84 lines
3.0 KiB
Markdown
84 lines
3.0 KiB
Markdown
+++
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title = "Installing plugins"
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description = "How to install plugins for Ardour"
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chapter = false
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weight = 6
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While Ardour already ships with some plugins, chances are that you will need
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more than that: a more sophisticated compressor or reverb, a sampler that
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can play a high-quality orchestra library, a polyphonic synthesizer etc.
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Ardour supports mutiple plugins APIs:
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- **Linux**: LADSPA, LV2, VST2.x, VST3
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- **Windows**: LADSPA, LV2, VST2.x, VST3
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- **macOS**: LADSPA, LV2, VST2.x, VST3, AU
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You can find a list of recommended free/libre plugins
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[in the appendix](../../appendices/plugins/).
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## Installing plugins
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### LADSPA and LV2
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These plugins mostly don't have binary builds for Windows and macOS, so on
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those systems, most of the time you will be dealing with VST2, VST3, or AU.
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On Linux, LV2 is a very popular option. If you only install plugins from your
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distribution's repository, there is nothing else you should do. Ardour will
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pick up new plugins easily. But if you do build a plugin from source code, the
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build script will typically attempt to copy a `plugin-name.lv2` folder either
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to `/usr/local/lib/lv2` or to `~/.lv2`.
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### VST2.x
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VST2 plugins do not have vendor-recommended location for installation, so what
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you can do is:
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1. Unpack all your VST2.x plugins to the same folder. (On Linux, `~/.vst` is
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commonly suggested.)
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2. In Ardour, go to _Edit > Preferences > Plugins > VST_ and in the VST2.x
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section, click the **Edit** button to add a new path to VST2.x plugins.
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3. Add the path to the folder you created in step 1. Ardour will ask if you
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want to rescan plugins. Say 'yes'.
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This approach works on each supported operating system.
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### VST3
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The VST3 specification has hardcoded system paths for storing plugins. On
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Windows and macOS, most of the time, you get your plugins installed to the
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right folder, so all you need to do is re-scan plugin folders.
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On Linux, in many cases you get a ZIP archive with a `plugin-name.vst3` folder
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inside. That folder needs to go to `~/.vst3` or, should you want all users on
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that computer to have access, to `/usr/local/lib/vst3`.
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### AU
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These macOS-specific plugins get installed from DMG to the correct folders.
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All you need to do is re-scan those folders.
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## Re-scanning folders for installed plugins
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Upon installation it is recommended to re-scan available plugins. This is
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typically done with the _Plugin Manager_ (_Window > Plugin Manager_).
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{{< figure src="en/plugin-manager.png" alt="Plugin manager" >}}
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If you only installed new plugins, discovering those will be sufficient. In
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the left sidebar of the _Plugin Manager_, click **Discover New/Updated**, the
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wait for the scan to finish.
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If you removed some of the previously installed plugins, it's best to do a
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full re-scan. Click **Re-scan All** instead and wait for the scan to finish.
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## Continuing
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Now that you know what to do if you want to install an effect plugin or a
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software synthesizer, let's learn how to record audio and MIDI to Ardour.
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Next: [RECORDING AUDIO](../../recording/recording-audio/) |