Moving my Scaler 2 files

[DaveK58]

So I treated myself to a new PC, and set about moving my (fairly meager) music production setup to the new machine. I use Studio 1.

Well, it was a flaming dumpster fire. In part because of some too-crafty-by-half file location scheming on my part, and in part due to a bad re-load of Studio 1. All is okay and working now, after much gnashing of teeth and existential despair. .

I use Scaler ALOT. I’m still on 2.4.

My problem is this: I have Scaler sound folders+Scaler 2.4.1 Windows app file+the Scaler license key in a Scaler folder on my external SSD (G:\DAW2\Scaler) , but I have the Scaler2.dll and the ScalerAudio2.dll under this folder on my boot drive:
C:\Program Files\Steinberg\Vstplugins

I’d like to keep ALL my plugins and related stuff under C:\Program Files\Vstplugins.

Can I just combine those two folders and load all their files to a new folder C:\Program Files\Vstplugins\Scaler without disrupting any existing songs, as long as Studio 1 is scanning that folder? Or should I just reload fresh to C:\Program Files\Vstplugins ?

I made a mess of my new PC load-in, I’m trying to clean up and consolidate. Advice? (And yes, it’s working fine as it is…)

[jjfagot]

During the Scaler installation (for example when you upgrade to 2.5) you will be asked for your Vst folder
By default, I think that in all cases it appears
C: \ Program Files \ Steinberg \ Vstplugins. But you can change it in that moment (I did) to
C: \ Program Files \ Vstplugins.
In your DAW, in preferences, you will have to have Studio One scan the plugins in that folder.
On the other hand, you can always use the Vst3 version, which always installs on
C: \ Program Files \ Common Files \ VST3

[DaveK58]

Assuming I install 2.5 correctly, to C: \ Program Files \ Vstplugins, should I remove any/all Scaler files that remain on my external drive, which I have to scan for Studio One stuff. Do I run the risk of having 2.4 and 2.5 on the machine at the same time? Does the 2.5 upgrade also include the full soundset (which is on my eternal drive now)?

[yorkeman]

The Scaler install updates the soundsets, which have changed since the last release. You can move these if you want and just update location preferences in the Scaler app.

In the past, VSTs tended to get scattered around in vendor specific folders, with many putting them in the Steinberg folder, but not all.

This issue has gone away for VST3s as the industry seems to have come to an agreement on location. Wherever possible now I use the VST3 version.

I think it makes sense to consolidate the rest in a VST folder as you suggested, Most apps now give the choice at installation to specify the VST2 location, so going forward location should not be a problem.

After your move you can in most apps just do a re-scan and they will be found. You can often get round any older awkward ones by just dropping a shortcut pointer to the new directory in the original one. Rather than delete the old ones, I rename them _junk_name (The leading underscore sorts it to the top of the folder list) just in case it goes pear shaped. This avoids the issue of having version N-1 being invoked for some reason, which can cause real problems if the VST is using old and new code/ data together.

In my case I keep as little as possible on the c: drive (most programs for example etc are on a separate physical drive) and all music stuff which benefits from fast access is on an M2 SSD.

[DaveK58]

So I would need to keep the existing Scaler soundsets to do the upgrade, and moving them back to C: \ Program Files \ Vstplugins won’t cause an issue? And by adding the junk(Scaler) prefixes, Studio 1 will ignore the existing dll’s etc on my G: drive?

I was completely unaware of the Program Files\Common files - where I have some Kontakt stuff. Studio 1 isn’t even looking there, and those instruments seem to play just fine. (?)

I wanted to do exactly what you did - keep all my DAW related files on an external SSD, but my boot drive is 1TB and I’ll never fill it up. I am quite weary of trying to manage all those file locations (esp Native Instruments, which is particularly troublesome), and just want to use defaults-to-C: going forward.

I am tempted to just stay on Scalar v4. They say brain damage is irreversible.

