Linux Rock Star

JAD Alpha2 Released

2007-03-13T14:21:00.000-06:00

From the Jacklab webpage:
"Yes, we're late, but finaly, here is the second public alpha-release of the JackLab Audio Distribution (JAD). The alpha2 mainly contains bugfixes (eg the entrance login fix), but no new features, but maybe new bugs ;)"

LAC2007

2007-03-08T10:04:00.000-07:00

The Linux Audio Conference is coming up,

here is a list of all of the presentations.

Wish I were going!

New Linux Audio WIKI

2007-03-08T09:36:00.000-07:00

Linux-Sound Application Index

From the page, "The site is intended as public host and collaboration platform, collecting resources for the Linux-Sound community from newbie to old-hat developer. - Think of this website as prototype to bootstrap *.linuxaudio.org services."

This is a new WIKI with some good listings of Linux Audio Software.

Hexter 0.60

2007-03-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

[linux-audio-user] [ANN] hexter 0.6.0

Announcing a new release of the hexter DSSI plugin.

Download at Sourceforge

hexter is a software synthesizer that models the sound generation of
a Yamaha DX7 synthesizer. It can easily load most DX7 patch bank
files, accept patch editing commands via MIDI sys-ex messages, and
recreate the sound of the DX7 with greater accuracy than any other
open-source emulation (that the author is aware of...) hexter
operates as a plugin for the Disposable Soft Synth Interface (DSSI).

New features in version 0.6.0 include:

* Implemented the LFO, amplitude modulation and pitch modulation
(many thanks to Jamie Bullock)!

* Added TX7-style performance parameters, allowing configuration
from the GUI of pitch bend range, portamento time, and
sensitivity and assignment of the modulation wheel, foot
controller, pressure (both channel and key), and breath
controller.

* Added DX7 patchbank loading code from Martin Tarenskeen, allowing
hexter to load a number of additional patch file formats.

* Partially implemented portamento. For now, the curves and times
are wrong, but the plumbing is there.

More information about hexter and DSSI can be found at:

http://dssi.sourceforge.net/hexter.html

hexter is written by Sean Bolton, and copyright (c)2007 under
the GNU General Public License, version 2 or later.

Free Linux Rock Star Keychain!

2007-03-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

As you can tell, Linux Rock Star has been very quiet lately. I'm trying to finish up my last semester of college so it's been too busy lately to get much done...

So! I'm having a special deal! If anyone would like to write an article for Linux Rock Star, I will send them a free Linux Rock Star key chain and publish it on the site!

Submissions should be at least 300 words and may be a review of a program or distro, an examination of a linux audio issue, or any other number of topics. Please send submissions to downerczx_AT_yahoo.com. Screenshots are appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you! All submissions are accepted at my discretion. This will go on for as long as I decide.

Impressions: JAD alpha1

2007-02-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

JAD alpha1 is an early version of the Jacklab Audio Distribution project. This SuSE 10.2 based distribution weighs in at over a gig, so you'll need a blank DVD to burn this one.

Installing was initially fairly easy with the SuSE installer, however, there are some serious bugs yet with the Enlightenment login that prevented me from logging in. I had to reinstall it picking KDE as the default window manager and then I installed Enlightenment from the desktop later.

The KDE version was clean and easy to use. The real fun is with Enlightenment, however, which is a totally different window manager.

There is a good selection of including applications, including the standards: Ardour, Hydrogen, Zynaddsubfx and a lot more, Bristol, AMS and too many more to mention. I'll try to do a proper review sometime soon in the future. Some of the programs did not start properly, at least with JACK, with the default shortcuts. Bristol didn't work at all.

Overall, this distro is very very promising, especially for an early Alpha. Check it out!
JAD Alpha1

Interview with Unbuntu Studio Project Manager

2007-01-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

Over at Oktyabr's notepad, there's an interview with Cory Kontros about Ubuntu Studio. Check it out here!

Impressions: Studio 64

2007-01-30T09:07:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have been using the Studio 64 Distro for making music on my aging Athlon XP 1900+ based system. Here are some quick impressions:

This distribution uses the Gnome Windows manager, which is clean and efficient. There are not a lot of excess packages here, but the basics are well covered, including internet, office apps, etc. The included music packages are solid, if slightly limited. The essentials are here: JACK, Ardour, Hydrogen and Zynaddsubfx. They all work perfectly out of the box. I've had a lot of good recording sessions in Ardour.

While the limited number of music programs might be slightly frustrating, installing new ones are only a few clicks away. This is a solid, friendly and stable music production environment. The installer is an older text based one, and is not especially friendly, but works well. The advantage of having the packages compiled for either 32 bit or 64 bit systems is a big one though, and if you run a 64 bit system, the optimizations might make this distro worthwhile. Not that it isn't already. I highly recommend it.

Updates: Jacklab Distro Released

2007-01-30T09:03:00.000-07:00

From Distrowatch.com:

JackLab Audio Distribution is a new Linux project based on openSUSE and featuring a real-time kernel, Jack Audio Connection Kit and the Enlightenment desktop. The first public alpha build was released earlier today: "The JackLab Team is proud to present the first public alpha release of the JackLab Audio Distribution (JAD). JAD is fully compatible with the recently released openSUSE 10.2. It contains a full production environment for media production, primarily music. For this, the JackLab team added a real-time kernel version 2.6.19 to have fast audio processing with a latency up to 1.5ms. The default audio system is based on the Jack Audio Connection Kit (JACK) which is designed for the needs of musicians and producers and gives a professional audio/midi controlling interface." Visit the project's home page to read the full release announcement.

Also, Create Digital Music has an update on Ubuntu Studio. More updates on the Jacklab Alpha as I get to try it.

Update: Musix 0.79 Released

2006-12-28T23:53:00.000-07:00

The Musix Linux Distro rolls ahead to 0.79! More updates on this later...

Live-CD download

More info

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T18:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks for reading Linux Rock Star this year. We've been fortunate to have some great members of the community to interview. This coming year, we hope to have a lot more cool stuff as the Linux Audio community grows. Remember that it's a community effort and to find some way to contribute, whether it's joining in discussions and helping someone out, submitting a bug, donating to an open source project or submitting code. Programs don't get to be awesome by themselves.

Thanks to all the great developers out there and people at irc channels, forums and mailing lists who've helped me out with Linux stuff. I've really enjoyed using these programs this year: Ardour, Musix, 64 Studio, JackLab, Aeolus, Hydrogen, JACK, Zynaddsubfx, AMS and many more. I really look forward to seeing what the new year will bring.

Also, please let me know if you have any good ideas for stories or topics you would like to see covered at Linux Rock Star.

Finally, any orders for the Rock Star Linux pack placed between Dec 27 - Jan 1st will ship out after the 1st.

Merry Christmas, and God Bless.
Borrowed the penguin image from here.

Sound & MIDI Page Updated

2006-12-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

The Sound & MIDI Software for Linux page has been updated with lots of new links to applications, updates and news! Check under, "new additions". Lots of fun stuff to look at!

Interview: SuSE Jacklab Creator Michael Bohle (Part 2)

2006-12-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

Q: What is the main purpose of the SuSE Jacklab team?

The main competence of jacklab is communication, support and testings. Jacklab (in its current state) is a step toward a full blown openSUSE based distro. Some members of the Jacklab team are now able to build up a one CD install, because the openSUSE Wiki published an tutorial "how to make a sopenSUSE based build".

Appleonkel (Oliver Bengs) is learning how to make it. He also make the kernels. Olli is also member of the build service now he meet some openSUSE devs and he hopes that for the LAC 2007 in Berlin to release the one CD install (JAD). A CD is a enough for a full studio with kde-light and a browser and YAST. The CD will be pre-configured with my suggestions from the music production side and some graphics for eyecandy.

Q: Is there a chance of seeing the Enlightenment Window Manager as an option?

Yes, the last versions of e17 are pretty stable, so this is an realistic option. I still use e17 on all my systems, but for most of the people KDE is an option, so there will be a very basic KDE. Anyway, I think Konqueror is also for the e17 desktop a very useful filemanager

Q: Will there be a commercial version of Jacklab?

There will be a commercial version of JAD on DVD. The German publisher Nicolaus Millin, www.millin.de (Ex SuSE press) was talking about this with Olli and me. So he now joining the JackLab team. I'm very happy to have an experienced SUSE professional in the team, who have a view for biz.

Q: What sort of differences will there be?

