What Is the VST And How Is It Different To An Application?

There is some confusion in the beginner music production community between a VST and an Application.  I have often heard people referring to applications as VSTs and I have seen people trying to run a VST as a stand-alone application.

The easiest way to understand the difference is to realize that a VST is a plug in that extends the functionality of an application by adding more features.  The confusion usually arises from the manner in which a VST appears.  A VST will be displayed as a separate window when run, which often gives the impression that it’s its own application, however it can not run on its own.  An example of a VST, in the form of a Dubstep specialized VST, can be found here https://www.produbstepcreator.com/the-best-dubstep-vst/

I like to think of it as a metaphor for actual hardware.  An application such as Cubase or Logic are like a software version of a standard recording studio, they have all the little bits of hardware you need to record and sequence as well as some basic general effects and drum machines.  If you want to add extra functionality you must go out and purchase more hardware and connect it to the existing studio, this is exactly what a VST is, it’s additional hardware but in the form of a software plugin.