It would be so much easier to be able to load an existing “Cantabile Rack” VST
Yeah, good idea!
I’ve been thinking about the utility of Cantabile being loadable as vst, but I think it would be too complex and probably mostly unnecessary, but nevertheless it would be very useful to be able to use the racks created in Cantabile as loadable vst in the DAW, so we can continue working in our audio production in the studio with our same live sounds.
I don’t see why ??? …should cantabile be a vst >>because it is a host.
how should an automatic algorythm handle a flexible mass of midi ins and outs and also the many possible audio ins an outs ???
in each case you must connect the virtual wires self because the DAW dont know how you think.
Also you can connect the Ports from Cantabile to the DAW directly.
Cheers Jürgen
That’s exactly why the recent discussion centers only a “rack wrapper” that would allow you to use a Cantabile rack as a VST plugin. This should be far easier to manage (as long as no environment ports are used) - simply expose the rack midi and audio inputs to the VST host and keep the inner workings inside. DAWs can deal with plugins with multiple MIDI and audio ports - the VST specification manages that nicely.
Sure, there are some things that will not work in such a context, but it would be a great way to use your fine-tuned Cantabile instrument racks inside your favorite DAW.
Cheers,
Torsten
Metaplugin does it well enough. So does Vienna Ensemble Pro Server. Multiple midi/audio handled without issue.
They might well do, but then I have to go and build the equivalent of a Cantabile Rack and maintain two configurations. I would love to just load the Cantabile racks I have made in a DAW. 
The only point being that plugins have the ability to receive and output multiple midi and audio channels. Juergen seemed think this was an issue.
Any news about this? the idea about make the racks like VST containers loadable as VST plugins would be awesome and would increase enormously the integration beetwen Cantabile to other Daws.
I think Metaplugin or Element and other vst hosts does not even come close to the funcionality of Racks.
Hope this can be considered in a future.
I’d still love to see that! 
This was @brad’s last statement (from above):
VST version is unlikely, Rewire support more likely, VST bridge is another possibility.
I think that pretty well said it all, after all the discussions and re-hashes of the same discussions. Any news would come directly from Brad.
What mean exactly this VST bridge?
Never used it, but I think it is a way to link vsts between two different applications. Someone can correct me on that if wrong, or better explain it.
I think there has been a couple of “VST Bridges” from Steinberg over time, one for the apple transition from ppc to intel chips, the other to use 32<->64 bit plugins.
Not sure what did Brad mean by this for Cantabile, anyway that Vst Rack we are talking about could probably be the best “bridge”.
Here is a currently developed product that accomplishes racking in a portable VST format and is apparently highly thought of in Samplitude circles. One feature I really like about it is its ability to split a signal into multiband components for further processing with plugins of choice:
Here is a no longer developed product (VSTForx) that also accomplishes portable racking in both VST and VSTi formats:
I’m currently using VSTForx with no real issues so far…but taking a good look at Metaplugin for possible upgrade. Nice to have these options to augment what Cantabile offers.
For over a year now I’ve been using Unify (Amazing new plug-in Unify). It is a VST that allows you to create patches of all your other VSTs in layers. Has built-in effects, over 500 patches out of the box by a great sound designer, additional sound libraries you can purchase, etc. But you can load Unify into itself as additional layers too. It works both standalone and in Cantabile or a DAW. And they’re doing a ton of continuous development on it.
So I’ve been working on building my favorite “racks” which are just Unify patches, in Unify. Then I use them in Cubase when composing, or Cantabile when performing. No more rebuilding these all over the place. Also, it’s super easy to quickly add another Unify patch into your existing one (can do it live without glitching). Whenever I get a new VST I’ll go to Unify, create a new library for that VST, and start saving patches in there of my favorite sounds, along with a mastering layer of effects. I have tags and categories for patches so they’re much easier to find in one place.
Unify isn’t a Cantabile replacement, but an awesome VST that is incredibly flexible and I never do any live or composing without it now. So I don’t need Cantabile as a VST; would rather Brad work on other things that make Cantabile great.
@Lowell, not sure if I fully agree with you on this…
I have been a Unify user from the start, but I am still wondering how to use Unify in linked racks and benefit from Cantabile memory management (preloading an entire setlist). Does that work with Unify?
Also, Unify adds 2-3% CPU for every instance; so if we package a VST with Unify, and we have several for a live song, it could easily add up 10% or more to CPU, which is something we do not want
Plus it adds a level of complexity for Cantabile, which is also something we might want to avoid in a live situation
Having loads of racks in Cantabile done (especially last year in Covid times), I’d still love to see Brad providing an option to have the racks available in (other) DAWs
If you found a solution for the linked racks with Unify, I’d be happy to learn…
Update on Kushview Element as a portable rack solution, it does support automation of 8 VST parms in its current build in addition to supporting midi learn in plugins so equipped. Its similar to DDMF’s Metaplugin, and given that Element is opensource, I have at least some suspicions that Meta may be a derivative of Element. Element is a bit green feeling with a few quirks, but the more I use it the better I like it.
I have looked at Unify, but would love to see Brad do an equivalent where you have a Cantabile rack without extra performance overhead that you can use in other hosts.
Appreciate it is not likely, but if you don’t ask…
I guess if nothing like what I am asking for is on the horizon by the end of the year, then I may go the unify route - no rush right now whilst you can’t gig…
I’m not sure why Unify would be any different in preloading entire setlists. It is a VST, so it preloads just like any other VST. I use it a lot in Cantabile for all live work. As to CPU, I’ve not seen Unify add any more overhead than loading the VSTs themselves into a Cantabile rack.
I’ve been converting my Cantabile racks into single Unify patches, so one patch has 3-5 VSTs in it; you don’t need a single Unify instance for a single VST. I’m sure you know this, but it sounds like you’re packaging “a VST with Unify and have several for a live song”… sounds like you’re doing these individually. Am I missing something?
Even if you don’t use Unify to replace racks, it’s an amazing VST. Even with the built-in 500+ patches, I’ve never favorited a larger percentage of built-in patches from any other instrument I’ve used. The sound designer does work for Korg and other synth companies and really has an ear for it.
Then what they’ve just done with their Discover Station library for the BBC Orchestra is very cool…