Hi All,
I’m using Cubase 5 and have just moved from PC to Mac. Can anyone suggest the best way to copy over my VSTi presets please?
I’ve tried placing the xml files from my PC’s Presets folder into a couple of locations in the Mac’s equivalent Cubase library folders but cannot see any of the presets when running Cubase.
Any advice appreciated!
First thing that springs to mind… did you then recsan MediaBay?
Thanks for reply. No i haven’t. Is that required for them to show up in VSTi’s individual preset lists though?
Tbh, I haven’t been using Mediabay. I’ve just been accessing my samples/presets the old school way.
You´re not really giving a lot of info, and I might be wrong, but I don´t think VSTi presets are stored in *.xml files… At least on PC.
On PC in :\Documents and Settings\Stuart\Application Data\Steinberg\Cubase 5\Presets\
There’s a folder for each VSTi/FX plugin containing an xml file for each of my saved patches.
Just checking Mediabay…I don’t see anyway to export from there either. It’s easy enough moving them at folder/file level from PC to PC but i’m stumped with transferring to Mac.
OK, looking further i’ve found the newer format preset files .vstpreset in VST3 folder. Will try copying those over to mac…
Which version(s) of Cubase? As of Cubase 4, the old fxb/fxp format for plugin presets was abandoned (with the exception that Cubase can still import them if necessary), otherwise they are now saved as vstpreset format. (sorry, I missed your “xml” reference… those are for stuff like the Logical Editor etc., and are stored in the Cubase Preferences… or App Data on PC… folders, whereas the plugin presets, on Mac, are in your Home folder/Library/Audio/Presets folders.)
Thanks.
Version 5. A…Dropped those into the VST3 folder on Mac. Applications\cubase 5\contents\VST3 Presets
Initially presets didn’t show up (even after a refresh of mediabay), but after opening each synth and selecting ‘convert program list to VST preset’ its not only added the program list but made my own user presets appear.
There’s only a couple of plugins listed in the folder you suggest - really don’t understand why this has to be so complicated!!! Surely one clear folder would make life much easier for users.
Can anyone else shed any light on this?
Now i’ve got an issue with using the Novation SL Mk2 controller keyboard - when selecting the ‘automap’ versions of synths the presets are not there!!!
Here’s the easiest way to find out where to place your presets…
Save a preset for one of your plugins, quit Cubase, then search for where it got saved. 
(looks like you got yourself into a bit of a mess, if you opened the application package contents. You should never need to do that 
)
Dropped those into the VST3 folder on Mac. Applications\cubase 5\contents\VST3 Presets
Cheers.
I added ‘test’ user presets and did Search - was the first thing i tried - it doesn’t pick them up.
Yes definitely got in a mess, too many VST/preset folders. Still not sure if i’ve got it right. Some are showing up some aren’t and they’re in the same folder within the app. Hence me asking on here what the DEFINITIVE folder is i should be dropping the files into!
The users preset folder Is a hidden folder (at least on Windows, but also -I think I read that here somewhere - on Mac). The factory presets folder is not hidden
All sorted, thanks for your help. I’m new to Mac and didn’t realise there were hidden files - they hide them even better than PC
Vic_France’s directory was the one…and it was invisible.
In case anyone stumbles across this and is new to mac…
You need to find the folder:-
Macintosh HD/Home folder/Library/Audio/Presets.
Library is invisible - to view it search as below:-
OS X 10.5 and later
With the Finder active, from the File menu, select Find… .
In the Searching window that opens, select how broad you want the search to be. For example, you can choose to search your entire Mac or just your home folder. In the pull-down menu labeled Kind, choose Other… , and in the sheet that appears, find and double-click File Invisible. In the pull-down menu to the right of the first one, select whether you are searching for Visible Items, Invisible Items, or both. The search will then begin.
To narrow your search, you can add additional search criteria, such as a filename, file size, or creation date. Each time you click the + (plus sign) on the right side of the search window, you will add another row to the search criteria.
NB: Some of the Steinberg product presets are kept elsewhere in one of the other many folders called Presets/VST3 etc etc put there to confuse you!
Btw, is your Mac running OS X 10.7 (Lion)? In earlier versions, the Home Library isn’t invisible
Yes, (unfortunately). I ordered the Mac just as they started shipping out Lion. Bad timing!
ps. I still can’t see the presets in the usual load/save section of the instrument view - only in mediabay. Personally i’m not a big fan of Mediabay…hoping there’s a fix. The story continues…