Try SpiralSynthModular. A softsynth with keyboard input included. Very stable app.

Linux gives you several thousand alternatives... you might familiarize yourself with the applications here: http://linux-sound.org/ http://www.linuxlinks.com/Software/ http://sourceforge.net/softwaremap/trove_list.php?form_cat=113 http://freshmeat.net/browse/113/ http://www.alsa-project.org/ http://www.opensound.com/ossapps.html etc... {those are the easiest places to find applications though. Check the docs at alsa, oss or even http://www.grame.fr/MidiShare/ to see how to go about setting up midi and audio... Set up a decent synth environment like OSW or PD or jmax... {there's a lot of impressive java stuff that sets up right out of the box} try out a few audio editors like snd and rezound and audacity... there are a lot of sequencers available... some of them are out of date... some are not... You might take a look at keykit if you want something easy to set up, capable and massively configurable. You could just set up the arts environment that comes with kde... there's still a few copies of jazz out here, there's csound... supercollider if you really want to invest yourself in an environment {not that you can't with any of the above.} A good many of the programming environments come with sound capabilities {squeak comes set up with sequencer modules that you can just plug and play.} There are all sorts of synths... Don't lock yourself into anything... you're talking art... you're never going to want to do things just the way anyone else does {if you do... just get an mp3 player... don't bother... you're probably not suited.}. Much of what you do is going to be dependant on your process and tools... there are all sorts of options... take some time and find stuff that suits you. {as well as your hardware.} Take long looks at integrated environments like glame, beast, gnusound, etc... check out denemo or some of the other notation editors that will actually let you hear what you write... check out common music and csound... You might consider what you want to do and why... much stuff is suited to specific styles and methodology... :} Set up a modeler and graph it...then fill in the blanks with capable applications or just look around until you find programs you like. {So... it's redundant.} On 20-Jun-2004 tim hall wrote: } Last Saturday 19 June 2004 18:28, Mark Wilson was like: } > I don't have any sort of external MIDI equipment. } > Just as the subj. line indicates, a fairly ordinary PC } > setup, a few years out of date (Celeron 400MHz, 128 MB } > RAM, ATI Rage 128 card and SoundBlaster 16 PCI card). } } I'm running a music system on a Celeron 600 + 192MB RAM and an onboard i810. } It should be possible to do most things with this hardware, although you'll } find yourself slightly underpowered when it comes to apps like Rosegarden4. } } > With this setup, all I can figure out how to do so far } > is to use timidity to play MIDI files. _I can use } > Rosegarden to export my "scores" to a MIDI file, but I } > don't know how set up a virtual sequencer, or what } > /dev file to specify in Rosegarden's sequencer } > configuration. When I try to put in /dev/midi, *midi0, } > *sequencer, *audio, *dsp, *whatever, it tells me "no } > such device" or unable to access or something. } } Rosegarden really needs JACK, which needs ALSA and you'll get best results } with a kernel patched for low latency, realtime operation and all that. I } use } the AGNULA/DeMuDi packages, which more or less set themselves up, although } you will need to tweak the settings for a low-spec system to make the most } of } what little resources you have. Think in terms of a digital 4-track and } eight } voice polyphony and no big delay-based effects patches. You may be able to } figure how to do more with less as time goes on. } } You can use VKeybd for MIDI input. If you have a soundblaster you can load } soundfonts onto the card with a utility like sfxload, which should save some } vital memory. MIDI sequencing is probably the most complicated and resource } hungry thing to get working, it's worth looking at MusE & seq24 as well as } Rosegarden, they all have different strengths in this arena and you will } have } to fiddle around a bit to get the results you want. } } Other apps worth looking at for some quick, easy results are; Hydrogen - the } nicest drum sequencer I've ever used, go easy on the LADSPA though ;) } ecasound, command line multitracker. For softsynths, AmSynth, ZynAddSubFX } (with the smallest oscillator size) and PureData. A brief skirmish through } the tutorials of the latter will give you some idea of what your system is } capable of. } } > But this is not just a Rosegarden question -- will I } > be able to use any synthesizers or sequencers without } > a "real" device to specify? _Would the solution } > involve symlinks, or named pipes, or other things I've } > never yet explored? } } The best way is to use JACK with the qjackctl interface. Once you find the } settings that work on your machine - you won't be able to use the lowest } latencies, but again with a bit of experimentation, you should be able to } achieve some good results. } } HTH & Have Fun. } } tim hall ---------------------------------- E-Mail: RickTaylor(a)Speakeasy.Net Date: 21-Jun-2004 Time: 15:53:35 This message was sent by XFMail ----------------------------------