Can Logic use .dll synths?

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Level 1

119 points

Can Logic use .dll synths?

I found a few free synths at
http://www.krakli.co.uk/freesynths.asp

They unzip as .dll files and the resulting icon looks suspiciously like .exe and others that work only for PCs. Double-clicking in fact won't open them (bad sign). Can I make these work with Logic? If so, what steps do I follow?

Thanks,
c

iBook G4, iMac Intel Duo Core, Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Posted on May 25, 2007 11:55 AM

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Answer 1

Pancenter

Level 6

14,782 points

May 25, 2007 12:13 PM in response to chuck50dc

I found a few free synths at
http://www.krakli.co.uk/freesynths.asp

They unzip as .dll files and the resulting icon looks
suspiciously like .exe and others that work only for
PCs.

These are VST plugins for PC.
I'm afraid you're out of luck twice over as Macs can use neither.

Pancenter-

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Answer 2

chuck50dc Author

Level 1

119 points

May 26, 2007 7:37 PM in response to chuck50dc

Thanks. cb

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Answer 3

Pancenter

Level 6

14,782 points

May 27, 2007 1:04 AM in response to Pancenter

They unzip as .dll files and the resulting icon
looks suspiciously like .exe and others that work only
for PCs.

These are VST plugins for PC.
I'm afraid you're out of luck twice over as Macs can
use neither.

Pancenter-

To clarify my own post, Macs can use VST plugins written for OSX, ~Logic~ cannot natively use VST plugins without
a third party wrapper.

Pancenter-

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Answer 4

chuck50dc Author

Level 1

119 points

May 27, 2007 7:18 AM in response to Pancenter

Yeah, I wondered about that after I replied, as I've been using and enjoying Greek Oak's Crystal VST. Because of it I wondered if there were some trick to using these (of this post) as well.
http://www.greenoak.com/crystal/ states specifically:

Jan 14, 2006: Crystal is now available for Intel Macintoshes... This Universal Binary version works for both PPC and Intel Macintoshes.

Mar 8, 2005: The new Crystal interface is now available for Mac OSX VST Users...

Nov 18, 2004: ... this update is only available for Windows VST and Mac AU users, the Mac VST version will come later.

Oct 11, 2004: The audio unit version of Crystal has been updated for Logic 7 compatibility...

Key point for now, if I've got this right, standard VST's won't do OS X. (I still have a long way to go on understanding the differences.)

Thanks, still.

c

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Answer 5

May 27, 2007 1:49 PM in response to chuck50dc

Key point for now, if I've got this right, standard
VST's won't do OS X. (I still have a long way to go
on understanding the differences.)

Thanks, still.

c

Not quite.
Logic doesn't do the VST format. It uses Apple's AU (Audio Unit) format.
OSX itself can use the VST format (Ableton, DSP Quattro, C*base, amongst many others, can all use it as well as Audio Units).
You can buy software which "wraps" VST's so they "become" Audio Units, useable in Logic.
PC coded VST's will not work on the Mac platform under any circumstances.
Hth.

Paul.

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Answer 6

chuck50dc Author

Level 1

119 points

May 27, 2007 9:02 PM in response to horseless.paul

Paul (or anyone who has time and energy to explain this still further),

Logic doesn't do the VST format. It uses Apple's AU
(Audio Unit) format.
OSX itself can use the VST format (Ableton, DSP
Quattro, C*base, amongst many others, can all use it
as well as Audio Units).

Do these (above) use OSX's path: Library > Audio > Plugins > VST ?

I'm still fuzzy on distinguishing Logic's non-use of VST from OS X' use of it. Yeah, I know Logic is an app and OS is the system, of course, but can anyone help clarify why the two don't correlate more strongly? (Is this question too vague?)

You can buy software which "wraps" VST's so they
"become" Audio Units, useable in Logic.

For example, fxpansion's ADAPT?
http://www.fxpansion.com/index.php?page=5
Their FAQ page helped me get a little better grasp of these things.

PC coded VST's will not work on the Mac platform
under any circumstances.

Including, apparently, the krakli products (cited earlier)? I don't find any references on their pages to Mac/Logic/AU, so I infer that they're solely PC (and therefore unusable, even with -- for example -- fxpansion's $99 Adapt). Is there any other way to verify this more definitively? Perhaps more concretely, how can I know which products fxpansion's Adapt WILL let me integrate?

I know some of this is old hat to some of you. It's a wild wooly world to me. Gracias por any help.

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Answer 7

Pancenter

Level 6

14,782 points

May 27, 2007 11:49 PM in response to chuck50dc

Paul (or anyone who has time and energy to explain
this still further),

Logic doesn't do the VST format. It uses Apple's
AU (Audio Unit) format.
OSX itself can use the VST format (Ableton, DSP
Quattro, C*base, amongst many others, can all use
it as well as Audio Units).

Do these (above) use OSX's path: Library > Audio >
Plugins > VST ?

Yes.

I'm still fuzzy on distinguishing Logic's non-use of
VST from OS X' use of it.

VST is Steinberg's proprietary (Virtual-Studio-Technology) format. Logic (pre-Apple) used to support VST.

Apple developed AU, Apple purchased Emagic, VST plugin support was removed from Logic which now supports only Apple's proprietary AU format. OSX does support VST, it's Logic that doesn't.

Personally, I'm not convinced AU is any more efficient or more stable but that's another thread.

Yeah, I know Logic is an
app and OS is the system, of course, but can anyone
help clarify why the two don't correlate more
strongly? (Is this question too vague?)

You can buy software which "wraps" VST's so they
"become" Audio Units, useable in Logic.

For example, fxpansion's ADAPT?
http://www.fxpansion.com/index.php?page=5
Their FAQ page helped me get a little better grasp of
these things.

Yes, this is the recommended "wrapper".

Pancenter-

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Answer 8

chuck50dc Author

Level 1

119 points

May 28, 2007 8:21 AM in response to Pancenter

OK, this helps a great deal. Pieces are beginning to fit.

A couple of other questions remain, but I'll hold off until I can poke around in this more and explore a few other sites I've found that may fill in the remaining gaps. If that doesn't settle it adequately, I'll come back with a more precise separate post.

Meanwhile, thanks VERY much!

cb

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