It has come the time to do a fresh Windows 11 Pro install to have a clean system that I will use mostly for Cubase/Nuendo and video editing with DaVinci Resolve Studio and Blender for occasional 3D work.
Keeping that in mind, does it make sense to first install the hundreds of virtual instruments and audio FX plugins and then install Cubase Pro and Nuendo, or those first and then the hundreds of plugins including instruments? In your experiences, which of these two work out the best for stability?
Having gone through this experience less than a year ago, my recommendation would be to install Cubase/Nuendo first, get it working flawlessly with audio/video drivers, then take an image backup so you can revert to it at any time.
As for plug-ins, I had eliminated all but one VST 2 plug-in before I started, so the new machine has only VST 3 plug-ins installed, and I use Blue Cat Audio’s PatchWork to run the remaining VST 2.
I installed plug-ins then only as required … I’m still amazed at how many I had gathered over the years, some only used once or twice before getting forgotten. My theory is, the less 3rd-party plug-ins, the more stable it is. In the past 10 months, I’ve only had 3 crashes, all when using ARA, and none in a repeatable manner. In all cases, Cubase/Nuendo 14/15 simply disappeared off the screen with no clue as to what happened, but on balance, I’m reasonably happy with that, and just cautious of using ARA. I would regard that as “rock-solid”, at least in relative terms, comparing to say, 10 years ago 