Audio Studio SFS for Tahr Puppy 32bit

[LazY Puppy]

Hi.

This is the Audio Studio SFS Module for Tahr 32bit.

It includes the Programs listed below:

amsynth
ardour3
audacity
fluidsynth (plus sound files)
freqtweak
guitarix
hexter
hexter dssi
horgand (plus sound banks)
hydrogen (plus extended sound files incl. Sonor Force 3007 drum kit)
mscore
muse
mx44
qsynth
qtractor
rakarrack
rosegarden
wsynth dssi
xsynth dssi
zynaddsubfx


MD5Sum: 77f5794ab34ab412000c04656f6b112e

It was build from downloaded Ubuntu Trusty Tahr .deb packages (except Ardour3) using XPaDS (a much improved version of my PaDS) in Tahr 6.0.2. Should work also in 6.0.5.

I have uploaded the Audio Studio SFS Module for Tahr 32bit to datafilehost.com. So, it will remain to download at least for 60 days after its last download.

Download Audio Studio SFS Module
QJackCtl package (needs to be installed!)

Have fun - I do!

[LazY Puppy]

I had overseen to upload the QJackCtl package which is necessary to run most of the programs in Audio Studio SFS Module.

It is a .pet package as it won't work from .sfs.

Link added to the first post.

[Moat]

Thanks for posting this, RSH! Not sure if I'll get a chance to use/test anytime soon, but it's great (!!) to have this all-in-one audio solution available if the need arises.

Bob

[LazY Puppy]

Thanks.

Though, it's not really a All-in-One Audio SFS Module. It's just the small edition including those programs that I'd successfully tested so far. It is currently missing some useful audio plugins plus some specific JACK programs plus also some additional software synthesizers too.

Currently I'm working on a extended version - probably a truly complete All-in-One Audio SFS Module for Tahr 32bit. Programs actually downloaded and single .sfs modules are already created for some testings. In parallel I'm working on a Audio Recording Suite that comes as self-contained RoxApp (a so-called Program directory). Installing of QJackCtl seems not longer necessary.

Attached is a screenshot of the Audio Recording Suite RoxApp - currently in DE only (though translation will be made when it is finished in complete). By this Audio Recording Suite RoxApp it is possible to start all wanted programs like sequencers, software synthesizer, plugins and more simultaneously (by a short delay between them). So one can start the programs by saveable and loadable configuration files, to make sure everything is working and pretty well setup after the programs are started.

Truly all-in-one Audio Recording Suite will include (new ones bold and underlined):

amsynth
ardour3
audacity
calf plugins
fluidsynth (plus sound files)
freqtweak
gtklick
guitarix
hexter
hexter dssi
horgand (plus sound banks)
hydrogen (plus extended sound files incl. Sonor Force 3007 drum kit)
jack-eq
jack-keyboard
jack-mixer
jack-rack
jamin
LADSPA plugins
LMMS
meterbridge
mscore
muse
mx44
patchage
petri-foo
qjackctl
qsynth
qtractor
specimen
terminatorx
timemachine
rakarrack
rosegarden
wsynth dssi
xsynth dssi
zynaddsubfx

Maybe it will include also some ZITA music tools, though it will defintely include its main .sfs module plus all the dependent .sfs modules for plugins etc.pp. All the programs settings are stored inside of the Audio Recording Suite RoxApp directory, so everything should be working and pretty well setup after the programs are started.

[LazY Puppy]

Just for an update:

I made some progress on development of Audio Recording Suite RoxApp.

From within that GUI it is now possible to start a collection of audio programs in a manner being able to start a musical project immediately after the programs are started. Each musical project can use its own configuration file.

Example:

- QJackCtl starts activated (JACK running) to record and play audio in Rosegarden immediately
- Rosegarden starts with a submitted .rgt (Rosegarden template) - chosen from within the GUI
- Horgand starts with a submitted .horeb (Horgand sound bank) - chosen from within the GUI
- QSynth (in fact fluidsynth) starts with a submitted .sf2 (FluidSynth sound font) - chosen from within the GUI
- ZynAddSubFX starts with a submitted .xmz (ZynAddSubFX sound file) - chosen from within the GUI

- Hydrogen starts with a submitted Drum Kit (just a directory name) - chosen from within the GUI
- - e.g. using the recorded sounds of a huge Sonor Force 3007 Drum Kit in Hydrogen immediately from the 5 octave Yamaha SY22 synthesizer keyboard

- Calf starts with a pre-selection of multiple PlugIns loaded into the Rack - chosen from within the GUI
- LADSPA PlugIns loaded also - chosen from within the GUI

- all those programs already being assigned to Rosegarden by the .rgt file (Rosegarden template), so the MIDI tracks are immediately able to record and play

[zigbert]

Interesting project.
Thumbs up!

