VST plug-ins problem in Cubase Studio 5, 64bit

It has improved things but it still not as I would want it to be, it can be unstable — use jbridge and see if it improves things, you could also try to reinstall the update if problem persists.

I didn’t read through all the posts but if it wasn’t mentioned, make sure you don’t use a general folder for all your 32 bit plugs to be shared by both Cubase versions. Cubase 32 should have it’s own folder of 32 bit plugs and Cubase 64 should have another. Otherwise, problems “will” develop.

Seriously, spend the few dollars and get JBridge. My entire system is 64 Bit now. I have even removed the VSTBridge component physically because I don’t want it anywhere near my Cubase app. I know the performance issues and crashes you are talking about, I have gone through them myself, and I also delayed in getting JBridge. But after you get your 32 bit plugs bridged through it correctly, stability is as good as the 64 Bit plugins, and system performance is very close.

I have about 15 bridged plugins (if you include Waves as a single plug), and everything is rock solid even under heavy loads. I don’t need to, want to and have no reason to go back to 32 bit.

Thanks !

This is where I made a mistake. I have one general VST folder with all my plug-ins and only a 32bit and 64bit subfolder for plugins that come in a 32 bit and 64 bit version.

Thank you !
Yes, I will get the jBridge, it’s very cheap, too.
Still somewhat disappointing that Steinberg has not been able to improve their VST bridge to function better.

You said you de-installed the VST bridge. How did you do that?

Don’t disagree with this in principal, but I have all my 32bit plugins where they should be in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\VstPlugins
I also made folder C:\Program Files\Jbridge Extension for extensions made in the bridging process and this is where you point Cubase 64, do not point it at 32 bit Vst folder as this will cause problems.
My 64bit plugs are in C:\Program Files\Steinberg\Cubase 5\VSTPlugins.

Jbridge puts a file for each plugin C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\VstPlugins.
I have not had any problems myself, but that may be down to plugins and how I use it, I can open projects in both and seem to work and exchange between 32 bit and 64 bit without problems.

You do not need to remove Cubase bridge, just don’t use it.



@Santuzzo,
Regarding the VSTBridgeApp, what you decide is up to you. I couldn’t tell you for sure whether it saps any performance or not if it’s just sitting there. It was for my own peace of mind that I removed it.

If you choose to remove it there is no uninstallation needed.
Just go to ~\Program Files\Steinberg\Cubase 5\components and the file is called VSTBridgeApp.exe
Just cut it and paste to another folder to store it. (Do it while Cubase is not running, and make sure to update your plugin information after you restart Cubase). You should note that it will disable a small handful of the Cubase plugins that still run in 32 bit, like the DeEsser, the Tonic Filter, the VSTi’s Embracer and Monologue. Maybe a couple others that I haven’t found. I never use these anyway but you should know that just in case you do.

Cheers!

Thanks !

I did some testing yesterday, and my main 32bit plugins (Sample Tank and Addictive Drums) worked fine through the VST brigde, ie I was able to open them without any problems and I had no crash whatsoever.
BUT: I noticed a lot or crackling noise when I recorded audio signals (guitar) which leadsm e to think the CPU load must have been heavy. In the same set-up (working on the same project with the same plugins and amount of tracks) ran on my Cubase Essential 4 32bit version I never had crackling noises, so that makes me think the VST bridge must be taking a big CPU load.
Would that make any sense?
Has anybody of you had similar experience with the VST bridge?

I find this a bit strange since I have a rather powerful PC (i7 processor) and I did not run that many plugins at all.

Is this normal that the VST bridge could cause crackling on a powerful PC?

Is the jBridge lighter on the CPU?

Lars

Hugely! Plus JBridge runs each plugin in its own memory space while the VSTBridge runs all 32 bit plugins in a single memory space. The maximum is about 4 gigs I believe.

João is extremely helpful and you can email him with questions as well.

Whatever you do, definitely keep working at it though. 64 Bit is stable and great to work with (better than 32 bit IMO) but it takes some tweaking to get there.

Thank you very much John!

So, do you think it’s normal I got this crackling and this happened due to the VST bridge using a lot of processor power?

I will get the jBridge regardless, it’s only 15 Euro which is a steal in my opinion!

Lars

It’s hard to tell at this point. But my guess would be yes. I have had that happen before, but not with VSTi’s. I had a couple plugins that had settings for mastering only (which meant they sucked up a lot of performance and I was supposed to raise the buffer before using those settings). But I think it is different in your case.

I first used the VSTBridge for BFD2. Among crashes and freezing, it used about 40% of my CPU and only resetting it would bring it to about 25-30%. With JBridge under, large kits and heavy use it MIGHT get to 10%, no crashes and I don’t have to reset it any more.

Thanks John !

I will order jBridge NOW ! :slight_smile:

Please tell me how you bridged and loaded Waves. I can’t get it to work in any fashion :slight_smile:

Since getting a new computer, win 7 64 bit, i havent been able to use Sonik Synth2,sample tank2, and several other plugins, all native ins plug ins work fine, guitar rig 4,kontakt 4,massive, but nothing else
from what i have heard from friends, the plug ins are also trouble in other recording software as well, so they, not Steinberg, or digidesign, or Apple, are really the problem
it’s ik multimedia needs to bring their stuff up tp snuff
they charge enough for the plugins, they need to follow Native ins and get up tpo speed with the new op systems
and the benifits of 64 bit
such as ram, which many of them need to function better anyway
i am not going back, to 32 bit
and 4 gigs of ram boundaries for IK multimedia
you shouldnt either

I have had no problems using my IK plug-ins, thye all work with the Steinberg VST bridge on my PC.

I used JBridge for my Waves plugins also, but I set them up independently from the other JBridged plugins. This is what I did.

  1. Created two folders in ~\Program Files\Steinberg\Cubase X.
    -----JB2xWaves
    -----JBridgedWaves
  2. Installed Waves in its default location ~\Program Files (x86)
  3. Had it install the waveshells in the JB2xWaves folder (did a reboot here cause I’m paranoid old Windows user.) :slight_smile:
  4. Ran the JBridger on the JB2xWaves folder (the original waveshell dlls).
  5. Had it put the bridged files in the JBridgedWaves folder.
  6. Launched Cubase and added the JBridgedWaves folder to the 2x plugins path.
  7. Updated the plugin info and everything worked fine. (You’ll have to go into the JBridge settings when you first open a waves plugin and check the box that says “Open in a separate GUI”. Otherwise they’ll freeze for a few minute. and give you something like an optcode 14 error. Other than that they work well, and pretty efficient too!

Note: This is with the waves 5.x series. I previously have Waves 4 and couldn’t get it to work no matter what I did so I can’t help you there.

Cheers!

All IK plugs work for me jbridged, SampleTank 2 uses more Cpu than I like but it works, 10 active instances of AT3 so that’s fine — SampleTank 3 will be 64 bit and is somewhere on the horizon (this year) and I believe AT3 is going to be updated (64bit) soon. So though they are a little late to the party they are coming. :smiley:

Brilliant! Works like a charm now.

Thanks Johny for the wonderful tip! And thank you JBridge

I have some vst’s that crash Cubase 5 LE and some that don’t show up in the vst path lists. Can anyone suggest how to clear them all for a fresh start? ? What I would like to do is get rid of everything except the Halion and Univeral sound module, and re- install others one by one and keep or remove them depending on how good or useful I think they are. Is it just a question of deleting the DLL’s ? When I untick them in the vst connections panel, and click update, Cubase often crashes and on relaunch they are still there.