You can install Audio Units plug-ins from manufacturers other than Apple to process audio in Logic Pro, GarageBand, and Final Cut Pro. When installed, Audio Units plug-ins appear as individual components in the Library folders on your Mac:

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• In the Finder choose Go > Go to Folder, enter '/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components' into the Go to Folder field, then click Go.
• You can also check the Library in your Home folder. In the Finder choose Go > Go to Folder, enter '~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components' into the Go to Folder field, then click Go.

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When it comes to Mac OS X, the number of freeware plugins is very low, compared to the Windows world. The popular “Save as VST” softwares (Synthedit and Synthmaker) are Windows only. The “upgrade” politic of Apple is a sort of nightmare for developers (and sometimes users!), so many old free plugins don’t work anymore. Loomer products are available as Audio Units, VST plugins, AAX and RTAS plugins for Pro Tools, and Standalone applications for macOS 10.6 and above, Windows XP and above, and Linux. Our audio software products integrate seamlessly with Steinberg Cubase and Nuendo, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Apple Logic, Garage Band, Cakewalk Sonar, FL Studio, Cockos Reaper, or any other application which supports AAX, RTAS, Audio Units, or VST plugins.

Built-in effects and instruments included with Apple apps like Logic Pro, GarageBand, MainStage, and Final Cut Pro don't appear in the Library folders and can't be removed manually.

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Syntheway VST and Audio Units (AU) are the two native plugin formats for macOS. VST and Audio Units are more common and compatible across various DAWs like Logic Pro, GarageBand, Cubase, Ableton Live, REAPER, Studio One Professional, Ardour, MainStage and Digital Performer among others

Finding the Audio Plugins folder

The plugin folder is nested in the Macintosh HD Library. There are usually a minimum of two Libraries on your Mac, one in Macintosh HD and another in your user account. You should only place the plugins in the Macintosh HD Library so that it can be accessed by all users on the computer. The usual location of the folder should be:

Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components

Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST

Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3

How to Install Plug-ins

Audio Unit (.component) Installation for macOS Instructions:

1.- After download, double-click on the .dmg file (Apple disk image format, HFS+ volume). This will open the file with DiskImageMounter utility. Otherwise, right-click the .dmg file and select Open with > DiskImageMounter from the menu. A dialog window will appear, verifying the file and mounting it. Once mounted, the .dmg will appear in the Finder sidebar under the 'Devices' header along with the hard drive.

2.- Open a Finder window (click the 'Finder' icon in the dock). Highlight the mounted image file within Finder's sidebar. A list of the files within the .dmg will appear in the main Finder window pane.

3.- Drag the files you wish to extract to the desired destination on your computer as for example to your Mac desktop or directly drag the Audio Unit (.component) to your ‘Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/’ folder.

4.- Unmount the .dmg after you have extracted all desired files by clicking the small 'Eject' icon next to the mounted image in Finder's sidebar. Additionally, you can right-click (Ctrl-click) the mounted .dmg icon on the desktop and select 'Eject' or simply unmount the virtual drive by dragging it to the Trash (Note that this will not delete the files from your computer, the dmg file will still be there).

5.- If you have the extracted files in your Mac desktop, move the '.component' file to the Components folder in your audio plugins folder. Usually ‘Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/’

6.- If your DAW is running, close it and restart it. When your DAW starts up, it will rescan your plugins folder and detect your recently installed plugin.

Finding the Audio Plugins folder: The plugin folder is nested in the Macintosh HD Library. There are usually a minimum of two Libraries on your Mac, one in Macintosh HD and another in your user account. You should only place the plugins in the Macintosh HD Library so that it can be accessed by all users on the computer. The usual location of the folder should be: Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/

VST (.vst) and VST3 (.vst3) Installation for macOS Instructions:

1.- After download, double-click on the .dmg file (Apple disk image format, HFS Plus volume). This will open the file with DiskImageMounter utility. Otherwise, right-click the .dmg file and select Open with > DiskImageMounter from the menu. A dialog window will appear, verifying the file and mounting it. Once mounted, the .dmg will appear in the Finder sidebar under the 'Devices' header along with the hard drive.

2.- Open a Finder window (click the 'Finder' icon in the dock). Highlight the mounted image file within Finder's sidebar. A list of the files within the .dmg will appear in the main Finder window pane.

3.- Drag the files you wish to extract to the desired destination on your computer as for example to your Mac desktop or directly drag the VST (.vst) to your ‘Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST/’ folder or drag directly the VST3 (.vst3) to your ‘Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST3/’ folder.

4.- Unmount the .dmg after you have extracted all desired files by clicking the small 'Eject' icon next to the mounted image in Finder's sidebar. Additionally, you can right-click (Ctrl-click) the mounted .dmg icon on the desktop and select 'Eject' or simply unmount the virtual drive by dragging it to the Trash (Note that this will not delete the files from your computer, the dmg file will still be there).

5.- If you have the extracted files in your Mac desktop, move the files to the VST or VST3 folder. Usually Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST and Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST3 respectively.

6.- If your Cubase is running, close it and restart it. When your Cubase starts up, it will rescan your plugins folder and detect your recently installed VST / VST3 plugins.

VST plug-in locations on macOS

This article provides detailed information on VST plug-in installation paths on Mac OS X and macOS.

The installation path of a plug-in depends if it is VST2 (.vst) or VST (.vst3) and if it is a default or customized path:

VST Default paths on macOS

While the newer VST3 format has a dedicated installation path all VST3 plug-ins must comply with, the VST2 standard does not know an obligatory folder. However, on Apple systems there is a defined plug-in folder within the system's folder structure since the first version of Mac OS X. All VST plug-in installers for Mac are using these folders:

VST Custom paths on macOS

If a plug-in, for whatever reason, has been installed to a different folder, the VST host application needs to be told where to look for it.

Cubase / Nuendo macOS Notes:

In Cubase and Nuendo, the list of monitored VST2/VST3 folders can be managed here:

ü The macOS version of Cubase only stores VST plugins in one folder: 'Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST or Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST3'

ü Or if you're not logged in with administrative access, these sub-folders are in the 'Users/[Username]/Library/Audio/Plug-ins' folder.

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ü Place the provided .vst or .vst3 in the VST (Plug-ins) folder.

ü Follow instructed under the Cubase operations manual and restart the program if needed in order to re-scan new .vst / .vst3 plugins.

üFree synth vst for reaper. Now, the Syntheway VST Plugin (Syntheway Vendor) must be recognized by Cubase as a native .vst / .vst3 formats (VST2/VST3 for Mac).

Mac Os X Vst Plugins Folder

o Changing Folders in Cubase:

If you decide to move your VST plugins into a different folder, you'll also need to tell Cubase where the new VST plugin folder is located. To do this, open the VST 'Plug-in Paths' dialog box and click 'Add.' Navigate to the location of the new folder, select it and click 'OK.' When you're installing new VST plugins after changing the plugin folder location, be sure to specify the new location in the program's installer, as most plugins will automatically install into the Steinberg directory.

o Loadable Bundles on macOS

Audio Units, VST and VST3 are loadable bundles, using Cocoa framework and xCode Integrated Development Environment (IDE) written in Objective C. Bundles provide a simplified interface for end users and a convenient way to deliver software in macOS operating system.