What is your favorite plugin suite alternative to Calf, since it doesn’t work in Ardour?
On Linux I assume? Or do you mean Windows or Mac?
Seablade
You assume right! (Fill character limit)
No gui, but these sound good, and there is a large variety.
There is Airwindows Consolidated that has a gui, and all of the available plugins are avalaible for selection, along with a description of the effect.
I would recommend Airwindows Consolidated , although there is so many options, it will take time to check them out and find what you like.
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Yeah i definitely need to check them. I have read too that they have very good quality…
Thnks!
Are there any specific plugins that you need from a set?
As for a “set of most”, check out https://lsp-plug.in/
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Well tbh for me i can do it with just an eq, a comp and a reverb. But they have to be good and have a gui so i can interact easily.
I’m not advocating for Calf (although I’m quite fond of the Exciter and Bass Enhancer) but if your Distro still provides GTK2 you don’t have to abandon them right away, there is an LV2 GTK bridge that can put them on life support for a while longer…
The x42 Plugins are a good set as a partial alternative:
The aforementioned LSP are also a top runner although I will confess they overwhelm me…
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Hmm this looks pretty neat!
For reverb, try the Dragonfly plugins (package name in Ubuntu: dragonfly-reverb-lv2)
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Lots of great suggestions in the thread. As for the compressor, I would highly recommend Fircomp2. Especially, if you need a transparent, natural sounding compression (even when pushing it hard). It’s not open source, but the Linux build is free.
Does anyone know if the calf plugins are being worked on to meet current GTK or being ported to QT or something, and if so, when we can roughly expect a new release?
Also so many plugin suites is a great thing, but installing whole suits to find only a few one has use for, makes for a lot of stuff on the drive, in the menus… I know some can be had separately in their git pages and websites, but often require altering build files and what not which I have always had trouble with especially because all to often it’s assumed we all know how to do that and how to deal with things that do not work as described. So, is there a way to customize the plugins menu to do such things like taking out the ones I don’t need, add categories, rearrange their order…?
I know I can probably find the info on my own, but I’m here, and we are on the topic, and if it can be done someone may have experience with it and a few tricks not otherwise documented. Also I always see links to great stuff from you people here, like a few above!
Honestly I hope none of the above.
Ok that sounds rough but here are my thoughts:
- GTK and/or Qt are awful choices for plugin UIs as they will often cause issues
- Many of the Calf Plugins had some severe audio quality issues, phasing on crossover bands etc. There are other options for at least 90% of the Calf suite that are better options in most cases.
As of now, just the favorites menu for most people.
Seablade
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FYI, a good alternative I have found to Calf’s Exciter is this exciter:
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Lots of options to explore here:
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I switched from nearly 100% CALF to nearly 100% LSP a year or so ago, based mostly on comments here about the sound quality. Loved the nice CALF GUIs but of course those have issues now also. I do use other plugins on an occasional basis but the only non-LSP I use in almost every project is @x42 Preset Convolver owing to its large selection of presets.
Yes the LSP’s are complex but the videos @SadKo has created are really quite good if you watch them several times and understand what is going on with each change. I invested a few hours in understanding the LSP Artistic Delay plugin and it’s now my go-to delay. As a bonus, several of the GUI metaphors apply to multiple plugins. And as a further bonus, the LSPs are updated/patched/improved fairly frequently.
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Thanks for the hint! Actually I’ve collected a few of the AudioThing Plugins on various sales and bundled promotions and they have both an excellent Exciter called Type A as well as an emulation of the high end Dolby trick called Type B. But I’m personally open to both FOSS and commercial options.
My situation is quite the same as @TonyBKDE. I consider myself a novice, and the fella who helped me get started came from Windows world and was familiar with CALF plugins on Linux, so CALF is what I learned on. All my mixes consisted of CALF, x42 and Ardour plugins (now ACE - Ardour Community Edition?). As a matter of clarity, CALF plugins are still available and still usable…it is only the CALF GUI that no longer works; you can still use the generic interface provided by Ardour. But for a novice like myself, the lack of a GUI is like driving with a blind fold.
I tried the Airwindows Consolidated, but they really use up the CPU on my system. I like the concept, but just not for me. YMMV. FWIW, I landed on Linux Studio Plugins (LSP) and couldn’t be happier with the choice. I agree with @GMaq in that I was overwhelmed at first…there are options in the LSP plugins that I have no idea what they’re for, let alone to use them. But there are LOTS of tools available; with tons of “how to” videos on their webpages; I figure I’ll “grow into” them someday, instead of “grow out” of them. And low CPU usage, consistent with my CALF experience. And since their Linux-native, I think I’m future-proof (knock on wood). The only CALF tool I “lost” by switching was my CALF Saturator. But after a lot of experimentation, I found the TAP Saturator and Audio Assault has a nice saturator plugin (can’t remember the name). I use both, but in different applications. I like the Audio Assault Saturator enough that I’ve started to experiment with their guitar/amp VSTi plugins. I still prefer my external guitar amp/cab/DI, but I can use the AudioAssault VSTi’s without complaining. LOL.
So there you have it…I rely HEAVILY on LSP plugins, as well as x-42 and ACE plugins; with a sprinkling of AudioAssault special-use cases. FWIW…
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Thanks! Very good reasons not to bother with calf then, although it’s always good to see Linux software being improved and made better and worth using. but hey, it doesn’t always happen, and if the developers don’t have the time it’s understandable, and if they just don’t care, then neither should users.
So I popped “Seablade” into my package manager, nothing (on Arch repo’s nor on the AUR), and a web search brings up a game, a Hawaiian boat maker… and all sorts, but I have heard it in context to Linux if I remember correctly, maybe here somewhere, and the name sounds familiar, so any more info?
Also thanks to all for so many suggestions 
, I see I have a pile of homework to do now! 
But hey if I can find stuff that works good and suits my workflow and my intuition then I will be one happy camper! 
