Where can I find plugin development information?

[Derek S]

I'm interested in learning how plugins are written for experimenting. I searched all over this site and others but couldn't find any information on Pro Tools plugin development.

Is there a developer kit somewhere? Is it free?

[Zeus]

Certainly not free. I think that in order to qualify to write plug-ins for Pro Tools you must be an established name in the arena of development and MAYBE then Digi might grant you the information, for a price of course...

[Derek S]

I knew it couldn't have been free, just wishful thinking! Well what software can I use to write realtime FX? I'm an EE student (with a Digi001) and I want to put some of this theory to use.

I looked at Harmony Central and found a link to a VST plugin SDK, but I think Steinberg's site is down.

I guess whoever had access to a ProTools plugin SDK would basically have a money pump! Personally, I'm all for open source, though.

Anybody else experimenting care to comment?

[coaster]

cecilia is good, i havent used it in a while cuz it crashes (used to anyway) and i dont know if its compatible with 9.1

its on my machine though. you can write any plug in u want, and process it within the cecilia environment. you can create a GUI also.

reverb dist 5.3 is a great app. its slower than hell, literally 45 minutes to process a 5 minute file. you can write any delay line algorythm you want. no gui

the BEST thing ive seen for this is supercollider. its expensive. you can make ANYTHING in supercollider. synths, reverb, distortion, you can create something that will compose music by ITSELF if you want. its THE BEST. your gui's are fully customaizable as is the code.

there is a premiere-style plug in developers kit for the bias peak app, its on their page.

check these out.

no pro tools NUTHIN for people who like to tinker... another reason to look elsewhere

[Zeus]

There is also Max/Msp from Cycling74 with new versions coming that will support Direct Connect with Pro Tools!

[Derek S]

What exactly is MAX/MSP?

And more importantly, what is direct Connect? Would I be able to write filters and things in MAX/MSP and process stuff using Pro Tools LE and a Digi001?

[philter]

MAX/MSP is an object-oriented MIDI/Audio programming language. You can use it right now to write VST plug-ins including filters, synths, and whatever else you can come up with. You can also make stand-alone apps.

http://www.cycling74.com

DirectConnect is Digi's way of doing inter-application communication to stream audio from 3rd party apps into ProTools. I image Max/Msp support of DC will allow you to integrate your apps and plugs into ProTools. You can read about DC somewhere on the Digi site. I'm pretty sure it is supported in PTLE.

philip

[Derek S]

Thank God for student discounts!

This looks like a good solution. I'm on the Nord Modular list and there's always a discussion about Max/MSP. Owning a PC until a month ago, I never had any reason to find out what the deal was.

Zeus, when will there be direct connect support in Max? If I buy a copy within the next few weeks, will I be able to to upgrade a direct connect version for free? Should I just hold out?

With Max, how easy is it to write your own objects? I'm familliar with object oriented programming, so it shouldn't be too hard to pick it up.

[Zeus]

Well, just impatiently waiting, waiting for Cycling74 to release the thing!!!

If you want to really write your own "objects" in Max/Msp it happens in C. But the objects they already have in it are quite good and many, sure you can come up with lot's of great things!

It seems that if you buy Max/Msp now, they'll give you the upgrade for free.

Z

[cecilsound]

The application that you would use to create VST plug-ins in the MAX/MSP world is "Pluggo".
On the cycling '74 site you will see a section for it. To write the stuff in a MAX style environment you need the "Pluggo Development Kit for MAX".
Oh I guess I need to mention ProTools here somehow. Yep, that should do it.
Get MAX/MSP!