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[ardour-manual-diverged] / _manual / 11_working-with-plugins / 08_windows-vst-support.html

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+layout: default
+title: Using Windows VST Plugins on Linux
+---                        
+
+<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. (Note: there 
+  is no VST support of any kind on OS X).
+</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 (largely thanks 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>
+  We understand that there are many outstanding plugins available as
+  Windows VSTs and that in many cases, no equivalent is available for
+  Ardour's Linux-based users. If your workflow is so dependent on those
+  plugins, then remain on Windows (or potentially consider using an
+  actual Windows VST host running inside of Wine). If you can make the
+  effort, you will get a better environment 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 more work. We have users&mdash;thousands of users&mdash;on Linux who would like to use your plugins. 
+</p>
+