Been needin to do this for quite a while now.  Spent most of the mornin goin through my various VST folders and weedin out the chaff and keepin the wheat.  Also got rid of most 32 bit redundant dlls and such.  As you might imagine it was a daunting and illuminating task.  Kind of like one a them hoarders making a little pathway to get from the front door to the kitchen or somethin.  I'm fairly tidied up now and shinin like a new penny.  Hope this clears up a few problems (with my UAD plugs in particular) and, so far, it looks like it has.  I was pretty tough on my ol self and got rid of most all the things I never really use.  And some of em had really bright and shiny GUIs too!!  But I'll be alright.  Maybe.  Possibly.  But there is that one little space on the top of the knick knack shelf that's been cleared away that could stand a new gee gaw of some kind.  Hmmmm.

I did that a few weeks back with my 32-bit (only) plugs.

And I disabled a number of "legacy" Cakewalk plugs.

Mostly my prob was the fact that I hit the Cakewalk 735 vst/dx FX limit.

yorolpal - I'm curious - did you go through your projects and make sure none of the vst's you got rid of were in any old projects?

guitartrek


yorolpal - I'm curious - did you go through your projects and make sure none of the vst's you got rid of were in any old projects?

I did. I used a "Windows GREP" program to search my project files for the plug name of the few that I wanted to blow away. In a couple of cases I had to freeze the track but in most cases I was able to replace the 32-bit only plug with comparable 64-bit plug. I only have Ozone 4 and Ozone 5 (in 64-bit) still installed for one project that, for some reason, I cannot reproduce the 4 sound in 5. I have an end of game planned for that project though. 

Nope...I'm sorta crazy in that way.  I'm never wedded to any particular plug (unless it does something that can't be replicated by any other plug) in any project.  So...when it comes to compression, equalization, verbs, etc...if Sonar can't find it (or I don't have it anymore...or it's on an earlier DAW) I just try some others out until I'm happy.  I actually like to be forced into "reconstructing" old projects.  It keeps me on my toes and, occasionally, is a very happy "accident".

bapu

guitartrek


yorolpal - I'm curious - did you go through your projects and make sure none of the vst's you got rid of were in any old projects?

I did. I used a "Windows GREP" program to search my project files for the plug name of the few that I wanted to blow away. In a couple of cases I had to freeze the track but in most cases I was able to replace the 32-bit only plug with comparable 64-bit plug. I only have Ozone 4 and Ozone 5 (in 64-bit) still installed for one project that, for some reason, I cannot reproduce the 4 sound in 5. I have an end of game planned for that project though. 

 
Wow - a "where used" report for a Sonar Project?  Would love to have something like that.  I limit my plug-ins on purpose and if I want to get rid of one, I'll open up old projects to substitute.  That of course can take a long time.  If I could query the projects to see to plug-ins it would save a lot of time.  Where do I get a "Windows GREP" program?

Don't call the cops, that susp icious character out back going through your trash is me.

Oh hey Dave, ol pal...is that what's got ol Bus an Pip so riled up?  Yor welcome to whatever ya find.

I went through this exercise over the holidays... but it turns out I'm an idiot!

I haven't updated Sound Forge 9, which is 32 bit only, and all of the sudden a LOT of my favorite effects disappeared.

Let's hear it for backups!!!!

When I finally get away from 32 bit hosts I will delete all the 32 bit stuff again. In the meantime I did get rid of a lot of freebies, demos, and the like that I never seem to use.

Not sure why I still download them (curiosity?), since I tend to use the tools I am comfortable with all the time, and even that's an embarrassingly large assortment - especially compared to 30 years ago!

Hey Ol' Pal, guys,

Got me inspired to clean up also. Been a naggin' subliminal for awhile.

Can't speak for the whole universe but it seems like a collective vibe taking hold of digital warriors, out here at least.  Back to basics is what's happening and it's a good thing..

Old days decades ago, you went into a studio and had your reverb level and tone control to adjust before you actually had to produce something. Tape took off and you had to play the whole song without flaw. Punch-in was there but too expensive. Your musicianship and creative soul was on the line. Latest upgrade on a Waves suite was not even a factor in the end product.

Pit of the music dead end is when you get like me, unless you are a pure engineer. Can spend hours with a million plugins refining the perfect sound. End of the day, got closer to the perfect sound but did nothing of any worth that can be cast into the ocean of endless internet mp3's.

Long recognized and completely comfortable with tweaking instead of producing. Likely will not get the next Platinum masterpiece out in this lifetime, but getting closer to a dynamite sound out of my mexi strat.

My deepest respect to the kid who can bang on a warped Kay guitar through a First Act amp, but do it with fire and inspiration. At least something is being done creative new while some of us spin the knobs on a Valhalla tweak. (nothing wrong with Valhalla...)

We each got to get to our unique inner space and adjust to where we realize that less is more. Divesting the mask to the point we're face to face with what we inately have to offer.

Me personal, I got to come out of the closet as an addict tweaker of vst's. In my rehabilitation process, got to focus on the creative act more than hiding behind the energy rush of getting ready to do the creative act that never happens.

John