# [SOLVED] How to use East West Composer Cloud sounds in Cubase???



## SCP173 (Mar 21, 2020)

Hello,

So I'm currently learning how to use Cubase Elements 10 (I'm a complete beginner). I want to start practicing making my tracks with sound samples from East West Composer cloud, but I am so confused on how to get the sounds into Cubase. I've downloaded some libraries already, and looked around online for some answers but all I see are template how-to's which I am not interested in at the moment. There are also some articles that mention VSTs and Cubase generating .dll files but honestly I am just so confused at this point since my VST folders seem to be all over the place for some reason on my C disk. Now I do have another issue with that because I actually want my sound samples to be stored on another disk, but I figured I'd learn how to use the East West sounds before I deal with moving all my VST files onto another disk.

If anyone is willing to guide me through this process, I will heavily appreciate it. Thanks for reading!


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## Dominik Raab (Mar 21, 2020)

Hi there,

the whole process can certainly be confusing for a beginner. I’ll try and walk you through it step by step. If that’s still confusing, don’t hesitate asking more questions. It’s somewhat difficult to ‘forget’ all the things you’ve learnt over the years and break it down to a beginner level. If you don’t get it, that’s not your fault—it’s mine for explaining it badly. 

*Sample content vs. VST dlls*

Most sample libraries consist of two parts: the actual sample content (individual audio files, *large*) and the player/instrument (*.dll or *.vst files, relatively small). You can move your sample content (the large stuff) around without changing the location of your dll/vst files, as long as you ‘tell’ your instrument afterwards where to find the samples.

In the case of Composer Cloud, the player/instrument is called PLAY. In the EW Installation Center, this is an individual download that should be at the very top (or the second entry if an Installation Center update is available). It installs dll files (for VST version 2) and vst files (for VST version 3). The difference between VST 2 and VST 3 is somewhat advanced and shouldn’t be too important here. You should be able to designate a folder for the dll files during the installation process. VST files usually get installed to the appropriate Cubase sub-folder automatically.

*Using instruments in Cubase*

Once installed, there are two things you need to do in order to use the sounds in Cubase: tell Cubase where to find instruments in general and add the instrument to your current project. I’m on Cubase 9 (full, not elements), so if any of this has changed from 9 to 10, you might have to do some digging as my instructions might not be entirely accurate.

Tell Cubase where to find instruments in general: click “Devices > Plug-in Manager”. In the window that opens, click the cogwheel symbol at the bottom left. This opens the “VST 2 Plug-in Path Settings” menu. Using the + button, you can add a path to where your dll is located. After, hit the button that looks like two semi-circle arrows to refresh.

To add PLAY to your current project, 1) have a project open (duh), 2) open the “Right Zone” (there should be three buttons for the left, bottom and right zones at the top right of your project window) and make sure the tab “VST Instruments” is selected. Then hit “Rack” and select PLAY.

PLAY is now in your first VST instrument slot. In the project window, you can add a new MIDI track and set it to your VST instrument by using the “Inspector” in the left zone. The box for selecting a VST instrument has a symbol that looks like this: [-> Underneath, you can select the channel; it should be set to 1.

PLAY is a multitimbral instrument, which means that one instance (the thing you added to the Rack) can have several instruments in it. By making sure 1 is selected in the Inspector box, you tell your MIDI channel that you’d like it to refer to the first instrument in that instance.




There’s a lot more to learning how to use VST instruments (and PLAY, specifically) in Cubase, but this should get you started. For the rest, there’s always the manual, video tutorials and hard work in the form of “What the *HELL* did I just click and why is it doing that!!!!” — That’s how we all started. Stick with it; it’s worth it


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## SCP173 (Mar 21, 2020)

Dominik Raab said:


> Hi there,
> 
> the whole process can certainly be confusing for a beginner. I’ll try and walk you through it step by step. If that’s still confusing, don’t hesitate asking more questions. It’s somewhat difficult to ‘forget’ all the things you’ve learnt over the years and break it down to a beginner level. If you don’t get it, that’s not your fault—it’s mine for explaining it badly.
> 
> ...


Okay, I was able to follow everything and now I have my first instrument added! Thank you so much for taking the time to help me! Though just one more question for clarification, when would I have multiple dll files in a folder? I found the folder where my dll file is located, but there's just one.


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## Dominik Raab (Mar 21, 2020)

Once you end up buying more products from different developers, those will be separate dll files. With East West, all instruments work with the same player, hence one dll.


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## SCP173 (Mar 21, 2020)

Dominik Raab said:


> Once you end up buying more products from different developers, those will be separate dll files. With East West, all instruments work with the same player, hence one dll.


Ah okay, that makes sense. Thanks again for the help!


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## SlHarder (Mar 23, 2020)

Dominik

Thanks for taking the time to write that very detailed reply.


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## Dominik Raab (Mar 24, 2020)

SlHarder said:


> Dominik
> 
> Thanks for taking the time to write that very detailed reply.



Always happy to help


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