Plugins are bits of software that get loaded by Ardour in order to:
+ +Plugins are bits of software that get loaded by Ardour in order to:
Plugins are written by 3rd parties, and Ardour supports a variety of different plugin standards:
+ +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 some + information on how to get them.. +
+ ++Ardour supports a variety of different plugin standards: +
Within Ardour, plugins are just another type of Processor and so the techniques for adding/removing/copying/moving processors apply to plugins as well. These techniques are covered on the Processor Box page.
Within Ardour, plugins are just another type
+of Processor and so the techniques for
+adding/removing/copying/moving processors apply to plugins as
+well. These techniques are covered on
+the Processor
+Box page.
+The following list shows plugin packages. In some cases, a package contains just 1 or 2 plugins; in other cases, dozens. +
+ ++ Installation will vary a little depending on how you get plugins. If + your repository has a particular plugin package, just install it using + the normal software package management tool for your system. +
++ If the package isn't available, then you can build the plugins from + source (plugins are generally fairly easy to compile). LADSPA Plugins + need to be installed in either /usr/lib/ladspa, /usr/local/lib/ladspa + or in a directory mentioned in your LADSPA_PATH environment + variable. +
++ LV2 plugins are distributed as folders/directories. They need to + installed in either /usr/lib/lv2, /usr/local/lib/lv2 or a directory + mentioned in your LV2_PATH environment variable. +
++ Linux VST (LXVST) plugins are distributed as shared library + files. They are typically installed in /usr/lib/lxvst, + /usr/local/lib/lxvst or a directory mentioned in your LXVST_PATH + environment variable. +
+ ++ Unless you're a particularly technical computer user, building and + installing plugins in the LV2 (or LADSPA) format is probably not + something worth planning on. Ardour releases for OS X ship with a + collection of many LADSPA plugins, some of which are very useful and + some of which are outright buggy. +
+ Most of the plugins you are likely to use on OS X will be in Apple's + AudioUnit format. These have their own installation process that tends to + just work. +
+