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Turn-Key Linux Audio

gmaestro writes "The Turn-Key Linux Audio project at the Eastman Computer Music Center has released it's first instant linux audio workstation package. Simply download onto your Mandrake workstation, untar and type # ./install.sh."

17 of 276 comments (clear)

  1. Turn-Key... by StillAnonymous · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'll be waiting for Turn-Key Linux DRM next :)

  2. Good work. by jericho4.0 · · Score: 5, Informative
    From looking at the list of what's included in this package, these people have done a lot of work. The complete package is made up of common linux audio utilities plus a bunch of stuff they've made.

    It'd be cool to have packages like this for different things. A complete graphics package with Gimp, blender, driver install, and a collection of scripts would be cool. It'd be cooler if it was a deb package.

    --
    "A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
  3. Just in case.. by AlbanySux · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here's thje info off their main page and a list of everything it contains for when it gets slashdotted.. Its basically an easy install of everything they use in the labs at the school..

    Turn-Key Linux Audio is a scripted installation package for the core set of linux audio applications used at the Eastman Computer Music Center (ECMC). It contains among its many tools over a decade's-worth of powerful shell scripts, smart aliases, tutorials, documentation, shell level environment variables for multi-media linux/unix workstations, and a library of powerful templates and macros (Csound, Score11, SMS, PVC, Rt, Vspace, etc) created by composer, teacher, and ECMC director Allan Schindler.

    It is therefore a kind of ECMC 'mirroring' package, inclusive of open source applications from nearly all categories of music production such as editing, mixing, recording, dsp fuctionality, Csound helpers/front-ends, real-time applications, sound utilities, and many others(1). See the explore page for a complete listing. Each individual application is the result of the dedicated hard work and imagination of developers and users whose ongoing efforts continue to expand and improve linux as an audio platform.

    The entire package installs from within a fully installed linux distribution (currently Mandrake 9.0) with the execution of a single script, saving users hours of dependencies footwork and versioning troubles, ensuring a virtually transparent initiation into linux as a mutimedia platform.

    Nearly all applications, including their respective dependencies, build from source code on the local system, creating maximum compatibilty and performance, and providing users with access to the packages' lowest levels, either for custom configuration, or for development. Source-code level access is one critical benefit of using linux, and providing users with code-level exposure broadens the base of informed user-contributers, leading ideally to better feature suggestions and better apps.

    The Turn-Key package shares its model with other all-in-one installs for audio, such as Demudi/Agnula, and PlanetCCRMA. It is similarily directed at a broad audience of home users, but has a particular place in its heart for students and the many under-staffed/under-funded computer music studios in institutions around the world.

    In fact, the Turn-Key package began as a way to provide students at ECMC with the same tools used in the studio for use on their home systems (something only linux and open-source software can make possible), but the full installation is now being made available to the larger community.
    - Kevin Ernste

    Alternatively, each application (with dependencies and a TKLA install script) may be download individually (see the explore page for details.
    Editors *
    * Audacity - a fast multi-platform editor, includes multi-track capabilities.
    * DAP - Richard Kent's port of the classic SGI version.
    * MiXViews - a powerful editor from Doug Scott, includes editing tools for analysis data.
    * Snd - Bill Schottstaedt's wonderful everything editor.
    * Sweep - a very nice, newly updated editor from Conrad Park.
    * Wavesufer - one of the best editors for Linux, from Kåre Sjölander and Jonas Beskow.

    Analysis/Resynthesis and DSP *
    * Ceres3 - the latest, greatest incarnation of the ceres spectral editor.
    * Cecilia - more than just a graphical front end to the csound engine...a rich sound manipulation environment.
    * LADSPA - a plugins package, including the CMT set, and a number of others.
    * Mammut - a fun and useful analysis/resythesis tool with limited features but often suprising results.
    * PVC - Paul Koonce's phase vocoding tools with ECMC templates/scripts/docs.
    * SMS - Xavier Serra's Linux incarnation of his Spectral Modeling Sythesis application.
    * Vspace - an excellent tool for ambisonic encoding/decoding and soundscape creation.

