manual/_manual/11_working-with-plugins.html

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title: Working With Plugins
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<p><dfn>Plugins</dfn> are bits of software that get loaded by Ardour in order to:</p>
<ul>
  <li>Create various audio or MIDI effects
  </li>
  <li>Generate audio by functioning as "software instruments"
  </li>
</ul>

<p>Ardour does not come with any built-in signal processors of its own
(other than volume faders) and it also generally doesn't ship with any
plugins. They are written by 3rd parties, though we do provide <a href="/working-with-plugins/getting-plugins/">some
  information on how to get them</a>.
</p>

<p>
Ardour supports a variety of different plugin standards:
</p>
<dl class="narrower-table">

  <dt><abbr title="Linux Audio Developers' Simple Plugin API">LADSPA</abbr></dt>
  <dd>An early, simple, lightweight plugin <abbr title="Application
  Programming Interface">API</abbr>, audio effects only,
  plugins have no editors/GUI of their own (Ardour provides one, however).</dd>
  <dt><abbr title="LADSPA Version 2">LV2</abbr></dt>
  <dd>An extensible, full-featured plugin API, audio and <abbr
  title="Musical Instrument Digital Interface">MIDI</abbr>, plugins can provide their
  own  <abbr title="Graphical User Interface">GUI</abbr>s</dd>
  <dt><abbr title="Audio Unit">AU</abbr></dt>
  <dd>OS X only, full featured, audio and MIDI, plugins can provide their own GUI</dd>

  <dt><abbr title="Virtual Studio Technology">VST</abbr></dt>
  <dd>Plugins using Steinberg's VST plugin standard. Varies by platform:
    <dl>
    <dt>on Linux</dt><dd>(native) Linux VST plugins fully supported (VST2.4)</dd>
    <dt>on Windows</dt><dd>(native) Windows VST plugins fully supported (VST2.4)</dd>
    <dt>on OS X</dt><dd>Not supported, unless you use a VST&lt;&gt;AU
    bridge plugin. Similar to Apple's Logic DAW.</dd>
  </dl>
  </dd>

  <dt>Windows VST Plugins on Linux</dt>
  <dd>VST plugins for Windows, but being used on Linux. <em>Not
  supported by normal builds of Ardour. <a href="/working-with-plugins/windows-vst-support">Read
  more...</a></em>
  </dd>
</dl>

<h2>Adding/Removing/Copying Plugins</h2>

<p>Within Ardour, plugins are just another type
of <dfn>Processor</dfn> and so the techniques for
adding/removing/copying/moving processors apply to plugins as
well. These techniques are covered on
the <a href="/working-with-plugins/processor-box">Processor
Box</a> page.</p>

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