Cardinal Rack v22.05 VST2 VST3 AU x64 x86 ARM LiNUX WiN macOS [FREE]

FREE | 15 May 2022 | 1.59 GB
Cardinal is a free and open-source virtual modular synthesizer plugin, available as JACK standalone and AU, LV2, VST2 and VST3 audio plugin for FreeBSD, Linux, macOS and Windows.
It is based on the popular VCV Rack but with a focus on being a fully self-contained plugin version.

More specifically, this is a DPF-based plugin wrapper around VCV Rack, using its code directly instead of forking the project, with the target of having a proper, self-contained, fully free and open-source plugin version of Rack.
See the why section below for the reasons Cardinal exists, also for frequently asked questions check this FAQ document.

Cardinal contains Rack, some 3rd-party modules and a few internal utilities all in a single binary.
All "Core" modules from Rack have been replaced by Cardinal equivalents, simplified to better work for an audio plugin.

Cardinal does not load external modules and does not connect to the official Rack library/store.
All VCV branding has been removed (to the best of our knowledge) in order to avoid any trademark issues.

The VST3 version is in progress, already part of the build but still experimental.

Stable release
Cardinal releases have official builds for Linux, macOS and Windows.
There are Linux builds for various architectures (armhf, arm64, i686 and x86_64), macOS "universal" (arm64 + intel) and Windows 32 and 64bit builds. Both macOS and Windows builds have an installer.

Plugin variants
Cardinal provides 3 plugin variants - "main", Synth and FX.
They are all equivalent in performance and behaviour, with only the IO and metadata that changes.
This is because some hosts are very strict on which plugins are allowed as instruments vs FX, so separate variants of the same plugin are needed.

FX and Synth variants both have 2 audio outputs, while "main" has 8.
All variants have MIDI input and output support.

Main
This variant provides 8 audio inputs and outputs and 10 CV inputs and outputs.

NOTE: Due to AU and VST2 formats not supporting CV ports, this variant is not available for those formats.

Synth
This variant provides 2 audio outputs but no audio inputs or CV ports.
Plugin type is set as "instrument".

FX
This variant provides 2 audio inputs and outputs, but no CV ports.
Plugin type is set as regular "effect".

Included modules
At the moment the following 3rd-party modules are provided:


A feature comparison between Cardinal and Rack Pro can be seen here

Changelog

•Add macos-intel build (smaller in size and better fit for intel-based macs)
•Add main Cardinal variant for MOD builds
•Add Audio to CV Pitch Core module
•Fix buffer size not always correct in the Audio Unit plugin
•Force UI keyboard focus (delayed focus grab after UI is open)
•Mute audio output if bypassed
•Remap Ctrl key + mouse clicks to right-click on macOS to better deal with its silly "one button" UX
•Store a few more properties as plugin state, including favorites

Added plugins:
•Fundamental (fork with custom panels)
•Meander
•PinkTrombone
•unless_modules
•WhatTheRack

Updated modules:
•AmalgamatedHarmonics
•AudibleInstruments
•Befaco (adds Channel Strip)
•Bidoo
•BogaudioModules
•ChowDSP
•GrandeModular (adds VCA4)
•ImpromptuModular (adds Sygen and Variations)
•MindMeldModular
•PathSet (adds GlassPane, Nudge and ShiftyExpander)
•Prism
•repelzen
•voxglitch (adds GrooveBox)
•ValleyAudio

Module fixes:
•Fix Core Audio2 meters stuck state when both L & R are disconnected
•Fix Core Blank panel tags
•Fix Core Host-MIDI-Map flooding console logs in case of error (only print the same error once)
•Fix Core Host-Time reset trigger for hosts with non-static buffer sizes
•Fix DrumKit Sequencer memory corruption
•Fix mscHack PingPong filter cutoff value when loaded without GUI

Notes:
•fftw3f is now an optional dependency, required for "Audio to CV Pitch" module
•lv2export stuff has been reworked and works now, includes 3 test plugins