Steinberg V-Stack Operation Manual

3
Installation and requirements
for Mac OS X 

V-STACK3 – 22 Installation and requirements for Mac OS X
About this chapter
This chapter describes the system requirements and installation pro-
cedures for V-STACK for Mac OS X. Installing V-STACK for Windows 
is described on page 11.
Requirements
To use V-STACK, you need the following:
•A Macintosh computer running Mac OS X (version 10.2 or later).
For more details about the computer requirements, see below.
•Mac OS X compatible audio hardware.
While the built-in audio hardware of the Macintosh may be...

V-STACKInstallation and requirements for Mac OS X 3 – 23
Computer requirements 
Hardware – Mac
The absolute minimum requirements for running V-STACK on a 
Macintosh are as follows:
•Macintosh with a G4 processor, 256 MB RAM and OS X 10.2.
We recommend 512 MB RAM or more.
RAM
Audio work requires a lot of RAM! In fact, there is a direct relation be-
tween the amount of available RAM and the number of audio channels 
that you can have running. As specified earlier, 256 MB is the minimum 
requirement, but as...

V-STACK3 – 24 Installation and requirements for Mac OS X
Audio hardware
V-STACK will run with audio hardware that meets the following basic 
specifications:
• Stereo.
• 16 bit.
• Support of at least the 44.1kHz sampling rate.
• Is supplied with proper Mac OS X (Core Audio) drivers.
A basic rule of thumb is: if the hardware works under Mac OS X, you 
can use it in V-STACK.
• V-STACK also supports audio hardware with Mac OS X compliant ASIO 
drivers.
ASIO drivers may provide special support for routing,...

V-STACKInstallation and requirements for Mac OS X 3 – 25
Hardware installation
Installing the audio hardware and its driver
1.Make sure you have the latest Mac OS X drivers for the audio hardware!
Please check the manufacturer’s web site for the latest versions.
2.Install the driver(s) for the audio hardware.
This is usually done by running an installer application.
3.Install or connect the audio interface, as described in the card’s 
documentation.
Installing a MIDI interface
1.Make sure you have the...

V-STACK3 – 26 Installation and requirements for Mac OS X
Installing V-STAC K
Defragment the hard disk
If you plan to record audio on a hard disk where you have already 
stored other files, now is the time to defragment it. Defragmentation 
reorganizes the physical allocation of space on the hard disk in order 
to optimize its performance using a special defragmentation program.
❐It is crucial to the audio recording performance that your hard disk is op-
timized (defragmented). You should make sure to...

4
Setting up your system 

V-STACK4 – 28 Setting up your system
About this chapter
This chapter describes how to make the necessary connections and 
set up audio and MIDI in V-STACK. As already mentioned, there are 
two different ways to use the program:
• As a stand-alone VST Instrument host, played via MIDI from a regular MIDI 
interface.
• With VST System Link, where the VST Instruments are played by MIDI signals 
from another computer in the VST System Link network.
Connections and settings are different for these two methods,...

V-STACKSetting up your system 4 – 29
Setting up audio (stand-alone)
This section describes how to set up your system for basic VST Instru-
ment playback – setting up VST System Link is described on page 35.
❐Always make all connections with all equipment turned off!
Connecting audio
Making audio connections is a relatively simply matter in V-STACK: 
you just need to connect the outputs on your audio interface to your 
listening equipment, recording devices, etc. 
• If you are using an audio interface...

V-STACK4 – 30 Setting up your system
VST Multitrack setup – Basic Settings
1.In V-STACK, select Device Setup from the Devices menu and click on 
VST Multitrack in the list.
Make sure the “Setup” tab is selected.
The VST Multitrack panel in the Device Setup dialog.
2.Select your audio hardware from the ASIO Driver menu.
There may be several options here that all refer to the same audio hardware:
❐We strongly recommend that you access your hardware via an ASIO 
driver written specifically for the hardware,...