Hi Tony, thanks for your detailed thoughts...
>You might need to consider having more than one processor onboard
>(custom design...). As soon as you start talking about a software
>synthesizer
>and low latency audio, I start thinking about one or more DSPs.
not necessarily - low latency can be achieved under Linux on either x86 or
PPC using certain kernel patches as I've learned on the linux-audio-dev
mailing list. They're optimistic that these patches will make their way
into the next kernel (2.5. or whatever)
>Is there
>a need to run Linux, or are other approaches an option?
ACTUALLY, I'm not THAT keen to get into Linux really.
In fact, I do have a design that would allow me to implement a soft synth
without a major OS quite nicely, and I have even managed to port the trusty
old Csound to it.
Oh yes, maybe I forgot to say that I want to run a higher level music
language on my box. Candidates being MAX/msp, pd, jMAX, SuperCollider,
Csound, OSW,...
(Of course some of them are not open source, so that would require dealing
with the owner of the software. And one hasn't been released yet...)
These languages and others have allowed musicians to get beyond the
limitations of stock hard- and software synthesizers, even beyond modular
designs like Generator. By far.
It is this flexibility that I want to bring to an integrated design.
So why consider Linux now ?
a. it scales better. As faster processors become available I don't have to
revise my own board
b. ports are easier, either when updates of above languages become
available, or for completely new applications. A plugin architecure exists
which makes adding new sounds and effects easier.
>You indicate
>that the standard peripherals such as keyboard and monitor are not
>neccesary.
yes, well, it'd be nice to connect them while developing, but I don't want
them during perfomance
>Midi does not seem appealing to you.
INDEED
>An onboard DSP
>should work well for the synthesizer and even audio processing. Most
>any embedded controller could handle the type of I/O you desire.
I guess it's already implied above, but I don't want to develop nor
maintain code for neither some Sharc DSP nor Motorola controller or
equivalents.
>A web search should yield a number of DIY projects either being discussed
>or even offered as some form of kit that do much of what you are talking
>about.
>Maybe one of these could serve as a starting point.
search results for 'linux' and 'embedded' are a bit overwhelming as well as
the link lists on the main relevant pages. I was hoping to get some
recommendations for particular boards, maybe to even find someone who has
already done something like I had in mind.
well, guess I have to continue my research.....
thanks again,
Sukandar
sukandar kartadinata - www.glui.de - technology for musicians & artists
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