[LAU] [RFC] A “poor man’s”, yet professional level studio setup

[Len Ovens]

On Sun, 21 Feb 2021, Francesco Napoleoni wrote:

> studio mainly based on free software. The key idea is that such a studio 
> is t  be distributed among many hosts connected together with a fast 
> local network.

sounds wonderful but...

> While the infrastructure should run primarily on FLOSS software, we should not 
> shun proprietary tools, allowing a certain grade of interoperability between 
> different systems (OS and applications).

There seem to be few proprietary tools that allow interoperability between 
anything (os, machines, applications), it seems most tools are monolythic 
and expect to do everything in one bag. Certainly no one wants to support 
their tool working with someone else's... "nobody else makes tools just 
buy mine." There are more foss tools that expect to connect to other 
applications, though even there we find a move to one big app to do it 
all. Support of how other tools do something is hard to impossible.

> Basically, what I am trying to achieve is a network mainly made of Ethernet 
> cables (while minimising audio cables), with the following nodes:

That one confused me. Maybe I don't think big enough but I have trouble 
imagining in my home studio even at 20x20 feet (maximum size if I cleaned 
up) ever gaining anything from using a network connected audio interface. 
The mic has to have an audio cable somewhere, why add a latency extending 
network? Maybe I do not understand your particular setup and you have a 
number of rooms with people colaberating. A collage or other institution 
perhaps.

> 1) JACK (obviously ;-) )

I would add the zita tools in here. In particular zita-njbridge. You may 
wish to look at sonobus as well for slightly wider networks.

> Personally, being a classical trained musician, I tend to compose using a 
> notation software, with close attention to score neatness: I still prefer my

In my case, dyslexia has prevented me from being able to do much more than 
point out which note is which, certainly site reading in real time has 
elluded me for 50 years. So live playing is an essencial part of my music 
world. Memorization and chord charts with some standard methods of moving 
from one to the other. This generally works best for me playing with 
others in a live situation and so I try to record for a live sound and 
feel (something like make it up as you go, I suppose). All that to say I 
do different music more of a folk inspired style.

> music being played by humans rather than virtual gizmos. But I’m a “poor man”, 
> so my great score is also to be “hashed” into a MIDI file, whose tracks are to 
> be assigned to virtual (grrrr...) instruments, which in turn are to be mixed 
> together, and the whole composition synced to a video.

I started out this way, I had 8 tracks of audio on tape. I gave one track 
up for time code strip and gained 32 virtual midi tracks (two sequencers). 
The tape was master. but now that I can have countless tracks (I have yet 
to use even 20). I have found myself not adding any MIDI instruments, 
prefering to use what analog I have. I have not even added a drum track 
with the drumpads for some years.

> Since I cannot afford buying an expensive Mac nor can I pay for a plethora of 
> licensed software, the challenge is to achieve similar results with 
> alternative means.

Yeah, I guess so. Certainly I would feel better about spending a few k on 
mics than computer :)  However, I choose to sound however the tools I have 
sound. I feel it is ok to be unique. I prefer a good DX7 piano over a 
piano sample, the DX7 voice will be more expessive if less realistic 
(though pianoteq does pretty good at both). It seems to me to be better to 
aim for an instrument that sounds real but not identifiable rather than 
try to copy a "real" instrument and have it sound lifeless.

> With this post I hope to start a constructive discussion about the potential 
> of FLOSS music software and practical uses of it, instead of or in conjunction 
> with other kinds of software, in professional environment.

I have probably turned it into something about artistic choices. Still, I 
think a real world example of what you are trying to do or have already 
done. along with position of artists, producers, etc. including real 
distances. Are there doors involved? Separate groups of people working on 
film and audio?

As I said above, the idea of using network outside of snake replacement in 
a large venue, broadcast studio, or some other comercial enterprise sounds 
interesting, but a more filled out explanation may be helpful too.


--
Len Ovens
www.ovenwerks.net