Steinberg V-Stack Operation Manual

							V-STACKGuided tour 5 – 51
Channel Settings
The Channel Settings window is used for adding effects and EQ to in-
dividual audio channels. Each channel in the Mixer has its own Chan-
nel Settings window. 
VST Instruments
This is where you activate and set up your VST Instruments (up to 16).
You can select a preset for the VST Instrument from the Preset pop-
up menu or by clicking the arrow buttons. Note that each active VST 
Instrument slot has a MIDI input pop-up menu, allowing you to route 
MIDI directly to each VST Instrument.
You can also determine to which keyboard range the VST Instrument 
will respond using the LoKey and HiKey settings. The “Semi.” and 
“Octa.” settings adjust the pitch of the instrument. 
						

							V-STACK5 – 52 Guided tour
VST Send Effects
The VST Send Effects “rack” is where you select and activate send ef-
fects. You can have up to eight send effects in V-STACK.
VST Master Effects
This window allows you to add up to four master effects; effects in-
serted in the master output bus (affecting all instruments routed to the 
master bus). Note that the first three inserts are pre-fader, while the 
last insert is post-fader. 
						

							V-STACKGuided tour 5 – 53
VST Outputs and Master Gain
In the VST Outputs window you can set the output level of each out-
put bus. The number of buses depends on your audio hardware.
The output level of the master bus is controlled with the Master Gain 
fader in the Mixer. 
						

							V-STACK5 – 54 Guided tour
Transport panel
V-STACK provides you with a transport panel that allows you to con-
trol transport functions when using VST System Link. Also, when us-
ing V-STACK as a stand-alone host for VST Instruments and effects, 
you can set the tempo and time signature in the transport panel, allow-
ing you to tempo-sync your instruments or effects.
You can show or hide the transport panel by selecting the corre-
sponding option from the Devices menu or by pressing [F2].
The transport panel
•On the transport panel you will find buttons for starting, stopping, fast 
forward, rewind and for jumping to the beginning and end of the 
project, similar to the transport controls on a conventional tape re-
corder. Above the transport buttons are the position controls and po-
sition display. You can move the project cursor position in steps of 
one frame, second, tick, or sample, depending on the display format 
set for the project, by clicking the + or – buttons. The position display 
format depends on the display setting in the pop-up menu opened by 
clicking on the arrow button to the right of the display section.
•When you click on the Click button so that it lights up, V-STACK will 
play a metronome click when playing back the current project. [Ctrl]-
clicking on this button will open the Metronome Setup dialog where 
you can make all settings regarding the metronome click.
•The Sync button lights up to indicate that the Online option in the VST 
System Link setup is switched on. You can switch this option on or off 
by activating or deactivating the Sync button. 
						

							V-STACKGuided tour 5 – 55
•The Tempo display is linked to the Tempo button and shows the 
tempo currently set in V-STACK.
When you use V-STACK as a stand-alone application, you can switch off the Tempo 
button and set your own tempo. This allows you to tempo sync your VST Instruments 
and/or effects. When you use V-STACK with VST System Link, V-STACK “links up” 
with the tempo transmitted over the network, and this will be displayed in the transport 
panel. When you switch on the Tempo button, a default tempo of 120 bpm is set.
•The time signature display allows you to set a time signature for the 
metronome click and when using V-STACK as stand-alone application.
•The field at the bottom right displays the VST System Link state of the 
computer.
•To the far right of the transport panel you will find a MIDI input/output 
activity meter. As V-STACK doesn’t play back MIDI data, the MIDI Out 
activity meter is not relevant.
About the VST Performance Window
To open this window, select VST Performance from the Devices menu. 
It indicates the current load on the CPU. It is recommended that you 
check this from time to time, or keep it open always. Even though you 
have been able to activate a number of VST Instruments in the project 
without getting any warning, you may possibly run into performance 
problems when adding EQ or effects.
•The upper bar graph shows the CPU (processor) load.
If the red Overload indicator lights up, you need to decrease the number of VST Instru-
ments, EQ modules and/or active effects.
•The lower bar graph shows the hard disk transfer load.
As V-STACK doesn’t record or play back from hard disk, this meter is not relevant. 
						

							V-STACK5 – 56 Guided tour 
						

							6
VST Instruments 
						

							V-STACK6 – 58 VST Instruments
Introduction
VST Instruments are software synthesizers (or other sound sources) 
that are contained within V-STACK. They are played internally via MIDI, 
and their audio outputs appear on separate channels in the Mixer, al-
lowing you to add effects or EQ. Technically, VST Instruments are VST 
2 plug-ins, capable of receiving MIDI.
Installing VST Instruments
V-STACK doesn’t include any VST Instruments when you install it – 
you need to install these separately. VST Instruments are widely avail-
able for purchase (or for download from the internet). If you have other 
VST compatible programs (such as Cubase SX or Nuendo, necessary 
if you want to use VST System Link), you can also copy the VST In-
struments from these programs and install them for V-STACK.
Installation is done differently depending on the platform:
❐Make sure the VST Instruments are created specifically for Mac OS X! 
Plug-ins in Mac OS 9.X format cannot be used.
To install a VST Instrument under Mac OS X, quit V-STACK and drag 
the plug-in file to one of the following folders:
• /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/
This is only possible if you are the system administrator. Plug-ins installed in this folder 
will be available to all users, for all programs that support them.
• Users/Username/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/
“Username” above is the name you use to log on to the computer (the easiest way to 
open this folder is to go to your “Home” folder and use the path /Library/Audio/Plug-
Ins/VST/ from there). Plug-ins installed in this folder are only available to you.
When you launch V-STACK again, the new VST Instruments will be 
available for selection in the program.
• A VST Instrument may also come with its own installation application, in 
which case you should use this. 
Generally, always read the documentation or readme files before installing new plug-ins. 
						

							V-STACKVST Instruments 6 – 59
Windows
Under Windows, VST Instruments are usually installed simply by drag-
ging the files (with the extension “.dll”) into the Vstplugins folder in the 
V-STACK application folder (or into the Shared VST Plug-in folder – see 
page 104). When you launch V-STACK again, the new VST Instru-
ments will be available for selection in the program.
• If the VST Instrument comes with its own installation application, you 
should use this. 
Generally, always read the documentation or readme files before installing new plug-ins.
Organizing and managing VST Instruments
VST Instruments are managed and organized along with VST effect 
plug-ins. This is described on page 118. 
						

							V-STACK6 – 60 VST Instruments
Activating and using VST Instruments
1.If the VST Instruments panel isn’t open, open it by selecting it from the 
Devices menu.
The VST Instruments panel has 16 slots, each capable of holding a VST Instrument. 
2.Pull down the pop-up menu for an empty slot in the panel and select 
the desired instrument.
The selected instrument is loaded into the slot and a number of settings are shown:
3.Pull down the MIDI input pop-up menu to the left in the slot and select 
the MIDI input you want to use.
If you are using VST System Link, you should select a “System Link” MIDI port (see 
page 43). If you are playing V-STACK by itself, you should select the MIDI input to 
which you have connected your MIDI keyboard or similar.
4.If you are using VST System Link, you need to route a MIDI track in the 
host application so that it plays the VST Instrument in V-STACK.
Select the “System Link” MIDI port as output for the MIDI track (the same port you se-
lected as input for the VST Instrument in the previous step).