Linux-audio-user January 2012

linux-audio-user@lists.linuxaudio.org

133 participants
123 discussions

Neophyte questions re: selecting an audio interface

by rosea.grammostola

On 01/07/2012 01:05 AM, linux-audio-user-request(a)lists.linuxaudio.org wrote: > On Fri, Jan 06, 2012 at 10:50:12AM -0500, Chris Metzler wrote: >> > 1. Some PCI interfaces (like the Delta 1010LT) have RCA jacks rather >> > than 1/4". What about issues relating to noise/degradation introduced >> > by a 1/4"-to-RCA adapter? I've read elsewhere (on the M-Audio forums) >> > of people complaining about unpleasant noise with guitars when using an >> > adapter that's then plugged into an RCA plug on the Delta 1010LT. > Adapters don't normally introduce noise or degradation. But they > are often used to connect things that are not compatible anyway, > and they tend to fail (bad contacts) after some time. Try to avoid > them, they are in general a nuisance. > > RCA inputs are 'consumer line level' and unbalanced, which is > a disadvantage. > > Line inputs are not meant for guitars, so those people who > are complaining get what they ask for. > >> > 2. Some interfaces seem to have a combination jack that allows XLR and >> > 1/4" inputs. Are these good? Or is there a tradeoff between >> > convenience and sound quality? > Sound quality is not determined by the connector. But the use of > such connectors can indicate 'budget quality'. Very often they are > used as a combined mic/line input (mic = XLR, line = TRS). Then > it depends: if the line input is just an attenuator feeding the > mic input that's not really very good. A real line input does not > pass via the mic preamp. > >> > 3. ... Put another way, if you have the chance to pick up at a >> > really good price Z-Audio's UberSuperDuperInterface, with a gazillion >> > ins/outs and a lot of features, and right now you only need a small >> > fraction of what it can do, are there non-cost reasons why you >> > *shouldn't* get it? > No. > >> > a) Guitar cables typically use a TS connector while line-level devices >> > (analog outs on drum machines, keyboards, etc.) typically use TRS, >> > right? I'm presuming there's a difference in voltage range as well >> > (hence why guitars aren't referred to as line-level)? > Guitars are not line level, they produce a much weaker signal and > need a preamplifier with a high input impedance. Some sound cards > have 1 or 2 inputs that can be switched for use with guitars. > Without those you need a DI box. > >> > b) Am I correct in thinking that a cable with TS connectors is >> > unbalanced and a cable with TRS connectors is balanced? > A cable with TRS connectors*can* be balanced, one with TS > definitely is not balanced. > >> > c) My understanding is that in order to plug a guitar into a balanced >> > input, there needs to be a DI box in-between to change the impedance. >> > But in advertising blurbs, some 1/4" inputs on interfaces are billed as >> > accepting balanced or unbalanced input. Does that mean that both >> > guitars and line-level devices can be plugged into them? > Any balanced input will accept balanced and unbalanced signals. > >> > If an interface only has mic/line jacks, does that mean you*must* >> > get a DI box to plug in a guitar? > Yes, unless the line input can be switched to high impedance and has > enough sensitivity. As already mentioned, some interfaces have such > inputs. But you can't use a standard mic or line input for a guitar. > >> > d) Since guitars aren't at line level, do they need preamplification >> > like microphones do? > Yes. Normally the DI box is connected to a microphone input. > >> > Or if an interface has unbalanced inputs, can you just plug a >> > guitar in and go? > In most cases not, see above. > > Some other things to consider: > > Usually you get what you pay for. Quality is not only sound > quality, but also construction and reliability, and it has > a price. > > If you are a musician, consider the combination of a simple > but good quality soundcard having only balanced line inputs > and outputs (even fixed level) with one the many small > musician's mixers. These usually have mic and guitar inputs, > a headphone output etc. Such a combination is much more > flexible than any soundcard. > > > Ciao, > > -- FA Fons, interesting view. Could you give specific examples of such soundcards and small musician mixers? Regards, Dirk

12 years, 9 months

New italian forum for Linux & music

by Touch Style

Hello, good news for the italian penguins. For several weeks, it is online a forum about Linux and music, in ITALIAN! The address site is: http://linuxdaw.gratisforum.tv/ So, let's subscribe and share! :-) Ciao, -- * * *Dedenis AKA Touchstyle* *EMail : touchstyle (at) gmail (dot) com* *Web : http://www.touchstyle.it*

