Signal path
Installed a plug-in but cannot find it?
The existing six signal-path guides did not include a dedicated installation answer. Use this checklist to narrow the problem, then open the relevant DAW guide for exact host steps.
Step by step
Change the order if the material asks for it. The reasons are in each step.
1. Confirm compatibility
Read the current installer’s operating-system, architecture and format requirements. A host cannot load a format it does not support, even if another DAW on the same computer can.
2. Check the right list
Use the host’s plug-in manager to rescan the installer’s destination. Look in instruments for an instrument and in audio effects for an effect. Check whether the host reports a failed scan.
3. Separate scanning from activation
If the plug-in opens but asks for a licence, the host has found it. Follow the product’s activation route or contact support; repeatedly moving the binary is unlikely to solve a licence problem.
Listening check
Once the plug-in loads, use a simple source at a comfortable level and confirm audio routing. Save, close and reopen the session before adding it to an important project.
Go deeper
Questions about this chain
- What should I send support when scanning fails?
- Send the DAW and version, operating system and architecture, plug-in name and version, installer format, and the exact scan message. Do not send a password or licence secret.
Other signal paths
- A vocal chain that starts with the problem
- A drum bus that glues without flattening
- A mix bus chain in the order that keeps decisions reversible
- A mastering chain with one job per stage
- A beat session from empty project to arranged loop
- A sound-design pass: source, movement, space
- Fix harsh vocal sibilance
- Hit streaming loudness without crushing the mix
- Make a clean synth sound old
- Glue a drum bus: one compressor decision
- Set up plug-ins in your first home studio