Support LV2 plugins

[dromer]

You could use https://drobilla.net/software/lilv for this.

There are loads of free and OSS lv2 plugins out there that you could even bundle with the program.

[falkTX]

This would be done at the JUCE level, there is a project providing such host support. See https://github.com/lvtk/jlv2

At some point I can integrated in DISTRHO's JUCE fork, but it is still too early as that LV2 host support is still alpha/testing afaik

[Kirtai]

JUCE is working on LV2 support now.

[mntmn]

I have built Helio on a relatively weak computer today (4x Cortex-A53 with 4GB RAM) and compiling and linking takes very long due to the "UnityBuild" approach, so my debugging ability was limited. I was able to swap in the official JUCE "juce7" branch which has LV2 support, though, and was able to scan and use LV2 plugins in the pit. Plugins that rely on file handling do not work, though. Selecting a file (such as a sample) sometimes pops up a file selection dialog, but the plugins can never load the selected files. For example, samples in drumkv1, Fabla, or lsp-sampler. In any case, LV2 almost works when using the juce7 branch.

[ItsJustTee]

If I may ask, any progress on this? HelioFM nearly replaces 95% of LMMS on this and I am committed to switch to Helio to produce music. 😄

No rush at all.

[peterrudenko]

The last couple of releases should support hosting LV2 plugins, although I've only tested it in a few basic scenarios. If you happen to find any issues, please let me know!

[ItsJustTee]

The last couple of releases should support hosting LV2 plugins, although I've only tested it in a few basic scenarios. If you happen to find any issues, please let me know!

I see, where can I find these releases?

[peterrudenko]

I see, where can I find these releases?

Please check v.311/v3.12 at https://repology.org/project/helio-workstation/versions, or most recent builds at https://helio.fm

[ItsJustTee]

I see, where can I find these releases?

Please check v.311/v3.12 at https://repology.org/project/helio-workstation/versions, or most recent builds at https://helio.fm

Recorded from Helio 3.12

explorer_AaWFzpGjQK.mp4

[peterrudenko]

Note that the platform and architecture of the app and plugin should match. E.g. 32-bit plugins won't be recognized by a 64-bit host, and vice versa (although not sure if this is the problem in your case). I've just tested the 64-bit Windows build of this LV2 plugin and it seems to work.

[dromer]

I can run a Scan common plugin folders and in the console I see lilv reloading all the plugins, however the scan takes an awfully long time and the LV2 plugins never show up in the list.

[edit: I waited even longer until completion and now my plugin list is completely filled \o/ - some better search/filtering options would be nice though, it's impossible to browse this many plugins ..]

[ItsJustTee]

Note that the platform and architecture of the app and plugin should match. E.g. 32-bit plugins won't be recognized by a 64-bit host, and vice versa (although not sure if this is the problem in your case). I've just tested the 64-bit Windows build of this LV2 plugin and it seems to work.

Will do once this gets done unzipping

[ItsJustTee]

Note that the platform and architecture of the app and plugin should match. E.g. 32-bit plugins won't be recognized by a 64-bit host, and vice versa (although not sure if this is the problem in your case). I've just tested the 64-bit Windows build of this LV2 plugin and it seems to work.

Yea thats a no go on the LV2 on Windows

explorer_594jRNVfrY.mp4

[dromer]

Lilv doesn't scan "custom folders" for LV2 like this, you need to place the plugins in the proper LV2 directories for your OS.

The Ardour documentation says this for Windows:

The LV2 standard for Windows is %APPDATA%/LV2/ or %COMMONPROGRAMFILES%/LV2/ (On Windows 10: C:<User>\AppData\Roaming\LV2\ or C:\Program Files\Common Files\LV2).

So place them there and run the general plugin refresh instead.

[ItsJustTee]

Lilv doesn't scan "custom folders" for LV2 like this, you need to place the plugins in the proper LV2 directories for your OS.

The Ardour documentation says this for Windows:

The LV2 standard for Windows is %APPDATA%/LV2/ or %COMMONPROGRAMFILES%/LV2/ (On Windows 10: C:\AppData\Roaming\LV2\ or C:\Program Files\Common Files\LV2).

So place them there and run the general plugin refresh instead.

I am an idiot. Guess the documentation needs to be updated for this.