Re: [LAU] outfitting a computer for songwriting in linux?

On 25/07/15 09:31 PM, Karen Lewellen wrote: I'm an intermediate level user, so take this advice with a grain of salt... So, from what I've learned for my set up... 1. hardware... audio interface the key takeaway is to look for USB class compliant gear. Hardware that is class compliant conforms to the standard specs (e.g. USB, MIDI), and is much more likely to be supported in GNU/Linux. Whereas devices that *aren't* class compliant require additional proprietary drivers in Windows/Mac OS X, and it's pretty unlikely that drivers (proprietary or libre) will be available in GNU/Linux for those devices. There's a starter list here that helped me: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuStudio/SupportedHardware#Audio_Devi… I recently bought a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 which is fully supported in GNU/Linux (it's USB 2.0 class compliant). (I also have a Presonus Firepod firewire interface, which I'd bought in my Windows days, which is thankfully supported by FFADO drivers...) Sometimes compatibility varies by company, but sometimes it varies by product even from the same company. I'd suggest you start looking from devices that are listed as known to be fully supported, and look within that group for features that you want (e.g. number/type of inputs, audio quality, etc.)... I've found Libre Music Production to be a great resource, e.g. http://libremusicproduction.com/articles/understanding-recording-hardware http://libremusicproduction.com/answer/class-compliant http://libremusicproduction.com/answer/audio-interfacesoundcard 2. Debian... You'll have super old packages from Squeeze (whereas if you went to Jessie, you could use the KXStudio repositories and have super current audio packages), but I don't think that would be a dealbreaker... (Eventually though, unless you are comfortable configuring everything that you need to in stock Debian, you'll want an audio distribution or at least the KXStudio repositories in Debian: http://libremusicproduction.com/articles/advantages-choosing-audio-orientat… ) What you *do* need for sure though to be able to effectively use an audio interface is a low latency kernel. A few years back, I was using Ubuntu Studio, which took care of that for me. Lately, in Debian Jessie ( + KXStudio ), I settled on using liquorix: http://liquorix.net/ Not sure if that'll work in Squeeze? Maybe? But aside from having old versions of applications, the low latency kernel is the thing that would matter most... otherwise, using Debian Squeeze shouldn't AFAIK matter at all otherwise in terms of being able to connect to a class compliant audio interface... Connect the keyboard via MIDI or audio? Does the keyboard have (class compliant) USB MIDI output? If so, you won't even need to connect it to the audio interface, you can just connect via USB MIDI directly to your computer (and the audio interface would just be used to *output* sound but not for input). If it has an old school MIDI connector, then you'd need an audio interface that specifically has a MIDI input port. If you're just talking getting audio from the keyboard (i.e. 1/4" jack), then a class compliant audio interface with a 1/4" input is what you'd need... (but MIDI would give you much more flexibility, even if you'd sometimes want to use audio). Anyways, otherwise may reply with more expertise, but HTH... Blaise