Dear all,
A bit late because of the Holidays here in the
Netherlands, but it's here nonetheless, the Linux Audio Monthly
Round-Up #5. Again I had some really positive feedback which is very
gratifying of course and it powers the drive to continue writing
these round-ups. Back to business, what was November all
about?
Best,
Jeremy
1. Linux audio news
2. Music
made with Linux
3. New
versions, new projects
Going to keep it short, for the sake of I-need-to-publish-this-asap. Leigh Dyer published his second Seq24 tutorial and also some interesting articles on convolution reverb and jconvolver. An alpha release of Ardour3 should be coming soon. And then there was the “200 Line Linux Kernel Patch That Does Wonders” which of course was discussed on the LAU mailinglist and quickly more or less demystified regarding real-time audio processing. Filipe Coulho (aka falkTX) cooked up some 32 and 64 bit binaries of the Togu Audio Line VST plugins. And last but not least I got the news that L2Ork might be coming to Europe, and maybe even to the Netherlands, in May next year.
And yes, many thanks go out to the LinuxMAO crew, their editorial should be up by now too.
Modlys - Velkommen
igen Guds engle små
A remake of an original Danish Christmas
carol. Very well produced and well balanced and it will most
certainly appeal to people who like to chill back during Christmas
time.
Soda P – Icon
of Your Time
For those about to indie-math-noise-rock, we
salute you. Hope you like some trancy Tiësto-like strings too. If
you think those two things are incompatible then give this song a
listen.
chr15m – Oval
BA
Mr McCormick strikes again pushing his Garage Acid Lab to
the max! Man, I love this stuff. I've got all his Android apps and if
they wouldn't lock up my phone I bet they would be amazing. Chris,
consider my purchases as donations for your amazing music.
November 2: gjacktransport
0.4.4
* dedicated icon for
gjackclock
* build-system cleanup
* added debian packaging
November 4: Rosegarden
10.10
* Several fixes to
behaviour of track program/bank change sends in save/load and in
interaction with percussion check-box (Julie Swango)
* Permit
shift-click on a track header to toggle selection of segments on that
track without effecting other selected segments (Yves Guillemot)
*
Improve key highlights in matrix view so as to reflect current
segment properly (Julie)
* Add support for basic LADISH level 1
(Felipe Lopes)
* Substantial fixes to audio file handling code to
fix a number of problems with the wrong audio clip being played
(Julie)
* Fix crash in some cases when opening file dialog if not
using default Thorn style (Chris Cannam and D. Michael McIntyre)
*
Fix incorrect behaviour of frequency-range parameters in LADSPA and
DSSI plugin editors (Chris)
* Fixes to missing-audio-file
location logic (Chris)
* Shorten the factory autoload, removing
the duplicate sets of tracks at the bottom so that all tracks
initially are visible (Michael)
* Fix MIDI recording from devices
in which note-on and note-off are not always cleanly paired (Julie)
* Fixes to positioning of playback pointer in matrix (Julie)
*
Several substantial fixes to step-recording in matrix and notation
(Julie)
* Several fixes to Lilypond export (Julie)
* Numerous
fixes to segment editor corner cases that previously could introduce
zero-length segments (Ted Felix)
* Several fixes to corner cases
that previously could introduce zero-length events or ranges (Ted)
*
Fixes to unpredictable behaviour in certain operations involving
copying segments (Ted)
* Numerous fixes to behaviour of editing
operations in cases where segments overlap with the end of the
composition (Julie and Ted)
* Make behaviour of Paste Range more
predictable (Ted)
* Improvements to chord database and several
fixes to fretboard editor (Ted)
* Fixes to avoid zero-duration
note events in files (Michael and Julie)
* Fixes to toolbar
visibility in editing views (Julie)
* Fixes to regressions in
action availability (Ian Gardner)
* Fixes to updates in notation
view (Yves and Julie), event list editor (Julie), matrix editor
(Julie) and rulers (Julie and Alvar Udras)
* Restore progress
dialogs (Julie)
November 5: Renoise 2.6 –
Geek Edition
* Script everything using a truly open API
*
Sample Autoseek
* Open Sound Control (OSC) Server Support
*
Duplex - MIDI/OSC controller framework
* DSSI Support on Linux,
64-bit Linux Version
* Support for CAF, AIFC, SND and AU Files
*
Linux & Mac OSX Performance Tweaks
* Minor usability and
functionality refinements galore!
