The general design approach with the linuxDSP plugins is to take the best elements of analogue designs and combine that with the convenience of software plugins. As the lead developer, I have a lot of experience of analogue audio design as well as DSP. (I also designed and built the valve monitor amps we are currently using).
As an example, the linuxDSP CH-EQ2B channel / master EQ has innovative DSP technology which is specifically designed to emulate more closely an analogue EQ curve, and the VC2B vintage compressor is modelled on some of the classic analogue designs.
For reverb, the quality of an IR reverb is obviously very dependent on the impulses you use, and my preference is generally for algorithmic reverbs
Hi mike.
I actually have a set up running Linux that I can use 100%. FINALLY!
I will be checking out your plugins with the mind to actually using them now. This is the only reason I never got deep into them before. I was still chained to my Mac. Not so any more due to both having the Bricasti and now IR LV2.
IR LV2 is the total game changer. Not just for me but everybody. This is fantastic. I’ve tried some Bricasti impulses. I can tell you that these are not that far removed from the real thing (which I have). It’s not quite the same because an algo is always better than an impulse from an algo but IR LV2 is still excellent. It also allows me to use some Bricasti IRs where I’m not able to duplicate the Bricasti. This is cool because I can temporarily use IR LV2 even if I ultimately process through the Bricasti. I know it’s same sound. I also often work without the computer turned on so hence the Bricasti.
My opinion is that you have to blend analog hardware with the computer side of things. The Chandler Germanium gear is an example. It is extremely coloured. You can literally polish a turd. You actually wouldn’t want this amount of colour in the plugins.
By the way, there are some hardware bargains to be had without spending a huge amount. Three I can mention are: Oberheim Matrix 1000. I bought two of these. This is a rack synth but it’s got the Obie sound which blows away softsynths. You need an editor to edit the patches but there are 800 presets anyway and another 200 user presets (hence Matrix 1000 name) I use a Mac to edit with Obieditor. Not sure if the Windows editors will work on Wine but I guess they should. It’s just MIDI. The next bargain is the Novation Super Basstation. This is a fantastic monoynth. Killer leads lines with lots of res and filter work. Tweaking the envelopes in real time is a fantastic effect on this. Also, nothing beats the old G36 reel to reel for bargain status. It’s a little heavy and bulky and you need to get a decent one that actually works right. It has fantastic valve mic pres. Not sure if you can use the pres without going to tape though. Supposedly you can but I haven’t worked out how to do that yet. Mine is a Mark III. Maybe not possible on this model. However, the tone of this thing is vintage valve and tape heaven.
I would also recommend analog guitar effects pedals. These are great for dirty analog. If you spend a bit more, the Eventide stomp pedals are great. They do stereo line level so it’s a good way to get those fantastic Eventide algos to use on anything whether guitar or line level sources.
Efflux: You can get free Bricasti IR files from here: http://www.samplicity.com/bricasti-m7-impulse-responses/
Also, Hybrid Reverb ( http://www2.ika.rub.de/HybridReverb2 ) is another excellent IR plugin (linux vst, but usable in Ardour3, thanks to the contributions of LinuxDSP).
Also Vahalla VST can be run as insert in Ardour using FST. Actually, it should be runnable directly if you compile with VST support, but the GUI does not seem to work.
yep there are free bricasti impulses out there , there is also a good mono or stereo plate reverb ladspa plug-in for linux , i like it alot, im not real picky with reverb , unless it just completely sounds bad .
The Bricasti impulses seem a bit bright compared to the real thing but they are good.
However, I’ve still got some problems here. I’m not sure if I’ll be using Ardour 3. It uses way more DSP. My audio set up is on a PIV. I have a very powerful quad core i7 but that’s noisy. It has an unnecessarily powerful for audio QuadroFX graphics card. I use it for graphics. The audio system is designed for just audio. It’s very quiet.
I’m using Rosegarden. Obviously it’s better than Ardour 3 for MIDI and I have lots of MIDI here. I’m now using it for audio. I’m very surpised by how good it is on a basic and very simple level.I think Rosegarden is much better than Ardour now. It uses WAY less DSP.
I’m running almost everything as hardware now. I send out from Rosegarden to a Speck Xsum mixer. That’s now used for much mixing purposes.
I’m getting another Germanium Tone Control.
I may mix in Ardour and then have access to LinuxDSP. I won’t be using Ardour 3 if the Alpha version is anything to go by. I may still mix on my Mac.
I know it seems like I’m being negative here but I’m into things that work in a simple manner with no BS. Rosegarden actually does this and works for me in real world scenario. I need this because I’m ready to start doing some music now. Rosegarden looks ugly as well but you can change the GUI style. Install Qt Configuration to do that.
OK. It seems Ardour 3 is in fact perfectly stable despite UI sluggishness. I’ve tweaked some things to get it smoother.
So back in Ardour but testing Ardour 3 now. Will probably try out LinuxDSP next week.
I’ve routed everything through my Speck Xsum hardware mixer. I’m monitoring Ardour at Speck but after Ardour. This is partly so I can buss outputs to the Bricasti or any other hardware. It’s not inserted in Ardour. The full mix is only heard at the Speck.
Real Bricasti devastates the IRs by the way. At first they seem great but not for long.
My set up here has hundreds of cables now. I’ve worked in the box in the past with virtually no cables but that is sonic BS in comparison, believe me. Even the Speck Xsum mixer changes the sound.
Going off topic a lot here but just for note, my guitar set up is Les Paul - JoeMeek Compressor - Thermionic Culture Vulture - Germanium Tone Control - Eventide Timefactor stomp box - Ardour via Mytek A/D to track then back out to Speck but also send buss to Bricasti. Speck can be utilised as input and output mixer. This equals the most awesome guitar sound you ever heard. I’ve tried all this stuff inside the box but those hardware units in that chain have absolutely no in the box equal.
@efflux: we asked very nicely for people to not discuss ardour3 on the forums. its not because we want to censor discussion, its because things that get written on web forums end up being indexed by search engines forever, and those comments will no longer be relevant to ardour3 after a very short time. for example, the “UI sluggishness” you referred to … we know that at least one version of this is caused by the video device driver on the user’s system, and is nothing to do with ardour3 at all (i.e. people have changed the video driver and the problem goes away). Do I know that this is the case for you? No, I don’t. But given that we have not even released a beta of ardour3 yet, its really unfair to the future to leave people to find reports like “… despite UI sluggishness” regarding an alpha version of an unreleased project.
Please join us on the mailing list and/or IRC to discuss issues, ideas and workflows for ardour3.