[ubuntu-studio-devel] Pre-Installed Application Review (effective for 20.10)

[Len Ovens]

On Mon, 11 May 2020, Ross Gammon wrote:

> I thought we had fixed that Ardour crash problem by removing the old
> version of calf-ladsp that was bundled with lmms? Do we still get bug
> reports of these crashes?

That fixed the crash every time problem :)
Calf plugins are built using system gui libs and as such have a shared 
namespace with other gui libs which sometimes confict and some times 
don't... when they do they create odd crashes that may not seem connected 
to the plugin. The devs at calf are switching the gui to their own 
(static build) gui (all plugins should be static built) which should fix 
that problem.

> Anyway, I can't comment if the lsp-plugins offer the same
> functionality/quality as the calf ones (as I have not used either of
> them enough).

I sure hope not! Quality != Calf. The general comment by professional 
audio engineers is that the DSP in Calf is some of the lowest quality 
available. The controls do not do what they are supposed to do, The EQ 
causes phasing problems, the controls can not be automated because they 
are not dezippered. The reverb may return a signal that is +1000 dB on 
occasion.

The only people I know who use Calf a lot, do so because they like the 
sound and are using that artistically. (Unfa for example)

However, for straight mixdown use they are the poorest choice available.

Ardour already comes with the a-series plugins that includes much of the 
same functionality. LSP is quite good, x42 is very good, eq10q is a good 
set, zam is quite good (these are the a-plugins with extras). The 
dragonfly reverb is very good and being actively developed with the help 
of clasical recording engineers (who are quite picky I might add).

Every time I see someone suggesting calf plugins to a new user, I cringe.

--
Len Ovens
www.ovenwerks.net