Feature request: plugin "groups/racks"?

Community Ideas for Ardour
#1

Similar to Ableton’s “Instrument/effect racks”: instead of having to load plugins individually via the plugin selector, if we could create plugin “groups”, e.g. by selecting multiple plugins, right click > “Save Plugin Group/Rack” > name/description pop-up. Then to load these, maybe just right click > New Plugin Rack > menu of saved racks.

Is there any existing feature like this in Ardour that I missed? I know we can create full session templates with custom tracks and plugins, but this doesn’t help when we are working with existing sessions.

This would be great way to extend plugin “presets” feature also, since it allows to create different versions of same racks, e.g. create a template vocal rack (EQ, de-ess, compressor, reverb, limiter, etc.) then extend with slightly different presets on each plugin for main vocals, auxiliary/adlib vocals or harmonies, background vocals, etc. Likewise can be used for guitar racks (“clean/jazz” guitar rack, “distortion” rack, etc.).

2 Likes
#2

You can create a track template, which would include any plugins, if that’s any help.

Cheers,

Keith

1 Like
#3

Yes but as I mentioned this doesn’t help when we are working with existing sessions, especially when there is existing automation. (Creating new tracks from templates will require copying all automation manually.)

E.g. During mixing stage, I always have to add processing to existing tracks, whether that’s cleaning up MIDI signals or doing vocal processing.

#4

Great idea! Ardour could really benefit from plugin rack features!

#5

I have already (mostly) achieved this with with lua scripting and track templates: (Not sure about automations though)

#7

When you change between presets does it wipe existing plugins on the track? Or is there any way to use this to modify instead of creating a new track from template?

#8

right now it wipes all the plugins on the track (except for x42 autotune) and puts in a list of new ones. The idea was to replicate the different vocal presets found in GarageBand/Logic Pro.

You could modify the template by overwriting the individual presets (that the lua script calls) for each plugin then overwriting the existing template file that the new track lua script calls.

Here is the script for changing the vocal presets for the vocal track:

Here is the script for creating a new track (Note this is not just for vocal tracks, but for my whole project):

#9

I also would love to see this feature. I think this is what i am waiting for most to happen in ardour. Would save so much time!