Choose between Harrison XT plugins and ACE GUI (not both)

[sonnie (Sonnie Sonnig)]

Hi there,

is there a need for installing Harrisons XT plugins AND the ACE GUI’s at once?

Install Harrison XT plugins and ACE plugin GUIs? [Y/n]: y

I always get annoyed by this option, because ACE is fine with me, but I don’t need the XT plugins.

Maybe it’s possible the let the user decide, what to install?

Looking forward to hear from you.

[seablade]

The reason they are lumped together is because the ACE GUIs use a closed source library, just like the Harrison XT plugins. Some people wanted to avoid this, but the lib was developed for Harrison’s plugins so thus why it gets asked about.

Not to say they couldn’t be split up (I am sure it could be technically, but how much work is something else, might also depend on licensing from Harrison), just that is the reason that option exists atm IIRC.

   Seablade

[mike3 (mike@overtonedsp)]

@seablade

The reason they are lumped together is because the ACE GUIs use a closed source library

Its always seemed utterly bizarre to me that (I imagine these must be LV2) its possible to have a plug-in with a different license for its GUI than for its DSP. To the user they constitute a cohesive entity - the GUI they see is the plug-in, which could lead to all manner of ambiguity. Especially if you have a commercial / proprietary GUI on an open source DSP ‘plugin’

[x42 (Robin Gareus)]

In LV2 the DSP and the GUI are completely separated. There can be multiple GUIs for a given plugin and the declaration can be done anywhere in the LV2 world.

For Harrison to provide a plugin GUI, the ACE-EQ’s source does not even have to be modified! – I guess this scares some plugin devs.

see also

Strange Ace eq plugin as a-eq in latest ardour release

We’ve long wanted professional GUIs for the a-* plugins, but in the last three years nobody stepped up to provide commercial-quality cross-platform UIs. Ben at Harrison eventually volunteered. a-eq is done, the others are functional but still being worked on. We’ve shipped them a bit early, so there’s no promo material yet. There is the idea to re-name the a-* plugins with custom GUI to ACE-* (Ardour Community Effect), but the jury is still discussing the name-change. PS. In case you prefer …

@mike3

the GUI they see is the plug-in

That highly depends on your target audience and host. There are already multiple UIs: A timeline for automation, control surfaces, generic GUI controls,…

@mike3

Especially if you have a commercial / proprietary GUI on an open source DSP ‘plugin’

You can also load a free/libre plugin in a proprietary DAW which provides a GUI (or vice versa).

[mike3 (mike@overtonedsp)]

@x42

You can also load a free/libre plugin in a proprietary DAW which provides a GUI (or vice versa).

That’s not really the same issue though. Its quite common for users to be able to choose to install (or not) commercial products e.g. as part of an open-source distro, or even to choose to install (or not) closed source / proprietary plug-ins bundled with an open-source DAW - and having that choice is a good thing. Its just seems kind of odd to me when it happens at a granular level between, choosing to install a plug-in, but if you want the GUI its a different choice, and then also a choice which might be connected with installing other plug-ins for example

[seablade]

@mike3

Its just seems kind of odd to me when it happens at a granular level between, I can choose to install a plug-in, but if I want the GUI its a different choice, and then also a choice which might be connected with installing other plug-ins for example

Odd, but nothing wrong with it, as it is technically possible. The choice came from users requesting to be able to install the ACE plugins without it as they wished to have a completely open source environment.

  Seablade

[mike3 (mike@overtonedsp)]

@seablade

Odd, but nothing wrong with it, as it is technically possible.

Of course, but all I’m saying is it seems like a slightly awkward choice for some users to navigate - as evidenced - and therefore wouldn’t it be easier if it could be disambiguated in some way