Ardrour 6 low pass filter automation

[aario (Aario Iran)]

Hi Folks,
I have Ardour 6.2.0 installed.
I have a midi track. I want to add an automation to it which filters sound output to low frequencies and then gradually increases the maximum frequency that the filter passes. How can I do that?
Thanks in advance.

[seablade]

Well do you have an effect you are using to filter the sound, or is this something built in to the synth you are using?

if not you need to find one or the other. If so you use an automation track:
https://manual.ardour.org/mixing/automation/controlling-a-track-with-automation/

    Seablade

[aario (Aario Iran)]

Thanks for the reply. I’m only using a low end casio keyboard and I don’t think it has such an effect. So I’m looking for a filter that does it. I’m familiar with automatons. But the only automatons I found were to fade out and fade in and generally set volume level of the track. Do you know the name of the filter that does what I wrote about?

[seablade]

The a-* plugins that come with Ardour have a high and lowpass filter that could be used for this. For what you described you will want to look at the Lowpass filter most likelyand then automate the cutoff frequency.

    Seablade

[aario (Aario Iran)]

Thank you for the reply.
I think I cannot access a-* plugins. When I:

• Right click on a Calf Fluid Synth MIDI track in Ardour 6
• Select Automation
• There is Process Automation, Fader, Mute and Pan
• Inside Process Automation submenu, there is only Calf Fluid Synth
• Inside Calf Fluid Synth there is only Volume, Interpolation, Reverb, Corus
  The same on an audio track only shows Fader, Mute, Trim and Pan options.
  This page:
  https://manual.ardour.org/mixing/plugin-and-hardware-inserts/plugins-bundled-with-ardour/
  Shows that there is a filter named a-High/Low Pass Filter

How can I install a-High/Low Pass Filter ? I compiled and installed Ardour 6 on my Debian linux.

This is how I configured ardour:
$ ./waf configure
jSetting top to : /tmp/Ardour-6.2.0
Setting out to : /tmp/Ardour-6.2.0/build
Checking for ‘gcc’ (C compiler) : /usr/bin/gcc
Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++

Global Configuration

• Install prefix : /usr/local
• Debuggable build : True
• Build documentation : False