November 7: MMA
1.7
* Chords can now be entered in Roman Numeral notation
*
Extensive reworking/enhancement of the Solo track commands
*
MidiInc extended to permit the creation of Solo Riffs
* Enhanced
the automatic groove finding so that multiple directories can be
scanned
* -V option for an audible preview of a groove in the
libraries
* A new utility, mma-gb.py. This is a simple GUI for
viewing and previewing the groove library
November 7: AlsaPlayer
0.99.1
* Applied a patch by Dominik Kuhlen that fix a lot of
compilation warnings
* The same patch fix double-free errors
after closing AP (start with a playlist, click shuffle and exit)
*
Updated the date into the About dialog
November 8: Rakarrack
0.6.1
New Effects:
*
OpticalTrem : Tremolo
* Vibe: Vibe
* CompBand: Four Band
Compressor
* StereoHarm: Stereo Harmonizer
New LFO types:
* Sample & Hold
* Lorentz Fractal XY
New Additions:
* Metronome
*
+10 dB booster
* Add/Delete Internal Effect Presets, that can
also shared/merged with other users
* Drag & Drop effects in
main screen to fast reorder
* Fast MIDI learn assign with right
click in each parameter
* Hide Function for unused effects
*
Random preset generator
* Drag and Drop presets in bank window to
fast swap
* Extra1 Preset bank
* User directory, a place to
put your preset banks in order to be accessible by a single click
*
Optimized filters and Trigger for recognition note frequency
*
MIDI Program Change Table, that can be save/load
* Shortcuts
Improvements:
* Looper, adds
metronome and possibility to sync with jack transport and Tap Tempo
* Compressor (Final Limiter)
* MIDI Converter octave changer
* Tap Tempo can be set in main screen
* Speed up the preset
change process
* Upsample x7,x8,x9,x10,x11,x12 (hope you have a
fast computer :-))
* RBFilter "Q" modes
* Effects
that depends of internal preset selected (MuTroMojo, WahWah) now
display the original internal preset
November 8: Seq24
0.9.1
Fixed Bugs
* Fixed
error if path for last used directory is not properly set
* Fixed
adding notes on the beginning when MIDI record is on and not playing
sequence
* Fixed buffer overflow caused by string handling (tool
menu)
* Fixed file save as crash
* Fixed MIDI sysex event
reading
* Fixed error if path for last used directory is not
properly set
* "Cancel" option added to "Save
file?" question
New Features
* Support for MIDI
clock synchronization
* Support for mute groups
* Key binding
editor
* Optionally show shortcut key label on sequence icon
*
Fruity loop mouse interaction mode added
* Monophonic step
editing on sequence
* Polyphonic step editing
General Changes
* A lot of code
cleanups
* Support for (lost) Win32 platform added
*
Optimized redraw for sequencer roll background (from Win32 version,
Rob Buse)
* Adaptations for jack2 applied
November 12: gjacktransport
0.5.0
* moved .desktop files
to main-src
* make table-layout a runtime option
* support
for variable width fonts
November 15: gjacktransport
0.5.1
* added
load/save/save-as to gjt
* -l, --config command-line option
*
cleaned up rc config files
* fixed translations & added
russian lang
November 17: Meterec
0.7
NEW
* seek back and
forth 5 seconds using arrow keys
* set time indexes using
<SHIFT>-<Fn> keys
* jump to time index using <Fn>
keys
* jump to time 0 using <HOME> key
* changed meter
maximum reset key to be <v> (VU) instead of <m>
*
(un)mute using <m> key
* (un)mute all ports usgin <M>
key
* unmute all ports using <S> key
* mute all but
selected port (solo) using <s> key
* change record mode
(<r>, <d>, <o>) also in meter view
* display
port status also in meter view
* display numeric signal level and
maximum in port status
* changes in edit mode take effect without
restarting
* port names can be defined in <session>.conf
file
* display/hide port names in meter view using <n> key
* stop recoding is <RETURN> instead of <SPACE> or
<RETURN>
BUGS
* in edit mode, when playhead
is behind last sample of newly selected track for playing, the track
will start playing from 0 instead of playing silence. Seams to be a
libsndfile issue, may be worked around using extra seek calls
November 19: SpectMorph
0.1.1
* added tool for
SoundFont (SF2) import: smsfimport
* file format changes
-
allow time index based loops (required for looped SoundFont presets)
- allow stereo (multichannel) files in WavSets
- store phase
and magnitude seperately (instead of a sin+cos magnitude)
-
support multiple velocity layers
