Rip out references to Windows VST on Linux

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Alexandre Prokoudine 2023-01-15 00:00:21 +03:00
parent 9f0530b935
commit 368504c342
4 changed files with 31 additions and 103 deletions

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<h3>Linux</h3>
<p>
In linux there are 3 kinds of plugins Ardour can use. LADSPA, LV2 (LADSPA version 2)
or lxvst (VSTs compiled as native linux binaries). While it is possible
with some strange magic to run <a href="@@using-windows-vst-plugins-on-linux">Windows VSTs</a>
on linux, their whereabouts would follow the Windows info below.
On Linux, there are 4 kinds of plugins Ardour can use: LADSPA, LV2 (LADSPA
version 2), VST2, and VST3.
</p>
<h4>LADSPA</h4>

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<p>
Thanks to the combined work of Torben Hohn, Kjetil Mattheusen, Paul
Davis and a few other developers, it is possible to use Windows
<dfn><abbr title="Virtual Studio Technology">VST</abbr>
plugins</dfn> (that is, plugins in VST format built and distributed
for the Windows platforms) on Ardour running on Linux.
</p>
<p>However, doing so has three <em>substantial</em> downsides:</p>
<ul>
<li>It requires a special build of Ardour that is fundamentally
very different from normal builds</li>
<li>Support depends on <a href="http://winehq.org/">Wine</a>,
a Windows "emulator"</li>
<li>As usual with plugins, a crashing plugin will take Ardour down
with it&mdash;and crashes in Windows VST plugins are more likely when
used in this way</li>
</ul>
<p>
The dependence on Wine makes it almost impossible for the Ardour
project to support this feature. Wine's functionality generally
improves over time, but any given release of Wine may behave worse
with some or all Windows VST plugins. It may even just crash Ardour
completely.
</p>
<p>
Step back and think about what "using Windows VSTs" really means:
taking bits of software written with only one idea in mind&mdash;running
on the Windows platform&mdash;and then trying to use them on an entirely
different platform. It is a bit of a miracle (thanks largely to the
incredible work done by the Wine project) that it works at all. But is
this the basis of a stable, reliable DAW for a non-Windows platform?
Getting Ardour on Linux to pretend that its really a Windows
application running on Windows?
</p>
<p>
It is understandable that there are many outstanding plugins available as
Windows VSTs and, that in many cases, no equivalent is available for Linux.
If a workflow is so dependent on those plugins, Ardour should be used on
Windows (or potentially used with an actual Windows VST host running inside
of Wine). If the effort can be made, a better environment can be obtained by
using a normal build of Ardour and exploring the world of plugins built to
run on Linux natively. This covers LADSPA, LV2 and Linux VST formats, and
even some outstanding proprietary plugins such as those from
<a href="http://www.loomer.co.uk/">Loomer</a>.
</p>
<h2>A Plea To Plugin Manufacturers</h2>
<p>
Please consider porting your plugins so that users can enjoy them on
Linux too. Several other commercial plugin developers have already
done this. You can choose between using "Linux VST" (which is what
Loomer and others have done)&mdash;you will find toolkits like JUCE that
help to make this fairly easy&mdash;or using LV2 format which is
ultimately more flexible but probably requires more work. We have
users&mdash;thousands of users&mdash;on Linux who would like to use your
plugins.
</p>

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</p>
<table class="dl">
<tr><th><abbr title="Linux Audio Developers' Simple Plugin API">LADSPA</abbr></th>
<td>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).</td></tr>
<tr><th><abbr title="LADSPA Version 2">LV2</abbr></th>
<td>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 but may use the
one Ardour provides instead.</td></tr>
<tr><th><abbr title="Audio Unit">AU</abbr></th>
<td>OS X only, full featured, audio and MIDI, plugins can provide their own GUI</td></tr>
<tr><th><abbr title="Virtual Studio Technology">VST</abbr></th>
<td>Plugins using Steinberg's VST plugin standard. Varies by platform:
<table class="dl">
<tr><th>on Linux</th><td>(native) Linux VST plugins fully supported (VST2.4)</td></tr>
<tr><th>on Windows</th><td>(native) Windows VST plugins fully supported (VST2.4)</td></tr>
<tr><th>on OS X</th><td>(native) macOS VST plugins fully supported (VST2.4) since Ardour 5.5</td></tr>
</table>
</td></tr>
<tr><th>Windows VST Plugins on Linux</th>
<td>VST plugins for Windows, but being used on Linux. <em>Not
supported by normal builds of Ardour. <a href="@@using-windows-vst-plugins-on-linux">Read
more&hellip;</a></em>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<th><abbr title="Linux Audio Developers' Simple Plugin API">LADSPA</abbr></th>
<td>
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).</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><abbr title="LADSPA Version 2">LV2</abbr></th>
<td>
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 but
may use the one Ardour provides instead.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><abbr title="Audio Unit">AU</abbr></th>
<td>
OS X only, full featured, audio and MIDI, plugins can provide their own
GUI
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th><abbr title="Virtual Studio Technology">VST</abbr></th>
<td>
Plugins using Steinberg's VST2 and VST3 plugin standard.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h2>Adding/Removing/Copying Plugins</h2>

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@ -1929,14 +1929,6 @@ uri: working-with-plugins/getting-plugins
part: subchapter
---
---
title: Using Windows VST Plugins on Linux
include: using-windows-vst-plugins-on-linux.html
link: using-windows-vst-plugins-on-linux
uri: working-with-plugins/windows-vst-support
part: subchapter
---
---
title: Automation
include: automation.html