Recording on Linux

[Bassmanster]

Just some links for anyone interested.

http://ubuntustudio.org/

http://www.ubuntu.com/

http://www.hydrogen-music.org/

http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Main_Page

http://ardour.org/

http://www.rosegardenmusic.com/

http://jackaudio.org/

[jerryjg]

Thanks. I just Changed OS's when my old computer took a dump. Im running Ubuntu 8.04 and couldnt be happier. Its tricky though, very tricky, especially since Im semi-literate at best - as in what versions of  Ubuntu will work with these sites that you posted and so on and so forth, but its also nice not to have to deal with all the BS of Windows.
BTW_ can you suggest a good cheap interface?

[Bassmanster]

Yeah, I have the m-audio delta 44.  $150.  You use a program called
Envy24 to configure it.  There is no documentation but I have it figured out (finally).

All versions of ubuntu will get the right version of any application if you use one of the package managers.

Also, get the ubuntu studio audio package (that is, the applications), but not the whole system.  Use the admin package manager to get that.  I also suggest using Thunderbird rather than Evolution for mail.

Start out w/ audio by playing around with Jack since you'll always need it to be running.  Try reading the doc a little even though it's not that great.  I can help too.

It takes a little time, but you'll get used to it!  It's all worth it for Jack, Hydrogen and Ardour.  I'm still doing test tracks but it's sounding great.

[Heinz]

Thanks for the links & hints!

I'm glad to see some more Linux people. I switched to Linux almost 10 years ago. It was pretty rough in the beginning but has become quite comfortable recently. Distributions like (K)Ubuntu or Debian work right out of the box. You can still edit cryptic config files in vi or compile your own kernel, but you don't have to anymore. Even my wife has become a happy Linux user... 8)

I've been using audacity for some small recordings. This is also available on Windows.
Homepage: http://audacity.sourceforge.net

Never heard of Ardour before  :-[ but it looks very promising.

[Bassmanster]

I may still use Audacity for mastering.  I was going to start some light recording with it but it doesn't work with my hardware!  I don't think it plays well with Jack and/or ALSA.  That's also true of RhythmBox too so I just use it through my motherboard sound.  I just switch source on my monitor amp (an old Sansui).  (I do know you KDE guys aus Deutschland use different software, generally).

Ardour is supposed to be a ProTools knockoff.  It's a serious app and I'm still pretty much a beginner with it, but it looks like everything I need and more are in it... compared with GarageBand certainly.

I'm not sure how complete Hydrogen is compared to other sequencers, but I find it very easy to use and have obtained good beats quickly.

I'm running everything from Gnome...except I use lame to convert tracks to mp3.  :)  I'm a C programmer with a Unix background, so obviously that helps...up to a point.

[AZJimC]

I've been a Linux geek since late 80's, back when a GUI was a fond dream for installation, and many considered any gui, "for girls" anyway, HAHA. The new kernels are killer, and after you get jack and the real time kernel running right, you should have enough background to record a bit. I have not really gotten to recording yet, because I have no suitable interface, a sound card will work, but not well in most cases.

I got much of my linux experience at IBM, in the storage lab, when we first ported it to the System390. we ran it in a VM (Virtual Machine) partition on a 256 processor mainframe, what fun it was to bring that thing to it's knees! I was actually involved in regression testing so I got to write little insane programs that stressed each component to death, and then analyzed what happened when it died, then told the programmers what to fix.

Linux rox!

JimC

[Bassmanster]

No rt kernel yet, but I'm not convinced I need it.  Ardour has latency correction and I monitor the source through my card.  (THAT was needed!)  So far my piddly tracks have been right where I played them (unlike the hair tearing latency of GarageBand).  But yeah, reading the ALSA pages really helps me understand Jack (haha, I understand Jack!).  In the long run (xrun?) I'm finding it's a huge advantage having that level of control...which I can understand that proprietary systems try to hide.  You gotta gotta know all that stuff to be a digital studio rat anyway, so why not be a pro on the free/cheap?  But again, disclaimer:  I have been programming since I was 14 (1976) and learned Unix when I was 22.