[LAU] frustration - connecting applications

Hello everyone, Last night, I was successfully able to get a jack midi sequencer, non-sequencer, working with non-jack midi applications using a2jmidid. I was thrilled! That is, right up until I looked at what it took to get this setup going: Start jack, start a2jmidid, start non-sequencer, start whysynth, connect and record, disconnect, start another synth, connect, etc...Throw Hydrogen into the mix, and now I have to set bpm for all applications. If I don't use Hydrogen, then I need to start jack_metro and connect it to jack. Yikes! I know the "one tool for one job" philosophy, so I am perfectly OK with using this many apps. There's just GOT to be a better way (i.e., less time-consuming, more efficient) of connecting these applications. Has anyone encountered this frustration, and have you found a solution? I notice that there are some command-line applications for connecting jack (jack plumbing?), I have a sense that the gui is slowing me down, and maybe scripting all of this might be better; alas, I am horrible at scripting. :) Any and all suggestions would be very, very much appreciated! I'm sooooo close to making this all work... -- Josh Lawrence http://hardbop200.blogspot.com