Torq User Guide » Chapter 1 71Torq User Guide » Chapter 13 71VST Effects
The 10 built-in e ffects provided with Torq cover a wide range of effec ts typically used by DJs—many DJs will never need more
than the se built-in e ffects. Othe rs, however, will want to e xplore the pos sibilities of additional effect s. For thi s reason, Torq
allows you to use third-par ty plug-ins that adhere to the VST sta ndard (referred to as “VST plug-ins”).
The amount of third-party VST effects available on the market today is s taggering. The v ariety can rang e from top-of-th e-line
audio master ing plug-ins t o simple devices made by some one in their spare time. As a result , your mileage with VST plug-ins
will vary.
Latency
Another potenti al drawback from using V ST plug-ins is latenc y. Latency is the obser ved lag between whe n you trigger an
event or ac tion on the computer and whe n you nally hear the results . When running without any VS T plug-ins, Torq’s
latency is nearly undet ectable—Torq will respond to scratches, but ton presses, and knob tweaks immed iately.
Some VST plug-ins, however, must per form very complex calculations on the aud io. Sometimes, these calculations require
that the plug- in buffer the audio so that it can process it in large chunks. In these cases, th e plug-in will ll it s buffer with
some audio sent from Torq. It will the n process the audio and send it to an o utput buffer. Once the output buf fer is lled,
the audio is sent back to Torq. This process, while extremely fast , can still manifest itself as a perceived lag in response time.
And, as you can see, this phe nomenon is beyond the control of Torq (the latency is created by the plug- in, not Torq).
If you  nd that a V ST plug-in you’re us ing is creating latency, you can try to n d a similar-sounding plug-in with minimal
latency, or simply try to “pl ay ahead” and anticipate t he latency. While some other programs feature “Plug-in Delay
Compensation,” such a syste m would not work with Torq because the program is entirely real-t ime (the music and effects
are not preset or programmed).
Selecting Effect s
To begin using a VST, you’ll need to select one from the list of availa ble VSTs:
1. Click on the top window i n the VST section of the Effe ct Rack. A pop-up menu will appear showing all valid VSTs
in the selected VST folder (see Pl ug-in Preferences).
2. Click on the name of a V ST. It will be loaded immediately and the VS T’s graphic interface will open a nd oat over
the Torq interface.
3. To close the window, click the close icon in the window’s title ba r or click the Wrench icon in the Effect Rack.
4. To open the same VST interface ag ain, click the Wrench icon again.
Note: At the top of t he VST drop-down menu list , you will see a “blank” plug- in as an option. If you select i t, no VST will
be loaded into the Slot (any current VST wil l be unloaded).