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All „Core“ modules from Rack have been replaced by Cardinal equivalents, simplified to better work for an audio plugin.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“.
Screenshots
Because people will ask for it. It is, well… Rack.
But a couple of modules background’s have their colors flipped, because damn we want proper dark mode!
A feature comparison between Cardinal and Rack Pro can be seen here
Changelog:
This is a feature release that updates to VCV Rack 2.4 and adds quite a few new modules, bringing the module count to 1193– HostMIDI: Add option to force gaps between MIDI input notes
– Fix build with latest liblo
– Fix Linux VSTi exported symbols
– Fix MindMeldModular in wasm/web builds
– Force-redraw of all child widgets on dark mode change
– Improve Carla/Ildaeil VSTi3 plugin handling
– Improve Ildaeil plugin bridge handling for macOS
– Improve Ildaeil plugin scanning
– Several fixes for UI size with high-dpi screens
– Stop using cardinal-specific `settings::darkMode`
– Tweak default build flags to better match VCV Rack
– Update base VCV Rack to v2.4
– Use DPF for AU support instead of JUCE
– Use GLES2 render target for Linux ARM release buildsModule updates:
– Add Computerscare
– Add CVfunk
– Add DHE modules
– Add Starling Via
– Update Befaco
– Update GrandeModular
– Update HetrickCV
– Update Sapphire
– Update Surge XT
– Update unless_modules
– Update ValleyAudioSpecial note for AU format users: this release breaks backwards compat due to JUCE -> DPF framework change.\
You should export your old patches individually, and reload them after updating.
