How do you use Plug Ins?

[alboy]

Ive finally got Audacity up and running. I also downloaded some loops, VST thingy and some other bits. When I look at the sub menus on Audacity theres nothing relating to plug ins. So can somebody please explain to a simpleton like me how you go about accessing a plug in (ie voice vocodar)? many thanks

[steve]

VST plug-ins can be problematic - they rely on compatibility with the VST Bridge, and this can easily be messed up if there are any incompatible VST plug-ins anywhere on your computer. Also, due to licensing restrictions, the graphical interfaces are not supported, which makes many of them difficult (or impossible) to use.

"Nyquist" and "LADSPA" plug-ins are a lot more straightforward and are freely available for most processing jobs.

See Here: http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=Plug-ins

[alboy]

Cheers Steve. It might help if my download loops were in Plug In's folder. Think I know what im doing now.

PS do you own shares in Audacity?

[steve]

PS do you own shares in Audacity?

In a way we all do.
http://www.opensource.org/

[alboy]

blimey. you certainly got an answer for everyhing Steve (I mean that in a nice way).

I still cant get Plug Ins to work mind. I put VST and loops, etc into "Plug Ins" folder (within Audacity folder). But when I go to drop down on effects no more are listed. Its a shame Audacity doesnt have a chorus and distortion effect as these are the 2 main ones I miss.

[steve]

Its a shame Audacity doesnt have a chorus and distortion effect as these are the 2 main ones I miss.

You're a guitarist?
Strangely enough, distortion is an effect that I almost never use software for - there are very few software distortion effects that I like - I prefer to use hardware distortion effects either by cranking up an amp or with a stomp box.

Have a look here and you may find some usable effects: http://plugin.org.uk/ladspa-swh/docs/ladspa-swh.html

[alboy]

Its a shame Audacity doesnt have a chorus and distortion effect as these are the 2 main ones I miss.

You're a guitarist?
Strangely enough, distortion is an effect that I almost never use software for - there are very few software distortion effects that I like - I prefer to use hardware distortion effects either by cranking up an amp or with a stomp box.

Have a look here and you may find some usable effects: http://plugin.org.uk/ladspa-swh/docs/ladspa-swh.html

So are only a few "Plug Ins" compatible with Audacity? Is that why I cant see them in "effects" drop down menu?

Thank you for the comprehensive list and details of numerous plug in's. Excuse my stupidity but is there a way of downloading them? Mind you, if I cant see them in Audacity theres little point.

[steve]

There's quite a few VST plug-ins that can cause problems - more info here: http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php? ... T_Plug-ins

I find that I can do everything without needing to use VST plug-ins and that saves a lot of headaches. If you decide not to use VST, remove the VST bridge from the plug-ins folder.

Any plug-ins that download as ZIP files need to be unzipped into the Audacity Plugins folder. (Audacity 1.3 installs into a different directory to 1.2.x, so make sure that you get the right folder).

To download the plug-ins in that list, go to: http://plugin.org.uk/ (as it says at the top of that list).

Instructions for correctly installing plug-ins are available from links on this page: http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=Plug-ins

[alboy]

Ok. Im a victim of my own thirst for expansion. I will ditch my plug ins and delete VST, so not to interfere with Audacity.

Yes, I am a guitarist Steve. But I threw out my pedals when I moved. I found a great guitar fx software, which has tuner, distortions, echos, flangers, chorus, wah-wah and build your own pre-sets. Its really good except......you have to reset it every 4 minutes (god knows why) and if you play through it and record on Audacity it wont record the effects youve added (I presume this is due to soundcard settings).

Ive found the effects on Audacity pretty good (although its trial and error with the settings). I just wish I could let lose with some distortion. Does 1.3 version have any addition effects? I might try using that next week. cheers

[steve]

you have to reset it every 4 minutes (god knows why)

Possibly a demo version?

if you play through it and record on Audacity it wont record the effects youve added (I presume this is due to soundcard settings).

My guess is that it requires "ASIO" to record the effects. "ASIO" is special kind of sound system driver that was developed by Steinberg for use in computer music, but unfortunately Audacity does not support ASIO due to licensing restrictions.

If this is the case, then you could use other software (that supports ASIO) for recording, and then just do the editing in Audacity. (example recording software - Reaper, Krystal, Cubase, Cakewalk, Sonar....)

Does 1.3 version have any addition effects?

Not much extra in the way of extra effects, but it does support more plug-ins than 1.2.6 and has many other improvements.