Adding Automation to plug-in

[DonaldM]

I seem to be able to add automation control to any of my RTAS plug-ins, but none of the wrapped VST plug-ins. I'm wondering why?

[albee1952]

Maybe a flaw in the code for the wrapper(or maybe they never thought about that, or maybe it can't work for some reason)? I never tried to automate VST plugins when I had the wrapper installed. Now I have so many RTAS plugins that I no longer use VST's. Maybe someone else has a better answer

[sunburst79]

As I recall wrapped VSTs cannot be be automated since they are not RTAS compliant. but I'm not 100% positive on that though. I havent used the wrapper since 7.3

I will check with some one I know that uses a lot of VSTs.

[sunburst79]

From FXSpansions VST2RTAS Wrapper Q&A page.


Does VST to RTAS Adapter v2.1 support automation?
Yes.


From a GearSlutz post....

"No you can automate wrapped VST plugins in Pro Tools.

It might just be that one causing issues. Some plugs don't work the best when wrapped. Some work flawlessly."


You might try rewrapping the plugs to see if it makes a difference.

[DonaldM]

Well, that's the version of FXpansion I'm using. Interesting. Thanks for the info. I'll have to do some further checking. So far, though, none of my VST plugins seem to allow me to set up automation for any of the parameters.

[DonaldM]

Well, I've checked further and it does seem to be the case that none of my wrapped VST plug-ins will allow me to select any parameters for automation. Granted, that's not the end of the world, but it would be nice to have the feature available.

What I don't know is what determines when/how a plug in's parameters are available to set up for automation.

[sunburst79]

Originally Posted by DonaldM

Well, that's the version of FXpansion I'm using. Interesting. Thanks for the info. I'll have to do some further checking. So far, though, none of my VST plugins seem to allow me to set up automation for any of the parameters.

Well at least with the freebie VSTs the quality is all over the place. I would check with the individual plugin developers to see if there a reason automation in not working. It might not hurt to check with FXspansion via their forums looking for a solution.

[daeron80]

I've had mixed luck with automating wrapped VSTs. Some do fine, some don't do at all, many work somewhat unreliably. Often, you don't get an accurate readout of automation data. That is, when you move a data point with your mouse, there is either no indication of the value, or an inaccurate or meaningless indication. E.g., an EQ frequency parameter may read out as 0 through 10 rather than showing the actual frequency. Some plugins respond so sluggishly to automation changes that it's practically useless anyway. It's a crap shoot. But what do you want from freebies in a 3rd party unsupported format? Digi should just add VST support. Holding out only makes them look bad.

[DonaldM]

Originally Posted by daeron80

I've had mixed luck with automating wrapped VSTs. Some do fine, some don't do at all, many work somewhat unreliably. Often, you don't get an accurate readout of automation data. That is, when you move a data point with your mouse, there is either no indication of the value, or an inaccurate or meaningless indication. E.g., an EQ frequency parameter may read out as 0 through 10 rather than showing the actual frequency. Some plugins respond so sluggishly to automation changes that it's practically useless anyway. It's a crap shoot. But what do you want from freebies in a 3rd party unsupported format? Digi should just add VST support. Holding out only makes them look bad.

I think does answer my question. At least its not just me. Yes, some of my VST's are freebies, but some aren't. But none seem to work for automation.

Thanks for the replies!