Runs your VST2 and VST3 synths
Pick a synth from the list Sonora finds on your PC and it opens inside the plugin, with its own window and all its controls. A badge shows whether each entry is VST2 or VST3.
Plugin Host
Open your synth inside Sonora Manager
The Plugin Host runs a VST2 or VST3 synth inside the Sonora plugin, so your preset library and your sound live in the same window.
What it does
Connects to your presets
Open a preset from the Presets tab and the Plugin Host loads the right synth for it.
Applied means applied
Sonora checks that the synth really changed before saying a preset was applied, and never applies a preset to the wrong plugin.
Passes MIDI through
MIDI from your DAW reaches the synth, so you play it like any other instrument.
Keeps your work
The synth, VST2 or VST3, and its settings are saved in your DAW project and restored when you reopen it.
Undo and redo
Every plugin switch and every preset load can be undone and redone.
Your own presets
Save the current sound as a preset, rename it, duplicate it and add it to collections.
Two ways a preset reaches the synth
What you do depends on the synth. Either way, you start from the Presets tab.
Loads by itself
Double-click a preset, or press Open in Plugin Host. Sonora loads the synth and hands it the preset.
Serum 2 (.SerumPreset) · Diva (.h2p) · Sylenth1 and other VST2 synths (.fxp)
You drop the preset
Sonora loads the synth and shows a banner with the preset file. Drag it onto the synth window.
Vital · Massive · Spire · Phase Plant · other synths
Good to know
- VST2 and VST3
- The Plugin Host loads 64-bit VST2 (.dll) and VST3 plugins. When a synth is installed in both formats, each format is its own entry in the list.
- 32-bit plugins
- A 32-bit VST2 cannot be loaded and is skipped.
- Runs inside your DAW
- The synth runs in the same process as your DAW, like any other plugin.
- Finds synths on your PC
- The first time, Sonora scans your VST2 and VST3 folders. You can add extra folders if your plugins live somewhere else. After installing a new synth, scan again.
- Serum 1 presets
- Serum 1 (.fxp) presets cannot be applied to Serum 2. They load on the VST2 version of Serum 1.
- Sylenth1 needs its VST2 version
- Sylenth1 loads presets by itself on its VST2 version. With only a VST3 version installed, you drag the preset.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Plugin Host replace my synths?
No. Your synths stay installed and work as they always do. Sonora only opens them inside the plugin. You need your own licensed copy of each synth.
Which synths can it open?
Any 64-bit VST2 or VST3 synth installed on your PC. Serum 2, Diva and VST2 synths like Sylenth1 also load presets by themselves.
Will the sound be there when I reopen my project?
Yes, as long as the synth is still installed on that computer. The synth and its settings are saved in the DAW project.
Do I have to drag every preset?
Only with synths other than Serum 2, Diva and the VST2 synths whose presets are .fxp files. With those, a double-click is enough.