    Sythnesis/Composition *
    * Csound(1) - the composition app, richly expanded with dozens of scripts and templates.
    * ngen - Michael Kuehn's powerful new event preprocessor for Csound.
    * PD - The venerable MAX-like tool from Max''s own author Miller Pucket.
    * RTCmix - The Columbia/Princeton extension of its Cmix music composition "language".
    * RTMix - Ivica Ico Bukvik's exciting performance/real-time tool.
    * Score11 - Alec Binkman's very flexible Csound score preprocessor, powerful and easy to use.
    o TKLA includes a library of Score11 macros, templates, and examples

    Players/Recorders *
    * Alsaplayer - a very nice player with some added functionality for visualization and playlisting.
    * Real Player (downloaded at install time) - a widely used streaming audio app, now for Linux.
    * xplay - very handy, very simple, no frills player.

    Mixing *
    * Ardour (2) - Paul Barton Davis' impressive hard disk recorder/mixer.
    * Mix - the venerable NoTAM 9 channel mixer, with some welcome additions.
    * Ecasound - a rather deep hard-disk recording and playing/routing tool from Kai Vehmanen.
    * MixMagic - a GNOME mixing application with some useful features.
    * Rt - Paul Lansky's scripted mixer, ported and updated for Linux by Doug Scott.

    Utilities/Other *
    * ALSA - An advanced audio API for Linux with support for the venerable OSS in emulation.
    * JACK - the Jack audio connection kit for professional audio under Linux.
    * xsox (old version)- a graphical front end for the ubiquitous audio conversion utility "sox".
    * Shorten - a program for lossless compression of audio files.
    * Normalize - a command line utility for batch production of normalized levels.
    * RipperX - a nice GUI front end to cdparanoia for ripping CD tracks to audiofiles.

    ECMC scripts, utilities, macros, templates and examples * (downloads as a complete set)
    * Environment variables and program aliases for audio
    o soundfiles are stored, accessed, and manipulated in a separate but simultaneous directory tree (the users "working soundfile directory"-- pwdsf). Most common unix commands have a soundfile analog (i.e., cd has cdsf, ls has lsf, cp has cpsf, pwd has pwdsf, and so on). Applications which open, output, process, or create soundfiles do so to and from this directory (default is /snd/'whoami'). All audio applications are aliased to open ready to access the current working soundfile directory. Ideally, a separate partition is used, optimizing this disk/space for large contiguous blocks such as sound or analysis files.

    * Soundfile utilities
    o bounce - convert stereo files to mono
    o cpsf.aif - convert/copy any format to .aif
    o cpsf.wav - convert/copy any format to .wav
    o fixaiff - repair broken aiff headers
    o mkcaltones - outputs -15 dB calibration tone soundfile
    o pitchshift - shift in semi-tones, or multiplier
    o sfcheck - check and report soundfile header information
    o sfinfo - display soundfile information: format, duration, etc
    o sfnorm/stripnorm - normalize soundfiles (renamed .norm) and strip .norm extensions
    o sfpeak - find maximum amplitude value

    * Playing, listing, and searching soundfiles
    o findsnd - find soundfile by character string (-p will play them as they are found)
    o playsnd (p) - a command-line player (batch tool)
    o lsf - list soundfiles in current working soundfile directory
    o players - opens soundfiles in separate graphical players for quick mix auditioning
    o playlist - plays from a text file list

    * Playing, listing, searching personal soundfile library (/sflib)
    o findsflib - find soundfile in library by character string (-p will play them as they are found)
    o playsflib (psfl) - play file in soundfile library
    o lsfl - list soundfile in sflib
    o sflibinfo - find file info for file in sflib
    o sflibloops - finds loop points in files with extension ".loop"

    * Csound tools, extentions
    o chorus - for creating chorsused Score11 files
    o lsexamples (lsex)/getexample(getex) - list and get tutorial examples
    o lsscore(lssc)/getscore(getsc) - list and get ECMC score examples
    o lsmidifunc/getmidifunc - list and get ECMC MIDI functions
    o mkkeymap - creates keymaps for Csound functions
    o mkmidikeymap - generates a MIDI keymap
    o mkmidisffuncs - creates function definitions for use with MIDI and Csound
    o mko - m4o expand macros into an orchestra from ECMC library...see below
    o mksffuncs - make function tables for soundfiles

