Third-Party Instruments
Load third-party VST3 and AU instrument plug-ins on Instrument Tracks in ACE Studio.
ACE Studio hosts third-party instrument plug-ins — synths, samplers, and sound libraries in VST3 or AU format — right alongside its AI instruments. Load a plug-in from the Plugins tab of the Instrument Library, and the track becomes an Instrument Track that plays MIDI clips the way any DAW does.
Supported formats
VST3
✓
✓
AU (Audio Units)
—
✓
Only 64-bit plug-ins are supported.
On Apple Silicon Macs, plug-ins run natively.
ACE Studio fully scans the standard plug-in folders on its first launch and picks up changed files on later launches. For scan locations and how to re-scan, see Preferences.
Loading a plug-in
Open the Instrument Library and switch to the Plugins tab. On Windows the tab is labeled VST Plugins; on macOS it is VST/AU Plugins.
Vendor list — the column on the left groups plug-ins by manufacturer, with a count next to each name. All is selected by default. Search and the Type filter apply within whichever vendor you pick.
Type — filter by category, such as Synth or Sampler. Only VST3 plug-ins can be filtered this way.
VST3 / AU — on macOS, switch between the two formats. ACE Studio remembers your choice.
Each card shows the plug-in image, its name, and a subtitle with the format, type, and vendor, such as VST3, Synth, Xfer. AU plug-ins show format and vendor only. Hover a long name to see it in full.
To load a plug-in, do one of the following:
Drag the card onto an empty area of the canvas to create a new track.
Drag the card onto a track header. Dropping onto an existing Instrument Track or AI Instrument Track replaces its sound source.
Click the card, then click the canvas where you want the track.
To remove a plug-in from a track, right-click the track header and choose Unload.
The Instrument Track
An Instrument Track is one of the sub-types of MIDI Tracks. It holds MIDI clips like a Vocal Track or an AI Instrument Track, but behaves differently in two ways:
Track header — clicking the track picture opens the plug-in's own window instead of a sound source panel.
Piano Roll — the Clip Editor shows standard MIDI editing. See Velocity and MIDI CC below.
The plug-in window
Click the track picture to open the plug-in window. ACE Studio adds a compact header above the plug-in's own interface:
Power — turns the plug-in on or off.
Preset bar — step through presets with < / >, see the current preset name, and open the preset menu. Presets work exactly as they do for effect plug-ins, including ACE Studio's
.acefxpresetformat and exporting in the plug-in's native format. See Preset management.MIDI Ch — choose which MIDI channel the track sends to the plug-in.
Velocity and MIDI CC
On an Instrument Track, the Piano Roll in the Clip Editor has a controller lane below the notes. Use the selector at the bottom to choose what the lane shows:
Velocity — one bar per note. Drag a bar to change how hard the note is played.
Pitch Bend and Modulation — always available.
Other controllers — the last slot is a menu. Pick any other MIDI CC, such as Sustain Pedal or Expression, to show it in the lane. Controllers that already have a fixed slot are greyed out in this menu.
Editing a controller curve
A controller curve is a series of anchor points joined by straight lines. When a lane has no anchors, it shows a dashed line at the controller's default value, and the plug-in receives that default.
With the pointer tool:
Double-click anywhere in the lane to add an anchor, or click on the dashed line to add one there.
Drag an anchor to move it.
Double-click an anchor to delete it.
Drag a box around several anchors to select them, then delete, copy, or paste them together.
With the pen tool, draw directly in the lane to create a continuous curve. In this mode only the line is shown, not the individual anchors.
Delete all anchors and the lane returns to the dashed default line.
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