Need some help getting my interface set up

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mark swanson
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Need some help getting my interface set up

Post by mark swanson »

Ok, I am a total newbie to Ubuntu Studio, I have it set up and running well, I am trying to get it to show my interface, and get it set up right. It seems quite daunting to me! I have two interfaces to use here, the M-Audio Fast Track Ultra and the simpler M-track. I have been working mainly with the Fast Track Ultra (FTU). My computer was recognizing it, but after shutting down and rebooting, now it can't find it at all. I must have messed something up.
I found a webpage that helped quite a bit, http://heikki.ketoharju.info/2013/03/li ... rackultra/ and I was able to get into Alsamixer and make the changes suggested there...but after a save a reboot now the computer doesn't see it.
There is a script mentioned on that page, I tried to run it and got errors "invalid device number" or some such thing.
It seems I am over my head, and the fact that I am so new to Linux and all of that doesn't help. It looks like I need to be helped along here, anyone want to jump in? Thanks in advance. I don't think I am as dumb as I sound.
I am reading everything I can find about it and trying things when I think I understand what to do but it sure would be nice if I had something that could educate me about Jack, Pulse Audio, Cadence and everything that seems to be confusing me right now! it seems daunting.
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thetotalchaos
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Re: Need some help getting my interface set up

Post by thetotalchaos »

Ubuntu Studio has out-of-the-box audio configurations. So if you don't know what you are doing, there is a little to no point to configure it any further. There is a real possibility to make things worse. Cadence is not an official part of Ubuntu Studio. Instead US rely on the classic Qjackctl. Both apps are doing more or less the same thing, so my suggestion is to keep Cadence and KXStudio staff out, to avoid a possible mess.
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Pablo
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Re: Need some help getting my interface set up

Post by Pablo »

Hi,

The driver of the audio interface, the so-called "alsa driver" is included in the linux kernel. To make sure that your card is recognised at low level, type in a terminal the following informative command:

cat /proc/asound/cards

For each recognized card, you should see a number, then the interface's short name between square brackets and then a description. If your card is there it is a good start. If your card is not there, try plugging and unplugging it and see if there is some error message in the last lines of the output of "dmesg" command.

With alsamixer you can access some controls but those are different for different audio cards. Not owing a m-audio Ultra, I can't test your specific case.

The general sound settings is a graphical interface to pulseaudio, which in turn is the default audio server. Pulseaudio is not so good for low-latency audio and many audio production oriented programs use Jack. Jack only makes sense when you want to use "jack-aware" software which is not the case for typical use such as listening to music, browse the net and such. In any case, you can use both at the same time by telling pulseaudio (again, via general sound settings) to use the "jack-sink" once jack is up and running.

So, to diagnose the problem, I suggest:
1) First, make sure that the audio card is recognised by the linux kernel.
2) Try to make it work with pulseaudio, via sound settings.
3) Try to make it work with jack, via qjackctl or Cadence.

Edit: I agree with thetotalchaos that Cadence is a KXstudio tool that, at this point, will bring more confusion than solutions. You could try Cadence or KXstudio later, when you understand a little more about audio in linux

Edit, again: To understand and configure jack, this is a must read:

http://libremusicproduction.com/article ... arted-jack
mark swanson
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Re: Need some help getting my interface set up

Post by mark swanson »

Hi, and thank you both!
Well, using the commands you suggested, my computer does not list my interface. It isn't seeing it. So I am stuck there. thanks for the link too, I did read that as i had found it when I was doing my own research. i followed the steps to set up JACK and I got to the end where Step 7 says to click the "Start" button, and it was greyed out and i could not start JACK.
Then I ran the steps listed in the link I posted in my first message. The author there talks about a script that is supposed to st everything up, and I ran that...I got a bunch of errors saying 'invalid device number" or some such.
I don't think I messed up my computer, that is about all I did...I did download and install all the software from KXStudio. I followed an online tutorial for that...I was able to see my interface until I ran that script.
And so, here is the last part of what the Terminal shows me after the dmesg command.... Thanks, I could send the whole thing as well as the script i ran if someone who knows more than I can help me out!
-------------------------
[ 161.323036] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 161.327044] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 172.036031] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 179.588050] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 179.598043] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 182.469578] CE: hpet increased min_delta_ns to 11521 nsec
[ 182.469717] CE: hpet increased min_delta_ns to 17281 nsec
[ 182.469875] CE: hpet increased min_delta_ns to 25921 nsec
[ 221.081033] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 221.380075] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 223.379028] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 227.380157] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 235.380065] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 251.381155] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 261.714265] perf: interrupt took too long (2522 > 2500), lowering kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 79000
[ 378.249908] usb 4-4: USB disconnect, device number 3
[ 384.276191] usb 3-4: new low-speed USB device number 2 using ohci-pci
[ 384.475367] usb 3-4: New USB device found, idVendor=413c, idProduct=2005
[ 384.475372] usb 3-4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[ 384.475375] usb 3-4: Product: DELL USB Keyboard
[ 384.475378] usb 3-4: Manufacturer: DELL
[ 384.486198] input: DELL DELL USB Keyboard as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:04.0/usb3/3-4/3-4:1.0/0003:413C:2005.0006/input/input13
[ 384.538694] hid-generic 0003:413C:2005.0006: input,hidraw1: USB HID v1.10 Keyboard [DELL DELL USB Keyboard] on usb-0000:00:04.0-4/input0
[ 465.043098] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 465.047162] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 465.053159] brcmsmac bcma0:1: START: tid 1 is not agg'able
[ 1009.883349] perf: interrupt took too long (3173 > 3152), lowering kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 63000
mark swanson
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Re: Need some help getting my interface set up

Post by mark swanson »

