Doing Music using Puppy Linux
Posted: Wed 16 Aug 2017, 21:34
Hi.
I was doing a lot of work for months on my Audio Recording Suite program, which is a project file (.ars) based Graphical User Interface for the use of 60+ different Audio and MIDI Programs in Puppy Linux. It is created in T.O.P.L.E.S.S. LazY Puppy 5.4.2 based on Puppy Tahr 6.0.2 and setup for the use in Puppy Tahr 6.0.2 and 6.0.5, the 32bit versions. It is written in shell script (bash) using gtkdialog for the Graphical User Interface.
Current list of programs included into Audio Recording Suite 2017.1.0:
aeolus, amsynth, ardour2, ardour3, audacity, beast, bristol, BRP_PACU, calfjackhost, din, drumkv1_jack, fmit, foo-yc20, freebirth, freqtweak, gtick, gtklick, guitarix, helm, hexter, horgand, hydrogen, jackeq, jack-keyboard, jack-rack, jamin, jkmeter, jmeters, jnoisemeter, lmms, meterbridge, mscore, muse, mx44, nekobee, patchage, petri-foo, phasex, qjackctl, qsynth, qtractor, rakarrack, rosegarden, samplv1, setBfree, seq24, sineshaper, sooperlooper, specimen, spek, synthv1, terminatorX, tetraproc, timemachine, timidity, tk707, traverso, yoshimi, zynaddsubfx
All programes are placed in .sfs modules as I like to run Puppy in RAM only. Almost all programs are downloaded from the 32bit Ubuntu Trusty Tahr repository - except Helm which was downloaded straight from its website. A very few -which I can't recall actually- I just found them by Linux Synths Website and then downloaded from linked websites.
In Audio Recording Suite all connections to JACK are automated and presets/songs/templates for the different Audio and MIDI Programs can be chosen/selected from within the Audio Recording Suite GUI before executing a program (like qtractor, zynaddsubfx etc.)
So, after everything seemed to work properly I started using programs like rosegarden, ardour (2 & 3), horgand, helm and many more; I really was looking forward to it and its outcoming results.
But this wasn't what I'd expected as for its outcoming results!
Lots of those programs (especially the software synthesizers) do work and can be used by a MIDI-Keyboard - which is the good part of the story.
The bad part of the story is:
- many programs do crash frequently (e.g. Rosegarden on top of the list)
- many synthesizers aren't able for the use in a multitrack MIDI setup (e.g. sending/receiving just all channels)
- some plugins crashing programs (e.g. Calf and Audacity!)
- some programs don't want to recognize my external (real) synthesizers (e.g. Ardour)
After a long road of testing and crashings I found some programs that are usable in a multitrack MIDI setup and seems to work for a long distance without crashing:
audacity 2.1, bristol 0.60.11, hexter 1.0.2, hydrogen 0.9.6, qjackctl 0.3.10-2, qtractor 0.5.11-3 and zynaddsubfx 2.4.3-4
Though, there's some exceptions on the bristol synthesizers:
- bit99 receives MIDI data only on channel 1
- bit100 receives MIDI data only on channel 1
- bitone receives MIDI data on all channels
- cs80 doesn't receive MIDI data, doesn't connect to JACK
- granular doesn't receive MIDI data, doesn't connect to JACK
- monopoly no sound, receives and connects though
- poly800 no sound, receives and connects though
- voyager crashes on changing parameters
However, meanwhile I'd setup a basic collection of programs for the use in my current MIDI setup. Mainly I'm using hexter 1.0.2 (dssi plugin software synthesizer), hydrogen 0.9.6 (drum sequencer), qjackctl 0.3.10-2 (JACK control), qtractor 0.5.11-3 (audio- & midi sequencer) and zynaddsubfx 2.4.3-4 (software synthesizer), as I do own three external synthesizers - so, many sounds to use. Those synthesizers are pretty well connected to MIDI and immediately playable when using qtractor (I'd setup a song/template that loads first).
It's by now a nice little setup of a few programs making me able to do some music in Puppy Linux by home recording, though this doesn't need to have something like Audio Recording Suite as a wrapper/starter and so I'd quit this project completely.
I really like Puppy Linux and my creations out of it. Though next time, when there's a need for me to setup a new Music Studio in Linux, I will try to use one of the major distributions since there will be no need to compile programs especially for that version of Linux.
