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State of Hard Disk Recording in Linux?

Posted by Cliff on from the more-acronyms-than-you-can-shake-a-stick-at dept.

Madfishmonger asks: "I'm putting together a live computer rig for a band to play back backing tracks as well as simultaneously transmit MIDI program and control changes to various synthesizers and digital mixers. Are there any Linux-based apps (especially Linux PPC ? , since we'll be running an older PowerBook) which can replace software like Logic, Cubase and ProTools for simpler tasks like managing MIDI ? program changes and audio playback simultaneously, or which are even capable of rudimentary hard disk recording tasks, and will also work with the more common multi-IO MIDI interfaces from makers like MOTU and Emagic? I haven't heard of anything comparable to the current Mac and Windows-based technologies like TDM ? , VST ? , RTAS and ASIO, but is there anything in the works which could give the music community a third platform to work on, or do I have to wait for the big name proggies to come out on OS X?"

2 of 8 comments (clear)

  1. Linux HDR suggestions by divbyzero · · Score: 3, Informative

    As with nearly every question pertaining to audio, MIDI, and music on Linux, Dave Philips' site is pretty much the definitive resource. You'll probably want the section on HDR software.

    From the discussion on the Linux Audio Developers' mailing list, Ardour seems to be the most powerful of your options, designed to beat even ProTools.

    --
    But my grandest creation, as history will tell,
    Was Firefrorefiddle, the Fiend of the Fell.
  2. Linux Audio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    What you may not know is that there's an amazing bit of GPL'd software out there called JMAX, put out at www.ircam.fr/jmax. This is a graphical interactive programming environment for midi and live audio. (Ircam being the world's premiere electro-acoustic music center) The DSP is in C, and the gui is in java (they are seperable). It is quite powerful, yet easy to learn. There are some recording capabilities built in (though, admittedly it is not as designed for recording as Cubase, etc.). Nevertheless, it's realtime audio capabilities are unmatched, and as a creative tool it's possibilities are great. It has support for the RME9652 (26 channels in, 26 channels out) so you could do some amazing live mixes and record those out to adat. Though it may not be quite what you need, it's an amazing tool for musicians (and has been used by serious composers for many years) and absolutely worth checking out.