this may be a dumb question but after a quick look in the forums I cannot find an answer. I am running Ardour2 under OS X 10.4.10 using the 4 packages of native plugins and the VST bridge from the Audacity folks.
Everything works great, but I cannot seem to get Ardour to recognize any VST plugin that comes in .dll form. The ones that come as a .vst load flawlessly.
What is the difference between the two (.dll vs .vst) and is there a work around to get access to .dll files in Ardour.
Ok, “never work” may not be correct under some circumstances.
VSTs work under *nix on Intel-compatible (!) PCs using wine, a free implementation of the Windows API.
First off all, you need an Intel Mac. Older Macs have a different CPU architecture which doesn’t let programs compiled for Intel-compatible CPUs (= Windows programs) run. Then you have to get wine up and running (which would be the biggest problem) and finally compile Ardour (and I’m pretty sure that this requires some modifications in the source code). But, to say it short, it’s a pain in the ass (especially if you are not a programmer) and propably will never be stable.
Correct me if I am wrong but can’t these .dll s be run under Ardour on a *nix system? I know there are distinct differences between OS X and all the linux flavors. saying they never will work seems very final to me, but I am not a programmer and was just looking for a work around or at perhaps a little more information.