I was doing a lot of work for months on my Audio Recording Suite program, which is a project file (.ars) based Graphical User Interface for the use of 60+ different Audio and MIDI Programs in Puppy Linux. It is created in T.O.P.L.E.S.S. LazY Puppy 5.4.2 based on Puppy Tahr 6.0.2 and setup for the use in Puppy Tahr 6.0.2 and 6.0.5, the 32bit versions. It is written in shell script (bash) using gtkdialog for the Graphical User Interface.
Current list of programs included into Audio Recording Suite 2017.1.0:
aeolus, amsynth, ardour2, ardour3, audacity, beast, bristol, BRP_PACU, calfjackhost, din, drumkv1_jack, fmit, foo-yc20, freebirth, freqtweak, gtick, gtklick, guitarix, helm, hexter, horgand, hydrogen, jackeq, jack-keyboard, jack-rack, jamin, jkmeter, jmeters, jnoisemeter, lmms, meterbridge, mscore, muse, mx44, nekobee, patchage, petri-foo, phasex, qjackctl, qsynth, qtractor, rakarrack, rosegarden, samplv1, setBfree, seq24, sineshaper, sooperlooper, specimen, spek, synthv1, terminatorX, tetraproc, timemachine, timidity, tk707, traverso, yoshimi, zynaddsubfx
All programes are placed in .sfs modules as I like to run Puppy in RAM only. Almost all programs are downloaded from the 32bit Ubuntu Trusty Tahr repository - except Helm which was downloaded straight from its website. A very few -which I can't recall actually- I just found them by Linux Synths Website and then downloaded from linked websites.
In Audio Recording Suite all connections to JACK are automated and presets/songs/templates for the different Audio and MIDI Programs can be chosen/selected from within the Audio Recording Suite GUI before executing a program (like qtractor, zynaddsubfx etc.)
So, after everything seemed to work properly I started using programs like rosegarden, ardour (2 & 3), horgand, helm and many more; I really was looking forward to it and its outcoming results.
But this wasn't what I'd expected as for its outcoming results!
Lots of those programs (especially the software synthesizers) do work and can be used by a MIDI-Keyboard - which is the good part of the story.
The bad part of the story is:
- many programs do crash frequently (e.g. Rosegarden on top of the list)
- many synthesizers aren't able for the use in a multitrack MIDI setup (e.g. sending/receiving just all channels)
- some plugins crashing programs (e.g. Calf and Audacity!)
- some programs don't want to recognize my external (real) synthesizers (e.g. Ardour)
After a long road of testing and crashings I found some programs that are usable in a multitrack MIDI setup and seems to work for a long distance without crashing:
audacity 2.1, bristol 0.60.11, hexter 1.0.2, hydrogen 0.9.6, qjackctl 0.3.10-2, qtractor 0.5.11-3 and zynaddsubfx 2.4.3-4
Though, there's some exceptions on the bristol synthesizers:
- bit99 receives MIDI data only on channel 1
- bit100 receives MIDI data only on channel 1
- bitone receives MIDI data on all channels
- cs80 doesn't receive MIDI data, doesn't connect to JACK
- granular doesn't receive MIDI data, doesn't connect to JACK
- monopoly no sound, receives and connects though
- poly800 no sound, receives and connects though
- voyager crashes on changing parameters
However, meanwhile I'd setup a basic collection of programs for the use in my current MIDI setup. Mainly I'm using hexter 1.0.2 (dssi plugin software synthesizer), hydrogen 0.9.6 (drum sequencer), qjackctl 0.3.10-2 (JACK control), qtractor 0.5.11-3 (audio- & midi sequencer) and zynaddsubfx 2.4.3-4 (software synthesizer), as I do own three external synthesizers - so, many sounds to use. Those synthesizers are pretty well connected to MIDI and immediately playable when using qtractor (I'd setup a song/template that loads first).
It's by now a nice little setup of a few programs making me able to do some music in Puppy Linux by home recording, though this doesn't need to have something like Audio Recording Suite as a wrapper/starter and so I'd quit this project completely.
I really like Puppy Linux and my creations out of it. Though next time, when there's a need for me to setup a new Music Studio in Linux, I will try to use one of the major distributions since there will be no need to compile programs especially for that version of Linux.