[LAU] VST, VSTi, LS, etc.

[Rui Nuno Capela]

Ray Rashif wrote:
> OK, the deal about VST "support" on GNU/Linux is that you can read all about
> it scattered all around the WWW. It'd take some time to really get things
> right if you don't come across the correct sources sooner than expected. The
> SDK is freely available, but not free is in our understanding; the license
> forbids redistribution. So, say you were to use the SDK to program a host,
> you're not allowed to let the binary be up for download. Each individual
> must agree to the licensing terms and then download the SDK to compile the
> software himself. This is what limits the so-called support for VSTs on
> Linux, or any free platform.
> 
> In view of the situation, there are currently a few ways to use VST(i)s on
> our favourite distros:
> 
> (1) Proprietary DAW software with Linux offerings. Examples are Renoise,
> energyXT..and I think that's about it.
> 
> (2) Wine-friendly Windows software. Examples are..example is Reaper.
> 
> (3) SDK-compiled Linux software that support it. Examples are Ardour,
> Rosegarden, and I can't really remember the rest. Here you need to download
> the SDK and configure the build to compile against the SDK.
> 
> (4) Linux software with unique support for VSTs built in, with the help of
> Wine. Note: No SDK required. This is my personal favourite route to take.
> Examples are LMMS and Qtractor (via dssi-vst).
> ---- Extra note: Qtractor is different because it relies on a separate
> wrapper, which in turn has that unique Wine-based support built in: dssi-vst
> ---- Previously dssi-vst required the SDK, but not anymore. Yay.
> 
> (5) Native VST host. Native here means Linux-only. These VSTs are those that
> are compiled for the Linux system. There is only 1 such host to my knowledge
> - Jost. The collection of plug-ins (ported or otherwise) isn't all that
> great, but it feels really good being able to run VST instruments natively
> without any overhead or performance loss. The author's few plug-ins are of
> high quality; a talented programmer AND musician he is.
> 

about the linux native vst hosting, i'd like to add that energyxt2, 
renoise, jost _and_ qtractor have all their own support regarding those 
special and rare kind of plugins. jost and qtractor are open-source though

byee
-- 
rncbc aka Rui Nuno Capela
rncbc at rncbc.org