Linux MIDI success story

[IronFlippy]

I've been fooling around with a Linux install for a while (Ubuntu Studio) but haven't really tried using it for music production yet. Today I tried just that to see what kind of pains MIDI is on that front. Holy crap was it the easiest thing to set up! Using the JACK audio server, I just turned my Axiom on, loaded ZynAddSubFX, connected the Axiom to it in JACK and started playing stuff.

Now if only it was this easy on Windows. I spent a whole day trying to get ANY program to see my Axiom there.

The Connections area of JACK is the single most logical piece of software I've ever had the pleasure of using. A complete internal patchbay for both audio and MIDI. Nearly all of the pro audio programs in Linux support it, and it's fast as all hell. And apparently there's even better audio support coming for Linux, in the form of PulseAudio which in itself encompasses JACK.

Anyway, I was just excited because it was so easy to set up and use. Granted, JACK was preinstalled on the system, but I was expecting to be at the computer all day figuring out why nothing worked, rather than actually playing music within a minute.

For those of you scared of Linux, it's actually a very fun road to go down, if you have the time to learn a new system. It's come leaps and bounds in the past few years (my previous experience with Linux was 4 years ago and man that was a disaster).

 

[Beck]

Congrats

I've been using Linux since 1996, first SuSE and then Red Hat ever since... fun isn't it?

Ubuntu Studio is a good reason to jump on the Linux bandwagon. The way things are going I may end up dumping Windows altogether in the studio.

 

[Somnium7]

Congrats

I've been using Linux since 1996, first SuSE and then Red Hat ever since... fun isn't it?

Ubuntu Studio is a good reason to jump on the Linux bandwagon. The way things are going I may end up dumping Windows altogether in the studio.

I hear you loud and clear. Once I am done with my band's current album project I am going to put some effort into ditching Windows for once and for all.

 

[Outlaws]

How is the latency? I know Ubuntu Studio uses a different kernel than the rest of them. I just downloaded it but have to borrow a DVD burner first. I have been running nothing but Kubuntu and don't regret the switch. I had gnome for a while, but KDE offers a bucket load more editable features for a "personal" computer. I don't know if you can run the Xfce desktop with Studio, but that is less of a resource hog.

 

[Beck]

How is the latency? I know Ubuntu Studio uses a different kernel than the rest of them. I just downloaded it but have to borrow a DVD burner first. I have been running nothing but Kubuntu and don't regret the switch. I had gnome for a while, but KDE offers a bucket load more editable features for a "personal" computer. I don't know if you can run the Xfce desktop with Studio, but that is less of a resource hog.

Latency with Ubuntu is virtually non-existent with my setup. My studio is primarily analog with digital in a support role. The way I do things is quite a bit different than most.

I use my PC like I would ADAT or dedicated hard disk recorder… I don’t use plugins or mix ITB, so I have a best-case situation when it comes to available system resources. My tracks go out of my DAW into an analog mixer, and I use outboard hardware processing. Everything is synced… analog, digital and MIDI to drive outboard MIDI synths and modules. I mix everything to a half-track analog mastering deck. So for me, in most cases my DAW provides additional tracks that are treated and processed like my analog tracks.

Of course as with any PC once you start placing more demands on the system with tons of plugins and ITB processing things aren’t so ideal. I’ve never had occasion yet to push my system anywhere near capacity, so I don’t really know how it would behave in an completely DAW based setup.

Funny thing too is my Linux setup is on the slowest most outdated PC I own, but it's a great machine so I've held on to it. Linux has always been less demanding than MS, so older hardware goes farther. It's a Dell OptiPlex GXi, socket 7 Pentium, Intel 430HX chipset, 256 meg of RAM and an AMD K6-II 400. It’s lean and mean… really flies since I only use it for recording.