2008/5/21 Ray Rashif <schivmeister@gmail.com>:

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.

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