Amazed by Linux

[heathen]

Just wondering if anyone here is using/playing with any Linux audio apps? I've been messing with a few over the weekend, I'm amazed how simple it is to use, was just using a few different live CD iso image versions, everything just worked. No installing anything, no driver probs no issues at all except it took me 1/2 hour to find the system sample clock and set it correspondingly to the rest of my system, once synced was rock solid all day. Even internet just worked immediately.

This was just a demo of "Studio 2 Go" version, but I'm amazed, everything was recognised by the system, my rme sound card was just there with all meters and everything. Gotta test the apogee X firewire next.

The apps are'nt amazing yet but I'm sure they hold promise of better to come, especially when vst support becomes more stable.

Anyway I ran a few audio tracks out and cant see why anyone who uses mainly hardware could'nt use "Ardour" the most advanced app I found, as an HDR.

In the end I was just sitting in front of my system with a smile thinking, this is just too damn easy. So now I'm going to get a new hard drive, stick it in my computer and install a Linux based workstation too, just for fun at the moment, but hey might as well stay up to date with it.

So who else is fiddling with Linux?

[mfdu]

i've been playing with pclinux on a usb key, but purely as a web browser. very fast, even on the clapped out laptop.

i haven't looked at using to track with, but i'll have to take a peek at what is achievable.

i just don't know iif it'd run firewire devices like a 002R . . .

chris
mfdu

[Text_Edifice]

A friend just installed Ubuntu on his PC and can't stop raving about it.

Ardour 2.0 actually looks pretty usable and had no problem recognising the mbox2 I have attached to my laptop. Looks to be a pretty 'serious' venture (helped immeasurably by the inclusion of a VST plugin architecture in 2.0) though keybindings are a bit counter-intuitive if coming from another DAW.

[heathen]

Nice, Ubuntu studio is the one I'm going to install on a spare drive. I'm pretty keen actually, may have to mix a song on it this week as a test.

Yeah fast as hell too, I had a 64 bit version running on my dualcore 64 bit system, just doing basic stuff but wow. On a decent hard drive should be awesome, I still hav'nt installed anything, these are all just cd versions I've tested.

Good news on the Mbox, I'm very keen to test the apogee X firewire. Will soon.

[chris p]

Its nice to see the Wintel world discovering Unix. Its a step in the right direction.

Aww geez, why can't we Mac users stop being so ^%$ingly smug.

[JulienG]

(Note that I'm posting this with my background managing dozens of linux systems that run 24/7, and having personal contact with many of the developers).

The big problem on Linux at the moment is driver support for the various sound cards[1]. For some dumb reason most of the pro manufacturers (Even RME these days) refuse to supply documentation so that drivers can be written.

My own MoTU only works with a hacked up tool that uses a reverse engineered version of their protocol as MoTU refuse to supply documentation.

If that gets solved, and Ardour 2.0 keeps going like it seems then within a year or so I bet that several of the plugin vendors will start offering some of their plugins in LADSPA[2] format.

One of my many free-time projects is on improving the control surface support in linux media apps.

1: And only really sound cards, almost every other device, including video cards and odd input devices works perfectly these days.
2: The Linux audio plugin format, Linux Audio Developers Simple Plugin Api

[heathen]

[quote="chris p"]Its nice to see the Wintel world discovering Unix. Its a step in the right direction.

Aww geez, why can't we Mac users stop being so ^%$ingly smug.[/quote]


Hahaha.

[heathen]

Hey thats pretty cool Julien, good stuff, must keep you out of trouble.

No luck with the apogee firewire on "studio2go" but I have a feeling the Ubuntu studio may recognise it, there was some documentation I glanced at about it.

Anyway will try soon, just have to get another hd.

[JulienG]

Hey thats pretty cool Julien, good stuff, must keep you out of trouble.

Add a new day job designing and programming custom PBX's, AND working on planning a linux conference. Come next week I expect to be using one of my Schoeps mics to record the voice prompts for an IVR!

[Stephen C]

does Ardour handle multitrack audio editing anywhere as well and as fast and as easy as Protools? if it could, I would give it a try, I think I will need a few hardware changes to get ardour running reliably, according to the ardour website.

[mfdu]

my concern is support for audio interfaces, also. i was initially only looking at pclinux for the purposes of a standalone web browser.

yeah, i though my protools sinstallation was pretty solid. has been great for four years, from v.5.1 on win98. and now after four crashes in the past three weeks (XP sp2 / pt 7.1 cs9) , i ain't so sure. . .

i still reckon i just need to get clients who can afford to track to tape. that'd sort it all out.

but first i'd have to quit my day job and start promoting mfdu again.

chris
mfdu