BitBridge 2.0 + JBridge + VST Bridge + Reaper x64/x86 bridge = encouraging for x64!
Just FYI to those who are dealing with bridging x86 (32-bit) plugins with x64 hosts, I wanted to mention the four "bridges" I know of that are currently out there and some quick comments.
1) Sonar BitBridge 2.0 -- the best x86 bridge out there, in my opinion. Has multiple servers, good stability, compatibility, configurability, PDC, is responsive and is well-integrated. Solid, relatively mature bridge. Works with many (perhaps most?) plugins I've tested. Does not work with some plugins.
2) JBridge -- a great app and I *highly* recommend you support it and buy it. A great companion to BitBridge, and it's integrated into Sonar. :) Nice to see Cakewalk open up like that. Works with many (perhaps most?) plugins, does not work with some... a good overlap with BitBridge 2.0. Also works with other x64 hosts, and even works with x86 hosts too! Very cool. This is what you need to get on your system to cover most bases with your plugin collection. Plus, Joao, the developer, is a pleasure to work with. Please support him and his product.
3) Steinberg's VST Bridge, which is part of Cubase x64. This is a mess. I've been trying to work with it on my system and it inevitably winds up being extremely finicky and just not reliable in any production-worthy way so far. I have Cubase x64 installed along side Sonar x64 for testing. It is far better to use JBridge with Cubase x64... at this point, VST Bridge is just not a solid bridge and I cannot recommend it except for a few specific cases that are known to work well with it. Very disappointing from the "makers of VST" itself. I don't mean to bash them, but I'm genuinely flabbergasted by this. The good news is that JBridge is a great tool and once again, covers many of the gaps.
4) Reaper x64 now has a bridge! In the current version -- 3.141 -- I have to say, it works pretty well so far for the plugins I've tested. It even loads up a couple of plugins that are problematic for BitBridge and even JBridge. Wow! Impressive work by Justin once again. Another reason Reaper is -- at the very least -- a worthy companion DAW app to have on your system along side Sonar. It also has a nice little feature whereby you can specify if all the x86 plugins get loaded into one instance or separate instances of the bridge/server/app. Not as comprehensive as BitBridge 2.0, and I do not know how robust it is yet. But very, very encouraging that we have another positive solution to add to our toolset.
All in all, I'm really pleased I've made the leap to x64. Things are rolling along nicely and I think just about anyone can take the plunge and get most -- if not all -- of their plugins working with these tools, one way or another.
BTW, all the x64 NI plugins I've tested (i.e: Kontakt 4, Massive, etc.) work well with Sonar x64, Cubase x64 and Reaper x64 so far! Very encouraging yet again! :)
Over and out for now.