12 years, 9 months

software for aiding piano practice?

by Csillag Kristof

Hi, I am looking for some (Linux) software that I can use to aid piano practice. (Show me the score, automatically turn/shift the page, show me where I am, show me which notes I missed, maybe play the other (non-piano) tracks, that kind of thing.) Can you recommend me such software? (I know about a few windows applications, but I would really like to avoid using Windows.) Thank you for your help: Kristof

12 years, 9 months

LMMS Trippleoscillator, LV2/linuxVST-version possitiblity?

by Aurélien Leblond

> My question is, quite simply, since LMMS is FLOSS, would making > Trippleoscilator + perhaps other instruments in LMMS into plugins > (lv2/linuxVST) be a realistic possibility? Bear with me, I'm no developer > but merely a musician, so I really don't know what I'm asking/talking > about. But I have a firm belief that a plugin-version of these instruments, > usable in for example Ardour3 when that arrives, would make a great > addition to the Linux-musician community. Technically it should be doable, but one would need to go in the code of LMMS to check it out. Sometime the code is almost usable directly in plugins. I'm working on porting the internal modules from AlsaModularSynth into LV2 plugins at the moment. Once I'm finished with that, I could take a look into it. (http://sourceforge.net/projects/avwlv2/) > (ps. Is there anything similar already existing perhaps? ds.) You should check AlsaModularSynth, coupled with Seq24... The instrument you described look like a synth with 3 oscillators (duuuuh, that would explain the name!). AMS comes with great examples, and building a Synth with 3 VCO (Oscillators) should be "pretty" easy. Yoshimi comes to mind as well (although it is way more complicated). Oh, and if you have some courage, feel free to try my plugins with Ingen :D P.S: I forwarded your mail to the LAU list. Some users there might have other ideas for similar synths. Hope that helps, Aurélien

12 years, 9 months

Impro-Visor | Linuxsampler | Midi channels

by rosea.grammostola

Hi, I would like to connect Improvisor to Linuxsampler. In Impro-Visor midi channels seems to be sticked to a particular instrument e.g. 36 = acoustic bass. Afaik it's not possible to customize that in Impro-Visor. How do I assign a instrument in LS to Impro-visor, e.g. how do I make sure that my bass sample in LS is played bij Impro-visor when the bass is playing? For drums it's not an problem, it's channel 10. But LS hasn't a channel 36, only till 16. Thanks in advance, \R

12 years, 9 months

audacity/jack question (kxstudio 10.04 KDE)

by Aaron L.

So I just fired up Audacity and am running into a weird issue. After recording something playing from Clementine straight into Audacity, I don't hear anything on playback. I do hear something, however, if I go into qjackctl's 'connect' window and connect "PortAudio" Out 21 and 22 to "System" Playback 1 and 2.....while it's playing. (Probably worth mentioning that the outs of "PortAudio" are not always "21" and "22". They seem to change all the time.) Anyway, the frustrating issue is that the "PortAudio" entry in Jack's 'connect' window disappears as soon as I hit 'stop' or 'pause' in Audacity. Therefore, I have to reconnect it every time I hit 'stop' or 'pause' in Audacity. And it's only there while Audacity is playing. What am I doing wrong here? Thanks. Here are my Audacity settings: Host: Jack Audio Connection Kit Playback Device: PulseAudio Jack Source Recording Device: Pulse Audio Jack Sink Channels 2 (Stereo) -Aaron

12 years, 9 months

LAC Deadline Extension - now January 22, 2012

by Bruno Ruviaro

Dear All, The Linux Audio Conference submissions deadline has been extended! It is now January 22nd, 2012. So, if you were considering submitting a paper but couldn't make up your mind yet, here is your chance to become active! Never forget that this conference lives through the people participating in it. January 22nd is the new deadline for all submission types: papers, music, installations, workshop proposals. Notifications of acceptance will still be sent out on February 6th, 2012. Check out the link below more info: http://lac.linuxaudio.org/2012/participation Please spread this information to anyone who might be interested. Questions? Drop us a line at lac(a)linuxaudio.org We are looking forward to seeing you at Stanford in April! Thanks, The LAC 2012 organization team

