M
Mike Ware
Description:
Add a dedicated “dummy” or “placeholder” plugin that can be used in templates to reserve routing configurations. This would allow users to pre-configure routings without committing to a specific plugin or audio source up front.
Problem:
  • Setting up routings in the mixer can be time-consuming, especially in complex templates.
  • While Loopy Pro retains routing paths when replacing plugins, users currently rely on third-party plugins (like Streambyter) as placeholders to preserve those routings.
  • This workaround is inefficient and may cause confusion or unnecessary system load.
Proposed Solution:
  • Create an official dummy plugin that takes no audio/MIDI resources but can occupy a plugin slot with routing preserved.
  • Allow the placeholder to be swapped with real plugins without resetting its routing state.
  • Include an “idle” state so the dummy plugin uses no CPU or I/O resources while in place.
Benefits:
  • Greatly reduces time spent configuring and reconfiguring routings in templates.
  • Allows users to build flexible, modular setups that can be activated as needed.
  • Prevents accidental routing loss when replacing plugins during setup or performance.
Examples:
  • Insert dummy plugins in a template and route them to buses or outputs in advance.
  • Later, replace dummy slots with real synths or effects without losing connections.
  • Use placeholder plugins to prepare alternate setups without committing plugin resources.
This summary was automatically generated by ChatGPT-4 on 2025-07-12.
Original Post:
I like to spend as little time as possible in the mixer setting up routings. The audio source replacement feature is wonderful how it retains routings. In my templates I like to have several placeholder plugins with all my needed routings sitting idled. Then I can just replace the dummy instances, un-idle them and save a huge amount of time.
I'm using the Streambyter plugin as a hack plugin, but think Loopy could benefit from such a Placeholder plugin, and I bet it would be fairly simple to produce.