12.0 Redirects: Plug-ins, Sends & Inserts
Plug-ins
Mixbus can load plug-ins in several formats. Mixbus can only use plug-ins that meet these criteria:
•The plug-in must be a supported format on your platform (see below)
•The plug-in must be installed in the standard folder for your platform.
•The plug-in must be compiled for your platform. (Intel/PPC, OSX/Linux, 32-bit/64-bit)
• The plug-in must support either 1>1 I/O (for mono channels) or 2>2 I/O (for stereo channels)
%Note: Instrument plug-ins (plug-ins that take MIDI input and convert them it into audio) are currently not sup- ported.
A summary of plug-in support in Mixbus:
Apple AU plug-ins (supported on OSX only)
AU (Audio Unit) is the native plug-in format for OSX. AU plug-ins may be free or commercial in nature. AU plug-ins nearly always provide a customized GUI. AU plug-ins may require authorization from the developer to use in your system. AU plug-ins are only available for OSX.
LADSPA plug-ins (supported on OSX and Linux)
LADSPA is the "Linux Audio Developers Simple Plug-in Architecture". Simple to develop and usually free, there are nevertheless many LADSPA plug-ins that are quite good. LADSPA plug-ins do not support customized GUIs, they will simply be shown as sliders on a simple window. Being very portable, most LADSPAs are available for all plat- forms (OSX, Linux and Windows).
LV2 plug-ins (supported on Linux only)
The "next generation" LADSPA plug-ins, LV2 plug-ins will usually have a customized GUI. LV2 plug-ins may be free or commercial. LV2 plug-ins may require authorization from the developer to use in your system. LV2 is portable and plug-ins will likely become available for all platforms in the future. You must use LV2 plug-ins that are compiled for your platform, but there is a method of packaging LV2 plug-ins which bundles one or more platforms into a single plug-in object. This will make LV2 a very popular format in the future.
Steinberg VST plug-ins (no support currently)
VST (Virtual Studio Technology) plug-ins were developed by SteinbergTM and are the most common plug-in format on Windows. VST plug-ins can be developed for Windows, OSX, and Linux. Mixbus does NOT support VST plug-ins in any current release, but this is under development.
Digidesign TDM/RTAS plug-ins (no support currently)
RTAS and TDM plug-ins are proprietary formats for ProToolsTM. Mixbus does NOT support RTAS or TDM plug-ins. It is unlikely that Mixbus will ever support RTAS or TDM plug-ins.
Windows DirectX plug-ins (no support currently)
%Note: While we have taken care to follow the specifications for each plug-in format, plug-ins are developed by third-party vendors. This means that Harrison cannot take responsibility for plug-ins that don't work as
expected. Please use caution when trying a plug-in for the first time. Verify that all the functions work as expected before committing to using a particular plug-in in a session.
The DirectX plug-in API was developed by Microsoft and is the native plug-in format for Windows. Mixbus does NOT support DirectX plug-ins in any current release.