There will be a openSUSE JAD (for free) one CD install. The commercial version, JAD Studio Edition will the be same system, but with commercial samples and maybe a license of Energy XT2.

Q: Would it have different support options?

Yes, I planning pro support for the studio edition and a printed manual. A lot of work.to do.

However, this will come later. First, we must test and develop JAD (JackLab Audio Distribution). The one CD install will always be free. So everyone can join in for free to the user4user support forum at http://forum.jacklab.net.

Q: Are there any good ways for users to get involved with Jacklab?

The best way is to join our IRC channel, irc.freenode.net #jacklab. Here, we are talk and share about development, testing and audio apps. In most cases here is someone who can help.

Q: Sometimes it's a lot nice to get real time help with a problem, or to give feedback.

Yes, thats what we need, feedback. Without feedback, we have no motivation and there are will be no improvements.

Q: So, GPL v2 or v3?

Hehe, I'm not a code developer so thats not on me. As an artist, I prefer to use the Creative Commons Licenses mosty.

Q: Anything else you would like to say about Jacklab?

Yes, ... when I was starting this project, I was a bloody Linux noob, but had good skills as creative computer user.

So I meet with some Linux geeks with a heart for musicans. We learned to communicate and understand each other. Sharing knowledge. So the Linux geeks and music geeks people began to create something new. We learn to play together like in a band.

Q: So Linux people learn more about music, and music people learn more about linux together?

Yes, exactly.

Q: There is some real communication happening then. That's good. I imagine both sides need to learn the “jargon”.

At first there where a lot of misunderstandings, and learning to respect each other. Musicians can be stupid users, and geeks are only human. You know what I mean.

Q: Yes, it takes a lot of patience from both sides.

Yes, but I feel very comfortable in the Linux community right now.

Q: Overall, is the community oriented toward the same goals?

Well, only a very few people like to help actively and there is a lot of chaos about "what's the better distribution”. So much, “blah blah blah”. So to work together with a goal is not so easy.

Q: Would you say it's best to just pick a project you like and stick with it instead of bantering?

Yes, for sure. I mean, when you have energy for bantering, you could better use this energy for something constructive. There are so many ways for active participation. When I was starting Jacklab, I was really sure lots of people would share a vision of a user friendly SUSE based music distribution, but with the time, I have to accept, that most of the people are waiting for someone to serve them something: passive users.

I've realized that I can change something if I do it and share my ideas and desire for a free music production environment base on Linux. So a very few like Appleonkel have realized their role in the game and taken the chance to grow up to something like an openSUSE rt kernel guru.

It's easy for users to fall into that trap of not giving anything back and just expect a free lunch.

Q: What other projects are you working on?

I just produce a German rock band in my "Jacklab Studio One". They are maybe a bit punk; hard, but with a lot of emotion. This production will be released under the CCL and it is a 100% open source product. We produce with Ardour as the main software. I have a small but nice studio, and this will be the first music product made with the "SUSE 10 JAD preview " (never released officially).
In Germany, the bands are not so biz oriented like in the USA. So, this band is a part of the JackLab network, a culture of the new independent open media movement. Other projects will follow, in different places, with different music.

Q: Do they have a website?

They're called Bad Man Dead. They are at www.bad-man-dead.de (hosted by Jacklab) and www.badmandead.de. But this website is in preparation, their almost everyday in the studio and actually find no time for making some html-stuff.

Well, thanks Michael, for talking with Linux Rock Star and sharing about openSUSE Jacklab!

Interview: SuSE Jacklab Creator Michael Bohle (Part 1)

2006-12-16T10:54:00.000-07:00

Michael Bohle is the founder and one of the project leads for JackLab. JackLab is a project for research and support of proaudio / media software for openSUSE Linux. He joins us here at Linux Rock Star to answer some questions about the project, and its future in light of the recent Novell / Microsoft developments and what this means for JackLab users.

Q: JackLab is has a selection of some of the best open source audio programs for openSUSE. How did this project get started, and why for openSUSE Linux?

First: We decided to merge our RPM repository with the free packager group packman (http://packman.links2linux.org/ ) and concentrate our focus to user support and the development of a openSUSE based "JackLab Audio Distribution“ but more of this later in this interview.

Since 1999 I've checked SuSE Linux for its multimedia capacities and always was disappointed. Promising multitrack solutions like SLAB never working for me and playing a simple pcm wave file was sometimes pain in the ass with the open sound system (oss).

In 2004 I was testing the Knoppix based aGNUla DeMuDi live CD and I was very impressed. I'm a musican and music producer so I was always looking for a free music producing platform. Linux seemed to be this, but until DeMuDi it was frustrating to use Linux for creative music and media. So DeMuDi was giving me the first impression, how JACK, the low latency audio input output system working.

But I have special proaudio hardware and a dualscreen system. DeMuDi is based on Debian, and its support for hardware is very basic. So I was checking once again SuSE and all my hardware was detected and configured correctly, but I didn't get JACK and the proaudio apps like MusE to work. But for me it was clear -Linux is the future platform for proAudio so I get the idea of „JackLab“ - an laboratory to delve the capacities of JACK.

Later in 2004 Mathias Nargorni, the developer of Alsa modular and Novell Product Manager, made in cooperation with a popular German music magazine a SuSE 9.2 based Audio Live CD. But there was no installer, and the “normal” SUSE 9.2 pro audio wasn't working well.

I recognized that I have to compile a new kernel and some more. So I get in touch with the free SUSE community. The packager oc2pus (Tony Graffy) offered me to make more proaudio rpms available from a wishlist, that I made, and the hacker gimpel was helping me to make a realtime audio kernel for SuSE Linux. 9.2. To share this, I opened the website jacklab.net. In the same time SuSE was getting open for the community development and so we are joining into openSUSE as one of the first free projects.

Q: Will Jacklab continue in light of the recent Novell / Microsoft developments?

Why not?

For sure we will continue – cos where is the problem? openSUSE is sponsored by Novell, but the community make their own decisions. Remember for example the story with of Gnome vs KDE: Novell wanted to put pressure on to get gnome as default WM through. At last the devs from Nuremberg decided to keep KDE. I don't get any nervous by this deal. I think MS try to contact Linux, because its threatened their biz. Now is the point, that Linux will spread more and more. I think the FSF should concentrate their focus on HURD, and Mark Shuttleworth should look by his own gpl-games.

Anyway: JackLab is a free project. We are feel as a part of the openSUSE community, but we have nothing to do with the biz decisions of Novell.

Q: Are there any changes in the agreement that affect Jacklab / openSUSE users?

No. why?

Q: Will Jacklab be updated for openSUSE 10.2?

I just started with some beta testing and I'm positively surprised. 10.2 seemed to be the best of the “openSUSE” builds (since 10.0) With the actual RT kernel from Appleonkel the rtprios for PAM jack is running flawless.

The last days an tutorial was released, which explains clearly how to build up a own openSUSE distribution, so there is a big chance that Olli and Nico are solve the dependencies to make a stripped down one CD install “JAD” image, based on 10.2. A first release is planned for latest the LAC2007 end of march. But I'm sure a preview will be available in February.

At next I will release a basic tutorial for updating a standard openSUSE into a DAW, there is already a new repository rt for kernels available and I promise: Now it will be very easy to pimp the office girl Suse into a rock queen named Susi ;)

I also tested Ardour 2 on 10.2 with a 2.6.19 rt kernel, with success, so sad that we can't share the ardour2 vst build :( because the GPL don't allow to distribute binarys compiled with the proprietary code headers from the Steinberg SDK.

Q: What are your favorite applications on Audiolinux?

First of all: Ardour. I just produce with the band called “Band Man Dead” a demo cd, and a good workflow is given. A really pro app. I also like SooperLooper for free improvisation with my voice, and the synthesizers ZynAdd and AMS. Together with Hydrogen and Seq24 in sync.

I just testing energyXT2 for Linux... seemed to be that this will be one of my fav in the future. But a lot of beta testing to do.

Q: What sets openSUSE / Jacklab apart from other Linux music distributions?

Not so much. In fact there no big difference between the Linux distributions. But: openSUSE is one of the progressed and user friendliest distributions in the Linux market. YAST is the best developed graphical Linux configuration interface. openSUSE is ready for the enduser, which means, those who working productive with an operating system. But it is open for improvements and a good source for modern, innovative development. Maybe Ubuntu have the better community, but openSUSE is leading in the technological aspect.