By the way, you can see there it says "device #3 disconnected, and my interface would be #3.
mark swanson
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Re: Need some help getting my interface set up

Post by mark swanson »

Another update.... I have a different interface, the simpler M-Audio M-Track. It works just fine. Pretty much plug and play.... But it won't play audio from sources in my browser, but my DAW sees it. But nothing from the fast Track Ultra, I messed something up, and I suspect that script.
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Re: Need some help getting my interface set up

Post by fraslo »

Hi,

please see here: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=18201#p90522

Frank
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Re: Need some help getting my interface set up

Post by Pablo »

Then I ran the steps listed in the link I posted in my first message. The author there talks about a script that is supposed to st everything up, and I ran that...I got a bunch of errors saying 'invalid device number" or some such.
I see the script uses amixer which is a text only version of alsamixer. So the real problem, and also the reason why the script doesn't work, is that linux has not recognised your Ultra interface. I mean, if it doesn't appear in /proc/asound/cards then amixer, alsamixer, pulseaudio, jack ... are useless because the problem is at the hardware level or the kernel level.

Maybe try pluging it in another USB plug.
I have a different interface, the simpler M-Audio M-Track. It works just fine. Pretty much plug and play.... But it won't play audio from sources in my browser, but my DAW sees it.

As frasio suggests, you need to have installed pulseaudio-module-jack (probably you have it already but trying "sudo apt install pulseaudio-module-jack" won't hurt) AND tell pulseaudio, via desktop sound settings, to use the Jack sink.
mark swanson
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Re: Need some help getting my interface set up

Post by mark swanson »

I got my system to see my interface now. I plugged it back into my working windows system and sent it a reset command and now Linux can see it. At any rate, it shows up now when I check my devices, and it'll play certain things, but my DAW cannot see it and gives me a "device not found- no channels" message.
I do have pulse audio installed, and jack sink. And when I look at my system in Patchage I can see my interface there with nothing connected to it. I ran QjackCtl and that seems to be set up but I am at a loss about how to connect my interface to everything else. Sorry that I am such a newbie here, but your help is so valuable.
I able to do the steps in alsamixer that Heikki suggests, and running alsamixer now shows the changes I made. But running that script doesn't seem to do anything but confuse my system.
AND tell pulseaudio, via desktop sound settings, to use the Jack sink.
And I cannot figure out how to do that, Pablo!
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Re: Need some help getting my interface set up

Post by fraslo »

Hi,

you have to virtually connect your hard- and software devices with qjackctl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRpDbe5hQJE

Open the sound settings from Ubuntu Studio to switch to the jack sink module.

Frank
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Re: Need some help getting my interface set up

Post by mark swanson »

Thanks, i am heading to that link now. Meanwhile, this screenshot may help you see what i have going on.
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Pablo
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Re: Need some help getting my interface set up

Post by Pablo »

mmm, Ubuntustudio uses XFCE as a desktop environment. Sorry, I use another one, and the man who explains in youtube is using another one... Somewhere in multimedia menu? Some ubuntustudio user may help here. In the meantime, you can install "pavucontrol" (pulseaudio volume control):

sudo apt install pavucontrol

Use pavucontrol to redirect the sound of desktop applications (i.e. those that use the pulseaudio sound server such as the browser) to the jack sink.

That screenshot of patchage seems right to me. Pulseaudio jack sink is installed and connected to "system" playbacks. "system" means the audio card that jack is using (whichever you selected as the interface in qjackctl settings).
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Re: Need some help getting my interface set up

Post by Pablo »

And when I look at my system in Patchage I can see my interface there with nothing connected to it. I ran QjackCtl and that seems to be set up but I am at a loss about how to connect my interface to everything else. Sorry that I am such a newbie here, but your help is so valuable.
Now, I think I understand your confusion.

1) Patchage's green ports and virtual cables are (jack) AUDIO ports. You won't see any programs there that are not jack-aware, you won't see the browser or the movie player and such. However, you have the pulseaudio jack sink so you can get sound from those (provided you tell pulseaudio to output to the jack sink, as explained above).

2) Patchage's violet ports and virtual cables are (alsa) MIDI ports. The m-audio Ultra is not only an audio interface but also a MIDI interface. I don't think you are worried about midi at this point, so just forget the violet by the time being.

When you launch a DAW that is jack-aware, you will see its jack AUDIO ports both in patchage in green and in the connection window of qjackctl, audio tab. You can use any of them to make JACK AUDIO connections.
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Re: Need some help getting my interface set up

Post by mark swanson »

Thanks, it's becoming clearer...i am keeping at it, and having some success! I have my interface working with my DAW now! But still isn't just right. I have no panning available, everything seems to be in a mono setting. JACK is working, here is my connection window...does this look right?
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Pablo
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Re: Need some help getting my interface set up

Post by Pablo »

Hi again, glad you're making progress!

Jack is about real time audio and interconnectability between programs and the audio interface. Your DAW should provide the panning and channel configuration.

For example, if you record a guitar the source is mono so connecting to a single audio port that corresponds to a mono track in your DAW makes sense. Then your DAW makes the panning to send the signal to ports juce_jack_out1 and juce_jack_out_2, which in turn are connected to system; playback_1 and 2. In other words, all the ports in the jack audio connections are mono.

If you want to record your guitar to a stereo track whose ins are juce_jack_in_1 and juce_jack_in_2, you should connect system: capture_1 to both juce_jack_in_1 and juce_jack_in_2. That's supposing system_capture_1 corresponds to the first analog input of your audio interface in which you plugged a guitar.

But really, I didn't know about jack_juce and I don't have an m-audio Ultra.

EDIT: I suppose you can make jack audio connections within your DAW. qjackctl and patchage should reflect those connections. Or you can use any of them to make the connections. Try and see
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