simply doesn’t make sense to install AAX files on your computer. The other thing that makes AAX different from VST and AU is the fact that it’s exclusive to Pro Tools. View Price at Thomann (Europe) View Price at Amazon This means that AAX can be used more efficiently with the help of third-party hardware such as Pro Tools’s Carbon audio interface. AAX is fundamentally different from VST and AU because it’s both a native and DSP-powered plug-in (more on DSP later). What’s AAX?ĪAX stands for Avid Audio eXtension and it’s an audio plug-in format created by Avid Technology. If you know anything about Apple, you probably know they’re not big fans of going with the gold standard – unless, of course, it was made by them! Needless to say, they decided not to adopt VST and instead focus on creating their Mac-exclusive audio plug-in architecture. To sum it up, VST is the best audio plug-in format for Windows users, whereas AU is the best audio plug-in format for Mac users. While it’s possible to use VSTs inside Apple’s operative systems, there’s no reason for doing so if you also have access to the more specific and efficient AU audio plug-ins.ĭetailing the technical aspects that make VST and AU technology different is not pertinent from a music-production point of view. What’s AU?ĪU stands for Audio Units and it’s Apple’s system-level audio plug-in architecture, exclusive to macOS and iOS. VST3 is the future, so it’s probably time for you to start making the transition from VST to VST3. Most modern DAWs do so, but it’s always important to check before throwing your entire VST folder in the trash. You should always use VST3, assuming you’re working with a DAW that supports VST3. While there are several other updates to VST3 that are worth exploring, VST3’s more-efficient processing is, crucially, what makes it better than its predecessor. If you have a project loaded with 15 VST3 instruments but you’re monitoring a section of the song in which none is being used, then your CPU will not be dealing with any of them at that moment. If you have a project loaded with 15 VST instruments, they’re overloading your CPU even if you’re monitoring a section of the song in which they’re not being used. Unlike VST, VST3 is not active whenever its functions are not being used, which helps to save a lot of CPU usage. VST3 is the latest installment of the Virtual Studio Technology developed by Steinberg and it’s stronger, performance-wise, because it only uses your computer’s processing power if it has to. Considering macOS and iOS also have their audio plug-in format, VST plug-ins are first and foremost designed for Windows users. Pro Tools, which relies on its own proprietary audio plug-in format, is the one major exception. Pretty much every digital audio workstation (DAW) in the world supports VST plug-ins. Different types of VST plug-ins include instruments, effects, and MIDI effects (you can learn more about them here). VST is a native plug-in, meaning it relies on your computer’s CPU. VST was developed by Steinberg in 1996 and has since become the gold standard in music production. VST stands for Virtual Studio Technology and is the most common audio plug-in architecture in the world. But what is it that sets them apart? And how can you know which ones you should be ignoring? What’s a VST? Understanding the differences between these audio plug-in formats is crucial for saving some space on your computer and making better decisions in the future. And while you may have been tempted to install all of them, the truth is that, in most cases, you only needed one. ![]() When you’re installing a new audio plug-in in your device, you’ve probably stumbled upon the terms VST, VST3, AU, and AAX. AU and AAX are also audio plugin-in architectures but they’re used exclusively in, respectively, Apple’s macOS and iOS and Pro Tools. VST3 is the technology’s latest installment. VST stands for Virtual Studio Technology and it’s the most widely used audio plugin-in software interface in the world.
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