VST protocol feature: Integrated Cross Plugin Audio Routing and/or customizable send positions

It would be great if plugin devs had the ability to feature integrated cross plugin routing for certain work tasks.

My use case is setting up complex side-chain sends with the key source coming from within a certain point in a channels insert chain - specifically, the ability to send a plugins delta as a key source (if the dev were to incorporate such a feature, which some have told me they would maybe if they could)

The work around is to duplicate a channel and use it as the key source.

The other development solution, is if Cubase gave us customization with exactly where our send starts in a channels topology.

For example,

Send 1
Send 2
Send 3 - - - - → From between Insert 6 & 7
Send 4
Send 5

A send that is customized this way would be highlighted a different colour.

Also, being able to have sends Pre-Insert could be useful in certain instances, instead of only Post-Insert/Pre-Fader or Post-Insert/Post-Fader

Although this second proposed solution still doesn’t accomplish being able to send a plugins Delta to somewhere else/another instance of the same plugins.

I think you can solve the “in between insert sends” with Blue Cat Audio’s Connector plugins. Not native to Cubase, but it should work right now.

Thought of it, but they are network dependent right>

Thank you for mentioning our plug-in. Connector actually has an “App” mode that does not use the network at all, it’s all local in the app’s own memory.

1 Like

Interesting, good to know, thanks

This is Windows compatible?

I meant the feature of app interoperability, is Windows compatible?

Very curious about the function of this, because I thought audio connection wasn’t part of VST.

Is it a “hack” through OS level application?

I try not to incorporate plugins that use “hacks” in the event something changes in the official SDK, or the OS that breaks compatibility.

maybe @Arne_Scheffler can chime in

I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Inter plugin communication has been done for years by e.g. Izotope or Sonible (or Blue cat) and whether they use local networking or some sorts of shared memory between threads, that is all being done by standard APIs of the operating system that are highly unlikely to “break”, because that would mean that nearly all other applications would stop working, too.

Each method has it’s potential drawbacks that a developer has to consider (e.g. if a DAW uses plugin sandboxing) but I would fully trust Blue Cat to know how to correctly implement it.

1 Like

I knew data exchange was possible, just not audio.