12 years, 9 months

updated list of DLP's articles about Linux audio

by Aurélien Leblond

> Greetings, > > An updated list of my articles for the Linux Journal : > > http://www.linuxjournal.com/users/dave-phillips > > Obviously there's some outdated stuff, but some of it might still be of > interest to the curious. > > 160 articles and counting, not including work for Ubuntu User, Linux Pro > Magazine, Linux U&D, and the Computer Music Journal. > > Btw, my next entries for LJ include a brief report on some less > well-known Linux audio softs and a longish report on recent doings in > the world of Pure Data. They should be on-line soon. > > While I'm at it, please feel free to suggest possible topics for my > articles. I'm always looking for new stuff to get into. :) It would be great to have an RSS flux just for your entries? Aurélien

12 years, 9 months

Fw: Update: ALSA Looback - Jack bridge

by James Warden

Ah sorry, here is the link!! http://alsa.opensrc.org/Jack_and_Loopback_device_as_Alsa-to-Jack_bridge Thanks for the heads-up! J. ________________________________ From: mark <mark(a)aktivix.org> To: James Warden <warjamy(a)yahoo.com> Sent: Tuesday, January 3, 2012 11:48 PM Subject: Re: [LAU] Update: ALSA Looback - Jack bridge -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA256 This sounds interesting, where can I read it? Thanks, Mark On 03/01/12 22:43, James Warden wrote: > Hello, > > I have found the time to update my old WIKI page describing how one can > use the ALSA Loopback device to bridge ALSA only apps to Jack. > > I have added : > > - a little information here and there > - detailed some asoundrc examples > - added an alternative setup which uses a mix of the Loopback device > (for ALSA playback) and input of a second soundcard (onboard chip) for > ALSA capture. > > Read on if you are curious or want to tailor your asoundrc in the case > that you are using this trick. > > Cheers! > J. > > > > _______________________________________________ > Linux-audio-user mailing list > Linux-audio-user(a)lists.linuxaudio.org > http://lists.linuxaudio.org/listinfo/linux-audio-user -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.10 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iQIcBAEBCAAGBQJPA4XHAAoJECivkG/nESo7fiUP+weI+/aDavesVojQOS9gxikr lSuYLW4TeM24dVFLtqiokB4ZHkKemKlUpXGztRrIN3pXPfXemccL+QON7IWCiwbd U57pjzV4NBPD11J8MS+k1utJb8VhXddlEubjrKDNJ1tB98+boTpJB182HwzpxPeS t7RulsJwl4vJ7wtH5hFmdbJBJMX1w92XKfv3fCYbp6ye8HNCkWP7p/koxRSdh0bj y2rnB3/mEUHLV+L8Lsz7ON28U4LYRAKT1RSzdiOpeIUNPPCcTyk+dMNuTR9YZVqI PwEwX5Nojy9uaV5gr7B76/p5s+0rL4lpj+yrMYsM/rw6XRVY2n/oKQ+ekCs19eqn iFc5CFkeXNY3eZ9BjjqxUtzpFOifQV3PT3enOlzMiS+aurA9mUu0LwtG+NP5f7BF 8I6dZzx9e/eGpqx7iQCG4xRyey1pyCnAe3MJCTk0UV64IXw0KUwFyUGweIQ9bZ5w vEy/pHvNJxzMyREyDXG/jxoJ6dhrHz6b9snUacI1zojLG4uqlbCPQ/w+MYLpYF/d 17dewF7jlcwQeB9rpuMfOVGzt07MJnaLacLrz4tK7hDSIfEibdt3Jzv0svThSsLn qBYTzV+uE2Ltn6zjDqjf392hXxdHITHuCfPqIsKEs6BkqnI3zduM5cXc+kVeSOXM jWp61k2nq82fmwMqgSL0 =dBUZ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

12 years, 9 months

FOSDEM 2012

by Nils

Hello lists, DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with FOSDEM. who is going to attend the FOSDEM Open Source Developers meeting in Brussels(Belgium) on 4./5. February? http://fosdem.org/2012/ There is no registration or fee (but you can donate). Since the LAC is in the USA this year maybe not many Europeans have the money to travel there, this could be an opportunity to meet anyway. I think I will go, somebody announced an inofficial Music Notation Meeting on the Lilypond mailing list. Nils

12 years, 9 months

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Linux-audio-user January 2012