Download

Every effect is free, under the MIT licence. Pick an effect, download it, run the installer and rescan plugins in your DAW.

Effect	Version	Download	Try it
BassDrive Bass overdrive with clean blend and two-band EQ	0.1.0	All formats	Play in your browser
BassEras Bass preamp/DI with a Character control that sweeps amp voicings, gain and attack	0.1.0	All formats · CLAP · VST3 · LV2	Play in your browser
BassGrit Hard-clipping distortion with a clean low band, for bass	–	not released yet	Play in your browser
BassPreamp Tube-voiced bass preamp/DI with blend, presence and three-band EQ	0.1.0	All formats	Play in your browser
MidHump Mid-hump overdrive with optional clean blend	0.1.0	All formats	Play in your browser

Linux x86_64. Each download holds CLAP, VST3 and LV2 plugins and an installer. Older versions and checksums are on the releases page.

Not sure which effect you want? Play them in your browser first, or read about each one on the effects page.

Which file do I need?

Each download holds one effect in all three plugin formats, plus the installer. The formats sound the same, so you only need the one your DAW loads, and ./install.sh installs all three unless you name some (see Install).

Your DAW	Format it loads best
REAPER, Bitwig Studio	CLAP, the newest format and fully open
Ardour, Carla, Qtractor and other LV2 hosts	LV2
Any other host that loads VST3 plugins	VST3

Requirements

• 64-bit Linux (x86_64) with glibc 2.35 or newer: Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12 or later, Linux Mint 21 or later, or any current rolling distribution such as Arch or Fedora. Run ldd --version to see your glibc version.
• A plugin host: a DAW such as REAPER, Bitwig Studio or Ardour, or Carla.
• A mono input, such as a bass or guitar plugged into an audio interface. A DI'd signal peaking around −12 dBFS is a good starting level.

There are no macOS or Windows builds yet. On those systems you can play the effects in your browser.

Install

Each download is a .tar.gz file holding the plugins, the effect's changelog and an installer, install.sh. In a terminal, in the folder you downloaded it to:

tar -xzf bassdrive-*-linux-x86_64.tar.gz   # or whichever effect you downloaded
cd bassdrive-*-linux-x86_64/
./install.sh

install.sh copies the plugins into ~/.lv2, ~/.vst3 and ~/.clap, the folders in your home directory that Linux DAWs scan. It needs no root and touches only the plugins in the download, replacing any older copies of them. Then rescan plugins in your DAW (see below).

Command	What it does
./install.sh	install every format in the download
./install.sh --lv2 --clap	install only the formats named (--lv2, --vst3, --clap)
./install.sh --uninstall	remove the plugins again; combine with format flags to remove only some
LV2DIR=… VST3DIR=… CLAPDIR=… ./install.sh	install into other folders

To check the download first, save the release's SHA256SUMS file next to it and run sha256sum -c --ignore-missing SHA256SUMS.

The effect doesn't show up

Most DAWs only look for new plugins when asked:

• REAPER: Options → Preferences → Plug-ins → CLAP (or VST or LV2), then Re-scan. The effect is listed under its name, such as “BassDrive”, in the FX browser.
• Ardour: restart it, or use Window → Plugin Manager → Re-scan.
• Carla: Add Plugin, then Refresh.

The effects are mono, so put them on a mono track, or check which channel the host feeds them (REAPER uses channel 1 of a stereo track). Loading in a host and the REAPER guide go into more detail, including latency and presets.

If the plugin still doesn't load, your system may be older than the requirements above. Building from source works on older systems, or open an issue with your distribution and DAW.

Updates and older versions

Each effect is released on its own, with its own version number and changelog (linked from each effect's page). To update, download the new version and run ./install.sh again; it replaces the old copy. Older versions are on the releases page, tagged <name>-v<version>, for example bassdrive-v0.1.0.