[LazY Puppy]

Interesting project.
Thumbs up!

Thanks.

I had this on my ToDo list for a very long time, though needed to delay this, as I could not get the Yamaha SY22 Synthesizer recognized to any of that Software by connecting the Synthesizer by its old 5-pin MIDI connectors to the USB connector on the home machine. I bought such MIDI to USB cable several times at several stores and returned it to the store each time after failing to get a working connection.

In my drumming room I'm using a old Soundblaster Soundcard that has the old Joystick / MIDI connector, which works fine out of the box.

I just discovered recently doing a stupid mistake all the time. Since the red male plug goes into the red port and the black male plug goes into the black port (e.g. RCA stereo cable) I just plugged the MIDI Out from the cable into the MIDI Out at the Synthesizer and so the MIDI In plugged into the MIDI In at the Synthesizer.

Just needed to reverse this.

Using Puppy for music composing for many years on that other machine, I found it very complicated to get a working setup compared to how all that soft- and hardware is easily connected and working almost out of the box under Windows.

So, currently -by the Audio Recording Suite RoxApp- I'm getting all this stuff to work just as easy as it is done in Windows. Just selecting a configuration file and clicking on Start. After a few seconds (for the programs to start) I just need to press record in Rosegarden and playing the Synthesizer.

Love it!

Though, it's just a pity that there's such very less VST instruments and plugins for a use under Linux.

Maybe I will/should try Wine for this?

[LazY Puppy]

Update:

After setting up templates for Rosegarden I'd tried to setup templates for Muse and QTractor.

Wasn't successful so far, as I could not get the SY22 Synthesizer connected to Muse and QTractor. Even the dssi synthesizer plugins couldn't be controlled by the SY22 Synthesizer.

Anyone knows how to setup Muse and/or QTractor for the use with an external Synthesizer/MIDI Keyboard?

However, there was some success, as I made my first test tonight of the Audio Recording Suite RoxApp in a plain Tahr Puppy 6.0.2 (as you know, I'm developing under T.O.P.L.E.S.S. conditions). Works as expected - at least all that stuff that has been setup so far for Jack, QSynth, ZynAddSubFX and Rosegarden.

So, here's a list of what is included into the new AudioStudio.sfs and (by a minimum) tested by now:

amsynth, drumkv1, foo-yc20, freebirth, freqtweak, gtklick, guitarix, helm, hexter, horgand, hydrogen, jackeq, jack-keyboard, jack-rack, jamin, jkmeter, jmeters, jnoisemeter, meterbridge, mx44, nekobee, patchage, petri-foo, phasex, qsynth, rakarrack, rosegarden, samplv1, setbfree, sineshaper, specimen, synthv1, terminatorX, timemachine, tk707, yoshimi, zynaddsubfx

It's 38 programs for Audio and MIDI recording after all.

Additional programs like Audacity, Ardour, Muse, QTractor, Calf plugins and LADSPA plugins currently still stored in extra .sfs modules.

And again: anyone knows how to setup Muse and/or QTractor for the use with an external Synthesizer/MIDI Keyboard?

[Ramlee]

I want to say that this is one of the most exciting developments I've seen for Puppy. I agree with LP that getting a working DAW studio complete with patchable synths to a reliable working state has always seemed a remote and foolish dream. LP deserves applause for this effort which will liberate thousands of musicians from having to use massive distros like Ubuntu Studio, KX Studio, AV LInux, Apodio or worse....Windows-based DAW studio setups. These platforms are all superb in their own right and it would be wrong for me to be critical of them but having Puppy as a base for a DAW studio puts it in a league of its own. I very much look forward to testing the new AudioStudio.sfs when it is complete. Hip Hip Hooray!

OH! I just wanted to add that I've been successfully recording music recently with Fatdog64 710 loaded with apps (Rosegarden, QSynth etc.) available directly from the GSlapt Repo. It's a great platform, extremely reliable with so much CPU headroom it should be a crime.

Finally, I've experimented with both Muse and QTractor in the past but found them puzzling to say the least. Given that a number of other great DAW Apps will already be included in the SFS, I wonder if it might not be just as well to leave them out?? The Apodio team have also managed to incorporate the entire Bristol Synth family with a very simple GUI into Apodio 10 and I suspect 11beta (which was just released a week or so ago). To get that happening with Puppy would be sensational.

[LazY Puppy]

Ok.

Thanks to a post by Smithy I gave it a new try and then I was able to get QTractor connected to my Yamaha SY22 Synthesizer plus also to the DSSI Software Synthesizers like FluidSynth and Hexter etc.pp.