    * Csound orchestra library--m4o expandable instrument macros (type lsins and mko)
    o "sampler" instruments (transposing and non): samp, sampST, tsamp, tsampST, bigsamp, bigsampST, bigtsamp, bigtsampST, samplerpxsyn, samplertxsyn
    o modeled instruments: bsn, carillon, cbsn, celesta,chorbsn, chorcarillon, chorcbsn, chorcelesta, chordrums, chorfmod, chormarimba, chorplunk, chortrpt, drums, marimba, plunk
    o synthesis (granular, cross, etc): gran, xsyn, gxsyn, fmod
    o anaylsis/resynthesis: phavoc, resyn
    o global instruments and utilities: sf1to2, sf2to1, sfpan, sf, sfs, sfvpan, rev, rev2, delay
    o Allan Schindler's Eastman Csound Tutorial examples (includes orchestra and Score11 files for each tutorial example)

    * Score11/Csound score examples and templates (type lsex or lssc respectively)
    o templates which write corresponding score files for all above orchestra library instruments, as well as multiple examples for each

    * PVC (Paul Koonce) front-ends/templates (type pvcex)
    o useful templates for each Phase VoCoder program (chordmapper, plainpv, harmonizer, etc), as well as musical examples (type .tp...Ex. "chordmapper.tp" to access templates)

    * SMS (Spectral Modeling Synthesis) examples and scripts (type lssmsex)

    * Vspace ambisonic templates/scripts (type vspacetp or lsvspaceex to list examples) -- available for sampling rates to 96k
    o for generating ambisonic B-format, as well as 9 channel .fmh (Furse-Malham Higher Order Format) ambisonic spacialization files.
    o Can be decoded to stereo, quad, etc with ambidec

    * Help and musical information
    o ecmchelp (a variety of help pages and charts for music and audio...Ex. ecmchelp pitchratios displays a table of interval ratios for the diatonic system)
    o man pages for most tools
    o utilities display usage statements when typed without arguments

    * CD burning, copying
    o mkaudiocd/burnaudiocd, mkdatacd/burndatacd, blankcdrw, cpaudiocd, cpdatacd

  4. surreal by io333 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've been waiting for a package like this for 4 years. I can't believe someone actually did it. Just one more application needs to arrive and I'll leave Windows behind forever. What is that application?

    Does it really matter what my particular missing app is? Everyone that can't migrate yet has one. I suppose my point is this just goes to show that eventually all the missing apps will be there and then:

    IT'S A FREE SOFTWARE WORLD BABY!

  5. obligatory mirror by vorovsky · · Score: 5, Informative

    Mostly mirrored page at:

    http://209.152.2.3/lulu.esm.rochester.edu/kevine/t urnkey/

    now play nice with my server :)

  6. Notice the absence of music notation programs by sadclown · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Linux has nothing to compare to Finale, Sibelius, or Score. This is the gaping hole in Linux audio software, and the reason most musicians cannot switch completely to Linux.
    Lilypad, etc. are not professional quality notation tools.
    WINE has trouble with non-text fonts like Maestro which Finale uses.

    1. Re:Notice the absence of music notation programs by damiam · · Score: 5, Informative

      Rosegarden might get there someday, if you can stand the QT interface.

      --
      It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.
  7. I went with planet CCRMA instead by pyramid+termite · · Score: 5, Informative

    Mostly because it was ready a couple of weeks ago when I was looking at Dave Phillips' page. This is where to find it. It runs on Red Hat 8 and everything seems to install well - I'm still casually working out some things here and there but Snd, Rosegarden and a few other things are working - haven't had a chance to try everything. One thing I've noticed is that other software packages I've downloaded elsewhere don't always get along with the libraries, probably because they were written with older distributions in mind.

    One of the advantages is a special low latency kernel with ALSA built in. I've installed this and it's working.

    I'll probably download the Turn-Key Linux Audio disc and see what I can get to work on my current installation - I downloaded and installed Red Hat 8 so I could check out Planet CCRMA, and don't really feel like switching to Mandrake.