So openSUSE is a good base for developing a very userfriendly operating system for studios and musicans. The JackLab Audio Distribution (powered by openSUSE) will be fast, slim but complete, beautiful and fully compatible to the main openSUSE distribution.

But in the core, the audio apps and other items like RT kernel similar to all other Linux distributions -it has something to do with taste, but the ingredients are always the same source code. It is simply Linux.

Q: Why do you value Open Source software?

I choose it, because I can work freely with it. I feel safer with a opensource DAW software; cos I'm not depend on the update cycles of the manufacturers of proprietary software. I've got the freedom, to to share the app, for example Ardour, with the customer of my mobile studio, so they can edit their audio
tracks by themselves without spending lots of money or breaking software copyright laws. I like the open project file format of Ardour, because in fact “shit happens” and so I have the option to edit and repair the project file in clear text , XML based.

In addition I think, that a free culture needs independent and free production tools.

Q: How is the weather in Germany today?

Fuckin' foggy cold, it is autumn it its last state. I'm happy to be here in my warm studio ;)

Rock Star Linux Pack!

2006-12-13T16:53:00.000-07:00

Support Linux Rock Star by purchasing the Rock Star Linux pack: The newest versions of 3 of the best Linux Music Distributions on CD plus an exclusive Linux Rock Star logo keychain! Save time on downloads and start making some music!

For $10 + $3 S&H you get
Graphic Labeled CDs + Cases + logo Keychain:

* 64 Studio (32 or 64 bit) (installable)
* Musix (live, installable)
* dyne:bolic (live, installable)
* Exclusive Linux Rock Star Logo Keychain

With the live CDs, you can try out Linux now, and install when you're ready. By purchasing the Rock Star Linux pack, you'll be supporting more great interviews, articles, and tutorials on Linux Rock Star!

Buy now with PayPal and get ready to rock!

64 Studio 1.0

2006-12-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

The Linux distribution 64 Studio has reached version 1.0! This is a distribution with a large selection of music apps that is available in 64 bit and 32 bit versions.

From the press release:
"The 64 Studio project produces a distribution of native free software for digital content creation on x86_64 hardware (AMD's 64-bit CPUs and Intel's EM64T chips). After eighteen months of development, the project has made its first stable release available for free download. It is named in recognition of the work of Glyn Johns and Eddie Kramer at Olympic Studios in London."

64 Studio Homepage
Download

UPDATE: Dynebolic 2.3

2006-11-26T15:30:00.000-07:00

A new version of Dynebolic has been released, here are some changes, from the release notice:

Starting from this release dyne:II core runs efficiently on solid state devices, loading its system from a compact-flash or similar controller. It has been tested on some embedded setups with extremely good results in terms of speed and power saving. Moreover, this release significantly improves stability and performance, running on a brand new 2.6.18 kernel optimized for low latency realtime. New and updated software include: VNC for remote desktop operation and recording, MPlayer and ffmpeg audio/video codecs, DVD recording tools, Ksubtitle editor, FUSE and pcmcia card autodetection.

Dynebolic Homepage

Commodore 64 and Linux

2006-11-18T14:56:00.001-07:00

Back in 1982, a personal computer was released that would one day be a cultural phenomenon. The Commodore 64, if you’re not familiar with it, was an amazing computer for its day. It had games and applications galore and was easy to program.

The Sound Interface Device (SID) of the Commodore 64 has lived on as a cult classic. It sounds like a 70’s analog synthesizer or something out of a video game nightmare. It’s difficult to define, yet easy to understand when you hear it. It lives on in the form of hardware synthesizers like the Elektron SidStation, the HardSID internal sound card, midibox SID DIY project, the modern Prophet64 cartridge, software based synthesizers like the quadraSID and Goattracker.

VICE is a Commodore 64 emulator that is available for Linux. This program gives access to a number of Commodore 64 music programs. Here are some programs to download and try out with VICE:
• CyberTracker – Old School style tracker
• Prophet64 1.0 – Emulates a TB303, TR909, and an analog Synth; free version download
• SAM – (Software Automatic Mouth) Old School Robot Speech Synth
• White Box – One of many music collection disks
• Cynthcart – Live performance synth
• Retroskoi – Another live programmable synth

There’s also a huge number of C64 tunes you can listen to natively in Linux at the High Voltage SID collection, an archive of thousands of C64 tunes. They are pretty small and can be listened to in SIDPLAY or the SIDPLAY XMMS plugin.
• High Voltage SID Collection – Archive of SID song files
• SIDPLAY for Linux, XMMS plugin for SID files
• VICE – Linux C64 emulator
• ReFX QuadraSID – This VST plugin works pretty well with FST
• Unknown 64 – Another VST plugin
• GoatTracker - Comes with source code, compiles on Linux - native tracker app

Interview: Energy XT Creator, Jorgen Aase

2006-11-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

Jorgen is the creator of Energy XT, a modular music creation program available for Windows that is currently in development and scheduled for a Linux release. Energy XT, a program already widely used and praised, will be making a Linux debut, marking one of the first available commercial music applications for Linux.

How would you describe energyXT?

energyXT is an advanced music composer and plugin chainer. It can be run as a standalone application or as a plugin in another DAW to overcome it's limitations. energyXT2 is designed to be very easy to use with drag and drop, streamlined mixer and a very user friendly piano-roll. And when the final version of energyXT2 is out, it will have a built in synth/sampler and multi-effect processor so that you can create music “out of the box”.

Jorgen, why did you decide to port energyXT to Linux?

I guess I always wanted to. Linux is great, it has a lot of free programming tools and it is community driven just like energyXT. I really luve the fact that Linux can be installed on almost anything, and I cant wait to see what new super-gadgets will show up in the near
future powered by Linux. Just think about running your favorite music software on something like the GP2X but with a somewhat bigger screen and wireless headset mic and midi keyboard.

What sets energyXT apart from other music applications?

Well, it has a lot of cool users and the community is just great. In many ways, energyXT2 is a result of years of feedback and suggestions from the user base. What really sets energyXT2 apart from other music software though, is the huge feature set without being bloated. It is
very small in size, snaps open in a split second, but yet has all the features you would need from simple midi editing to advanced time-stretching and pitch-shifting. Oh, and its fully skinnable.

What do you think of Linux as a music/audio production platform?

I actually see Linux as the future of music production platforms, but at the moment I'm very comfortable with cross-platform development. I want energyXT users to be able to choose what works best for them, so supporting both Windows and Linux from version 2.0 and on is just great. Linux may not have a reputation for being a platform for music, but it works great for me and all new improvements and kernel patches that make their way into the mainline kernel is a bonus.

Will VST's work in Linux under energyXT, if so, how?

Well, yes and no. energyXT2 will support VST's but only if they are compiled for Linux. Of course, there are not a lot of those around at the moment but audio guru Paul Kellett from maxim digital audio (www.mda-vst.com) let me re-compile for Linux all “mda” VST instrument
and effects he has made. And so I did. You'd better check out that mdaJX10 synthesizer, it really sounds great.

What kind of feedback have you received since you announced a Linux version?

All positive. There are energyXT users that use Windows only for music, and they are just waiting for energyXT2 to be released so that they can wipe that Windows XP partition form their HD. And there are Linux musicians thanking me for including the Linux platform when developing (affordable) music software. Well, public beta testing of energyXT2 starts in December so we'll see how the reactions are then. I can't wait!

Will Windows users and Linux users have access to versions of the program for both OS's, or will they be separate liscenses?

They will have access to both. The license is personal, and it means that users may install energyXT2 on any of their computers. So if you have Windows on your desktop PC and Linux on your laptop, you need only buy one license.

What do you think about open source software?

I think it's great, and I have all respect for people that develop software and share it with others for free. I don't favor one license over the other though, and hope to see both open source and affordable commercial software on Linux in the future. I really don't mind paying for software that developers have spent thousands of hours to complete, and just think about all the hair pulling trying to nail those bugs.

Are there any Linux applications you use or would use in conjunction with Energy XT?

No, its all energyXT2 over here, still it would be great to see more native VST plugins for Linux. But they will come for sure.

What distribution of Linux do you run?

Ubuntu, it's easy to install and easy to upgrade. I do find it a bit bloated though so I'm always on the lookout for something new, but I never download a distro that doesnt fit on a single CD-ROM.

Random concluding question: What is your favorite movie?

I was thinking Bladerunner, but anything with Lara Croft will do;)

Thank you, Jorgen, for hanging out with Linux Rock Star and talking about EnergyXT!

