---

From: Batz <batzman-lau@all-electric.com>
To: linux-audio-user@lists.linuxaudio.org
Sent: Wed, March 16, 2011 5:49:10 AM
Subject: Re: [LAU] Audigy too

Y-ellow Leigh 'n' all.

At 10:14 PM 3/15/2011 +1100, Leigh Dyer wrote:

> Yep, that's a fair point -- if you just want something that will let you
> play GM MIDI in to and get sound out of, the Audigy's synth is a
> definite option.

Well, not quite. That's not my actual MO. GM/GS/Whatever, is just a convenient framework. A starting point as it were. I use mainly proprietary samples but it gives me a pallet to begin with. I have plenty of hardware synths. A few desirable classics even. But for example. for a drum rig, I'll often start with kick and snare. That interaction is important. It's handy therefore, to already have a complete GM kit with which to start butchering. I can create kick and snare noises and test them with pre-existing high-hats etc. By the end of the process an entirely new kit would be replaced. The point though is that I have a framework to begin with.

Having said all that, this methodology isn't necessarily important in the long term. It's a convenience really and not all that important. All that's really important for the moment is that I have something to test.

So far, I haven't even been able to get anything working so I can test it. With at least a dozen vaguely working distros, each taking maybe a week to write off, this is a particularly fruitless and mind numbing process. I'm no further than when I started.

So what I'd like is for someone here to suggest a distro where all this stuff will work out the box as it were. So I can have a chance to evaluate it and get down to the business end. Everything I've tried so far has one major problem or another. KXstudio for example, works but won't talk to the envy24 based sound card. It probably talks to the on-board sound card (whatever that is) but I can't hear that. It runs up linux sampler but won't actually connect it using Jack. Since I can't talk to it I can't do anything with it. It might actually be the best distro to pursue, but how would I know?

Other distros may work but have networking issues. One of the PureDyne distros  won't network at all so it can't be fully installed because it needs to find the internet to do so. Other's have everything working except that linux sampler won't install. Etc Etc. ... Under these circumstances it's not possible for me to settle on a likely candidate to take anything further. I'm just wasting time here. So if anyone has a better suggestion, one that can nail this down so I can go forward, then I'm all ears. But so far I'm just chasing my tail. And after all this, I still don't know if I'm going to find a suitable work-flow in any of it.

There WAS another imperative for using linux. I was introduced to the music lecturers at North Melbourne institute of TAFE. The whole campus has been conned by apple. They literally try to push the idea on their students that there IS nothing else. Apple does a job (If you'll excuse the pun) on education institutions. Where they offer them `special deals' if they promote apple products exclusively. So that if only apple products are taught, students may never question an alternative. To cut a long story short, I said.
        "I'd be happier to experiment with linux."

To which the head of the department said.
        "What's that?"

It was all I could do but to laugh.

I would indeed like to use linux for this stuff just prove a point if nothing else. But in essence linux isn't doing it self any favors by being confusing, convoluted and a little out of step. I should be use to that by now but my time is limited. I'm at the other end of my life. I don't have time to waste. I cut my teeth in this business 40 years ago and I just need stuff that works. So not to use linux is a very big bit disappointing. On so many levels. But I'm running out of time and I have practical considerations.

So if anyone wants to tell me how I can fast track this, I would very much appreciate it.

Thanks in advance. Most appreciated.

Be absolutely icebox.

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| "_ \      | |        batzman-lau@all-electric.com
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