KVR Audio

stupot101 · Post by **stupot101** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 10:22 am

Ok. So I'm new here, and I would like some help n setting up sound.

I am using Zorin 9 OS - which I think is Ubuntu. This is a live version on a 4GB USB drive.

The original soundcard is broken, and has been replaced by a headphone/soundcard USB - One like this

http://www.netstoredirect.com/dynamode- ... tAods3wADg

However, I have sound with the following:
* Youtube
* Video players
* Musescore - I did have to change the settings

I have downloaded the following:
* QjackCtl
* Qsynth
* VMPK (Virtual Midi Piano Keyboard)
* ZynAddSubFX (Zyn...)

I have tried Zyn.. first. I have no sound! Whenever I play a note on the software keyboard built into Zyn... I can see the software responding - the Peak Level meters indicate a sound is played.
Next, I decided to try Jack - QjackCtl. In the connect box, I connected zyn... to System - No sound. I also tried connecting the Midi through to Zyn... in ALSA.
I have tried to change the different settings in the 'settings' of QjackCtl, to no avail! (having looked at many different websites)

The next thing I tried was Qsynth, VMPK and QjackCtl. In Qjack, in the connections settings- under 'Audio', I have connected Qsynth to System. In 'ALSA', I have connected VMPK to Fluidsynth[ (Qsynth)/i]
I still have no sound! You can see that You can see that every time I hit a key on VMPK, Qsynth is responding to it - a little light flashes on the bottom left of Qsynth 1.
I have tried starting each of the programs in different orders ie. jack first then last etc. I have also tried various settings in the 'setting' parameters in Jack.

There doesn't appear to be any settings to change in Zyn... nor in Qsynth

Please help, before I lose the will to live

Stu

PS. I did try Ubuntu Studio Live, but didn't get very far with that

pljones · Post by **pljones** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 10:48 am

OK, forget all the add ons.

First off, run

Code: Select all

cat /proc/asound/cards

and check that the USB sound card is recognised. If not, you'll need to get that solved first. Sounds like you should be okay as you do have system sound.

Which version of Jack have you installed, Jack1 or Jack2? Depending on ZorinOS, there may be a system demon blocking Jack's use of the sound card. I think one of the two versions can take care of that, but it's a while since I had to fiddle with it and I forget.

stupot101 · Post by **stupot101** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 3:52 pm

Thanks for your speedy reply.

Sorry for spelling mistakes in my original post.

when I type

cat /proc/asound/cards

in a terminal window, it displays

0 [SB ]: HDA-Intel - HDA ATI SB
HDA ATI SB at 0x64080000 irq 16
1 [Set ]: USB-Audio - USB Headphone Set
USB Headphone Set at usb-0000:00:13.1-4, full speed

Which suggests to me that it is recognizing the soundcard(s)

QjackCtl - when I run the program, and click on 'About' , the information is version 0.3.10.

If that is not the correct information, then
1) How do I find out if QjackCtl is Jack 1 or Jack 2
2) How do I upgrade? I downloaded QJackCtl using the software centre.
I expect it will be using terminal... It's a very long time since I've used any unix commands.

Stu

stupot101 · Post by **stupot101** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 4:10 pm

One other point.... is the version 0.3.10 the version (or build) of the front-end QJackCtl, and not the version of Jack?

Sorry for the stooopid questions

Stu

Passing Bye · Post by **Passing Bye** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 4:19 pm

When (if) you get stuff sorted out, try Mulab, it's not technically Linux native DAW, but works over WINE and sincerely one of the best things you can get, don't miss out on that

http://www.mutools.com/

stupot101 wrote: Please help, before I lose the will to live

I always ditch Linux for audio in frustration every time I try over and over again, so don't hold your breath

pljones · Post by **pljones** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 7:29 pm

For Jack version, do

Code: Select all

jackd --version

. Jack1 is 0.9.x and Jack2 is 1.9.x (i.e. both "not quite there yet"

).

Getting jack to work smoothly is a major headache until it's sorted, then generally works. It can be made easier by picking a distribution designed specifically for audio, so long as the distro spots your soundcard correctly. Did you give KXStudio a go, by the way? (I tried out Zorin not that long ago and I have to admit to having been underwhelmed.)