Yesterday I bought a Yamaha MG 10 Mixing Console which will make me able to try to connect also the Yamaha TG55 Sound Module Synthesizer and the Roland D110 Sound Module Synthesizer (both without keyboard).

Will try this probably next week, as today I got sick by influenza, so no chance to work on this during the next days. Damn...

[LazY Puppy]

Uuuppsss, just didn't notice the post by Ramlee.

I want to say that this is one of the most exciting developments I've seen for Puppy.

Thanks

I agree with LP that getting a working DAW studio complete with patchable synths to a reliable working state has always seemed a remote and foolish dream.

The Puppy I'd used to do audio recording in Puppy Linux was Muppy 008 (.3F?)

It has taken several (Muppy) installs to get Rosegarden and Jack to work with my SY22 Synthesizer (I just was a newbie then).

LP deserves applause for this effort which will liberate thousands of musicians from having to use massive distros like Ubuntu Studio, KX Studio, AV LInux, Apodio or worse....Windows-based DAW studio setups.

I'm not sure if it will liberate thousands of musicians from having to use massive distros like you mentioned in your post.

Since I'm just downloading e.g. the .deb packages from Trusty Tahr, I'm not sure if all of them will work in complete. I don't compile these programs by myself and I can recall forum members saying it would be better to compile specifically for Puppy Linux. I'm not able to do so. Tried it on many programs, though at least compiling ended up with two or more errors.

Probably good to have a contributor to this project, just compiling the programs for Puppy?

These platforms are all superb in their own right and it would be wrong for me to be critical of them but having Puppy as a base for a DAW studio puts it in a league of its own.

I'm still using Cubase under Windows XP to do 16-track recordings simultaneously. To do such in Puppy Linux one needs the ffado drivers which is written in Python. Over the years I found only a single Puppy Linux offering ffado drivers by .sfs module (think it was a Carolina version or fork made by Geoffrey?). It had recognized the Phonic Helix 24 MKII mixer, though Rosegarden crashed after a few seconds of audio recording of 16-tracks simultaneously.

The Apodio team have also managed to incorporate the entire Bristol Synth family with a very simple GUI into Apodio 10 and I suspect 11beta (which was just released a week or so ago). To get that happening with Puppy would be sensational.

At times when I created my first LazY Puppy (2011/2012) I'd written a small bash program to start bristol synthesizers from within a GUI. Maybe I should have a look at that again...

Edit:

Luckily I kept the LP2_AudioStudio.sfs from LazY Puppy, so I still got the scripts of Bristol-GUI. I'm recalling forum member capicoso made some suggestions later for improvement of Bristol-GUI (kept this also), so I think I will definitely have a new go on that.

[Rattlehead]

I tried to move my musical production last summer to Tahr605, and I stumbled upon a problem with Jack; sometimes it worked flawlessly, others activating it froze the computer. I even tried installing Jack 1 instead of the 2 provided by the PPM (the same Jack version you include in your .sfs), but same annoying behavior. Ever ran into that problem? I suspect some weird dbus interaction, or maybe it's that Jack and my audio interface Lexicon Alpha don't play well with each other (of course all of this happened after having all the rest of the musical stuff up and running beautifully... ah, the torture!)

I also tried your previous creation Lazy Pup as musical HQ; very nice and stable (wicked sfs install system!), but alas, Ardour 2 malfunctioned. I'm now slowly moving from PupStudio 33, which has served me well for long but it's old and clunky, to Precise571, which so far, let's cross fingers, works steady as a rock, although it has no RT kernel.

If I had the "dark magic" of compiling, Ardour would be for sure my first target. It's a sad state of affairs that the last version available in any Puppy is 3, when they are already in 5.5. The improvements added in the new versions are not cosmetic, but very useful things like better MIDI control, or the option to see playlists in parallel, which makes comping WAAY easier. Is it a program notoriously difficult to compile? Whenever I ask for help in music forums, "get the latest version" is like the great cop out...

[LazY Puppy]

I haven't used the Audio Recording Suite much yet, as I'm still developing the RoxApp.

So I can't say anything atm about the reliability of the audio programs.

Though, I had qjackctl running up to appr. one hour during development of the RoxApp, but the recordings done were just a few seconds for the testings.

I'm developing in Tahr 6.0.2, so I can't say anything about the use and functionality in Tahr 6.0.5. Would be pity if it wouldn't work there. Much effort for nothing?

I'm now slowly moving from PupStudio 33

Aah, yes. Muppy 008 and Puppy Studio 3.3. Both are sources for my inspiration on creating LazY Puppy. Puppy Studio for its Audio ability and Muppy for its small basic SFS concept.

I may be wrong, but I think 10wt3ch, the developer/creator of Puppy Studio probably had compiled the programs from source.

