Plug-ins

Nota hosts VST3 plug-ins on macOS, Windows and Linux, and AU (Audio Units) on macOS — instruments and effects alike. They sit in a track’s chain or inside a rack like Nota’s own devices.

Adding a plug-in

Scanned plug-ins appear in the browser’s Instruments and Audio effects tabs, under PLUG-INS, after Nota’s built-in devices. The tag at the right edge names the format and vendor, which tells the AU and VST3 builds of one plug-in apart. Double-click or drag one in, exactly as with a built-in device.

Not there? Check Scanning plug-ins, or install free open-source plug-ins from Settings ▸ Downloads.

The plug-in card

The card comes in two sizes:

Small — vendor, format, parameter count and latency, with Open editor and Save preset.
Full — every parameter as a knob, with a filter and pages, showing the plug-in’s own value text (double-click a knob for its default), and a sidechain source when the plug-in has one.

Open editor opens the plug-in’s own window — on top and focused; it closes when the device is removed. While it has focus, the computer keyboard still plays notes and the transport keys still work.

What Nota takes care of

State — every plug-in’s settings are saved inside the project.
Latency — plug-in delay compensation keeps tracks aligned.
Tempo and position — plug-ins get tempo, position, play state and loop points, so synced delays, LFOs, arpeggiators and loopers follow the song.
Automation and MIDI Learn — plug-in parameters can be automated and mapped to a controller.
Bypass — the switch in the card header, as on any device.

Opening a project with missing plug-ins

If a project uses plug-ins that aren’t on this computer, Nota opens it anyway and says what was skipped. If the Nota plug-in registry has them, Nota offers to install them and reopen the project, so they come back with their saved settings. Plug-ins are found even when they’re installed in a different folder than on the computer that saved the project.