Find out more about EnergyXT:

ArtistX: Debian GNU/Linux Multimedia Art Distribution

2006-11-03T17:31:00.000-07:00

ArtistX is a live DVD distribution of Linux.

From the homepage:
"ArtistX is a LIVE DVD containing nearly all the free multimedia softwares for audio, 2D/3D graphics and video production for the GNU/Linux operating system. No need to install it on the hard disk as it is a bootable DVD, but you can of course install Debian GNU/Linux and addl the most useful softwares for you by yourself. "

This looks very interesting with a lot of great applications. Check it out.

Link: ArtistX.org

Mute Renamed to Aldrin

2006-10-24T14:40:00.000-06:00

"Mute", the opensource tracker built to be buzz compatible, has been renamed to "Aldrin" and version 0.2 is now available for download.

Link: Aldrin Modular Sequencer

Update: 64 Studio 0.9.5

2006-10-23T18:46:00.000-06:00

A new version of 64 Studio has been released! It is now up to 0.9.5. This is a Linux music distribution that is made for 64 bit processors (AMD's 64-bit CPUs and Intel's EM64T chips). This is a great option if you have one of these processors and are frustrated with 32-bit Windows apps. Go check it out!

64 Studio Hompage
Screenshot from 64 Studio Homepage

Linux Kernel & Realtime Support

2006-10-16T11:34:00.000-06:00

It looks like the mainstream Linux kernel might be headed toward including realtime support, an option that previously needed a patched or replaced kernel from the standard Linux kernel in most distrubutions. This means a lot more systems capable of doing quick realtime audio work.

Story at LinuxDevices.com

New Tracker: Mute (Buzz Compatible)

2006-10-02T22:29:00.000-06:00

From the Mute homepage:

"Mute is a Linux based Buzz clone, designed to be 1:1 compatible to the discontinued but popular modular music tracker Jeskola Buzz, currently in an alpha development stage. It also occasionally builds and runs on Windows."

This isn't released yet, but you can get it from SVN repositories if you want to see what it's like.

Links
Buzz - The original Tracker for Windows
Mute - The new Linux Tracker
Tracker - Wikipedia entry if you want to know what a "tracker" is

Frets on Fire

2006-10-01T21:04:00.000-06:00

Okay, so this is a little different. FretsOnFire is an awesome party game like Guitar Hero, but different, and it is open source and available for Linux! This should make a nice diversion from intense composing. Also available for Windows for the unenlightened.

Link: Frets On Fire

Note: I couldn't get this to run on SuSE 10.1, I get this error:
downerczx@(none):~/FretsOnFire> ./FretsOnFire
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/home/skyostil/src/cx_Freeze-3.0.3/initscripts/Console.py", line 27, in ?
File "src/FretsOnFire.py", line 27, in ?
File "src/GameEngine.py", line 34, in ?
File "src/Data.py", line 26, in ?
File "ExtensionLoader_pygame_mixer.py", line 12, in ?
ImportError: libsmpeg-0.4.so.0: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
downerczx@(none):~/FretsOnFire>

Playing with Bristol

2006-09-27T17:31:00.000-06:00

After playing around with Bristol for a little while, I can say that this is some serious fun. I used to have a book of vintage keyboards and wished that I could play with them. Now, here they all are under Linux. The ARP synths are especially fun. JACK support is missing right now, but is being worked on. In the picture above, I was playing 3 synths at once. See posts below for info on downloading Bristol.

Here's a list of equivalent synth emulations from Bristol:
Arp Axxe
Arp Odyssey
Arp 2600
Moog Mini
Moog Voyager (Bristol "Explorer")
Sequential Circuits Prophet-5
Sequential Circuits Prophet-10
Sequential Circuits Prophet-52 (the '5' with chorus)
Roland Juno-6
Yamaha DX-7 (Well, perhaps an FM-7)
Hammond (single manual) module
Hammond B3 (dual manual - see below)
Vox Continental
Fender Rhodes
Fender Rhodes Bass Piano
Oberheim OB-X
Oberheim OB-Xa
Korg MonoPoly
Korg Poly6
Mixer (-libtest only)

New Version of Rosegarden 1.4.0

2006-09-26T14:49:00.000-06:00

"Rosegarden is a professional audio and MIDI sequencer, score editor, and general-purpose music composition and editing environment." from the Rosegarden Homepage.

This is a well developed Linux project that is making great strides toward excellence in music applications on Linux. Be sure to check this one out.

Picture from Rosegarden Homepage. Download the program there!
Take a tour of Rosegarden.

Virtual Synth: Bristol 0.9.5-60

2006-09-26T14:09:00.000-06:00

A new version of Bristol, a synth emulation package that models Moogs, Arps, Hammonds, Rhoads, Oberheim and many more synthsizers is now available.

Screenshot from here.
Get Bristol at it's Homepage.
Click the 0.9.3 dropdown and the new 0.9.5-60 will appear under it or download here (direct link).

New Free Tunes made with Linux

2006-09-14T16:44:00.000-06:00

From this post on Linux Audio User comes some tunes:

Created in reverse cronological order over a period of about half a year using mainly: linux, muse, soundfonts, ladspa plugins, more ladspa plugins, some gigs pod's, guitars, microphones, deformed ears and total lack of sense. For the genreholics out there I would put them in the following categories, top to bottom: spam-metal/ambient/blues/mono-metal/jazz/bluesfusion

For more info about the songs and also older material see the site:
http://spamatica.se/musicsite/

Links: More Linux music links than you can imagine

2006-09-08T15:19:00.000-06:00

"Sound and MIDI Software For Linux" is one of the oldest, most respective Linux music sites on the net. Here, categorically arranged, are every type of music and audio application for Linux, from Audio Plugins to Hardware to Mixers to Software Synthesis and more, this is a huge cache of Linux audios apps.

The New Additions page is a good place to start, to see the latest apps. One problem is that many of the entries may link to projects that have been abandoned, or are outdated, so it pays to look for stuff that is updated, however, there are also many good "finished" apps that are perfectly useful, though not updated frequently.

The site appears to be updated about every two months, so it follows that a new update might appear sometime in the next month or so.

Take a look and start exploring the diverse selection of Linux music applications.
Sound and MIDI Software for Linux

Release: Musix 059

2006-09-07T21:22:00.000-06:00

This Musix 0.59 CD is now available for download. View the release announcement.

Some highlights:

Graphical Installation
New Hardware Detection
Over 650 packages updated, new apps like Amarok

Get it here and don't forget to check out the interview with Marcos below.

Interview: Marcos Germán Guglielmetti

2006-09-04T11:01:00.000-06:00

Musix is a free Linux distribution geared towards making music. It is an installable, live-boot CD with a lot of applications. The creator of Musix, Marcos Guglielmetti, was kind enough to do an interview with Linux Rock Star. Musix is available at it's homepage.

What inspired you to make a Linux music distribution?

I don't know exactly: it was a sleeplessness night, I needed something difficult that could occupy my head, my thoughts... so I asked myself, "would it be difficult to make a GNU/Linux distribution?"

Also: I wanted to make an easier music distribution, easier than aGNUla/DeMuDi (for instance), because I want to see free software on any machine, so it must be easier to use: more user friendly. Musix only takes 3 or 4 minutes to startup, and there it is: fully operable.

In the process, I decided that the ideology behind GNU/Linux was exactly what I always looked for: the Ututo GNU/Linux (Daniel Olivera) & FSF people helped me so much in that direction!!

I saw Richard Stallman in a public talk on 2004, in my city, La Plata, Argentina, and I felt that the hippies were back here again, only now talking about software... so, it's not an illogical idea to join
music + free software... it's like hippie software, I think.

Could you explain a little more behind why you value free software?

I do because a subjectivity matter: when you have something developed in a community way, when people share their thoughts and advances with others, you achieve subjectivity... I mean, this huge society is used to (mal)treating you as an object: almost a human? When the subject is treated as an object, it's only a number on an enterprise statistic meaning money, just that, and it's unhealthy.

But with 100% free software it's different: you can achieve subjectivity in any part of the operating system, and you are treated as a subject by the users and developers community, you are treated as what you are, and that's healthy.

Also, you have freedom to share the software: that's a very important thing, your freedom, it's part of the subject's rights, it's a part of you and you dont have to resign that to use your hardware, or make music.