When I would be able to compile just like he did, I would do so.

Is it a program notoriously difficult to compile?

I had some small C programs written and successfully compiled, so obviously not.

The main problem is to have the necessary setup to compile a specific program, which could include libs that aren't in the OS but needs to be there. So one seems to be forced to compile the libs first. Sometimes it's just a missing .h file. I had a case where it was complained as being missed, but with a different compiler option it was created during compiling. That's just too weird for me... and to read documentations about gnu c compiler and stuff in English doesn't even make it easier to me.

[puppyluvr]

Hello,
Cool! Will test asap.

[Ramlee]

Tested the Audio Studio SFS Module and it seems to be running well. Opened several of the Apps (Rosegarden, Hydrogen) and ran them for a while and they seemed stable and fully functional. I installed the QJackCtl package .pet but it didn't generate a menu entry. Was it supposed to or should I run Jack from the terminal?

Hope your influenza clears up soon LP....take care.

[LazY Puppy]

Tested the Audio Studio SFS Module and it seems to be running well. Opened several of the Apps (Rosegarden, Hydrogen) and ran them for a while and they seemed stable and fully functional. I installed the QJackCtl package .pet but it didn't generate a menu entry. Was it supposed to or should I run Jack from the terminal?

Hope your influenza clears up soon LP....take care.

Probably you'll need just to edit the qjackctl***.desktop file in /usr/share/applications. Change Categories=JackAudio to Categories=Audio. Refresh the Menu after editing and storing the file.

Can't sleep atm. as the influenza hurts my whole body. So I'm just surfing a bit the forum, arguing and enjoying the spices of the Tambourine Man.

[Rattlehead]

I had qjackctl running up to appr. one hour during development of the RoxApp, but the recordings done were just a few seconds for the testings.

Just to be clear about the problem I stumbled upon, in case the info is useful for someone: my qjack freezing problem was an "all or nothing" kind of thing; when you started qjack either everything worked and life was good, or it froze instantly and the computer started to obviously choke. So it wasn't necessary to make recordings to run into the error.

Also, when before I said "Is it a program notoriously difficult to compile?", I was trying to mean "Is Ardour it a program notoriously difficult to compile?".
Not to boast, but I've also had my small victories in the compiling battlefield. The limit of my knowledge is: doing the configure-make-make install thing, try to execute, if a library is missing try to see if it's a matter of name and create the link (for example "lib1.1 is missing", but it works when you find lib1 and create a link to it called lib1.1), and if that doesn't work, I'm at a loss...

[LazY Puppy]

Re: the Bristol Synthesizers

I had already downloaded earlier the .deb packages of Bristol Synthesizers and created the LP5_Bristol-0.60.11-tahr.sfs.

Just loaded the sfs, and created a little wrapper script for startBristol to start the preferred Synthesizer and let it connect to Jack audio and ALSA MIDI.

Code: Select all

"$BRISTOL" trilogy jack alsa

Seems to be successful all the way.

After the Bristol Synthesizer was active I started Rosegarden, manage the MIDI devices and got Bristol's Synthsizers dx and trilogy connected to my SY22 Synthersizer (I only tested these two so far).

So, yes, this will come with Bristol Synthesizers included plus having its own GUI as well (Just need to refine what I'd done already in 2012).

(Damn, I need to create much more templates)

[LazY Puppy]

After successfully trying the Bristol Synthesizers dx and trilogy one after the other one (1st trilogy, 2nd dx) I was curious about if it would be possible to use multiple of the Bristol Synthesizers in a single setup for Rosegarden.

Wasn't successful so far, as all Synthesizers appear as bristol when to connect to jack. After the 1st one is connected couldn't connect another one, so no connection to the SY22. The first one seems to be blocked then.

Just tried to use copies of bristol, like bristol1, bristol2, bristol3.

By the use of bristol AND bristol1 I was able to get a working connection to both the dx AND the trilogy synthesizer in Rosegarden. So dependent on the MID channel I can play either the dx or the trilogy synthesizer from the SY22 keyboard.

If I can't find a better solution, I will stay with that copies of the Bristol binary.

[Ramlee]

You are a genius my friend!!

How's your influenza going?

Following your advice above I attempted to correct the 'category' script for QJackCtl which after installation appeared in the Utilities menu. Several times I tried 'Audio', 'Multimedia'. I even tried copying and pasting the category text for modules like Hydrogen and Rosegarden that migrated successfully to the Multimedia menu after setting up the SFS but nothing seemd to make the QJackCtl icon or any other missing icon appear in the Multimedia menu even after a restart...very strange.

Getting the Bristol Synths working is fabulous news. You're a champion.