- allow storing the original
sample data for quality comparisions
- optimize storage size for
smset files if the same Audio file is reused more than once
*
switch to 32 values for 32 perceptually spaced noise bands, instead
of the old noise representation
* handle stereo (multichannel)
files in smenc, smjack and beast plugin
* performance
optimizations
- LiveDecoder is now really fast, and can handle
highly polyphonic synthesis in RT
- sine synthesis is based on
IFFT now
- noise synthesis is a lot faster, too
- where
possible, use SSE operations in performance critical code
- use
FFTW for FFT, which is faster than gslfft
- added fast float->int
conversion on x86
- smjack is a lot faster, now
* removed
smenc -O2 setting, which was too slow for practical use
*
introduced anti-alias filter in LiveDecoder
* cleanups,
refactoring, bugfixes
November 19: Faust
0.9.30
Documentation :
*
A new version of the Faust Quick Reference is provided with a better
layout and an expanded and updated content
Compiler :
* the ':' (seq), '<:'
(split), ':>' (merge) and ',' (par) composition operators are now
right associative. For example the parallel composition (1,2,3,4,5)
now denotes (1,(2,(3,(4,5)))). This change simplifies pattern
matching techniques in particular the use parallel compositions as
lists. The iterative par(...) construction as been modified
accordingly
* Improved pattern matching support. Variables don't
have anymore to be undefined to be considered match variables. The
new strategy uses the positions to determine the role of variables.
For example in pattern 'x(y,z)' y and z are match variables while x,
in functional position, is a regular variable. This allow to evaluate
patterns without having to introduce a special notation for match
variables...
Libraries :
The various libraries
have been extended, in particular Julius Smith's effect.lib, osc.lib
and filter.lib.
* effect.lib : among the new additions are some
historical reverbs form the early 70's like John Chowning's jcrev and
satrev
* filter.lib : contains several new filters in particular
third-order and sixth-order Elliptic/Cauer lowpass and highpass
filters
* math.lib : added Hadamard() matrix function contributed
by Rémy Muller that has applications in Feedback Delay Networks
Examples :
Several examples were
added to illustrate some of the new functions provided by the
libraries.
* cubic_distortion.dsp
* gate_compressor.dsp
*
graphic_eq.dsp
* parametric_eq.dsp
* phaser_flanger.dsp
*
smoothdelay.dsp
* spectral_level.dsp
* vcf_wah_pedals.dsp
Architecture files :
* ca-qt.cpp :
Aggregate in/out devices when needed
* jack-gtk.cpp : Tooltip
format added
* max-msp.cpp : help message is now posted even when
no audio inlet is available
* module.cpp : updated
*
supercollider.cpp : compile fix
Bug Fixes:
* improved error
messages for non constant-integer table sizes
* getBoxType now
only always called on fully evaluated expressions in propagation
normal form
* missing boxtype for pattern matching variables
added
* Bitmask : new implementation correcting bug for large
values
* some recursive call to simplify have been removed to
avoid potential infinite loops during the simplification of some
expressions
November 21: Yoshimi 0.60.1
* drop --show-console from jack session restart command
November 24: monoBristol
0.60.2
* bugfix: starting
error (thanks to Stefan Ebner)
November 25: gjacktransport
0.5.2
* Mike Cookson's patch
to save config on SIGUSR1 - ladish support
* disabled window
maximum size limit for now - not all WMs support that
* safeguard
for gtk_file_chooser_get_filename()
November 26: TAL LinuxVST plugins 0.1
* TAl-Dub-3
* TAL-NoiseMaker
* TAL-Filter
* TAL-Reverb
November 27: LinuxDSP
Pro Channel plugins
Improved
GUI functionality:
* The first time the GUI window is opened it
pops up right under the mouse pointer position, and subsequently will
remember its last on screen position when it is closed. For DAW hosts
such as Ardour, this also means that the GUI window pops up straight
out of the mixer channel - which is a huge improvement in usability
* The Pro-Gate now has brighter switch illumination making it
easy to see at a glance which sections are enabled
* All the
plugins now also feature more stable UTF-8 support for non-ascii
locales
November 28: jacksampler
0.0.2
* merged stereo
support, mostly coded by tczy
* search samples relative to config
file for relative paths
