AutoHotkey Community

This is little utility that will allow you to open VST plugins by doubleclicking dll files or by selecting Load VST from the shell handler list. This is wrapper for freeware console utility misswatson that is used to debug vst plugins.

U can use it for testing and learning VST plugins .

Download

_________________

Nice!

Here some other good VST stuff:

Audacity VST Enabler



MidiBag (donationware)

No dobut Audiacity is big effort, but I don't like it as it is very unpractical for my taste. The great thing about it is integrated Nyquist DSP language (LISP variant) so you can programm DSP effects very fast if you know the language. Anyway, its good to know it has VST support now



This is well known Toby bear. He is very popular Delphi VST plugin maker. He also have his variant of VST host called Mini Host witch is highly recommended thing for expereimenting with VSTs as you can hear the sound and feed the effects with the integrated wav player. Above script can be changed to use MiniHost instead MissWatson as minihost supports command line parameters also. I like misswatson as it is much faster but you have no sound. So, depending on the job I want to do I use either mw or mh. For instance, with MW, I created script that screenshots all VSTs in my plugin folder in preparation for my VST plugin organiser. MH was much slower for this purpose + it adds custom interface elements..

On his site you can find bunch of other freeware goodies and excellent VST tutororial for developers. I used his Deconstructor plugin and it is pretty cool thing for granular synthesis.

_________________

One can use AnalogX's "Virtual Piano" to send midi notes with a PC keyboard. I have used it a handful of times to send midi to my sequencer program when I don't feel like getting a keyboard set up. Now that I have been introduced to AHK, the possibilities of this are much increased. Of course there are several VST's that can do this, but the AnalogX device is a standalone, not a VST.

I would like to find a similar application that has no gui and has more midi sending capabilities, like CC, but I'm not sure where to begin.

But I think I might devise a AHK script for this program to enhance it. Takes too many mouseclicks right now. And you have to activate the window every time you want to send notes, which is a bit cumbersome. but ifWinactive and Winactivate takes the trouble out of that!

http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/audio.htm

I think AnalgoX utilities are pretty basic. OFC they are freeware but hardly enough for the job, good for testing maybe.

I have several other virtual piaons that are much better, but I recomend you using Max programming language to do this, the one that later evolved to Max/MSP/Jitter (MSP - max sound processing, Jitter - max video processing). With max, you can send your midi notes to another galaxy if you want. Max is not free, but you can try its freeware alternative PureData (pd). And yes, if you dive into this, say goodbuy to next 5 years of your life, its hard work to get pro in those tools depending on your sound and mathematics background

You can also use AHK to create similar environment except for the fact that AHK is not designed for this, while Max/PD are.

_________________

You say "hardly enough for the job," that's pretty broad. I'm not talking about really using it as a full-fledged instrument. I just need some kind of bridge to get me from AHK scripts to sending a midi note to a single VST now and then. Or putting notes in my step sequencer w/o a mouse or a midi keyboard.


Can you just tell me the names of any of these better virtual pianos that you have and spare me 5 years, svp? I would love to learn every programming language under the sun, but ATM AHK is enough of a challenge, so that shows that your estimate of 5 yrs may be about right.

My basic reason for doing this is to have a means of automating and simplifying tasks in some audio programs, and not trying to make music using AHK in realtime. Just a means of using AHK as a helper in my VST host.

AX's piano is clearly not meant to be a realtime instrument, but just like he says, something to let you sketch a few notes in your step sequencer w/o getting out a music keyboard. I want to use it to send one note to a VST host, such as telling Tapeit VST to start recording, without having to navigate to it w/ a mouse. I think AX's piano may be able to handle that, eh?

But of course what I am talking about is not really pertinent to the VST loader you devised, and started this thread out with. I had just noticed others had listed useful music related items here and thought I'd mention one that it appeared would lend itself to easy AHK scripting. Surely your VST loader is very useful in its application, of testing. I have just been introduced to AHK and am pretty excited about its potential as a helper in my VST hosts and audio programs. So sorry if I am a bit off your original topic. Cheers

Not at all, i like OTs and this is not complete Off topic.


