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In this case, your path to plug-in nirvana is clear.
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DP Purist: If you're a Digital Performer purist, your Mac is a shrine to Digital Performer and you tolerate the presence of no other audio applications of any kind.
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If, for some reason, plug-ins do end up there, feel free to drag them to the global folder. This is close to being inconceivable in a typical setup, so to keep things straightforward, always make sure that plug-ins are installed into your global Plug-In folder, and that the 'user' Plug-In folder isn't used at all. In the normal course of events, plug-ins never get installed here, and you'd only use this location if you maintained multiple user accounts on your Mac and for some reason wanted to deny other users the use of the specific plug-ins you put here. This is true of audio plug-ins, and to prove it there's a secondary Plug-Ins folder: available to all user accounts on the Mac - and for others to be user-specific. Like other modern operating systems, OS X has an architecture that makes provision for certain files and folders to be global - ie. These can happily co-exist with the normal plug-in folders and keep your disabled plug-ins readily available in case you need them again. The best place to move them to is another, new folder named after the plug-in format but with '(Disabled)' added to the name. Some of the setups described require that individual plug-ins are disabled, by moving them out of their plug-in format's folder so they can no longer be 'seen' by DP or other audio applications. To illustrate some of the possibilities, I'll look in a moment at how some typical users might use plug-ins to their best advantage. So you know where your plug-ins live: now what? This depends on what other audio applications you have installed on your system, and just how organised you want to be.
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You might also see a 'Digidesign' folder here too, for RTAS or TDM plug-ins used on Pro Tools systems. 'MAS' and 'VST' are self-explanatory, and Audio Unit plug-ins go in the 'Components' folder.

They're then organised into separate folders. I keep an alias to this important folder in my dock, and I added the 'Disabled' folders myself, to assist with plug-in organisation. OS X keeps plug-ins in each of the major formats in one central location. Almost without exception you'll find all your MAS, AU and VST plug-ins are here:

The first step is to get friendly with your Plug-In folder. But what's the best way to do this? Plug-in Perfection Third, and perhaps most importantly, with plug-ins being by far the most likely cause of system instability and crashes, it's essential to keep in touch with what's on your system to ensure a trouble-free Digital Performer experience.
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They might all work just fine, but could wreak havoc if you subsequently install a plug-in update in one format and not the others, or try to share your project with a collaborator who has the same plug-in but only in one format. Second, although some plug-in developers fix their Audio Unit versions so that DP bypasses them in favour of MAS equivalents, it's often possible to end up with the same plug-in installed (and even instantiated) in multiple formats. To start with, hundreds of plug-ins and instruments in so many different formats can make DP's insert pop-up menus long and confusing to read.

This breadth of compatibility can bring unexpected difficulties, though. And if you use a Power PC-based Mac you can also tap into the world of VST plug-ins, courtesy of AudioEase's VST Wrapper or FXpansion's VST to AU Adapter. DP also natively supports Apple's Audio Units, which is, of course, the most widespread format for OS X and Logic. First there's MOTU's own MAS format - supremely reliable, supported by a number of major third-party developers, and generally the best choice for a trouble-free life. Pictured here are a MAS and Audio Unit Instrument with AU and VST effects processors.We DP users are entitled to have a pretty smug look on our faces when it comes to plug-in and virtual instrument support.
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We explain how to take the pain out of plug-in management.ĭP supports the broadest range of plug-in formats of any Mac-based DAW. DP supports a wide range of plug-in and virtual instrument formats, which is great for flexibility and variety but sometimes not so good when it comes to trouble-free operation.