[yorkeman]

These clips might help

1 VST3 are easiest because all up to date installers will put them in the now agreed location

which you can see on the left is c:/Program Files/Common Files/ VST3

on the right you see some of the VST3 folders alphabetically and you can see scaler there. You may choose not to bother with the VST2 versions and forget them. They are not critical from an access perspective, and they are non volatile in the sense they are not updated frequently.

For convenience I keep all the VST2s together on the SSD and you can see them there ,

stored in d:/music/live/vst2

Obviously you have to tell Live etc to scan that directory.

If we now think abut the Scaler data, I’ve moved the sound sources on to the SSD.

In the c: public/documents directory (the default for Scaler) you can see below that at the bottom the Plugin Boutique and Scaler 2 are empty because I moved them to the SSD. Before I did so I saved the data in $_Plugin Boutique (the first directory in documents - 845.1MB) so if it all went wrong had the original data there. I use that prefix to sort it to the top, and when I tidy up I know where it will be.

Meanwhile, back on the SSD, the folder was moved to d:/music/live/w_Plugin Boutique/Scaler 2 where the 816.1MB of sounds now live.

all that’s then required is to set the folder location in the ‘preferences’ tab in Scaler.

I move nearly all data off c:because

{1} it keeps the time to do a full bootable image copy small, so I do that once a week
{2} since it handles things like program loading and swapping there is quite some activity, and in any event it is s_l_o _w. So audio stuff goes on to the Samsung EVO 970 M2 SSD, which reads at 3Gb/s. Backing up all the music stuff ebery eving takes a few minutes.

Hope this helps …

PS1 Of you don’t use it, I recommend that you download the free version of Ultra Search

Free File Search Tool UltraSearch | JAM Software

It reads the disc MFT (Master File Table) so if yo want to know were anything beginning with “Scale*” it will tell you in seconds. This can be really handy to find accidentally duplicated stuff.

PS2 And yes, the Spectrasonics Omnisphere really does take up 114Gb

[DaveK58]

Thanks for taking the time to put all that together ! Wow! And thanks for the tip on UltraSearch. I just dl’ed and gave it a spin - VERY enlightening.

Well, this is what I have:
My Scalar preferences (G drive is my external SSD…):

My Steinberg file:

My Scalar soundsets:

My Scalar search:

So, when it prompts me to install, I can just choose these existing paths? The vst3 dll will overwrite and Scalar will ADD the new sounds into the existing path? It looks like I have my vst3 files in Common Files, not Steinberg.

[yorkeman]

@DaveK58

It looks like I have my vst3 files in Common Files, not Steinberg.

Yes, they need to be in the Common files. a new version of Scaler will install over the top of those, unless you choose to save them first (always a good idea). Unless there is any reason to use VST2 files, you can sort of forget them. a reason why you might is that some hosts may not support VST3.

I note that your saved chord sets are in the public documents, presumably on C::, so there is the issue of saving those frequently after additions. I have moved mine to the SSD

So they get backed up with the other stuff on the disc nightly. I do a differential backup, which currently is 16GB and takes 5 minutes, so no hassle

The VST2s are on the system disc in the Steinberg folder. It doesn’t really matter you stick with the VST3 version when you load a plugin into Live. I have found the issue is that other VST2 get placed into other directoris on installation, which is why I mi-oved them to the SSD as well.

In most cases, an installer will now assume the VST3 location and ask for the VST2 directories.

[yorkeman]

As an additional thought 'llI mention that I also use Treesize Pro from the same stable as Ultra Search. It’s handy because you can do things like print file checksums which is a safe way of differentiating between versions with the same name, like scaler.

This is a bit more nerdish and useful only if you are paranoid about backups (like me )

[DaveK58]

@yorkeman

The Scaler install updates the soundsets, which have changed since the last release.

So when I install the new version, it will see the existing path to my soundset file in my preferences and update that folder accordingly?

[yorkeman]

I can’t recall, but I think the installation put the sound sets in the default location. However, if they go into the c: public documents folder, it’s a matter of a few moments to relocate them to the SSD.

[DaveK58]

Thanks for all your help and suggestions.