Is there a good way to use VST3 in PT? Preferably for for free

[GOOOTOOO]

I'm hoping to find a way that is more simple than using rewire and not too expensive

[Darryl Ramm]

The way many (most?) folks do that is BlueCat Patchworks, not free but works very well and is simple to use.

[jeam25]

+1 on Bluecat it is really good !

[Loudnoize Ent.]

Another vote for BCP! Works wonderfully in PT.

[Ben Jenssen]

Patchwork. Best money I ever spent.
Very simple, yet very versatile. And very reliable.
I recently found that I could use it to host pure midi AU/VST plugins, like sequencers, to trigger AAX VI's, something I have never seen before in PT. (Of course, it's been possible with Patchwork for years, I just never seen it.)

[lesbrunn]

+1 for BC Patchwork. Very reliable.

[Southsidemusic]

We use BC plugin called MB7-2 and it does the same thing acting as a container/Wrapper for all types of conversions into PT and much cheaper. You can have 4 plugins on each channel and who needs more than that as most are AAX64 these days anyway. Well enough for even big sessions.

We would never use the Bluecat plugins for anything else as they are pretty blah and sound like Avid stock plugins = Not useable so only as a wrapper for AU/VST/VST3 then.

[Ben Jenssen]

Originally Posted by Southsidemusic

...and much cheaper.

Unless I am completely blind, it looks to me like Patchwork is 99, and MB7-2 is 129, dollars or EUR. Anyway, they're good value for your money.

[@tention]

ddmd metaplugin works well.
i have to admit, that I don't use it often. Most, if not all stuff is available as AAX these days.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Southsidemusic

We use BC plugin called MB7-2 and it does the same thing acting as a container/Wrapper for all types of conversions into PT and much cheaper. You can have 4 plugins on each channel and who needs more than that as most are AAX64 these days anyway. Well enough for even big sessions.

We would never use the Bluecat plugins for anything else as they are pretty blah and sound like Avid stock plugins = Not useable so only as a wrapper for AU/VST/VST3 then.

Why use MB7-2 if you don't need it's multiband capabilities? That's the main draw over Patchwork. Setups in Patchwork can get rather convoluted. For instance before we had access to track presets I set up a preset to have BFD3, multiple auxs and audio outs for each drum piece. All come down to a drum bus and then out to PT.

Originally Posted by Ben Jenssen

Unless I am completely blind, it looks to me like Patchwork is 99, and MB7-2 is 129, dollars or EUR. Anyway, they're good value for your money.

You're not blind.
Keep in mind that there's actually two versions of Patchwork which you get for one price: regular Patchwork and one that's specialized to handle vi's (it will also handle fx).