Create comes with built-in instruments and effects, and can also load your own VST3 and Audio Unit (AU) plugins. This article covers adding and managing plugins on a track, and loading and saving presets.

Add an instrument or effect to a track

Select a track and open the Devices tab.
To add an instrument, click the instrument slot. To add an effect, click the Add Device tile at the end of the effects chain.
Click an effect's name in the list to add the effect right away (for example Channel EQ, Compressor, Reverb, or Delay), or click Browse All to open the full searchable picker, including your third-party plugins.
In the picker, type to filter, then click a plugin or press Enter to load the plugin.

The Add Device list at the end of a track's effects chain, with built-in effects and Browse All

Tip: To add an effect between two devices, click the + in the gap between them, or right-click the gap.

The plus button in the gap between two devices, used to insert an effect there

Open a plugin's window

Hover over the device and click View UI to open the plugin's own window. For instruments, you can also click the glyph in the track header, or right-click the track header and choose Open [instrument].

The View UI button that appears when hovering over a device in Create

To control how plugin windows behave, go to Settings → General. There you can choose whether effect windows open automatically (Auto-show third-party effect windows and Auto-show built-in effect windows) and whether plugin windows stay on top of Create (Keep plugin windows on top).

Replace, remove, or copy plugins

Replace or remove: Right-click a filled slot and choose to replace or remove the plugin. Replacing an effect keeps its position in the chain.
Copy and paste: Select devices and press Cmd+C and Cmd+V. Press Cmd+X to cut effects from one track and paste them on another.
Copy to another track: Drag a device onto another track's header.
Reset a control: Double-click a knob or fader to reset the control to its saved value or default.

Load, save, and manage plugin presets

Each loaded device has a preset pill. Click the preset pill to:

Choose from factory presets and your own user presets.
Save changes to the user preset you're on, or Save As… to save a new user preset.
Revert to the preset as it was when you loaded it.
Delete a user preset. Factory presets can't be deleted.

Note: Plugin presets you save are stored on your computer. Saved projects remember which preset each device is using.

Can I download Splice presets in Create?

No. Presets can't be downloaded or licensed through Rheo or the Create app. To get Splice presets, download them from the Splice website, the Splice desktop app, or the Splice plugin, then load them in your plugins inside your Create projects.

Inside Create, Rheo can shape Serum and Synth patches by ear, or load built-in factory presets for you.

Save a chain of effects

A chain groups several effects together so you can reuse them. To save a chain, click the chain's name and choose Save As…. Saved chains appear under Chains in the Add Device list, so you can add them to any track.

If a plugin doesn't appear

Create scans standard plugin folders when it launches. If a plugin is missing from the picker:

Go to Settings → Plugins.
Click Check for new plugins to scan for plugins installed since the last scan.
If the plugin is installed in a custom location, click Add folder and choose the folder where the plugin is installed.
If the plugin still doesn't appear, click Rescan all plugins. A full rescan clears Create's plugin list and retries plugins that were skipped before.

The Plugins page in Create Settings with Add folder, Check for new plugins, and Rescan all plugins

How do I use plugins and presets in Create?