I recently invested in a Raspberry Pi and came up with the bright idea that I should try to run Aspect on it.

Is there any way of running just the Aspect backend via bash with no GUI? I figured I could try mapping all the MIDI parameters and programs to a controller/keyboard and control Aspect that way. Think it could work?

Haha, yes that would be very interesting indeed if it would work. Do you think the cpu could handle it? And which audio interface will you use?

The Pi has an audio output. The Foundation has a plan to put together a synth project that I guess will use one of the existing open-source soft synths.

But, is there an ARM port of Aspect?

Not yet, but it's possible. Last I checked, the audio engine compiled and worked perfectly (and efficiently, even on a non-overclocked Pi.) The UI is another matter, but it's not anything that seemed insurmountable. Simply put, I haven't been able to find the time to do an official ARM port, but it's definitely something the geek in me is interested in getting back into as and when my schedule allows.

This might not be what you want to do but it might be worth getting in touch with someone like Robert Mullins at the Foundation/Cambridge Uni (as I think the synth was something he was keen to do) and maybe get them to do some legwork for an 'Aspect Educational' or something. They were quite keen on the idea of a Pi synth because it has some teaching value and as a project for computer clubs.

Very glad to hear that. It's obviously just a geek fantasy at the moment, but honestly I would prefer using a dedicated Aspect Raspberry Pi live than a laptop (I don't like the idea of laptops live, but that's just for my live gigs).

When I get a spare hour or so, I'll have another look at ARM support and see if I can estimate how much work is outstanding for an ARM port. If it's not too much, this could be something I look at releasing sooner, rather than later.

Awesome! I realize that whenever I post here it's always geek-related and not necessarily something that makes sense business-wise (although support for the Pi would probably get some recognition). Is the frontend and backend separated into two programs? I would prefer to be able to run Aspect on the Pi without a display.

Don't work yourself to death, Colin!

The audio generation suite is isolated in its own library, safely away from all the UI code. Instead of being hosted by the UI, it can (and often is, when testing) hosted by a command-line terminal app. So, yes, your request for a UI-free Aspect on the Pi is very do-able indeed!

No fear, I'm well refreshed and energised, post-Christmas: the lack of enough hours in a day is a much bigger hinderance than my stamina!