November 28: gst123
0.1.3
* Support for m3u and
pls playlists. [Siddhesh Poyarekar]
* Add jack audio output
support
* Support setting the audio driver via config file
November 28: Seq24
0.9.2
Fixed Bugs
* Fix
tooltip usage for older GTK versions (GTK_MINOR_VERSION < 12)
*
Fix sched_param memory leaks
* Fix doubled key event for screen
set name line
New Features
* Add support for
jack session, patch provided by Torben Hohn
* Add interrupt
handler for SIGUSR1 to enable LADISH level 1 support
* Add
interrupt handler for SIGINT to ask for unsaved file changes
*
Remove "-f" command line option to be replaced by a simple
<filename> argument (see "seq24 --help" for more
information)
General Changes
* Add mnemonics
for bottom line widgets in main window and label for screen set name
edit line
* Add missing command line parameters to help message,
display short options as well
* Add command line option for
program version
* Add missing command line parameters to man page
* Remove complaints about file read error if configuration files
do not exist
* Cleanup configure.in: remove unused variables,
harmonize option enabling/disabling
* Some code cleanups
November 30: TAL LinuxVST plugins 0.2
* TAL-Filter-2
* TAL-Reverb-2
* TAL-Elek7ro
November 30: QjackCtl
0.3.7
* Session widget has
session save type preserved as well
* Connections and the new
Messages/Status widgets now have their last open tab preserved across
program run-cycles
* Connections and Patchbay widgets have been
finally given up on an old feature request: an Expand All items
button
* A significant UI layout has been made: the Messages and
Status widgets were merged into one, giving space to the brand new
Session wigdet to be easy accessible from the main panel control
window
* libX11 is now being added explicitly to the build link
phase, as seen necessary on some bleeding-edge distros eg. Fedora 13,
Debian 6 (closing bug #3050915)
* Input/Output latency options
were missing but now finally enabled for the firewire back-end
*
General standard dialog buttons layout is now in place
* Avoid
pre-loading a stalled patchbay definition filename and its nagging
error on startup (fixes bug #3017078)
* Client connection retrial
logic scrapped. Being a leftover from early ages, when machines were
slower and JACK server startup times were longer... now, if it can't
connect first time as client, it will tear down the server whether
it's starting up still or not at all (cf. Setup/Settings/Start Delay
for the rescue)
* Server name is finally part of the server
settings presets, thanks to Fons Adriaensen for the heads-up
* As
a workaround regarding issues switching jack2's backends, Robin
Gareus sends us yet another D-Bus metho slot: "preset",
(dbus-send --system / org.rncbc.qjackctl.preset string:PRESET).
Thanks again
* Another D-Bus interface slot makes it through
implementation: "quit" (eg. usage: dbus-send --system /
org.rncbc.qjackctl.quit). Besides, there's also these new JACK
session management actions which were being overlooked as well:
"load", "save", "savequit" and
"savetemplate" are also available as D-Bus method slots
*
Make sure that Patchbay socket names are unique when adding or
copying, fixing previous patch by Dominic Sacré
* JACK version
is now being shown on the About box (jack2)
* Slight Connections
widget behavioral change: (dis)connecting a client (from) to one
single port, (dis)connections will be applied in sequence from (to)
all client output ports to (from) as many input ports there are in
below, one by one (satisfying a 5 year old request from Yann Orlarey,
thanks:)
* JACK session support is being introduced
* Ignore
first XRUN occurrence option dropped from statistics
* Initial
widget geometry and visibility persistence logic has been slightly
revised as much to avoid crash failures due to wrong main widget
hidden state
* Double-quotes are now being added to device names
which include blank characters and were rendering invalid all command
line invocation of the classic JACK server (eg. specially due for
Portaudio device names on Windows)
* Transport play (rolling)
status is now being guarded to avoid backfiring from extraneous
transport state changes
* General source tree layout and build
configuration change
* Italian (it) translation added (by Sergio
Atzori)
* Post-shutdown script invocation logic slightly
refactored in attempt to enforce its execution on application quit