Object = slave

Subject = person with feelings and dignity

What are your favorite applications you use in Musix?

Kmail, Firefox, Rosegarden, Ardour, Hydrogen, ZynAddSubFX and Qsynth: I need a normal Desktop System and audio & MIDI sequencers, softsynths, a drum machine... just to make pop-rock music.

What plans do you have for the future of Musix?

A Live-DVD version could be a final solution to the space problems: we need to include many more music apps, for instance Muse, many other languages... and even games!, I would like to add things like torcs (a 3D racing cars simulator game using OpenGL).

Also, we need to improve hardware detection, etc., it's an enormous job that can be fulfilled only in this way: using software from Knoppix, Kanotix, Debian, etc., etc., and making our changes if needed.

Today I finished Musix 0.59, so you will see it soon on www.gnu.org, I upgraded more than 650 software packages, solved some bugs, added NTFS read/write support, a 100% graphic boot up process, the Amarok multimedia player (terrific!), and something more. Now Musix can upgrade -theoretically- an older installed version, this subject should work better. using the new Knoppix's package upgrader, and also it can -theoretically- convert a Knoppix, Debian or Ubuntu distro into a Musix distro. But I recommend making a classical new installation.

How do you compare Linux music applications to full commercially available applications?

It's a matter of freedom, if you don't care about your freedom, just don't care about this subject.

But, talking about the technical affair, Ardour is almost as good as ProTools, Gilberto Gil recorded using Ardour, so it must be a good app! There are some recording studios out there using it, for instance Mirror Image Studios (www.multitrack.us), and there is also great hardware supporting GNU/Linux, for instance RME Hamerfall soundcards (http://www.rme-audio.com/): you can record using 52 channels with this soundcard.

Rosegarden is a good music editor and MIDI/audio sequencer: there are many good people working on it. I love the practical use of Hydrogen drum machine, and the dreamy sound of ZynAddSubFX, but there are many more apps to try: Beast, LMMS, Wired, Seq24, Noteedit, etc. Jamin is an excelent mastering tool, you can do anything with it, and it was built with the help of highly qualified people, it uses the LADSPA plugins, something comparable to VST plugins.

Qsynth needs better free software soundfonts, you can help us, join at: http://opensrc.org/

Was it hard to put together a full blown distribution?

Mmmm.... not if you talk about mental capabilities, but it's hard because of time: you need a lot of time to make any distro, because the software and the hardware are always moving, growing, and you need to make a lot of changes to the software, talk to users and collaborators (there are many from Argentine, Spain, and some people from Brazil, Portugal, and other countries), discuss, analyze, learn, etc., etc., etc.

How is the weather in Argentine?

Argentine is a big country, so you have many kind of weathers... here in my town, now it's raining, we are waiting for the spring to come at September 21... the winter is a little sad to me... so I am trying to make some reggae music ;-), and I love to walk on the La Plata's "backwood" on sunny days listening songs from my mp3 player.

Muchas Gracias!

Application: Canorus Music Score Editor

2006-09-02T09:35:00.000-06:00

Announced on the Linux Audio Users mailing list:

"Canorus is the next generation music score editor (multiple viewports of the same score, scripting support, score source view, fast and intuitive UI, free software and cross-platform)."

I put out a first release based on the current SVN. You can fetch it from http://prdownload.berlios.de/canorus/canorus-0.0.2.tar.bz2.

Homepage: http://canorus.berlios.de
Wiki:
http://canorus.berlios.de/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

A very nice open source alternative to the commercial applications out there.

Quick Linux Audio Distribution Guide

2006-08-31T14:59:00.000-06:00

Linux distributions are numerous. There are distributions for general use, including office applications, programming audio, and gaming as well as very specific distributions tailored to a particular usage such as gaming, networks or even music creation.

The diversity of Linux is often thought of as strength, and indeed it is, but choosing the proper distribution sometimes takes some care and patience, as well as diligence, but can be extremely rewarding.

What follows is a short list of music related distributions with accompanying links that will perhaps help in choosing a Linux distribution for audio/music or general use.

General Distributions – These distributions are meant as normal operating systems and have a wide range of uses and packages often available for them. For a complete switch from Windows; as a complete operating system, these are a good place to start. Both covered also have extensive audio applications available from related projects.

OpenSuSE 10.1 – “The openSUSE project is a worldwide community program sponsored by Novell that promotes the use of Linux everywhere.” (from the OpenSuSE homepage).

OpenSuSE is one of the most professional distributions I have used and excels with installation, hardware detection and in having a wide range of available programs. OpenSuSE’s has strong multimedia support. Even with just the applications on the base installation disc, the user can be up and playing on apps such as Aeolus, Zynaddsubfx, and more.

SuSE JackLab is an effort to make a collection of the best Linux music applications readily available in SuSE packages so the user can be up and running without any extra work. There are a number of excellent packages available. While they are now individually downloadable and installable packages, at some point, they may come as a complete CD. SuSE Jacklab also comes with a realtime kernel essential for good performance.

Fedora Core is another heavyweight in Linux distributions. This is another good complete replacement for Windows. Like SuSE, it can come as a DVD.

Planet CCRMA is a collection of audio apps for Fedora core that are easily installable.

While both of these offer excellent solutions for Linux Audio, they may be somewhat heavyweight for a user who is only interested in the Audio aspects of Linux, or who wants to keep using Windows / OSX as their primary operating system.

Linux music distributions are tailored specifically for audio usage (sometimes also video). The kernel is optimized for it, and the included packages all relate. These distributions are excellent for getting started quickly, and having everything you need. The downside is that if you use your computer for a number of other things, you may feel somewhat limited as they are focused generally on media.

Musix is an excellent distribution for getting into Linux audio or even if you’re already there. Although still in a somewhat early form (version .50 is the newest), there are a tremendous amount of useful music applications, including Ardour (DAW), Hydrogen (Drum machine), Zynaddsubfx (Synth) and a number of other useful audio applications: “tracker” style apps, sound editors, MIDI and even a number of non audio apps such as a word processor, web browser, mail client and more.

Musix is a Live bootable CD, meaning it can be run without being installed on the hard drive at all. This is an excellent option for anyone wanting to investigate Linux audio without having to install or commit hard drive space or time to it. The apps are instantly available though without a permanent install, they can sometimes be a little buggier or prone to crashing. Musix also comes with cutting edge realtime kernels and lightweight window managers for the best audio performance.

While still in a somewhat early form, Musix is an excellent option for anyone investigating Linux Audio or wanting a distribution tailored specifically to it.

The Agnula/DeMudi project used to be the premier Linux audio distribution to many, but has gone a long time without updates, with perhaps the future of the project in question. This was a pretty slick distribution, however, with GNOME and a number of well organized and useful applications. I don’t recommend this, however, unless a new version is released at some point since it is quite outdated.

Dynebolic is another Live CD that is also installable. This is a very polished distribution, optimized with a lightweight windows manager for good efficiency with sound applications. One can easily move from computer to computer using the Live CD feature while saving data on a USB stick. There is also a unique clustering feature allowing one to utilize multiple computers to make calculations quicker.

Dynebolic comes with a good mixture of audio and graphics applications, streaming programs and much more for any media project, video or audio. This is another excellent distribution.

Getting into Linux audio takes some patience and time, but is quite rewarding. Check out the different distributions and find the one that suits you. Frozentech offers some of the general distributions on CD or DVD for very reasonable prices, or one can simply download an ISO image and burn a copy. All are freely available and can be copied for friends/fellow musicians thanks to Open Source/Free Software/GNU.

Linux Video Tutorials and Songs

2006-08-30T14:30:00.000-06:00

Posted on the Linux Audio Users mailing list was this:

http://www.hitmuri.com

where there are songs made with Linux and also video tutorials utilizing Freewheeling, Specimen and Jack-Rack.

Note: For some reason, I can't get the video's to play with whatever codec is being used.

New Linux based Keyboard Workstation

2006-08-28T15:17:00.000-06:00

Thanks to the Linux Audio Users mailing list for pointing this out. This massive keyboard is, according to it's homepage at Lionstrac:

"IN ABSOLUTE: the FIRST worldwide LINUX Open-Source keyboard with full Digital MIXER, 24Bit, 116dB Dynamic Range, with the best powerfull worldwide AUDIO-MIDI-GIGA ARRANGER! The time of Mb and embedded keyboards is OVER! AMD 32/64Bit and Linux 64STUDIO are the future, all the remain are only closed and short life time producs. NO another keyboard in this world can give you the full depth 24Bit sound like the MEDIASTATION."

