In the 64-bit
version of Live, you can use 64-bit plug-ins natively. 32-bit
plug-ins cannot be used directly in the 64-bit version, but
third-party tools such as jBridge allow
them to be used within the 64-bit version.
An overview of using Live with plug-ins
It is best to
install and store 32-bit and 64-bit plugins in separate folders
- all 32-bit plug-ins should reside in one folder, and all
64-bit plug-ins in another.
You can sort and move all plug-in dll files around even after
they have been installed. However, if plug-ins support both
32-bit and 64-bit, two separate dlls get installed, and you're
usually asked to choose a suitable folder for the 32-bit and
64-bit versions during the installation process.
A good solution is to create these separate
folders on the top level of your system drive:
-
C:\VST_plugins_32
-
C:\VST_plugins_64
In this example, you would set the VST Plug-In
Custom Folder to C:\VST_plugins_64 in your 64-bit version of
Live. The custom folder can be set in Live's File/Folder
Preferences.
Finally, as
jBridge requires the plug-in host to
be running with administrator rights, let's enable this for Live
(in this example, a Live 9 Beta is used):
-
Navigate to the Ableton Live 9 Beta.exe. By
default, it is stored under C:\ProgramData\Ableton\Live 9
Beta\Program.
-
Right-click
Ableton Live 9 Beta.exe to open the context menu and select Properties.
-
Show the Compatibility tab
and, under Privilege
Level, check Run
this program as an administrator.
Installing and preparing jBridge
Download and
install jBridge.
The
jBridge tools should also be run as an administrator. Please
refer to the detailed
jBridge setup description for
help.
Please note that
jBridge is not freeware. You
will have to pay a small fee once the demo has expired.
Performing plug-in bridging
Bridging
needs to be done as a specific task before the plug-ins can be
used. Again, the process is also walked through in the detailed
jBridge setup description.
-
Run the jBridger tool.
-
In the
first window, confirm that you'll be using an x64 (64-bit)
host.
-
An options
window will be shown. Leave most things at the default
state, but
-
Uncheck Create
bridging files for 64 bit plugins and
-
Choose the
recommended file creation method that creates
the necessary files inside a directory you
specify.
-
Select the
folder that contains the 32-bit plug-ins to be bridged -
this would be C:\VST_plugins_32.
-
Specify the
directory where the necessary files will be created. Select
the directory that already contains your 64-bit native
plug-ins - C:\VST_plugins_64.
-
After
confirming, the jBridger will analyze all plug-ins
inside C:\VST_plugins_32 and create bridging files
inside C:\VST_plugins_64.
If you now start Live (64-bit), it will re-scan
the VST plug-in folder and the bridged VST plug-ins will appear
in Live's plug-in browser.
Cleaning up
After the
bridging process has scanned all available 32-bit plug-ins,
you'll most likely see bridged versions of VST plug-ins that are also available
as native 64-bit plug-ins. Since the bridged versions are
unnecessary here, follow these steps to remove them:
-
Navigate to the plug-in
folder C:\VST_plugins_64.
-
The bridged
plug-ins appear with a .64 appendix to their name and also
with an accompanying text file of the same name.
-
Manually
delete all those .64 dll & txt files that are laying inside
the folder as twins of regular 64-bit plug-ins.
Updates
Updates
to Live will not affect this functionality, so your jBridge
settings and bridged plug-ings will still work after updating.
Updates to jBridge should be installed over the
older version. Nothing else needs to be done.