I said you need 5 years to master Max/MSP.

You can do your midi work in it after several tutorials. U can do very interesting things after 1 month. Like, you can connect camera, receive sygnal from it and set that color of the sky to deteremine frequency of your MIDI note to send to VST instrument. You can set that execution of external programs launch MIDI note. You can write squares to the screen and eatch square produce new tone that is feeded to internal granular synthesis object...

I use about 500 VST instruments/effect in my work. Icreated this to screenshot them all and to test portabile installations of my studio. I create custom installation for VSTs i use, put them on DVD, and carry my studio with me. It work on every computer. I need a mean to quick test if plugin is working or not, so I created this loader.

Look here to see end product of massive screenshoting of VST instruments.

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/9117/41155242oh2.jpg



I created this for my VST plugin organiser witch is the VST plugin that sole purpose is to load other VST plugins, so you don't depend on Hosts VST capabilities (they are different in all - Cubase, Logic, FL studio, Wavelab, Sound Forge..). VST organising is the week part of most hosts, and can even make them unusable if some plug makes a problem with particular host. I needed images as I like more to select plugin via picture then via name
Vanilin MIDI Keyboard, is the name

_________________

You tempt me. But I have many things I need to do. And my natural laziness slows me down too.

Very nice, very interesting. I will have to look into this after work. Does your loader create the screenshot, I wonder, and does it require Total Commander? I can simply download and find out after work.

Ah, I see. I have been doing a little searching. I will definitely try this one out also. Thanks much! I will update!

I didn't post Screenshoter script so far
No it doesn't require TC.
It doesn't require anthing but 20K console tool MissWatson.

Well, I have to admit I really like the Vanilin Keyboard. Reeeeeaaaaally nice! I have been introduced to a lot of cool stuff this week! First Reaper, then AHK, and now this keyboard! Super! Thanks again!

If you need any other tip related to audio production, creation, composition, generation, efectation.... well... just ask

_________________

majkinetor, thanks for this vst screenshot taking solution. I tested it and it works great.

Can you tell more about how you designed your vsti plugin organizer? I'm asking because of two reasons:

1. I might like it, too, for music.
2. I would like to create a file opener which supports pictures for each file. This might be used for children applications where a child wouldn't see normal file names but nice comics to click on to open e.g. a song file.

HEllo

The program is on hold now. I just made enough code to see if it can be done, and how complex it is. So its not usable yet, and I don't know if I will ever finish it.

Anyway, the idea was that you add just this plugin in your VST setup then when you want to open some other plugin, you call my VST which opens the interface with screenshots for VST plugins you have installed (or in some folder, the plan is this to be portable). It would probably look very much the same like looking the screenshots in any image viewer, with that differenece that you will be able to screenshot plugin directly from organiser and to click on picture to use that plugin.


Do you create computer music in programs that are not closed (like Reason) ? If not, its not usable for listening.


This can be done in C by providing custom template for standard Open dialog, or you can do it in AHK, for instance see this. If you want to create pictures using screenshot of actual programs that can be done too, and in that case, this script is good start as it acctually scans the folder recursively, start the program (in your case it would start the document) waits for it (this can be a bit problematic since in your case you can't know when application is loaded completely) and picture it.

Awww. i just realise i am talking about my private script that takes screenshot of VST instruments, which is I beleive not released )

I can send you some code if you want, but its not that complicated:
1. Start the document - run, mytext.txt
2. Wait for pid, and wait some more
3. Activate app and do ALT PRINTSCREEN. If you don't want to see it, do it off screan.
4. Grab the picture from the clipboard and save it (there are scripts around, and 1 C# console app for that on forum)
5. Close the app and associate it with picture.

later on startup, you just have to find associated app for the document (easy, registry) and see if there is screenshot associated with it.

There are plenty of ideas.

_________________

Yes.

Would a completed version of the plug in organizer be capable of inserting the plugin into a host?

For example, If I click on the picture for Synth1, and had Fruityloops open, would it be capable of inserting a new Synth1 instance into the song?