This keyboard has full GM sounds, VST compatibility via FST, CD Recording and a lot more. It looks very interesting. It's also very pricey, but for those in the market for this, it might be what someone is looking for.

Virtual Instrument: amSynth

2006-08-28T14:27:00.000-06:00

After a long delay, we are back. Here is an interesting Linux software synth that is great for making some fat analog synth sounds. JACK enabled too.

amSynth

Virtual Instrument: Alsa Modular Synth

2006-08-05T22:34:00.000-06:00

It is amazing how little fanfare some Linux audio applications are hailed with. The webpage for Alsa Modular Synth seems fairly basic, like another interesting little Linux project. Little does the viewer know they are about to experience one of the most powerful virtual synthesizers available. This full modular synth (with "modules" that allow one to build a complete synthesizer) has one of the fattest sounds and most realistic I have heard from a virtual synthesizer (I've been using them since the days of Vaz Plus 1.7). There are thick basses, lush pads, searing leads, all the cliches plus all the weird sounds one can dream up. There are some amazing sounds that remind me of Klaus Schulze in the presets.

One drawback is the presets. There could certainly be more. If anyone creates some, I would be happy to post them here. Give this application a shot as this is certainly an incredibly powerful tool for making music. Alsa Modular Synth is also JACK enabled, so it will work with everything else nicely.

Updates have been slow due to the business of the end of summer. Expect things to get moving again soon with special features, interviews, previews and more at Linux Rock Star.

Links:
Alsa Modular Synth Homepage
Alsa Modular Synth Documentation
Tutorial from Linux Format

New Linux Made Music

2006-08-02T11:18:00.000-06:00

From Ringheims Auto on the Linux Audio Users Group comes this nifty tune made with Linux apps:

Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 21:58:17 +0200
From: Johannes Mario Ringheim <NO SPAM>
Subject: [linux-audio-user] Music: Ringheims Auto - "Kanskje No"
To: linux-audio-user@music.columbia.edu

New tune made with GNU/Linux ready for download:
UPDATE: New Link: Here

I used lots of stuff on this one, AMS, Seq24, Ardour, Hydrogen and lots of LADSPA plugins.

Comments are welcome...
--Ringheims Auto - Fri musikk for bilstereo!
http://ringheimsauto.friwebteknologi.org

Application: FreeMind

2006-07-30T22:34:00.000-06:00

Freemind is an application useful not only for music projects, but for any project worked on. Freemind is a program for mind mapping, a method of putting ideas into a chart that allow a person to think more freely about the project and make connections they may have otherwise missed. This method was outlined very well in the book, How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci. I read this a few years ago and have since used the methods for anything from school papers to music projects.

Freemind makes this extremely easy to do. In the example above, I have mapped out some of my current music projects so you can get an idea of what this is and how it might be useful to you.

It is a Java application so it's available for Linux, OSX, and Windows.

Links
Freemind Homepage
Mind Mapping (Wikipedia)

Keep checking back for more good stuff to come. Also, be sure and check out Benedict's SynthStudio Pack, a collection of VST's in use at Linux Rock Star. See the banner on the right.

Update: 64 Studio

2006-07-27T13:47:00.000-06:00

" 64 Studio is developing a collection of native software for digital content creation on x86_64 hardware (that's AMD's 64-bit CPUs and Intel's EM64T chips). It's based on the pure 64 port of Debian GNU/Linux, but with a specialised package selection and lots of other customisations." - from the 64 Studio Homepage.

According to Distrowatch.com, their is a new development version available.

Nice to see Linux music and sound apps compiled for 64 bit CPU's.

Virtual Instrument: Aeolus Virtual Pipe Organ

2006-07-25T23:55:00.000-06:00

Here's an incredible synth that I've yet to see anything similar on Windows or Mac. This synth recreates (synthesizing, not with samples) a full sized pipe organ like those that have made beautiful music for hundreds of years.

This JACK enabled app is very small and light on CPU usage. Once it is started up, be sure an click on some of the options to produce sound, it doesn't make any noise by default.

I just saw the movie Pirates 2 and I won't ruin it for you, but keep an eye open for a very unique pipe organ. Also, there's a great NPR Pipe Organ radio show called Pipe Dreams. There are lots of archived shows.

Links: Aeolus Homepage, Aeolus Page @ MuSE Wiki

Effect: LADSPA Vocoder (Howto)

2006-07-24T22:19:00.000-06:00

While working on a project, I decided I needed a Vocoder. A vocoder, for the uninitiated, makes the user sound like a robot, a cylon, a transformer... whatever you want. This is accomplished by mixing the formant (voice) with the carrier (synth sound, usually a drone). The combination results in something very strange and robot-like.

Back in the day, one needed an expensive vocoder unit to do something like this. Some VST plugins range up to $150 (Orange Vocoder). Now, however, Linux Rock Star's can do it with a plugin and a softsynth.

There's an excellent LADSPA plugin called, surprisingly enough, Vocoder. At the homepage, there is a good explanation of the workings of a vocoder. We'll look at making the vocoder work here, however. Having the regular LADSPA plugin pack, JACK, and Jack-Rack installed is a prerequisite for this. A realtime kernel patch doesn't hurt at all.

Pick up the plugin here. Now, you'll uncompress it in a directory and find a bunch of sourcecode. Before you compile and install this however, there is a patch that will make it work with Jack-Rack really well. Get the patch, provided by a very cool user on the Linux Audio Users group here.

Now the tricky part. Open up a shell and go to the directory where the files are. Make sure the patch is with the source code you unzipped. Now, type "patch vocoder.c stereo-0001.bin". This will modify the source code to make it jack-rack compatible. Now run "make" and "sudo make install" (it will ask for root password). It will put this with the rest of your LADSPA plugins, possibly overwriting the old vocoder (same thing without the jack-rack patch).

Now open up JACK and start it. Also launch jack-rack. Now you should see "Readable Clients" on one side, and "Writable Clients" on another. Both should have "alsa-pcm" in them. Now start up your favorite synth. This will be the 'carrier' of your robot voice. A good saw wave could do nicely, but be sure and try out all kinds of things. ZynAddSubFX, amSynth or a VST (polyiblit is shown) should do nicely.

Next, open up jack-rack. Click Add -> Uncategorized -> V -> Vocoder. This will add a vocoder to your effects chain in jack-rack. Here, you can choose the number of bands, etc. (I won't go into what that is here).

Now for the somewhat tricky part: First, in your mixer, select your recording source (microphone, for example) then go back to JACK connections. Click the (+) buttons next to jack_rack in "Writable Clients". Notice the two inputs. One of these will be the formant and one will be the carrier. Connect "alsa_pcm" under "Readable" to "in_1" under "jack_rack" in "Writable". Next, select the synth and connect it from its heading under "Readable" to "in_2" under "jack_rack" in "Writable". Click on the screenshot at the top of this entry to see what this looks like.

Everything's almost there. Next, either make the synth play a drone note and talk into the microphone, or play some notes and talk. By playing notes, the vocoder can, "sing" according to what is played. Welcome to robotland. Vocoder's can be a lot of fun. Experiment with it and have fun using Linux!

Acknowledgements: Thanks Linux Audio Users List.
Disclaimer: I'm not responsible if anything goes wrong or is messed up; you're on your own.

Exclusive: Ardour Developer Interview (Sampo Savolainen)

2006-07-22T19:59:00.000-06:00

Sampo Savolainen is a developer for the Ardour project, an open source digital audio workstation for Linux and Mac OSX (with a Windows version in the works).

Thanks for doing an interview with Linux Rock Star! I've really enjoyed using Ardour, an application to which you contribute as a coder. I understand you're a programmer and a musician?

No problem. I'm glad you like Ardour.

I am a programmer by day and play keyboards by night. I'm in a Helsinki based power-punk-pop band called Garage Flower (http://www.garageflower.net). I also engineer most of our bands' recordings and do that for a few other bands as well. Using Ardour, of course.

To be honest though, I'm also a programmer by night. After my work day is finished Paul Davis and the other developers are just starting their day on the other side of the pond. :)

How long have you worked on Ardour?

I started using Ardour myself in 2004. Back then the development was focused mostly on features. I started using Ardour and bumped into some bugs. Irritated by the issues, I started creating patches for Ardour. Eventually Paul offered me CVS access, probably only because he got tired of applying the plethora of patches I kept sending him.

