diff --git a/gtk2_ardour/ardour_ui.cc b/gtk2_ardour/ardour_ui.cc
index 7319be632e..cc173c80e3 100644
--- a/gtk2_ardour/ardour_ui.cc
+++ b/gtk2_ardour/ardour_ui.cc
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@
 #include "ardour/midi_track.h"
 #include "ardour/filesystem_paths.h"
 #include "ardour/filename_extensions.h"
+#include "ardour/process_thread.h"
 
 typedef uint64_t microseconds_t;
 
@@ -332,6 +333,8 @@ ARDOUR_UI::ARDOUR_UI (int *argcp, char **argvp[])
 	starting.connect (sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ARDOUR_UI::startup));
 	stopping.connect (sigc::mem_fun(*this, &ARDOUR_UI::shutdown));
 
+	_process_thread = new ProcessThread ();
+	_process_thread->init ();
 }
 
 /** @return true if a session was chosen and `apply' clicked, otherwise false if `cancel' was clicked */
@@ -3851,3 +3854,17 @@ ARDOUR_UI::ambiguous_file (std::string file, std::string /*path*/, std::vector<s
 	dialog.run ();
 	return dialog.get_which ();
 }
+
+/** Allocate our thread-local buffers */
+void
+ARDOUR_UI::get_process_buffers ()
+{
+	_process_thread->get_buffers ();
+}
+
+/** Drop our thread-local buffers */
+void
+ARDOUR_UI::drop_process_buffers ()
+{
+	_process_thread->drop_buffers ();
+}
diff --git a/gtk2_ardour/ardour_ui.h b/gtk2_ardour/ardour_ui.h
index 025039156e..c6dc7ba0b0 100644
--- a/gtk2_ardour/ardour_ui.h
+++ b/gtk2_ardour/ardour_ui.h
@@ -105,6 +105,7 @@ namespace ARDOUR {
 	class Route;
 	class RouteGroup;
 	class Location;
+	class ProcessThread;
 }
 
 class ARDOUR_UI : public Gtkmm2ext::UI, public ARDOUR::SessionHandlePtr
@@ -266,6 +267,9 @@ class ARDOUR_UI : public Gtkmm2ext::UI, public ARDOUR::SessionHandlePtr
 	void add_window_proxy (WindowProxyBase *);
 	void remove_window_proxy (WindowProxyBase *);
 
+	void get_process_buffers ();
+	void drop_process_buffers ();
+
   protected:
 	friend class PublicEditor;
 
@@ -724,6 +728,11 @@ class ARDOUR_UI : public Gtkmm2ext::UI, public ARDOUR::SessionHandlePtr
 	bool click_button_clicked (GdkEventButton *);
 
 	VisibilityGroup _status_bar_visibility;
+
+	/** A ProcessThread so that we have some thread-local buffers for use by
+	 *  PluginEqGui::impulse_analysis ().
+	 */
+	ARDOUR::ProcessThread* _process_thread;
 };
 
 #endif /* __ardour_gui_h__ */
diff --git a/gtk2_ardour/plugin_eq_gui.cc b/gtk2_ardour/plugin_eq_gui.cc
index 254f57a243..bab2119f69 100644
--- a/gtk2_ardour/plugin_eq_gui.cc
+++ b/gtk2_ardour/plugin_eq_gui.cc
@@ -317,6 +317,9 @@ PluginEqGui::signal_collect_callback(ARDOUR::BufferSet *in, ARDOUR::BufferSet *o
 void
 PluginEqGui::run_impulse_analysis()
 {
+	/* Allocate some thread-local buffers so that Plugin::connect_and_run can use them */
+	ARDOUR_UI::instance()->get_process_buffers ();
+	
 	uint32_t inputs  = _plugin->get_info()->n_inputs.n_audio();
 	uint32_t outputs = _plugin->get_info()->n_outputs.n_audio();
 
@@ -406,6 +409,8 @@ PluginEqGui::run_impulse_analysis()
 
 	// This signals calls expose_analysis_area()
 	_analysis_area->queue_draw();
+
+	ARDOUR_UI::instance()->drop_process_buffers ();
 }
 
 bool
diff --git a/libs/ardour/globals.cc b/libs/ardour/globals.cc
index 7c713980c3..0a4ec4cab3 100644
--- a/libs/ardour/globals.cc
+++ b/libs/ardour/globals.cc
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ ARDOUR::init (bool use_vst, bool try_optimization)
 	new PluginManager ();
 
         ProcessThread::init ();
-        BufferManager::init (10); // XX should be num_processors_for_dsp
+        BufferManager::init (10); // XX should be num_processors_for_dsp + 1 for the GUI thread
 
         PannerManager::instance().discover_panners();