.. This is part of the Zrythm Manual.
   Copyright (C) 2019-2020 Alexandros Theodotou <alex at zrythm dot org>
   See the file index.rst for copying conditions.

.. sectionauthor:: Alexandros Theodotou <alex@zrythm.org>

Getting Plugins, Instruments and Samples
========================================

Plugins
-------

Zrythm ships with a few bundled plugins to help users
get started, but users are expected to download and
install their own plugins that suit their
preferences.

There are many plugins to choose from. This guide
will show you a few ways you can install plugins on
GNU/Linux systems.

.. hint:: For other systems, you can find a `list of free
  software plugins here
  <https://github.com/webprofusion/OpenAudio>`_.

For users of Debian-based distributions such as Ubuntu and
Linux Mint we recommend using
the `KXstudio repositories <https://kx.studio/>`_, as
there are many plugins that can easily be installed via apt.

For users of Arch Linux-based distributions such as
Manjaro we recommend installing the
`lv2-plugins <https://www.archlinux.org/groups/x86_64/lv2-plugins/>`_
group.

Recommended Plugin Bundles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

`DISTRHO Ports`_ provides a good variety of synths
and effects.

`ZAM Plugins <http://www.zamaudio.com/?p=976>`_
is an effects pack that contains high quality plugins for
all the basic effects such as Delay, Reverb, Compression,
EQ and Saturation.

The `LSP Project <https://lsp-plug.in/>`_ has a wide variety
of effect plugins.

`X42 Plugins <http://x42-plugins.com/x42/>`_ is a
collection of various MIDI effect and meter plugins.

Synths
~~~~~~

`Helm <https://tytel.org/helm/>`_ is an easy to use
subtractive synthesizer.

Vitalium from `DISTRHO Ports`_ is a very powerful
wavetable synthesizer.

`Surge <https://surge-synthesizer.github.io/>`_ is a
subtractive hybrid synthesizer with a unique
interface.

`Dexed <http://asb2m10.github.io/dexed/>`_ Dexed is
an FM synthesizer that is closely modeled on the
Yamaha DX7.

`ZynFusion <https://zynaddsubfx.sourceforge.io/zyn-fusion.html>`_
is a powerful additive/subtractive synth that can
synthesize a wide variety of sounds.

Percussion Generators
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

`GeonKick <https://gitlab.com/iurie/geonkick>`_ is a
kick drum synthesizer that can also synthesize
other types of percussion.

.. tip:: See :ref:`scanning-plugins` for paths where plugins
  will be scanned in.

Presets
-------
`Freesound`_ has presets available to download for
specific plugins.

In the future, we will be offering preset packs for
download.

SFZ/SF2 Instruments
-------------------

You can find a list of SFZ instruments under free
licenses at
`sfz instruments <https://sfzinstruments.github.io/>`_.

Samples
-------

We recommend using `Freesound`_ for
collecting CC-licensed samples.

We will also be offering sample packs for download
in the future.

.. _Freesound: https://freesound.org
.. _DISTRHO Ports: https://github.com/DISTRHO/DISTRHO-Ports