What is your role on the Ardour team?

I focus mainly on quality. I enjoy squashing bugs. :)

The only "features" I've implemented in ardour so far are few. The main feature is the SSE assembler code for speeding things up on x86. I'm also responsible for the FFT analysis window in (the upcoming) 2.0 version.

What made you decide to get involved with an opensource project?

Simply put, I wanted Ardour to work for me.

Will the new version (2.00) of Ardour support VSTi instruments?

Yes.

Ardour got selected as a project for the Google summer of code. Dave Robillard got the job of doing MIDI for Ardour. By the end of the summer, Ardour should have rudimentary MIDI support. This means that Ardour will be able to record and send MIDI, but we still have to design and implement proper editing for MIDI.

With MIDI comes also VSTi support, as VSTi plugins are only VST plugins with a MIDI port.

Does Ardour support VST patch banks? Can people load presets? (I've noticed this feature lacking in FST and DSSI-VST, presumably because it's a host function?)

VST chunks are not supported by Ardour. We have our own mechanism for plugin presets. Alas, some VST plugins use chunks in ways which make them difficult or impossible to use without chunk support. Ardour supports presets for all plugin types (currently LADSPA and VST). But Ardour doesn't support presets for "plugin chains". In Ardour, a plugin preset consists of the settings for one plugin. We don't
currently have a scheme for saving presets for a set or chain of plugins. You can however copy or cut and paste multiple plugins within one session.

Is there some controversy with including VST support? Doesn't it use the non-opensource code from Steinberg?

Yes and no. We only use a header file from Steinberg's VST development kit. The header allows us to make sense and communicate properly with a binary (compiled) VST plugin. Also, compiling Ardour with VST support is perfectly legal.

The problem stems from not being able to redistribute the VST header file. The VST development kit license from Steinberg prohibits anyone from redistributing any part of the development kit. This means that we can't package the VST header file with Ardour. We (or anyone else) can't distribute binaries built with VST support because under the GPL we must be able to provide the full source code for the program.

(For the people who aren't programmers, you should think of a header file as the index of a book. The index tells you what is in the book and where in that book you can find what you are looking for. It doesn't tell you the plot, but it does reveal quite a bit of it's structure.).

Have you heard of anyone using Ardour in a professional studio setting yet?

Many people do and many have done so for years. For example:

Mirror Image Recording Studios in Minnesota, MI (http://multitrack.us/) has been using Ardour for recording sessions since 2004. Their involvement with Ardour has been the subject of an article on SoS (http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb04/articles/mirrorimage.htm)

Harrison/GLW (http://www.harrisonconsoles.com) is using Ardour as a part of their new product line. Here's a picture of the product from the NAB conference in April 2006: http://ardour.org/node/227

How can the end user contribute?

In my opinion, the best way to contribute is to tell us what you like and don't like about Ardour. If you run into a bug, tell us. If you think Ardour doesn't fit your work flow, come talk to us. If you have a compelling case, we just might make Ardour fit your needs better!

Also, reporting bugs is a very important way to contribute. You shouldn't just wait for a bug to get fixed. The more active you are, the sooner the bug will be fixed.

And of course, one shouldn't forget to mention the donation button on ardour.org ;)

What do you think of Linux as a music platform (past, present, future)

The past of Linux audio is filled with a lot of very interesting sketches for applications, but not many of them were "production quality". I took my first serious look at linux audio software in around 1999. At that time there were quite a lot of promising projects, but they had compilation issues and realtime support hadn't really matured yet. It was quite daunting even for a "veteran" Linux user.

Today we have many wonderful applications and it's more than possible to produce music on Linux. We have standards for plugins, jackd for audio plumbing and transport, a plethora of libraries to help development and proper realtime rights management is just about to hit the mainstream distributions.

All of this is making Linux an easier platform for both audio users and developers. For a long time now Linux has had really good realtime performance but it has been inaccessible to normal (non-root) users without kernel patches and a lot of hassle. When this gets easier (and adopted into all distributions), we should be seeing more users and hopefully Linux audio will become accessible also to less technical
users.

The technologies I'm waiting for currently are LASH and LV2.

LASH makes it possible to store complicated inter application setups. With LASH you can save the state of all applications at once. It makes it possible to restore a complicated multi-application session with only a few clicks of a mouse - LASH even takes care of launching the applications.

LV2 is the upcoming plugin standard. It does not bring anything new to LADSPA by itself, except for a wonderful model of adding abilities (extensions) to the plugin system without endangering compatibility with hosts / plugins. This means that new features can be rapidly tested and deployed with plugins and that widely adopted extensions will get standardized.

How's the weather in Finland today? =)

It's been unusually sunny and warm, thanks for asking. Nothing like the US east coast though, I hear it's so hot that the trees are whistling for the dogs. (the bad joke lent from http://phoenix.about.com/cs/wacky/a/hotjokes01.htm)

Kiitos paljon!

Ole hyvä!

Essential Reading: Linuxaudio.org

2006-07-20T01:05:00.000-06:00

At Linux Audio dot Org there are a number of very interesting articles in PDF format on Linux Audio. Very good reading.

Update: New Musix 0.50 in 24 Hours

2006-07-18T09:33:00.000-06:00

Musix 0.50 will be ready for download in 24 hours, aprox.
http://www.musix.org.ar/en/

Update: BEAST (Bedevilled Audio System)

2006-07-18T01:02:00.000-06:00

There's a new version just released of BEAST. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks awesome.

From the BEAST Homepage:

Beast is a powerful music composition and modular synthesis application released as free software under the GNU GPL and GNU LGPL, that runs under unix. It supports a wide range of standards in the field, such as MIDI, WAV/AIFF/MP3/OggVorbis/etc audio files and LADSPA modules. It has excellent technical abilities like multitrack editing, unlimited undo/redo support, real-time synthesis support, 32bit audio rendering, full duplex support, multiprocessor support, conditional MMX/SSE utilisation for plugins, precise timing down to sample granularity, on demand and partial loading of wave files, on the fly decoding, stereo mixing, FFT scopes, MIDI automation and full scriptability in scheme. The plugins, synthesis core and the user interface are actively being developed and translated into a variety of languages, regularly assimilating user feedback such as from our FeatureRequests page.

from the [linux-audio-user] mailing list:

BEAST/BSE version 0.7.0 and BSE-ALSA version 0.7.0 are
available for download at:

  ftp://beast.gtk.org/pub/beast/v0.7/
or
  http://beast.gtk.org/beast-ftp/v0.7/

Application: Hydrogen

2006-07-17T21:07:00.000-06:00

One excellent must-have app for Linux audio is Hydrogen. Hydrogen is a fully capable drum machine program. There are a lot of kits available, and it is, of course, JACK compatible.

Hydrogen can act like the standard techno TR-909 but also does an excellent job with other styles. I was able to make metal syle double bass drum lines quite easily as there are a lot of editing options, such as 64 ticks per pattern that allow detailed editing of the pattern. It's also fairly simple to sync hydrogen with programs like Ardour.

You can find the Hydrogen homepage here: Hydrogen Music Homepage

Virtual Instrument: ZynAddSubFX

2006-07-15T13:05:00.000-06:00

ZynAddSubFX is a free instrument under the GNU liscence made by Nasca O. Paul from Romania. It is available natively compiled for Linux, but also for Windows, OSX and as a VSTi.

A Brief Look
Upon booting up ZynAddSubFX and patching it through JACK, I was greeted with a slightly boring gray interface. Being spoiled with today's flashy GUI's, ZynAddSubFX was initially a little disappointing. However, clicking on Instrument -> Instrument Bank made me more excited as a large list of instrument banks pulls up.

The presets are surprisingly diverse, with many of the standards used in making music. From Arpeggios, to Organs, to fat analog leads, to harsh digital FM and Rhodes, there's a lot here. The surpring thing was that it does a good job with nearly every kind of preset making ZynAddSubFX a very versatile program. Of particular interest are the "Choir and Voice" section with some very useful OHH's EEH's and AHH's. Choir and Voice patches seem less present in most synths and there are plenty here. Also nice are the strings section, Blade Runner, you say?

Some extra features include a virtual keyboard, a direct to WAV recording feature and several different types of effects (Reverb, Wah, etc.), also, a beginner and expert mode for the interface.

The sounds are amazingly convincing and sound like the real thing (at least what I've heard of the real thing from albums). My biggest disappointment was the GUI and programming interface, which I found confusing. I couldn't find, for example the resonance and cutoff for a synth bass patch.

