Fairlight · Audio Plugins · Resolve 21
Audio Plugins and External Audio Processing in Fairlight
Resolve 21 separates three ideas that are often mixed together: VST search paths, native Fairlight FX in the Mixer, and External Audio Processes configured in Preferences. This page follows the live Windows interface shown in the encyclopedia captures.
VST paths
Resolve scans configured folders for third-party audio plugins.
Fairlight FX
Native effects stay available directly from the Mixer Effects menu.
External processes
Command Line, Clipboard and Reveal create a separate external-processing workflow.
1. Preferences
System → Audio Plugins is the control center for plugin discovery
The live Resolve 21 page exposes VST Effects folders, an Available Plugins table and a separate Setup External Audio Processes section on the same screen.
Default VST folders
The capture shows Steinberg VstPlugins, Program FilesVstPlugins and Common FilesVST3.
Available Plugins can be empty
That is still a valid state: Resolve knows where to scan even when no third-party plugin is currently listed.
2. Native Fairlight FX
Mixer Effects are a separate workflow from external processing
The Mixer Effects menu exposes Fairlight categories directly on the channel strip. The captured Resolve 21 interface shows Restoration and EQ as concrete examples.
Insert processing
FX inserted on a track or bus remain part of the Fairlight mixer signal chain.
Native first
Many cleanup and EQ tasks are already covered by native processors before any external editor is needed.
Different from VST scanning
The existence of Fairlight FX does not depend on the third-party Available Plugins list.
3. External Audio Processes
External processing is configured as a named process, not as a Mixer insert
Resolve 21 exposes three process types in the configuration menu: Command Line, Clipboard and Reveal. This is a bridge to an external workflow, not another Fairlight effect category.
Command Line
Designed for a process that Resolve can call through an executable or command-oriented workflow.
Clipboard
A clipboard-oriented handoff for compatible external workflows.
Reveal
A reveal-oriented action for locating or exposing the audio file externally.
4. Practical distinction
Choose the integration layer that matches the task
Need an insert?
Use a Fairlight FX or a discovered third-party plugin inside the Mixer.
Need a separate editor?
Use External Audio Processes when the job belongs outside Resolve and must be handed off deliberately.
No third-party plugin installed?
The page still remains useful: paths, native FX and external-process setup are independent parts of the system.
Related workflow
Cache and Bounce Audio Effects
Once effects are part of a clip workflow, the next question is when Resolve caches them and when you commit them with Bounce Audio Effects.