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--- electronic_music:softsynth_rabbit_hole [2023/07/21 14:05] – [Laptops systems] mithat
+++ electronic_music:softsynth_rabbit_hole [2023/07/22 20:06] (current) – [MicroDexed] mithat
@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 ====== Linux ======
-I love Linux, so this is the obvious place to start for me. That said, using Linux for music looks like a PITA compared to other OSes, mostly owing to the audio subsystem. Jack seems kinda cumbersome. Does Carla make it easy? And how will the migration to Pipewire impact things?
+I love Linux, so this is the obvious place to start for me. That said, using Linux for music looks like a PITA compared to other OSes, mostly owing to the audio subsystem. JACK seems kinda cumbersome. Does Carla make it easy? And how will the migration to Pipewire impact things?
-Another concern is latency. How bad will it be for live performance, with or without a realtime kernel? The same concern exists with macOS and Windows too, but those platforms (esp. macOS) have proven themselves with professional performers.
+Another concern is latency. How bad will it be for live performance, with or without a realtime kernel? The same concern exists with macOS and Windows as well, but those platforms (esp. macOS) have proven themselves with professional performers.
-Yet another concern is reliability of the hardware compared to a commercial standalone synth. Of particular concern are laptops. An SBC-based platform arguably can be more easily hardened. But it seems dubious that even that will get you to the same standards as a commercial standalone synth.
+Yet another concern is reliability of the hardware. Of particular concern are laptops, because there are so many potential points of failure. An SBC-based platform arguably can be more easily hardened. But that even that will take a lot of effort to get you to the same standards as a commercial standalone synth.
-In terms of software, there seem to be two basic approaches: Install a standalone synth that doesn't need a host or install a setup that can host plugins, including synths and effects. The latter is simpler; the former is more flexible.
+In terms of software, there seems to be two basic approaches: Install a standalone synth that doesn't need a host or install a setup that can host plugins, including synths and effects. The latter is simpler; the former is more flexible.
 In terms of hardware, there are also two approaches: use a laptop or use a Rasperry Pi (or potentially other SBC).((Of course you can use a desktop computer instead of a laptop, but it makes portability a royal hassle, and that totally poops on its usefulness as a performance tool.))
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   * [[https://kx.studio/|KXStudio]]: SW and repos for music production.
     * [[https://kx.studio/Applications:Carla|Carla]]: a fully-featured modular audio plugin host.
     * [[https://kx.studio/Applications:Cadence|Cadence]]: a set of tools useful for audio production.
+  *  [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuStudio/AudioHandbook|Ubuntu Studio Audio Handbook]] has lots of good information.
 ===== Laptop systems =====
-In addition to the laptop, you'll need an outboard USB soundcard, unless you lappy's sound output is exceptional. So, this a minimum two-box solution (lappy plus soundcard).
+In addition to a laptop, you'll need an outboard USB soundcard, unless you lappy's sound output is exceptional and if for some reason you don't mind using its fragile 3.5mm output jack. So, this a two-box solution (lappy plus soundcard).
 Concerning latency, distributions with realtime kernels exist. The most popular is probably [[https://ubuntustudio.org/|Ubuntu Studio]]. Debian also offers realtime kernels in the [[https://packages.debian.org/bookworm/linux-image-rt-amd64|linux-image-rt-amd64]] package. From [[https://wiki.debian.org/DebianMultimedia|DebianMultimedia]]:
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 Ubuntu Studio is appealing because it's a turnkey solution. Debian with a realtime kernel is appealing because you don't need to deal with Ubuntu Snaps. There are likely other distributions that offer realtime kernels (either standard or as an option) as well. Feel free to explore these in your copious free time.
-Follow the fork in the hole: [[electronic_music:toward_a_linux_softsynth_performance_setup|Toward a Linux Softsynth Performance Setup]]
+To follow this fork in the hole, read [[electronic_music:toward_a_linux_softsynth_performance_setup|Toward a Linux Softsynth Performance Setup]].
 ===== Rasperry Pi =====
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 Another advantage is being able to use a decent on-board I2S DAC. It's also more easily bundled into a tight package with a USB DAC if using an on-board I2S dac isn't suitable. Whether it makes most sense to use an on-board I2S DAC or a USB DAC is mostly down to whichever has the least latency.
-Most online guides assume you're using [[https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/|Raspberry Pi OS]]. In theory, it's possible to [[https://www.instructables.com/64bit-RT-Kernel-Compilation-for-Raspberry-Pi-4B-/|patch the standard kernel]] for realtime latency. It doesn't seem insurmountable, but it would be a pain to do for every kernel update.
+Most online guides assume you're using [[https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/|Raspberry Pi OS]]. In theory, it's possible to [[https://www.instructables.com/64bit-RT-Kernel-Compilation-for-Raspberry-Pi-4B-/|patch the standard kernel]] for realtime latency. This doesn't seem insurmountable, but it would be a pain to do for every kernel update.
-[[https://blokas.io/patchbox-os/|PatchboxOS]], which "comes pre-configured for low latency audio performance and pre-installed audio software," seems like a promising OS. However, it looks like it's still 32-bit, and the actual quality of it is unknown. The last release was 2022-05-17, so it's possible this is abandonware.
+[[https://blokas.io/patchbox-os/|PatchboxOS]], which "comes pre-configured for low latency audio performance and pre-installed audio software," seems like a promising OS. However, it looks like it's still 32-bit, and since it's not a very popular distribution, its actual quality is unknown. Also, the last release was 2022-05-17, so it's possible this is abandonware.
 There are a [[https://all3dp.com/2/rtos-raspberry-pi-real-time-os/|bunch of RTOSes]] for the RPi, but these will almost certainly involve having to compile almost all music packages from scratch for the OS.
+To follow this fork in the hole, read  [[electronic_music:toward_a_rasperry_pi_softsynth_performance_setup|Toward a Rasperry Pi Softsynth Performance Setup]].
 ====== Microcontroller-based and turnkey SBC synths ======
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 ===== MiniDexed =====
-[[https://github.com/probonopd/MiniDexed|MiniDexed]] is a standalone [[https://asb2m10.github.io/dexed/|Dexed]] host that runs on Rasperry Pi. Some claim it's "bare metal", but it appears to be built on Arch (IIRC).
+[[https://github.com/probonopd/MiniDexed|MiniDexed]] is a standalone [[https://asb2m10.github.io/dexed/|Dexed]] host that runs on Rasperry Pi. The project is documented very well.
 ===== MicroDexed =====
 [[https://codeberg.org/dcoredump/MicroDexed|MicroDexed]] and [[https://codeberg.org/positionhigh/MicroDexed-touch|MicroDexed-touch]] are [[https://asb2m10.github.io/dexed/|Dexed]] hosts that run on the [[https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/|Teensy]] platform.
-This could form the basis of a very compact and robust synth. However, The code quality doesn't appear to be very good. So while this has a lot of potential, it might need a lot of code cleanup work to make it robust.
+This could form the basis of a very compact and robust synth. However, the developer admits they aren't the most skilled C++ coder. So while this has a lot of potential, it might need a lot of code cleanup work to make it robust.
-MicroDexed-touch is billed as the continuation of MicroDexed, but it adds features that distract from the performance-synth goal.
+MicroDexed-touch is billed as the continuation of MicroDexed. It adds features that many users may welcome but that distract from the performance-synth goal.
 ===== Other Teensy synths =====