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Whenever someone mentions a plugin for a daw like Logic, Ableton, etc. Is it always a VST plugin? so 'VST plugin' and 'plugin' is synonymous?

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  • Adding to the other answer, a less common protocol/API (but widely used on linux) is LADSPA, supported by LMMS, Ardour, Audacity and many others.
    – Federico klez Culloca
    Dec 19, 2019 at 7:45
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    People use "VST" as some kind of a general noun like "I'm looking for a VST that ..." so you could add one more question: "are all VSTs plugins?" I haven't seen VST used as a verb or adjective though. "Let's VST like it's 1999". "How VST is your music today?"
    – piiperi Reinstate Monica
    Dec 19, 2019 at 8:13
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    I own a vacuum cleaner. it is made by Dyson. I still "hooover" the carpet with it. Some names stick & become the pseudo-generic name for that type of device. VST has become that for audio plugins. [I'll now wait patiently for the rest of the list… Your starter for 10, duck tape… ;)
    – Tetsujin
    Dec 19, 2019 at 18:44

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There are several plugin formats, and VST is only one of many. It was developed by Steinberg (now part of Yamaha) in 1996 for a very old version of Cubase. It is the most common format, but there are other popular formats. Some DAWs support VST plus other formats, and some DAWs don't support VSTs at all.

Logic Pro uses Audio Units. Protools uses RTAS and AAX. These formats, along with VST, are the most common plugin formats.

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    AU is Apple's audio plugin framework like DirectX was Microsoft's. AU plugins work in many Mac-based host applications like GarageBand and Ableton Live. For some plugins I use the AU version in Ableton, because the VST version crashes in my setup.
    – piiperi Reinstate Monica
    Dec 19, 2019 at 8:32
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    @piiperiReinstateMonica this guy uses plugins for logic yet he still calls it VST. is he really using Audio Units? youtube.com/watch?v=8HP45apwwmk
    – user34288
    Dec 19, 2019 at 21:47
  • @foreyez Logic doesn't support VST., only supports AU. There are some converters out there, though they are buggy and very unreliable.
    – TaylorSwiftFan5932
    Dec 20, 2019 at 0:24

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