Hello everybody,
I am not sure this goes into the “suggestions” forum, because it may be implemented in a way that I am unaware of, but here goes.
I have been collecting VST instruments and effects and noticed it has become very difficult to select the instrument / effect from the drop down lists.
The search box helps a lot, but all VST makers are using odd names for their DLLs
I started renaming all the DLLs to include a brief description, like:
Strings - Asian DreamZ.dll
Synth - Transcender.dll
Drums - Dr-Fusion.dll
Now, some VSTs do not allow me to rename, so I am stuck with the original name.
It would help a lot, if there is an aliasing and sorting mechanism built into Renoise, for example, if Renoise can remember (and show) my directory structure inside the VST folders.
Possible implementation idea:
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In the file browser on top, add “Instrument VST” radio button, which will show all the VST instruments and will let me select them as I do with regular “Instruments” - this way the directory structure is displayed, and I can store all my drums dlls inside Drums folder etc.
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If the above is not doable, then instead of the drop down select box in the VTS box, have a button that opens a small popup that shows the directory structure.
The above two are ways to solve the sorting/categorization issue, now for the naming issue, I am not sure if there is any standard built into the VST concept, but if not, I would like to suggest something simple that will tell Renoise what is the name to show inside the application.
This “something” needs to be a part of the VST library, so that when we move it, it will still remember all the naming.
So, a possible simple solution, would be for Renoise to look for a file with a specific name inside the VST folder, that describes the display name of each VST (instruments and effects)
File structure for example:
evmgp.dll=EVM Grand Piano
mdajx10.dll=MDA JX-10 Synth
Also, if the solutions mentioned above for folders are not feasible, this file can be used to configure the display category:
Like so:
evmgp.dll=Piano\EVM Grand Piano
mdajx10.dll=Synth\MDA JX-10 Synth
Anyways, I am guessing I am not the only one struggling with an increasing list of instruments/effects, and it would be nice to have something to help deal with that.