How to Install VST Files on Mixcraft
By Seamus Islwyn
The Virtual Studio Technology programming platform allows developers to create virtual instruments and audio effects that can run on multiple digital audio programs. Acoustica's Mixcraft digital audio workstation includes several built-in VST instruments and effects; to expand the program's capabilities, install additional VSTs into the program. VST instrument plug-ins are virtual synthesizers that generate sounds in Mixcraft, while VST effect plug-ins alter the sound character of either an audio clip or a VST instrument. Many VST plug-ins are freely available for download; other are available for purchase either in downloadable formats or on optical discs.
Step 1
Open the Start menu and click "Computer." Double-click the "C:" drive and open the "Program Files" folder.
Step 2
Right-click inside the folder, hover the mouse over "New" and select "Folder." Type "VSTPlugins" as the new folder's name and press "Enter."
Step 3
Double-click the VST's installer file to launch it. Follow the prompts to install the VST plug-in; when the installer asks you where you want to install the VST, type "C:\Program Files\VSTPlugins" into the text field. If the VST plug-in comes as a single DLL file, drag and drop the DLL file into the "VSTPlugins" folder.
Step 4
Launch Mixcraft. Open the "File" menu and click "Preferences." Click "Effects" in the window that opens, then click "Edit VST Effects Folders."
Step 5
Click the "Add" button. Navigate to the "VSTPlugins" folder that you created, click on it and click "OK." Click "OK" again.
Step 6
Check the box next to "Load VST Effects." Click the "Re-Scan All VST Folders" button and wait for Mixcraft to load the newly installed VST. Click "OK."
Step 7
Click the piano keyboard icon on an instrument track, then click "VSTi Instruments" to load a VST instrument into Mixcraft. If you want to load a VST effect, click the "FX" button, then select it from the "Effect" drop-down menu.
References
Writer Bio
Seamus Islwyn has been writing for radio, print and online publications since 2003, covering subjects from independent Canadian music to automobile smuggling in the Balkans. His work has appeared in the "Tirana Times" in Albania, and he also composes and produces electronic music. Islwyn holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from McGill University and a certificate in radio broadcasting from Humber College.