[linux-audio-user] Newbie questions for live gigging

[tim hall]

Hi Richard,

On Thursday 22 April 2004 9:01 pm, Richard K. Ingalls wrote:
> I've been lurking on this list for a few months... I haven't even
> created a Linux Digital Audio Workstation yet, but I'd like to.  I'm
> becoming more and more a believer in Open Source Software not only on
> the server but also on the desktop... (I digress, sorry).

Welcome :-) The water's fine.

> I'm looking at the latest MIDI sound modules and thinking can't I
> achieve many of these things using Linux and my PC?

You can.

> 1) I want to have many sounds available for live playing (via MIDI) on
> my keyboard.  That's the top priority.  Lots of sounds.  Good quality
> sounds.  I'm thinking a sample playback machine or sound fonts
> (right?). 

Right - fluidsynth /qsynth (gui version)
 
> Can't I even achieve BETTER sounds with my PC than with a
> very expensive new sound module?

Depends on you, I'd say. We have the technology, if you can figure out how to 
get the results you want with it. I'm still learning, this is my first foray 
into computer music, so I haven't had much experience of Windows or Mac 
software to compare it with.

> 2) I'd like to be able to sequence those great sounds.  It would be
> even better if I could use the sequencer WHILE playing live sounds
> through this machine.

There's this wonderful little daemon, known as Jack to its mates. It enables 
multiple different applications to use the ALSA sound system simultaneously, 
not only that but these days it deals with MIDI synchronisation, patching and 
sorts out latency problems into the bargain. You'll understand if we think 
it's pretty neat.

> 3) It would be very cool to be able to edit those sounds and tweak
> them.  Doesn't have to be "live" though.

Can be if you want though, there's about half a dozen different ways to 
achieve most effects.

> MY QUESTIONS: Can I achieve these goals without too much fuss
> (remember I'm a newbie)?  Which "distro" (CCRMA or other?) would be
> best/easiest?  Do I want to go with sound fonts?  What sound card
> should I go with (not too expensive, ok?)?

Ok, either PlanetCCRMA, which is based on Fedora I believe or Agnula, which 
has a debian based system, which is what I use. Agnula have just released a 
bootable 'live' CD based on Knoppix, which should boot fine on most machines 
that used to run Windows, it's the most painless way to have a look at what 
Linux Audio has to offer. It is just a demo, albeit a rocking one, you'll 
probably want to think about installing a proper distro at some point. 
Mandrake & SusE also support a good range of Linux Audio software.

> Thank you Linux Audio Gurus!

No, just a student.
HTH

tim hall