I have over 200 projects going back more than 15 years that use 32 bit plugins. With the switch to windows 11 and the Steinberg announcement that they cannot guarantee versions older than Cubase 11 will work with windows 11 I am faced with the possibility that I may no longer be able to access these old 32 bit projects in their native Cubase version. (Cubase 7 is already getting a bit unstable). I want to, and need to raise the projects to Cubase 11/12 but then the 32 bit plugins get messed up, and almost impossible to replicate with new 64 bit plugins. j-bridge does not always work.
Over the years Steinberg have invested a lot in the old 32 bit plugins. Surely it is not a mammoth task to update these old plugins to 64 bit equivalents that can be used with legacy projects as well as new ones?
Steinberg are clearly trying to encourage users to get into Cubase 12 with their latest “free” offers. Including the old 32 bit plugin effects as 64 bit equivalents in Cubase 12 would be a huge sweetener.
Can’t you run those old versions on your license for a later version, if you need to do anything with those projects?
Yes I can. But the old 32 bit plugins no longer work and the project is “lost”.
converting code from 32 to 64bit is a significant task. its not a wave a magic wand, recompile and done thing. you have to really go through all the code because some weird things can happen when variables get promoted from int to long, etc, and lets leave it at that. its a topic worth a book or two.
what you have really hit is the digital abyss. thankfully not hostage to subcriptionware to authorize to a remote server that doesn’t exist or won’t authorize (adobe).
many in the video community have run into this same problem of old projects not working on new OS / App / hardware. The solution which you won’t like, but for now is the only practical one : keep an old machine running with old OS / apps / plugins. Freeze it in time, keep it off the internet so it can’t auto update and then you can continue to open and update old projects.
I know you don’t want to hear that but its the best bad solution right now. Trying to run an old OS in a VM is possible, but only for the OS skilled. it can be a real PITA to get working. running a VM also can have problems with hardware I/O, especially if your old interface is FW.
So I would NOT count on tons of old VSTs getting updated, especially if they have been replicated with new versions. SOmetimes it makes better sense to rewrite code than try to update it from 32->64bit because then you also can take advantage of newer API’s, processor features, etc that the legacy code would require what amounts to a rewrite anyway.
Maybe asking for very specific VST’s that you use a lot and making a short list may be doable, but to ask for all isn’t realistic.
S
The way around this is to copy and merge plugins from 32-bit Cubase 5.5, 6.5, 7.5 into the 32 bit 8.5 VSTPlugins folder which will allow old projects to load using discontinued plugins. You can then open old projects in 32-bit Cubase 8.5 and render the parts with the old fx or replace the old plugins with alternatives and save a new version of the project to open in 64-bit Cubase. That’s what I did. I retain all Cubase installation files archived on hd going back to v5 just in case I need to revive old projects, even though I’m now using C Pro 11 it’s quite fun to use 8.5 for this purpose.
I do recommend replacing the discontinued plugins with 64 bit alternatives.
I honestly think it is not Steinberg’s responsibiltiy to rectify your inability to finish your projects.
Its not lost. If you ever open the project just remix them. If the fx are criticle for the sound, render a copy of the channel. That will give you a option to go back, and go forward.
Thanks for your thoughts Steve. Unfortunately I am not a “Techy” so most of what you say does not mean much to me, but clearly it is not a simple process. And retaining old hardware and software is no longer possible for me. However I understand what you mean about a short specific list being more doable. My top wish list for 64 bit versions of the old 32 bit plugins is; Mod Delay; Double Delay; Chorus and Rverb A with their original presets. I am new to this forum, do you think I should start a separate feature-requset for this short list?
Hi Inadream,
Thanks for your suggestion. I do not have Cubase 8.5, only Cubase 8 Elements but hopefully the same solution would work, and continue to work for some years on windows 11 (fingers crossed).
But at the end of the day, I am disappointed that Steinberg have dumped my old 32 bit project master mixes into this obscurity.
I hope that they can work on the short list list of plugins I suggested in my reply to Steve Oakley.
Hello Rudi007.
My proejcts in question are FINISHED, but in a 32 bit plugin environment. I joined this forum to make a feature-request, not to be INSULTED about my abilities, Yes, I am a relative novice, but if you are typical of the responses I may get, then I will leave this forum for people like you to continue your behaviour.
Sorry John. I had a weak moment and typed without reading how it can be interpreted. I did not mean to offend you, but reading it again - I do see it. It is just Steinberg can not keep on waiting for customers. They do give enough time and warning. We all have old projects, and if I reopen them, some plugins don’t load. I just add new plugins if I really want to work on them again. Or I bounce the FX down.
Its not a bad idea to start a thread on porting old 32 bit VSTs to 64 with a short specific list. If there is enough response it might make sense for stienberg to do the work to move them forwards. However its just as likely you’ll get a couple of the same responses because resources are limited. for example, would it be worth taking the time ( say several weeks ) of the coders and QA folks to do the VST port or would you rather see that same time / money spent on Cu12 in features, the new licensing, bug fixing ? I think most folks would be on the later. Folks complain about bugs that make it into release software, but any idea how many bugs get caught & fixed before its in your hands ? I do, I’ve spent 20+ years doing it with other apps.
An old computer is cheap enough, ditto everything else so its really the best solution , then as others have said, export stems with those fx and bring the projects into new versions. tech moves forwards and there are a losses along the way when the old tech just can’t be kept running on new OS / hardware / apps. Just how it is. Its also why you see some folks running pretty old setups which work for them and do what they want in an acceptable way. Steinberg, MS, other app makers have given lots of notice this would happen and now it does.
Thanks Rudi. Apology accepted.
Your comment about bouncing the 32 bit FX down is an interesting one. I’ll have to work out how to do it, in the absence of real 64 bit equivalents I think it may be the best way to preserve old master tracks as mixed and still keep the original tracks open for future mixes.
Just FYI, we’ve been around this loop several times on this forum, in particular about Embracer, but the problem is not that Steinberg are unwilling, it’s that they do not own the source code of some of the old plugins, so it can’t be ported. To be fair to Steinberg, they have actually upgraded some old plugins to 64-bit (the VST Classics collections, consisting of VB-1, Model_E, Neon and Karlette).
Great tip! 
I meant the old version of Cubase that supports those plug-ins.
You’re right, it is possible to run e.g. Cubase 7 and all its plugins with a Cubase 11 license on the USB e-Licenser, the suggestion is to be able to use the same discontinued 32-bit plugins in a project on a newer version of Cubase, and the most recent version of Cubase that can do that is 8.5.
I like this idea because you then get the added stability and features of 8.5 over 7, however it’s no longer possible to upgrade to “just” 8.5, one has to buy a Cubase 11 license.
Cubase 7, 8.5 and 11 could all be installed at the same time without interfering with one another.
While it is a pain to go back and re-do work on old projects, is there anything any of these four plugins did that can’t be replicated with the stock plugins in current Cubase versions? Perhaps you could provide an example.
Hi,
I started this thread with a specific objective in mind. I thank everyone who has replied and made alternative suggestions, as well as those who have “liked” it. I never seem to get the same results from the 64 bit plugins as from the old 32s. I guess I’ll just have to live with it.
I commend you for apologizing, the world is a better place when we acknowledge these things. 