[LAU] Programs which use midi control knobs/sliders

[Ken Restivo]

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On Sun, Sep 23, 2007 at 03:18:39PM +0100, Simon Williams wrote:
> Hartmut Noack wrote:
> >So I can alter the subharmonics of the second
> >oscillator of a synth-patch
> 
> Sounds good, but I'm yet to find a synth which actually responds to midi 
> controls.

I suggest getting started with PHASEX. I find it among the easiest linux synths to use and understand, and just about everthing in it is easily assigned to MIDI controllers. It might be more fun to play with that for a while before trying to tackle AMS and Om/Ingen.

> 
> >while playing by comfortably turning a handy
> >knob on my MIDI-Keyb.(instead fiddeling around with the mousecursor)
> 
> That's exactly why I want to get mine to do things.

Again, 10 minutes with PHASEX and you'll be happily twiddling knobs like a madman.

Mmmmmmm... knobs.... http://www.umop.com/art/kb008.jpg

> 
> >>3. Is there any Linux software which will make use of them?
> >
> >YES:
> >
> >Alsa Modular Synth:
> 
> Great, that's sort of what I'm looking for, but how in the world do I 
> use it? Most of the examples I load want LADSPA plugins that I don't 
> have, and all the modules have lots of letters in their names with 
> nothing to tell me what they actually do. And I don't know enough to 
> create a piano sounding waveform from a bunch of oscillators.

Dude, you're whining ;-)

AMS was abandoned before being quite finished. A couple people on this list have recently picked it up and done some very useful bug-fixes and optimisations on it, but really it needs to be rewritten to do things like dynamic voicings and to have a modern, friendly GUI.

However, the "missing LADSPA plugins" problem is well-known. I think those patches require the blvco plugins, and the g2verb plugins, for which no Debian package exists. A long time ago I talked about creating packages for those but haven't yet got around to doing it. Google will turn up the source for them; IIRC they compiled easily.

AMS is a great synth once you get it set up and get used to it; I am going to go play it live about 3 hours from now.

> 
> >Ardour:
> 
> I can't actually work out how to use Ardour. It's way too complicated 
> for what I currently need. Does it even have a synth?

Heh. No, it's a DAW. It also hosts LADSPA effects plugins, but I can't imagine trying to use it as a synth. Although I'm sure that someone will try. How do I know this? Because someone already made a whole CD by using ProTools as a synth: http://cdbaby.com/cd/googleplex . I'm told that all the sine waves on that CD are test tones in ProTools, which were pitch-shifted and hand-placed in the tracks. It's not made with linux, sadly, but it's some great music anyway.

- -ken 
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