KVR Audio

pHz · Post by **pHz** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 1:46 pm

somewhat selfish but generally useful i think

given the potential implications of jorgens current XT2 development plans there may well be a fair number of KVR members thinking about trying or switching to linux

lets use this thread to share hints / tips / warnings about setting up a DAW running linux - i know we have enough experienced linux users around here to create a decent repository of useful knowledge

easiest to use / best distros for audio work

setup tips

things to avoid

general linux advice

relevant questions

etc

slainte

rob

Kingston · Post by **Kingston** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 1:50 pm

a frigging awesome idea. all the info has been quite fragmented to too many threads.

I'm going to go ubuntu very shortly. This for the reason that there are just about no VST plugins for linux and I found out my code is working great cross platform. That means the ol' bugger down my sig is going to be released for free (full and lite) for linux. but there's a catch: no gui.

if there's a good reason I shouldn't do ubuntu/kubuntu I'd like to hear it. that dynebolic thing looks a bit iffy, but maybe it's better? so yeah, carry on, I'm listening.

farlukar · Post by **farlukar** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 1:57 pm

got ext working out of the box on xubuntu

pHz · Post by **pHz** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 2:57 pm

Improv wrote:Not really-it sounds like you need one of the more mainstream Linux distros-Ubuntu,Fedora (Red Hat), Debian, etc.

For example in Ubuntu Edgy distro, xmms and sound were already setup and enabled. My 2486 audio card just worked because alsa has drivers for it and jack has no troubles with it. I clicked on an mp3 link on kvr, xmms just opened and played-simple.

And for Xine, you need libs that for some reasons you have to fetch seperate. Google for the file 'libdvdcss' once that is installed, you can play dvd's with xine. Blame the movie copyright association for those problemes with xine.

You really should not have to compile software unless you want to. In Debian, most progs install with apt-get command.
So use

apt-get update (updates the listings on the web site)

apt-get -f dist-upgrade (upgrades your distro to the latest.)

apt-get install program.deb (install individual programs.)

Those are the three commands for 90% of the software installs on Debian based Linux. That's it.

A lot of it is jsut the fact that Linux is different, not more complicated.

slainte

rob

DiLate · Post by **DiLate** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 3:39 pm

what about OpenSUSE? i hear its much more tweakable than the more user friendly ubuntu

4damind · Post by **4damind** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 4:01 pm

OpenSuSE is easier then Ubuntu, its a good distribution for beginners.
But I don't like OpenSuSe so much, have tested the 10.2 and its too bloated and slow for me.
Debian based distributions like Ubuntu seems this time the best compromise between performance and easy usage. Also its using the great apt-system.
For a very tweakable and high costumizable Linux you can try Gentoo (or some of the Gentoo derived distribution). But this needs many (build)time and of course more knowledge then with others.

rokkon · Post by **rokkon** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 4:27 pm

Kingston wrote:That means the ol' bugger down my sig is going to be released for free (full and lite) for linux. but there's a catch: no gui.

My trivial and mostly redundant tips: say goodbye to the popular desktops for audio work and get a light windows manager, such as for example IceWM or flux/openbox. After all, one of Linux's big advantages over Windows for DAWs is that you can get rid of the ressource wasting bloat you don't need

Also, have a look at the services that autoload. Mainstream distros like *ubuntu try to please every user and in consequence you have a lot daemons running that you don't need. Turing off the junk improved the felt speed of my kubuntu system a lot. (I like sysv-rc-conf as a tool for this)

if your distro of choice offeres an server install, that'd also be an interesting option; you'll start out with a naked system and then you add only the thing that you really need.

pHz · Post by **pHz** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 4:35 pm

ubuntu 6-1 up and running with audio now - get an 'ALSA sequencer not available' message when i open the jack control thing but that doesnt seem to affect anything

also loving the add / remove server based software installer (i guess its a front end for the apt-get stuff ? ) - tick a few boxes and your chosen audio (or whatever) apps are DLed installed and added to menus all in one go

all i need to do now is make sure all my non-system specific files are moved onto my external HD and im good to go with a proper dual boot rig

slainte

rob

pHz · Post by **pHz** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 4:36 pm

rokkon wrote:Also, have a look at the services that autoload. Mainstream distros like *ubuntu try to please every user and in consequence you have a lot daemons running that you don't need. Turing off the junk improved the felt speed of my kubuntu system a lot. (I like sysv-rc-conf as a tool for this)

it would be great if you could offer some idea of which ones we dont need and a little walk-through of how sysv-rc-conf works

slainte

rob

rokkon · Post by **rokkon** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 4:40 pm

pHz wrote:also loving the add / remove server based software installer (i guess its a front end for the apt-get stuff ? )

you mean synaptics? Apt-get, Aptitude, Synaptics, Adept, Kpackge, smartpm.. are all different frontends for dpkg

rokkon · Post by **rokkon** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 4:48 pm

pHz wrote:it would be great if you could offer some idea of which ones we dont need and a little walk-through of how sysv-rc-conf works

sysv-rc-conf: just apt-get it, then in a terminal start it with root, then you can check/ uncheck services for all runlevels. Be careful with doodling around, everything you do is immediately done.

here is a thread at ubuntuforums that explains what some services are for

pHz · Post by **pHz** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 4:57 pm

in my menus i have system > administration > services which brings up a ticklist of stuff that can be (de-)activated

i guess thats the same thing ?

slainte

rob

rokkon · Post by **rokkon** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 5:24 pm

no idea; if you can set for different runlevels then yes.

pHz · Post by **pHz** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 10:32 pm

still plugging away at this

not entirely DAW related but - having spent many hours today digging around ubuntu and available linux apps (both audio and not) i have seen no mention of linux antivirus or firewall software

since i have one do-it-all machine - what gives ?

(i DO have a pretty reliable hardware firewall but still)

slainte

rob

dbrane · Post by **dbrane** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 10:47 pm

you already have a firewall in iptables. if you want a gui to configure and set it up, there's firestarter, guarddog and others.

The linux DAW thread