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)
A summary of plug-in support in Mixbus:
Plugin input/output configurations for all formats
Mixbus loads mono plugins into mono tracks, and stereo plugins into stereo tracks/buses. Plugins with an unequal
number of inputs and outputs (such as a mono plugin with a sidechain input, or a mono-in, stereo-out effect) cannot
be loaded into Mixbus tracks or buses. Many plugins (particularly older VST plugins) only provide a stereo version.
If you’d like to use a stereo plugin on a mono signal, there is a workaround: create a stereo track and insert the VST
plugin on the track. Then drag the “mono” audio region onto the stereo track. This will play mono information
through the stereo VST.
Apple AU plug-ins (supported on OSX only)
AU (Audio Unit) is the native (Apple-developed) plug-in format for OS X. Most AU plugins can support either mono
or stereo operation from the same plugin package.
LADSPA plug-ins (supported on all platforms)
LADSPA is the "Linux Audio Developer’s Simple Plug-in Architecture". LADSPA plugins are simple to develop and
are freely available. There are nevertheless some 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 platforms (OSX, Linux and Windows). Unlike other formats, Mixbus can load a mono
LADSPA plugin into a stereo channel (by duplicating the plugin and assigning the same controls to both sides of the
signal).
LV2 plug-ins (currently supported on Linux only)
The "next generation" LADSPA plug-ins, LV2 plug-ins may have a customized GUI. LV2 support will likely become
available for all platforms in the future. You must use LV2 plug-ins that are compiled for your platform.
Steinberg VST plug-ins (currently supported on Windows only)
VST (Virtual Studio Technology) plug-ins were developed by Steinberg
TM
and are the most common plug-in format on
Windows. VST plug-ins can be developed for Windows, OSX, and Linux. Mixbus supports VST plugins on Windows
only, but support on other platforms is under development.
Digidesign TDM/RTAS plug-ins (no support currently)
RTAS and TDM plug-ins are proprietary formats for ProTools
TM
. 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)
The DirectX plug-in API was developed by Microsoft and is the native plug-in format for Windows.
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Section 12.0 - Redirects: Plug-ins, Sends & Inserts
Mixbus User Guide
Note:
Instrument plug-ins (plug-ins that take MIDI input and convert them it into audio) are currently not sup-
ported.
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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.
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