Steinberg introduced VSTs in 1996 as part of its Cubase digital audio workstation. Initially, VST only supported effects plugins such as reverb, delay and chorus. In 1999, the company introduced the first VST instruments. These instruments could generate audio from a MIDI input, and required no other audio source. The first VST instrument was a simple two-oscillator subtractive synthesizer called "Neon"; drum machine and sampler VST instruments followed in later years. Rather than keeping control over VST, Steinberg made the standard's development kit freely available, meaning that anyone with enough programming knowledge can make a VST instrument. Today, thousands of different VST instruments are available
If you can think of a musical instrument, there's likely to be a VST instrument of it. Using VST, developers have created emulations of string instruments, pianos, guitars, organs and synthesizers. There's even a VST instrument dedicated solely to producing Halloween sounds. Many older analog synthesizers are also now available in VST versions. The price of the VST instrument is usually a fraction of the cost of the hardware synth, meaning that musicians can try out synthesizers that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive. The cost of a VST instrument can range from free to thousands of dollars, depending on the complexity of the instrument.
VST instruments cannot produce sound on their own. To play a VST instrument, you'll need a digital audio workstation like Cubase, Ableton Live or Fruity Loops. Load a VST instrument into your digital audio workstation, then create or import a MIDI clip on the VST instrument's channel. Play the MIDI clip to produce audio using the VST instrument. Each digital workstation stores VST instruments in a customized folder; when you install new VST instruments, ensure that the installer places them in the correct location.
Although VST is widely supported, it's not the only format for virtual instruments. Apple's Garageband and Logic software support the Audio Unit standard, while the professional-level audio editing software Pro Tools uses Avid's Real-Time AudioSuite framework. Some developers also use Microsoft's DirectX development kit to create virtual instruments. Many virtual instruments, especially commercial programs, include VST, RTAS and DirectX versions in their installers.