How are VST Plugins made?

Question

Start with this link to the wiki, explains what they are and gives links to the sdk. Here is some information regarding the deve

How to compile a plugin - For making VST plugins in C++Builder, first you need the VST sdk by Steinberg. It's available from the Yvan Grabit's site (the link is at the top of the page).

The next thing you need to do is create a .def file (for example : myplugin.def). This needs to contain at least the following lines:

EXPORTS main=_main

Borland compilers add an underscore to function names, and this exports the main() function the way a VST host expects it. For more information about .def files, see the C++Builder help files.

This is not enough, though. If you're going to use any VCL element (anything to do with forms or components), you have to take care your plugin doesn't crash Cubase (or another VST host, for that matter). Here's how:

1. Include float.h.

2. In the constructor of your effect class, write

   _control87(PC_64|MCW_EM,MCW_PC|MCW_EM);
   

That should do the trick.

Here are some more useful sites:

http://www.steinberg.net/en/company/developer.html

how to write a vst plugin (pdf) via http://www.asktoby.com/#vsttutorial

I know this is 3 years old, but for everyone reading this now: Don't stick to VST, AU or any vendor's format. Steinberg has stopped supporting VST2, and people are in trouble porting their code to newer formats, because it's too tied to VST2.

These tutorials cover creating plugins that run on Win/Mac, 32/64, all plugin formats from the same code base.

I wrote up a HOWTO for VST development on C++ with Visual Studio awhile back which details the steps necessary to create a basic plugin for the Windows platform (the Mac version of this article is forthcoming). On Windows, a VST plugin is just a normal DLL, but there are a number of "gotchas", and you need to build the plugin using some specific compiler/linker switches or else it won't be recognized by some hosts.

As for the Mac, a VST plugin is just a bundle with the .vst extension, though there are also a few settings which must be configured correctly in order to generate a valid plugin. You can also download a set of Xcode VST plugin project templates I made awhile back which can help you to write a working plugin on that platform.

As for AudioUnits, Apple has provided their own project templates which are included with Xcode. Apple also has very good tutorials and documentation online:

• Audio Unit Programming Guide

I would also highly recommend checking out the Juce Framework, which has excellent support for creating cross-platform VST/AU plugins. If you're going open-source, then Juce is a no-brainer, but you will need to pay licensing fees for it if you plan on releasing your work without source code.

I realize this is a very old post, but I have had success using the JUCE library, which builds projects for the major IDE's like Xcode, VS, and Codeblocks and automatically builds VST/3, AU/v3, RTAS, and AAX.

https://www.juce.com/

If you know a .NET language (C#/VB.NET etc) then checkout VST.NET. This framework allows you to create (unmanaged) VST 2.4 plugins in .NET. It comes with a framework that structures and simplifies the creation of a VST Plugin with support for Parameters, Programs and Persistence.

There are several samples that demonstrate the typical plugin scenarios. There's also documentation that explains how to get started and some of the concepts behind VST.NET.

Hope it helps. Marc Jacobi