Rack
====

A chain of up to eight VST3 effects, with the level matched so that swapping
plug-ins in and out does not change how loud the track is.


INSTALL
-------

Unzip the whole download first, then double-click:

    Install-Rack.cmd

It asks for administrator rights once, then copies Rack.vst3 into

    C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\

Open your DAW, rescan plug-ins, and look for "Rack" (VST3).

Rack.exe is the standalone version. It needs no install - run it where it
sits.


WHAT IT HOSTS
-------------

Rack scans exactly one folder for the effects it can load:

    C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3

That is where every VST3 installer writes, so anything you have installed
normally will show up in the picker. Rack does not scan the 32-bit tree, the
user-local folder, or VST3_PATH - a random roll that landed on a stray copy in
someone's build tree is a roll you cannot make sense of.

Instruments and synths are left out, and so are Rack and Happy Accident
themselves: nesting one wrapper inside the other means two level matches
fighting over the same signal.

The first roll on a new machine is the slow one - Rack has to open each
plug-in module to see what is inside it. The answers are cached in

    %APPDATA%\NEAP Rack\plugin-cache.xml

so you pay that once per machine rather than once per session. Delete that
file to force a full re-catalogue.


THE INTERFACE NEEDS INTERNET
----------------------------

Rack's interface is a web page, loaded at
https://neap.cloud/rack/ui/index.html - so the interface can be improved
without shipping you a new plug-in. The machine running Rack needs internet
access for it to draw. If the panel comes up blank, that is the first thing
to check.


IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG
-----------------------

Rack keeps a log of what it loaded and when:

    %APPDATA%\NEAP Rack\logs\rack.log

Third-party plug-ins run in the same process as Rack, and a rack holds
several at once, so one badly behaved effect can stall the host. The log is
there to say which one it was.


LICENCES
--------

The two typefaces the interface is drawn with are licensed under the SIL Open
Font License 1.1. The licences are included in this download under
assets/fonts/.


NEAP Plugins
