Jack DSSI Host

Launch DSSI plugins as independent applications.

Strengths [Weaknesses]

Modular

If you are not using a DAW but still want to use popular plugins, this host allows you to do that.

Weaknesses [Strengths]

Sessionless

Depending on the plugin, using a launcher like this might mean that you have no way to save the plugin's session or state.

Install

The jack-dssi-host command ships with the DSSI source code. DSSI is available from http://slackbuilds.org.

Usage

The jack-dssi-host command is mostly a proof-of-concept application. In fact, it has no GUI of its own and must be launched from a terminal. Unlike Jack Rack or similar, it is not a “rack” so much as it is a launcher that you point to the DSSI plugin library you want to load:

$ jack-dssi-host /usr/lib64/dssi/amsynth_dssi.so &

Launch each DSSI plugin separately, and route them as you would any stand-alone synth.

Load DSSI plugins as stand-alone applications.

Sessions

There is not necessarily a way to save a session file when launching DSSI plugins with jack-dssi-host (it depends on the design of the plugin). For that reason, some DSSI plugins are best left as plugins except for testing.

Otherwise, save session files in a directory associated with your project, and remember to load them back in when resuming work on your project later. Session management can be done by good organisation (with Planter, for instance) or with a dedicated session manager (such as Non).

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