  8. If a... by dlc915 · · Score: 5, Funny

    website for a Linux Audio project gets slashdotted in the middle of the day, does it make a sound?
    ---

    --
    I still haven't found the "any" key.
  9. ...slightly related: text to speech, pitch adjust by jki · · Score: 5, Interesting
    As I do not know anything about audio or audio tools available for Linux (or any other operating system), I thought this would be a good chance to ask:

    1) What would you use to convert (english) sentences to speech samples (in real time, if possible perfomance-wise).
    2) What to use to alter the pitch of the samples in "real-time".
    3) merget these samples together with a base beat/rythm (basic jazz, techno, whatever)
    4) ..and to stream combinations of these samples with a modified pitch per sample to the client.

    Talking about a set of command-line tools or a easy to use API.

  10. 4 speaker drivers? by Foresto · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is great and all, but does it come with drivers that will let me play my Dolby Digital (AC3) DVDs and AVI files, in full surround, using my 4 channel soundblaster live? So far, I haven't found any linux drivers that support all four separate channels on this very popular sound card.

    1. Re:4 speaker drivers? by athakur999 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Have you tried the official drivers at http://opensource.creative.com?
      The FAQ has "Rear speaker support" listed as one of the features.

      I have one of the older Live! cards that only supports 2 speakers, so I couldn't tell you how well the rear speaker stuff works.

      --
      "People that quote themselves in their signatures bother me" - athakur999
  11. Re:drivers by tomhudson · · Score: 5, Interesting
    You hit the nail on the head when you said "until the OEMs start writing their own linux drivers..."

    After all, it's their board, and if they want increased market share, either write their own drivers, or include subcomponents that have decent driver support.

    Mind you, we bought a couple of cheapie boxes last month, you know the kind, all sorts of integrated shit, and ... surprise ... all the stuff works OK under linux. Mind you, we put in GeForce video cards, so it's not a fair comparison (and we took the video out of one box after anyway - I just telnet into it as needed).

    The only solution I see is to ask the sales staff if the board works ok under linux, and, after they tell you "yes", if it doesn't, return it. If they say "I don't know." - offer to test it for them, in-store (did that once - it was fun watching the store staff going - wow! that's linux? I thought it couldn't run Windows programs! Then I had to explain that Gnome, KDE, et al aren't Windows).

  12. More programs should be this way by GamezCore.com · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I know that the large frothing masses LIKE to worry about libraries and dependancy, but there are also a lot of us who like ease of use. With bandwidth and high capacity media so cheap these days, I believe most if not all programs should be self contained non-dependant entities. Just like Office for Mac's, one folder drag it over and run. Or even better, the Phoenix browser... fully self contained AND small. I think this is the future of software, and Linux should really jump on this if it wants to be a player in the desktop market. (not trolling, just looking for some discussion)

    --

    www.GamezCore.com For Hardcore PS2 Gamerz : By Hardcore PS2 Gamerz
  13. Re:...slightly related: text to speech, pitch adju by tomhudson · · Score: 5, Informative
    text to speech, including intonation - look for 'festival'. Comes on the RedHat CDs. Had a ball having my box tell people what to do, read out shell scripts, etc.

    Brought me back to the good ole days of DRSBAITSO from my 8-bit soundblaster card.

  14. Re:...slightly related: text to speech, pitch adju by Hornsby · · Score: 5, Informative

    IBM has a suite of programs called ViaVoice that allow you to do text to speech or vice versa. It has a full API and is fully programmable. You can emulate an adult male or female voice, and you can also do children's voices. It works remarkably well. Unfortunately, it's not on the IBM site anymore, but you can still get it here . I'm not sure how long it'll stay there, so I'd get it now... It allows you to set the spacing or cadence of the speech, but it has no facility to merge with a base beat. I suppose you could do that by saving a .wav and bringing it into your audio editor. For general TTS, you may just want to check out festival. I've never tried it, but I've heard good things.

    --
    A musician without the RIAA, is like a fish without a bicycle.
  15. Re:*Sigh* by runderwo · · Score: 5, Insightful
    If only they would add decent wavetable synth support to Linux I would ditch Windows without thinking about it twice.
    What were you having problems with? For sound cards without hardware MIDI, timidity seems to work great. If you have a MIDI card or daughtercard that you want to use, those work fine too; I use a Yamaha DB50XG on a Roland MPU-401AT ISA card that I control through a MIDI keyboard.

    Perhaps if you were a bit more specific on the shortcomings, we could have a more engaging discussion.