Ardour Configuration

• Will build against private GTK dependency stack : no
• Will rely on libintl built into libc : yes
• Will build against private Ardour dependency stack : no
  Checking for function ‘dlopen’ in dlfcn.h : yes
  Checking for boost library >= 1.56 : ok
  Checking for program ‘pkg-config’ : /usr/bin/pkg-config
  Checking for ‘alsa’ : yes
  Checking for ‘libpulse’ : yes
  Checking for ‘glib-2.0’ >= 2.28 : yes
  Checking for ‘gthread-2.0’ >= 2.2 : yes
  Checking for ‘glibmm-2.4’ >= 2.32.0 : yes
  Checking for ‘sndfile’ >= 1.0.18 : yes
  Checking for ‘giomm-2.4’ >= 2.2 : yes
  Checking for ‘libcurl’ >= 7.0.0 : yes
  Checking for ‘libarchive’ >= 3.0.0 : yes
  Checking for ‘liblo’ >= 0.26 : yes
  Checking for ‘taglib’ >= 1.6 : yes
  Checking for ‘vamp-sdk’ >= 2.1 : yes
  Checking for ‘vamp-hostsdk’ >= 2.1 : yes
  Checking for ‘rubberband’ : yes
  Checking for sndfile RF64=>RIFF support : Found
  Checking for ‘jack’ >= 0.121.0 : yes
  Checking for clang : no
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘gcc’ (C compiler) : /usr/bin/gcc
  Checking for ‘gcc’ (C compiler) : /usr/bin/gcc
  Checking for ‘gcc’ (C compiler) : /usr/bin/gcc
  Checking for ‘libudev’ : yes
  Checking for ‘gcc’ (C compiler) : /usr/bin/gcc
  Checking for ‘gcc’ (C compiler) : /usr/bin/gcc
  Checking for ‘gcc’ (C compiler) : /usr/bin/gcc
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘fftw3f’ : yes
  Checking for ‘aubio’ >= 0.3.2 : yes
  Checking for ‘aubio’ >= 0.4.0 : yes
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘libxml-2.0’ : yes
  Checking for ‘sigc+±2.0’ >= 2.0 : yes
  Checking for header execinfo.h : yes
  Checking for header unistd.h : yes
  Checking for function ‘posix_memalign’ in stdlib.h : yes
  Checking for function ‘getmntent’ in mntent.h : yes
  Checking for function ‘localtime_r’ in time.h : yes
  Checking for header boost/shared_ptr.hpp : yes
  Checking for header boost/weak_ptr.hpp : yes
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘cppunit’ >= 1.12.0 : yes
  Checking for header boost/shared_ptr.hpp : yes
  Checking for header boost/weak_ptr.hpp : yes
  Checking for ‘gcc’ (C compiler) : /usr/bin/gcc
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for header boost/shared_ptr.hpp : yes
  Checking for header boost/weak_ptr.hpp : yes
  Checking for ‘libusb-1.0’ : yes
  Checking for header cwiid.h : yes
  Checking for header bluetooth/bluetooth.h : yes
  Checking for ‘cwiid’ >= 0.6.00 : yes
  Checking for ‘libwebsockets’ >= 2.0.0 : yes
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘pangomm-1.4’ >= 1.4 : yes
  Checking for ‘cairomm-1.0’ >= 1.8.4 : yes
  Checking for ‘jack’ >= 0.121.0 : yes
  Checking for JACK metadata API : ok
  Checking for jack_port_rename() : ok
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for program ‘gas, gcc’ : /usr/bin/gcc
  Checking for program ‘ar’ : /usr/bin/ar
  Checking for ‘lrdf’ >= 0.4.0 : yes
  Checking for ‘samplerate’ >= 0.1.0 : yes
  Checking for ‘lv2’ >= 1.2.0 : yes
  Checking for ‘lv2’ >= 1.10.0 : yes
  Checking for ‘lv2’ >= 1.17.2 : not found
  Checking for ‘serd-0’ >= 0.14.0 : yes
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  Checking for ‘sratom-0’ >= 0.2.0 : yes
  Checking for ‘lilv-0’ >= 0.24.2 : yes
  Checking for ‘suil-0’ >= 0.6.0 : yes
  Checking for ‘ogg’ >= 1.1.2 : yes
  Checking for ‘flac’ >= 1.2.1 : yes
  Checking for ‘fftw3f’ >= 3.3.5 : yes
  Checking for header sys/vfs.h : yes
  Checking for header sys/statvfs.h : yes
  Checking for header unistd.h : yes
  Checking for header boost/shared_ptr.hpp : yes
  Checking for header boost/weak_ptr.hpp : yes
  Checking for header boost/scoped_ptr.hpp : yes
  Checking for header boost/ptr_container/ptr_list.hpp : yes
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘gtkmm-2.4’ >= 2.8 : yes
  Checking for ‘gtk±2.0’ >= 2.12.1 : yes
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘samplerate’ >= 0.1.7 : yes
  Checking for header boost/shared_ptr.hpp : yes
  Checking for header boost/format.hpp : yes
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘gcc’ (C compiler) : /usr/bin/gcc
  Checking for ‘lv2’ >= 1.0.0 : yes
  Checking for ‘gcc’ (C compiler) : /usr/bin/gcc
  Checking for ‘cairo’ >= 1.12.0 : yes
  Checking for ‘gcc’ (C compiler) : /usr/bin/gcc
  Checking for ‘gcc’ (C compiler) : /usr/bin/gcc
  Checking for ‘gcc’ (C compiler) : /usr/bin/gcc
  Checking for ‘gcc’ (C compiler) : /usr/bin/gcc
  Checking for ‘gcc’ (C compiler) : /usr/bin/gcc
