2013-01-29 19:26:36 -05:00
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layout: default
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title: Windows VST Support
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---
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2013-03-12 08:32:13 -04:00
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<p>Thanks to the combined work of Torben Hohn, Kjetil Mattheusen, Paul
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Davis and a few other developers, it is possible to use Windows VST
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plugins (that is, plugins in VST format built and distributed for the
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Windows platforms) on Ardour running on Linux. (Note: there is no VST
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support of any kind on OS X).</p>
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2013-01-29 19:26:36 -05:00
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<p>However, doing so has three substantial downsides:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>It requires a special build of Ardour that is fundamentally very different from normal builds.
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</li>
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<li>Support is reliant on <a href="http://winehq.org/">Wine</a>, a Windows "emulator".
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</li>
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<li>As usual with plugins, crashes in the plugin will crash Ardour. And crashes in Windows VST plugins are more likely when used in this way.
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</li>
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</ul>
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2013-03-12 08:32:13 -04:00
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<p>The dependence on Wine makes it almost impossible for the Ardour
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project to support this feature. Wine's functionality generally
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improves over time, but any given release of Wine may behave worse
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with some or all Windows VST plugins. It may even just crash Ardour
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completely.</p>
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<p>Step back and think about what "using Windows VSTs" really means:
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taking bits of software written with only one idea in mind - running
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on the Windows platform - and then trying to use them on an entirely
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different platform. It is a bit of a miracle (largely thanks to the
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incredible work done by the Wine project) that it works at all. But is
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this the basis of a stable, reliable DAW for a non-Windows platform?
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Getting Ardour on Linux to pretend that its really a Windows
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application running on Windows?</p>
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<p>We understand that there are many outstanding plugins available as
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Windows VSTs and that in many cases, no equivalent is available for
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Ardour's Linux-based users. If your workflow is so dependent on those
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plugins, then remain on Windows (or potentially consider using an
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actual Windows VST host running inside of Wine). If you can make the
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effort, you will get a better environment by using a normal build of
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Ardour and exploring the world of plugins built to run on Linux
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natively. This covers LADSPA, LV2 and Linux VST formats, and even some
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outstanding proprietary plugins such as those
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from <a href="http://www.linuxdsp.co.uk/">LinuxDSP</a>
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and <a href="http://www.loomer.co.uk/">Loomer</a>.
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</p>
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<h3>A Plea To Plugin Manufacturers</h3>
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<p>
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Please consider porting your plugins so that users can enjoy them on
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Linux too. Several other commercial plugin developers have already
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done this. You can choose between using "Linux VST" (which is what
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Loomer and others have done) - you will find toolkits like JUCE that
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help to make this fairly easy - or using LV2 format which is
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ultimately more flexible but probably more work. We have users -
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thousands of users - on Linux who would like to use your plugins.
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</p>
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