You could try some of the suggestions here - but not knowing how Zorin OS is set up for sound makes guessing a fix harder:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php? ... st13228748
You may get more help from the Zorin OS forums (if they have any).

stupot101 · Post by **stupot101** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 7:33 pm

Which version of Jack have you installed, Jack1 or Jack2? Depending on ZorinOS, there may be a system demon blocking Jack's use of the sound card. I think one of the two versions can take care of that, but it's a while since I had to fiddle with it and I forget.

ok. I came across this website:

http://libremusicproduction.com/answer/ ... i-am-using

The result was

jackdmp 1.9.10

So I am using Jack 2

Stu.

stupot101 · Post by **stupot101** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 7:50 pm

Did you give KXStudio a go, by the way?

Not yet.. I thought Ubuntu Studio would be the way to go... but

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php? ... st13228748
Thanks... but this does seem a little above my capabilities

You may get more help from the Zorin OS forums (if they have any). I couldn't get a login acceptance from their forums. When I Emailed them, they didn't reply

I suppose I could try kxstudio....thanks

stupot101 · Post by **stupot101** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 7:52 pm

When (if) you get stuff sorted out, try Mulab, it's not technically Linux native DAW, but works over WINE and sincerely one of the best things you can get, don't miss out on that

http://www.mutools.com/

Many thanks for that.. I can see me going back to windows or something...

jeffh · Post by **jeffh** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 10:53 pm

If I may suggest an alternative: MusiKernel has both native Windows and native Linux ports, and is one of the very few Linux DAWs that doesn't require using JACK, you can just select your audio and MIDI devices and connect directly using ALSA.

It's an all-in-one DAW+(synth/sampler/effects)plugins application kind of like (pre-RE era) Reason, so no need to install a bunch of other applications/plugins or fiddle with JACK. It also works fine without having to install a special low-latency kernel, I'm using it on Fedora 22 with the stock Linux 4.0 kernel and KDE5 desktop.

DISCLAIMER: I am the developer of MusiKernel; However, even if I wasn't, I'd still recommend it

stupot101 · Post by **stupot101** » Sun Jun 07, 2015 10:39 am

If I may suggest an alternative: MusiKernel has both native Windows and native Linux ports, and is one of the very few Linux DAWs that doesn't require using JACK, you can just select your audio and MIDI devices and connect directly using ALSA.

It's an all-in-one DAW+(synth/sampler/effects)plugins application kind of like (pre-RE era) Reason, so no need to install a bunch of other applications/plugins or fiddle with JACK. It also works fine without having to install a special low-latency kernel, I'm using it on Fedora 22 with the stock Linux 4.0 kernel and KDE5 desktop.

DISCLAIMER: I am the developer of MusiKernel; However, even if I wasn't, I'd still recommend it

So I ca still use ZynAds SubFx with this, or other softsynths?

stu.

jeffh · Post by **jeffh** » Sun Jun 07, 2015 11:42 am

stupot101 wrote: So I ca still use ZynAds SubFx with this, or other softsynths?

MusiKernel has it's own built-in synthesizers and samplers. The one called "Way-V" is an additive/FM/wavetable synthesizer with modular effects, it covers pretty much all of the same sonic ground as Zyn (but with lower CPU usage and a single-window tabbed interface instead of the sprawling 10 window interface).

You can see demos of the instrument plugins on the .

You could technically use Zyn with MusiKernel if you use JACK as the audio API instead of ALSA, but since JACK isn't working for you, that's obviously problematic...

pljones · Post by **pljones** » Sun Jun 07, 2015 9:13 pm

Idle, off-topic thought/question for jeffh: did you ever consider making MusiKernel implement the JACK API, so that it "looks like" a JACK server when running?

jeffh · Post by **jeffh** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 12:04 am

pljones wrote:Idle, off-topic thought/question for jeffh: did you ever consider making MusiKernel implement the JACK API, so that it "looks like" a JACK server when running?

MusiKernel currently uses Portaudio and PortMIDI to connect to the various Linux and Windows APIs, I haven't spent a lot of time looking into Portaudio's API-specific hacks, it's all default behaviors at the moment;

What would be the advantages of being a JACK server instead of a JACK client? Is it about starting JACK when MusiKernel starts and/or remembering clients/connections?

pljones · Post by **pljones** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 6:15 am

The point of being a JACK server would be that anything in the JACK universe could then connect in or out to MusiKernel, whilst the user doesn't have to worry about getting JACK working. There's always a time when virtual audio (or MIDI) cabling becomes useful, which is why Reaper provides ReaRoute. (Given jackd can also use PortAudio, I don't see that as an issue.)

Help! New here. Can't get soound