The author does not ask for any donations on his homepage and states you are under no obligation to pay but encourages you to think about Jesus. With the amount of useful sounds this program has, this program could easily find a home in any musician's studio.

LinksZynAddSubFX Homepage

New Portable Linux Audio Machine: Trinity

2006-07-15T01:33:00.000-06:00

I first saw this on Create Digital Music. This is a portable Linux audio workstation. It looks like a gaming handheld but apparently has Linux and phantom power and lasts up to 4 hours on batteries. This is pretty cool, but the price is fairly high, $999. Still, it's probably worth it if you need something like it.

Some details were revealed in an interview on Create Digital Music.

Currently runs Debian / Blackbox / Audacity (I love Blackbox, very minimalistic and fast)
USB Ports (Hopefully you could run a keyboard / mouse in them, or maybe a USB MIDI keyboard)

It's hard to say much more from the limited specs posted on the website. It's nice to see Linux being used though in innovative devices like this one. There is an interesting note on their webpage about why though chose Linux. Link: Trinity Audio Group

Keep checking back at Linux Rockstar, there are some great new articles coming up!

VST's in Linux (Followup)

2006-07-14T11:54:00.000-06:00

There are some updates to my previous posts about VST's in Linux. Some information was slightly inaccurate and I apologize.

Here are the updated methods for VST support in Linux. Method #3 was inaccurate and there is now a "historical" method 3.

Method #1
FST
This program, once compiled and running, must first have "lashd" setup and running. Once this is accomplished, a synth can be loaded like: fst filename.dll
Note: This is technically what Ardour uses, the FST program, to load DLL's. Ardour has actually had VST support in previous builds, but it is now coded in Ardour 2.0.

Method #2
DSSI-VST
Once installed and running, use this: vsthost filename.dll

Method #3
vstserver
FST is a descendant of this development. No longer supported or worked on, this was the first method for using VST's in Linux.

LMMS support VST's also, but I am unsure which method it uses right now. Thanks, Sampo, for pointing out the inaccuracies.

Application: Meterbridge (JACK capable)

2006-07-13T20:38:00.000-06:00

One of the many useful Linux audio apps is Meterbridge. This program display a graphical representation of your sound in one of several forms. This program is JACK capable, which means you can monitor input levels coming from anywhere, for example, your microphone, or a virtual instrument. It connects like any standard JACK connection.

While this program comes standard in several linux music distributions, many may be unaware of the different display options options available.

They are
PPM - Peak Program Level Meter, a basic display. (basic gauge)
VU - Volume Unit meters (vintage looking)
DPM - Digital Peak Meter (like on a DAW)
JF - Jellyfish Meter (aka Goniometer) (Rather interesting)
SCO - Scope (basic oscilloscope)

for full information on each of these displays, including pictures, check out the Meterbridge homepage.

Keeping levels at proper amounts is an important task to keep away from having unwanted distortion in recordings. Hopefully, this post is enlightening about metrbridge and it's capabilites. Give it a shot.

Links
Meterbridge Homepage Here
ZR-3 Opensource VST (Organ VSTi Pictured in Screenshot) Here

Linux VST Database

2006-07-13T03:35:00.000-06:00

Just a quick addition to the last post: there is a growing database of user experiences with VST plugins in Linux. Keep in mind that some entries may refer to outdated version of FST or DSSI-VST and they might work now.

Linux VST Compatibility Page

VST's in Linux

2006-07-13T00:29:00.000-06:00

VST is a popular format for Virtual Synthesizer applications. The format was originally designed by Steinberg, the maker of Cubase. The format has become very popular and there are a wide variety of synthesizers (sometimes free): from classic analog emulations (Moog's, ARP's) to computer chiptunes (C64 SID, NES) to samplers, cell phone tones and much much more. The shere variety and innovation is pretty spectacular, even among the free ones.

This format was previously limited to Windows and Mac users. Indeed, the format goes somewhat against the philosophy of opensource and free software. Richard Stallman, "the" free software advocate, would probably not like you using VST's.

However, unless you're really adamant about that sort of thing, you probably just want to use cool software in Linux. Yes, you might lose some of your freedom (freedom to the source code, to make modifications, etc.), but there are some excellent synths out there (QuadraSID, for example).

There are currently several methods for using VST's under Linux. Before getting started, as with any Linux audio app, you may want to have realtime patches for your kernel that allow the synth to run with maximum performance (I'll cover this on a later post).

You will probably find that VST support does not come standard with most Linux distributions. This is because the source headers from Steinberg are necessary for this and they are not free/open source, though you can download them freely. You will need to get them before you can use any of these methods (probably).

Method #1
FST
This program, once compiled and running, must first have "lashd" setup and running. Once this is accomplished, a synth can be loaded like: fst filename.dll

Method #2
DSSI-VST
Once installed and running, use this: vsthost filename.dll

Method #3
Compile your software with VST Support
LMMS supports this and Ardour has this feature upcoming in Version 2.0.

There are varying degrees of compatibilty between the three methods. Try all of them for the method that works best with your synth. Note that if you can't get your VST's working, or you just don't want to use them, all is not lost! There are a number of great Linux open source synths available that we'll be taking a look at soon!

Links to some of the Great Free VST's pictured above:
Arppe2600 (ARP 2600 Clone, works in Linux) Here
Syntendo (NES Sound Chip Clone, works in Linux) Here
* Not Free * Wavesphere (Part of the SynthStudio pack - VERY affordable!)

JACK - The Cable Guy

2006-07-12T22:15:00.000-06:00

Welcome back to Linux Rock Star. Today we'll take a brief look at JACK.

From the JACK homepage:
"JACK is a low-latency audio server, written for POSIX conformant operating systems such as GNU/Linux and Apple's OS X".

Jack is a way of hooking up your music applications to each other. For example, ALSA Modular Synth is used to record a synth pad. Ardour is used to record it. How do you get the signal from ALSA Modular to Ardour? JACK provides a connection that is direct and so the sound played back is exactly as it is generated. Alternately, the sound may be altered with the use of effects, which can also be "plugged" though in JACK.

This is a very useful system and can be used with a wide range of apps. Many have adopted the standard though some apps are not JACK compliant.

One useful feature you may not have tried is the Patchbay. The Patchbay remembers whatever settings you have saved and can have multiple configurations. It may be more convenient not to have to hook up your entire application setup every time you record. It can also be used to jumpstart your creativity this way. One could have different configurations for whatever style of music you are in the mood for. Feeling like techno? Hook up some 303 VSTi's through FST or DSSI-VST into your sequencer and start cranking some bass. Feel like guitar setup? You could have a tuner routed in and a meter bridge to analyze your signal.

Here are some links:

JACK Homepage
JACK Resources on Linux Sound and MIDI Software

Welcome to Linux Rock Star

2006-07-02T17:11:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Linux Rock Star. This blog documents my various experiences using Linux for the making of music. I review and test all kinds of applications, most freely available under an open source license, including relevant links in case you want to try the application yourself.

There are many music apps available for Linux including Synthesizers, DAW's (Digital Audio Workstations), Trackers, Sequencers and much more. There are also complete Linux Distributions available with all of the programs setup and ready to use. My goal is to cover many of these available programs and make them accessible to the reader.

I'm a college student at Boise State University and have been playing around with Linux since I somehow got it on some 5 1/4” floppies on my 386. A few years ago, I was using Mandrake Linux (since renamed to Mandriva) and tried to compile and run Ardour (a Pro-Tools like DAW). I met with enormous failure as I couldn't get anything to work. I abandoned Linux for audio and used Windows and programs like ACID and Tracktion. These programs worked alright, but for the most part, with my low budget sound card I could never record anything or use softsynths without enormous amounts of lag. This often foiled any efforts I made to produce music.

Recently, I decided I would try Linux again on my desktop, after having a successful semester at school running Xandros and Kubuntu on my laptop. I was impressed by how much easier getting and installing programs had become in some respects, and by how much hardware support had gotten better and things in general had matured.

I had some luck with music specific distributions like Agnula/Demudi and Musix but eventually settled in with SuSE 10.1 which is my current operating system. I am looking into patching the kernel for realtime use.

Thanks for reading through my introductory post. With my next entry I will probably be taking a look at JACK, a “low-latency audio server, written for POSIX conformant operating systems such as GNU/Linux and Apple's OS X.”