[linux-audio-user] Re: dssi-vst

[osbusters at softhome.net]

Thx Russell, 

I've been running Mandrake and various distros for years now.
I'm not sure I so much love Linux, as hate windohs and everything it 
represents.
As I'm sure it's been with most of you, I've installed messed up and 
reinstalled hundreds of times. Lately though I've been sick, and this simply 
hasn't helped my patience in getting this crap to turn out....my dream to 
have a fully functioning DAW in Linux, at least at the level I know say, 
when Cubase5 came out. 

Two things have changed my mind. 

The first is that I saw what looked like an upgrade from Ardour .99 (which 
seemed an unusable beta version) to Ardour 2.2. Well I totally scrapped 
everything "jack" on my system. Hooray! 

Secondly, there is an option on the later versions of Sonar and CubaseSX 
that I find I don't want to do without, that I really can't. That is the 
ability to "freeze" tracks and their respective plugins and vsti's to free 
up resources. My cpu is only 1GHz and I find this option essential if I want 
to put more than a couple of synths and a reverb on any one song. 

I wish you all the best of luck. I surely hope and feel that enthusiasm and 
the joy of discovery will ultimately win out, but for now, I have to lay 
down some tracks. 

Check you guys later, and thanks for the support! 

 


Russell Hanaghan writes: 

> osbusters at softhome.net wrote:
>> Russell Hanaghan writes:
>>>> 
>>> Try http://rpm.nyvalls.se
>>> I never had any luck with dssi-vst mainly because of it's inability to 
>>> interpret long file names or segmented / deprecated name.
>>> R
>> 
>> I don't mean to pester, but this is my first serious attempt at creating 
>> a DAW in Linux, after years of recording in Windows.
>> Is there any good DAW's for Dummies type book I could check out? From 
>> what I can tell, Rosegarden is not to difficult for anyone familiar with 
>> Cubase, Sonar or Logic...but without the capacity to run Virtual Synths, 
>> it's mostly of no use to me.
>> Thx for your patience. If I can get this sorted I'll be up to speed in no 
>> time (i hope).
>> From what I can tell in the /usr/lib/dssi folder...the dssi virtual synth 
>> format had a .so "library" file and a folder containing the virtual 
>> synth-extension something like _qt. What do I use to convert my .dll 
>> files to this format?
>> Is this what happens? and is this how Rosegarden identifies these files 
>> as synths (as it now does with the "trivials")?
>> Thanks 
>> 
> Your not pestering. At least, not NEARLY as much as I did when I started! 
> Ask Dave Phillips how relentless  *my* whining was when I tried in vane to 
> make vst's work in Linux! :D He was one of many great folks here that 
> helped me out. 
> 
> Bottom line (IMHO)...There's a tad more effort to linux audio than "point 
> <--> click '.exe. <---> learn software traits and personality! You have to 
> learn an entirely new OS too (if you have no previous experience with unix 
> / linux). It's not a quick, simple thing. Lots of reading, hours messing 
> with software, etc. BUT, the trade off for ease in Windows is that it robs 
> resources and horse power from your machine. WIn XP wont even run on older 
> boxes with its thirst fro RAM. And theres little to nothing you can do to 
> change it. Not so with Linux! You can run lighter window managers in the 
> Xserver for example that leave more memory and resources for music. Its 
> generally totally taylorable to your personal needs and the biggest 
> difference is the latency you can achieve with the patched kernels! 
> 
> Check some of these links; 
> 
> http://quicktoots.linuxaudio.org/ 
> 
> http://linux-sound.org/ 
> 
> Read up on the vst stuff but also on realtime kernels and some of the 
> major differences between Windows and Linux (found by our great lord of 
> websites "Google") 
> 
> And back to Vst topic; 
> 
> My take is this...yes, there's an element of purity to keeping it all 
> native to Linux by utilizing LADSPA fx. Some of them are really nice! But 
> I also like many of my VST's too. And one as an example, is a softsynth 
> called HyperCanvas by Roland (Edirol). It is a software version of a GM2 
> 128 voice midi synth module and the sounds (Drums, bass, all regular GM2 
> spec instruments) just kick ass!  Theres a VERY nice reverb that is free 
> called "Ambience" and a multi fx called LFX1310. I have found the midi 
> synth VERY useful with RoseGarden and Muse. Getting it to run was a pain 
> but it works.  For other midi sound modules, your next best bet is Qsynth 
> (Front end GUI for Fluidsynth) which you can load sound fonts such as 
> those utilized in Soundblaster soundcards.
> I say, do whatever works best for you. I have no ethical problem running 
> windows stuff (in music production) in Linux while the apps that are out 
> there come up in both quality and quantity. Its a "do whatever sounds good 
> to you" thing AFAIC. And the evolution of Linux audio has been swift and 
> strong in the last few years so there is much progress. 
> 
> Don't give up. Google until your eyes bleed and read, read, read! I 
> promise it *will* be worth it. 
> 
> Cheers! 
> 
> Russell 
> 
> P.S.  It *may* be better to not do this when your sick! It requires 
> patience! :) 
>