3 I/O plugins provide an way to do pre- and post-processing outside the normal
4 session. Pre-plugins run before Ardour does any processing, post-plugins run
5 after Ardour has done all processing. The rationale is to provide a relatively
6 lightweight pre-/post-processing workflow as compared to using busses.
10 A common use case is wet recording where a number of plugins are applied
11 directly to the physical input. The processed signal then can be routed to any
12 number of tracks or busses in Ardour. This is a lot like doing some of the
13 processing with a chain of guitar pedals, then feeding the signal to an Aux In
14 port on a mixing console or an input port on a multi-effects digital
18 <h2>Adding I/O plugins</h2>
21 New I/O plugins can be added in the <kbd class="title">I/O Plugins</kbd>
22 dialog (<kbd class="menu">Window > I/O Plugins</kbd>).
26 <img style="width:50%;" width="50%" src="/images/io-plugins-empty-slots.png" alt="Empty slots in the I/O Plugins dialog">
27 <figcaption>Empty slots in the I/O Plugins dialog</figcaption>
31 Right-clicking opens the same menu for plugin selection available for mixer
36 <img style="width:50%;" width="50%" src="/images/io-plugins-right-click-menu.png" alt="Right-click menu in the I/O Plugins dialog">
37 <figcaption>Right-click menu in the I/O Plugins dialog</figcaption>
41 Double-clicking opens the <kbd class="title">Plugin Selector</kbd> dialog.
45 Once a plugin has been selected and added, it shows in either Pre- or
46 Post-process section depending on your choice.
50 <img style="width:50%;" width="50%" src="/images/io-plugins-one-plugin-added.png" alt="ACE Compressor added to the pre- section">
51 <figcaption>ACE Compressor added to the Pre-process section</figcaption>
54 <h2>Routing I/O plugins</h2>
57 I/O plugins have the same user interface for setting input and outputs that is
58 also available in mixer channel strips. The button above the plugin name opens
59 a drop-down menu for quickly choosing an input port. The button below opens
60 the drop-down menu for choosing the output port.
64 <img style="width:50%;" width="50%" src="/images/io-plugins-choose-output.png" alt="Choosing output for an I/O plugin">
65 <figcaption>Choosing output for an I/O plugin</figcaption>
69 Additionally, new tracks automatically connected to an I/O plugin can be
70 easily created in the <kbd class="title">Recorder</kbd> window by clicking the
71 <kbd class="key">+</kbd> button and then setting a new for that track.
75 <img style="width:50%;" width="50%" src="/images/io-plugins-new-track-from-io-plugin.png" alt="New track connected to an I/O plugin">
76 <figcaption>New track connected to an I/O plugin</figcaption>