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘gthread-2.0’ >= 2.10.1 : yes
  Checking for ‘gtk±2.0’ >= 2.18 : yes
  Checking for ‘x11’ >= 1.1 : yes
  Checking for ‘pangoft2’ >= 1.36.8 : yes
  Checking for ‘fontconfig’ : yes
  Checking for header boost/shared_ptr.hpp : yes
  Checking for header boost/weak_ptr.hpp : yes
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for header stdio.h readline/readline.h : yes
• build session-utils : yes
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘g++’ (C++ compiler) : /usr/bin/g++
  Checking for ‘gcc’ (C compiler) : /usr/bin/gcc
  Checking for ‘dbus-1’ : yes
• Build documentation : False
• Debuggable build : True
• Export all symbols (backtrace) : False
• Install prefix : /usr/local
• Strict compiler flags : []
• Internal Shared Libraries : True
• Use External Libraries : False
• Library exports hidden : True
• Free/Demo copy : False
• ALSA DBus Reservation : True
• Architecture flags : None
• Aubio : True
• AudioUnits : False
• Build target : x86_64
• Canvas Test UI : False
• Beatbox test app : False
• CoreAudio : False
• CoreAudio 10.5 compat : False
• Debug RT allocations : False
• Debug Symbols : True
• Denormal exceptions : False
• FLAC : True
• FPU optimization : True
• Freedesktop files : False
• Libjack linking : link
• Libjack metadata : True
• Lua Binding Doc : False
• Lua Commandline Tool : True
• LV2 UI embedding : True
• LV2 support : True
• LV2 extensions : True
• LXVST support : True
• Mac VST support : False
• NI-Maschine : False
• OGG : True
• Phone home : True
• Process thread timing : False
• Program name : Ardour
• Samplerate : True
• PT format : False
• PTW32 Semaphore : False
• Threaded WaveViews : True
• Translation : True
• Unit tests : False
• Use LLD linker : False
• Windows VST support : False
• Wiimote support : True
• Windows key : Mod4><Super
• PortAudio Backend : False
• CoreAudio/Midi Backend : False
• ALSA Backend : True
• Dummy backend : True
• JACK Backend : True
• Pulseaudio Backend : True
• Buildstack : -system-
• Mac i386 Architecture : False
• Mac ppc Architecture : False
• C compiler flags : [’-I/tmp/Ardour-6.2.0’, ‘-DHAVE_RF64_RIFF’, ‘-DWAF_BUILD’, ‘-g’, ‘-fshow-column’, ‘-DARCH_X86’, ‘-mmmx’, ‘-msse’, ‘-mfpmath=sse’, ‘-DUSE_XMMINTRIN’, ‘-DBUILD_SSE_OPTIMIZATIONS’, ‘-DLXVST_64BIT’, ‘-Wall’, ‘-Wpointer-arith’, ‘-Wcast-qual’, ‘-Wcast-align’, ‘-Wno-unused-parameter’, ‘-DBOOST_SYSTEM_NO_DEPRECATED’, ‘-D_ISOC9X_SOURCE’, ‘-D_LARGEFILE64_SOURCE’, ‘-D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64’, ‘-DPROGRAM_NAME=“Ardour”’, ‘-DPROGRAM_VERSION=“6”’, ‘-Wstrict-prototypes’, ‘-Wmissing-prototypes’]
• C++ compiler flags : [’-I/tmp/Ardour-6.2.0’, ‘-DHAVE_RF64_RIFF’, ‘-DWAF_BUILD’, ‘-g’, ‘-fshow-column’, ‘-DARCH_X86’, ‘-mmmx’, ‘-msse’, ‘-mfpmath=sse’, ‘-DUSE_XMMINTRIN’, ‘-DBUILD_SSE_OPTIMIZATIONS’, ‘-DLXVST_64BIT’, ‘-Wall’, ‘-Wpointer-arith’, ‘-Wcast-qual’, ‘-Wcast-align’, ‘-Wno-unused-parameter’, ‘-DBOOST_SYSTEM_NO_DEPRECATED’, ‘-D_ISOC9X_SOURCE’, ‘-D_LARGEFILE64_SOURCE’, ‘-D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64’, ‘-DPROGRAM_NAME=“Ardour”’, ‘-DPROGRAM_VERSION=“6”’, ‘-Woverloaded-virtual’, ‘-Wno-unused-local-typedefs’, ‘-D__STDC_LIMIT_MACROS’, ‘-D__STDC_FORMAT_MACROS’, ‘-DCANVAS_COMPATIBILITY’, ‘-DCANVAS_DEBUG’, ‘-DBOOST_ERROR_CODE_HEADER_ONLY’]
• Linker flags : [’’]

‘configure’ finished successfully (9.677s)

[seablade]

Well the a* plugins come with Ardour from this site, I can’t remember the build process for them off hand and what to look for/enable.

That being said, while you mentioned checking the automation track, did you add the filter first? It is a standard plugin that you add the same way you did the Calf plugin (I don’t recommend Calf in general but that is a different topic). After you add the plugin it will appear in the automation lanes.

     Seablade

EDIT: Just in case you haven’t seen it… https://manual.ardour.org/working-with-plugins/processor-box/

[aario (Aario Iran)]

Correct! Thank you very much.
This is how I gained access to the filter:

1. Selected the track
2. On the left sidebar under a button named Fader right clicked
3. Selected New Plugin> By Creator> Ardour Team
4. Selected High and Low Pass FIlter
5. Now options of the filter were available in automation menu.

[seablade]

Yep this is the normal process to use any plugin so any time you want to add a plugin to a track you will follow the same basic process.

 Seablade