Greetings from Latvia + a noob question

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Lauriso
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Greetings from Latvia + a noob question

Post by Lauriso »

Hiya all!

I'm intalling KXStudio to use the computer as a MIDI sequencer for my physical keyboard. Basically, I just want to be able to play it (I have a good Firewire soundcard). What software would you recommend to make it work?
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Michael Willis
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Re: Greetings from Latvia + a noob question

Post by Michael Willis »

Lauriso wrote:What software would you recommend to make it work?
There are many choices, it depends on what you want to do: Ardour, Muse, MuseScore, Qtractor, Rosegarden.
Jack Winter
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Re: Greetings from Latvia + a noob question

Post by Jack Winter »

Don't forget Reaper :twisted:
Reaper/KDE/Archlinux. i7-2600k/16GB + i7-4700HQ/16GB, RME Multiface/Babyface, Behringer X32, WA273-EQ, 2 x WA-412, ADL-600, Tegeler TRC, etc 8) For REAPER on Linux information: https://wiki.cockos.com/wiki/index.php/REAPER_for_Linux
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Re: Greetings from Latvia + a noob question

Post by noedig »

Lauriso wrote:Basically, I just want to be able to play it
To just be able to make some noise, here are some considerations. (Not sure how much you know about Linux Audio, JACK, etc, so I'll note some of the basics):

Firstly, when you connect your MIDI device to your PC, it will show up as an ALSA MIDI device. You will see this in QJackCtl, in the Connections window when clicking on Connect.
Some programs use ALSA MIDI directly. Other programs only use JACK MIDI, in which case you need to bridge the MIDI from ALSA to JACK. This might be set up already in your installation. If not, Cadence can help you achieve this via a GUI. Otherwise you can run a2jmidid -ue from a command-line.

To make noise, you can choose between several synths, either stand-alone or as plugins hosted in a plugin host. Most synths provide both options.
If you use the programs stand-alone, you will have to connect your MIDI keyboard to each program using QJackCtl.
Using a plugin host is often easier, as a whole bunch of plugins can be connected and saved together as one project.

Carla is a good plugin host.
Alternatively you can use general DAWs as plugin hosts as well, like Ardour, QTractor, etc.

Some synths to try out (as plugins under Carla, or as stand-alone) are Helm, Zynaddsubfx, Calf Organ, and many more. Some can be found here: http://linuxsynths.com/

If you want to play sampled instruments rather than synths, popular options are SFZ instruments and SF2 Soundfonts. There are many free ones on the internet, some sources are http://www.bandshed.net/sounds/sfz/ and https://musical-artifacts.com/.
Fluidsynth is mainly used to play SF2. Calf fluidsynth can do this as a plugin.
LinuxSampler is mainly used to play SFZ. You can bypass some of the complexity by loading SFZ files directly in Carla.
Lauriso
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Re: Greetings from Latvia + a noob question

Post by Lauriso »

Many thanks for your responses! :)
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