Question

I have a ton of audio plugins.  I am using macOS Big Sur. MacOS has a VST and a VST3 folder.  I also see AU, AAX folders as well. I believe SO5 scans all audio plugin folders and makes all plugins in all folders available.  Am I correct? Some of the plunges are in more than one folder and some are not. All I can think of to avoid numerous listings of the same plugin in the Instrument and Effects panels is to painstakingly go through the folders and delete. However, I might mistakenly delete a plugin from all folders.  Also is one plugin type better for SO5 than another? Which do I keep? Maybe there is a preference I can select in SO5 that will avoid multiple listings of the same plugin?  I am a rookie so please don't roll your eyes if there is a simple solution LOL. It's now obvious to me that  when I install plugins I should not select to install all types.  I didn't know this would happen and besides I didn't know if one type was preferred over another.

Answer 1

Ok I finally figured this out! After poking around the internet I learned that VST and VST3 are basically for Windows users and AU is for Mac users and AAX is for Avid users of both Windows and Mac.  Since I always installed all three versions (VST/VST3, AU, and AAX) of plugins and since SO5 apparently scans for all versions, I was getting the multiple listings.  So, since I am a Mac user I simply deleted VST, VST3 and AAX versions of my plugins in Finder and left the AU versions alone. I then re-started SO5 and like magic I now have each plugin listed only once in the Instrument and Effects panels.  If for some strange reason I hadn't installed the AU version of a plugin I guess I will found out when I can't find it! 

I found the three versions here: 

The AU plugin is at location:

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components 

And the VSTs are at locations:

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST and /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3

The AAX plugin is at:

/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins

Answer 2

Use plug-in manager to select which ones are listed.