Plugins and licence

Hi All
I seem to have missed the bundled plugins with Ardour that you need to pay for.
I only realized after using them extensively, they become greyed out
and I must license them. Did I miss a warning of this.
I now use LSP extensively now and they are superb.
Cheers All

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Those are XT-* plugins from harrisonconsoles.com ; they are kindly provided by Harrison for bundling with Ardour binaries. They work on all platforms (Linux, Window, OSX, macOS) and the DSP is not license encumbered.

You can share sessions that use those plugins and they will sound the same everywhere (regardless if you have a license or not). The only limitation of those plugins is the custom GUI.

In many cases they are also unique plugins. e.g. the character bundle, XT-DC, XT-BC. You can read more at https://harrisonconsoles.com/site/mixbus-plugins.html

(If the plugins annoy you for whatever reason, you can remove them from /opt/Ardour-*/lib/LV2/ – << linux path)

If the plugins annoy you for whatever reason,

You mean the nag screens that make using the plugins a pain?

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No I did not mean that, I was thinking that they’re non-free on an otherwise 100% free/libre-software only system. But that’s your reason, that’s fine with me.

Personally I would very much like if more vendors would provide plugins that

  • run natively on GNU/Linux
  • work reliably and provide excellent DSP
  • do not require crazy DRM (iLok, or always-online verification,…)

That Harrison’s plugins even work without a license, no random noise, no silence or other audible limitation is a treat. In my opinion the GUI limitation is not unreasonable: you can purchase a license or refrain from using the custom GUI.

Hi I didn’t really realise that they were paid plugins. Also Funds a bit tight here in the UK I would have found others, I did.
They don’t annoy me they just stopped working, Which meant I had to go though each track and remove them, Then Find replacements, very time consuming.
If I had known I would not have used them.
Best regards
Bob

Could you elaborate how they “stopped working”? Did they not load anymore? Any error messages?

Hi Robin
I probably didn’t explain very well.
When I opened the EQ and tried to change a setting , it was greyed out and I was unable to do this, with a warning it was unlicensed… It still seemed to be working as regards the music going through them…
I’ll fire up Ardour and send you a screen grab.
many thanks for your help.
Cheers bob

Hi On reading further Are you saying it’s the GUI that you cannot use when Unlicensed?
How would you save or change settings if so.
It’s not a problem as I now know.
Cheers bob

You can use automation lanes or the generic GUI, or inline mixer-strip controls or a physical control surface or OSC or …

It’s only the custom vendor provided GUI that’s limited. Granted that is usually the most convenient way to use a plugin; but then again you should consider paying for a license if you deem the plugin valuable.