This article explains how to manage and scan your Native Instruments VST plug-ins in Cakewalk by Bandlab. In order to use your NI plug-ins in Cakewalk, you must ensure that it scans the folders where your NI VST plug-ins are located.
Installing the NI VST Plug-ins
On a Windows computer, the VST plug-ins can be installed to any location on your hard drive. We strongly recommend to use the default installation paths offered by Native Access:
- C: > Program Files > Native Instruments > VSTPlugins 64 bit
- C: > Program Files > Native Instruments > VSTPlugins 32 bit
VST3 plug-ins are installed to C > Program Files > Common Files > vst3 by default. This location does not have to be added to the plug-in window in Cakewalk as it is already present there.
If you want to install the VST plug-ins to a different location, you can set the path in Native Access before the installation as explained in this article.
Defining the NI VST Plug-in Folder Location
No matter where you installed your VST plug-ins, you need to define the correct VST folder in Cakewalk to make sure that this location is scanned at startup.
If you are unsure where you have installed the VST plug-ins, open the tab Installed products in Native Access. Click a product that comes with VST plug-ins (e.g. Massive) and select Installation path. There you can find the VST32 and VST64 location. In our example, we will only need the VST64 location:
Note: While it is possible to load a 32 bit VST plug-in in Cakewalk, we recommend to always use the 64 bit version.
Adding the NI VST folder to Cakewalk
- Start Cakewalk and navigate to Edit > Preferences...:
- Choose VST Settings from the side menu:
In VST Scan Paths there are some locations added by default. These are the Cakewalk default VST location and the VST3 default location. We recommend that you leave these locations in place and simply add the NI VST location.
- Click the Add... button and select the folder where your NI plug-ins are located on your hard drive. Then press OK to proceed. In our example, we select the default Native Instruments 64-bit plug-ins folder VSTPlugins 64 bit.
- The new path is now listed in Cakewalk's VST Scan Paths. Depending on your chosen Scan Options, the scan will start automatically, by clicking the Scan button or by restarting Cakewalk. Once complete, click OK to close the preferences window.
Your NI plug-ins can now be loaded in Cakewalk.