I recently bought a digital piano. It was mainly to learn piano, but also as a controller to use with Omnisphere. I really did think it would be as simple as installing the discs, connecting the keyboard by USB to my PC and then synthesizing away.I thought I didn't need anything else and that I could get to grips with DAWs at a later date, but clearly I was wrong! So my question is: what is the simplest — ie. most idiot-proof — way of getting sound from Omnisphere on my PC that won't require too much technical ability and know-how?

With the VST player your software becomes hardware! The player allows you to activate VST instruments and effects, use them immediately with the same ease of use of real devices, and combine them to. VST player in the mixer — 19 independent VST hosts Unlike other similar devices, AudioStation’s VST player is integrated within a digital mixer that can handle VST software instruments as well as real instruments and microphones, and apply VST effects.

This is Spectrasonic's Omnisphere running as a stand-alone soft synth inside Herman Seib's excellent Savihost utility. Savihost is one of the simplest VST hosts, as well as being a valuable test tool.

Get the 200 best free VST plugins ever made. From synth VSTs and drum VSTs to VST effects, this huge list has only the best of the best plugins. Plogue Sforzando is a simple standalone player for the non. VPlayer 2 by Digital Brain Instruments is an Audio Plugin Host and a Standalone Application for macOS and Windows. It functions as a Standalone Application. It can host VST Plugins, Audio Units Plugins and VST 3 Plugins. SM Pro Audio V-Machine Stand-alone VST Plug-in Player Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.

Via SOS web site

SOS contributor Martin Walker replies: To use a plug-in like Omnisphere without a DAW, you require a host application capable of loading VST instruments. Examples of suitable 'full-featured' hosts include Ableton Live, Cubase, GarageBand, Logic and Reaper. Developers do get occasional complaints from users if they don't provide a standalone version of their software instruments as well as the plug-in version, but there's really no need for them to take the time, trouble and expense of creating their own stand-alone application when so many simple host utilities are also already available to let you run any VST instrument in stand-alone mode.

Mac users can download VST Lord (http://arne.knup.de/?page_id=32) for OS X use, while PC users have several choices, including the free Cantabile Lite (www.cantabilesoftware.com), Tobybear's donationware Minihost (www.tobybear.de/p_minihost.html), and Herman Seib's Savihost (www.hermannseib.com/english/Savihost.htm).

Savihost is probably the simplest to use of all of those listed above. It was created for the sole purpose of automatically loading only one VSTi, is extremely quick to load, is light on system resources, is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions to suit whichever format of soft synth you're using, and also supports ASIO drivers for low latency during performance. You just unzip the Savihost file into the same folder as the DLL file for your VST instrument (in this case Omnisphere.dll), then rename the file Savihost.exe to the name of your instrument (so, in this case, Omnisphere.exe).

Finally, double-click on this renamed file and your instrument will appear in all its glory. Just use Savihost's Devices menu to choose your MIDI input device and audio output device and you can start playing it. Even if you don't have a keyboard controller on hand, you can download a different version of Savihost including its own software version that you can play with your mouse.

I've used Savihost myself on quite a few occasions over the years, and not only for playing soft synths as stand-alone applications. It's also a very useful tool if you have any problems running a particular soft synth in a DAW, since you can use it to check that the synth is installed and running correctly without all the extra paraphernalia associated with sequencers, editors and so on. As before, just drop the Savihost file into the same folder as the problem synth DLL, rename it and then double-click on it. If the synth works properly in Savihost, any problem is most likely to be with your DAW. The other advantage of the renaming process is that you can have several instances of Savihost in one 'vstplugins' folder, each launching a different stand-alone synth.

Our UK engineer, Graham, found this new product from SM Pro Audio – It’s a stand alone VST player. We haven’t had a chance to look at this or play with one yet, but the implications are clear, as you can now carry VST plug-ins with you in a small portable format without needing a complete PC coming along. Imagine just plugging this into your wind synth or keyboard rig. We think you will agree this is most cool!!

Here’s a blurb from SM Pro Audio’s website:

Standalone Vst Plugin Player

The V-Machine is a compact VST/VSTi hardware playback module built for performance keyboard players and DJ’s. It is one little beast that can’t be underestimated once loaded up with your favorite VST instrument and effect plug-ins. Take your plug-ins on the road or into the studio and access them live without a computer. Multiple plug-ins can be pre-loaded into bank/preset memories for immediate access. Combine VST and VSTi plug-ins into chains, splits, and layers to create extremely rich and unique sounds. Full external MIDI controller support allows users access to available loaded plug-in parameter controls such as virtual dials, switches, and faders.

Free 64 Bit Vst Plugins

Quoting our lead software engineer, Bob Smith:

That’s amazing – that means there has to be a VST engine under the hood of that dude… a non-trivial effort!!

Check out their other products too, such as V-Pedal and V-Rack. We are V-envious!!!