And i'll leave the flame suit in the locker as well, but i will
say i don't think Pulse, which is a...domestic sound server, should be
auto installed in what i consider a 'craftsman's' OS like Ubuntustudio.
However some apps we use aren't built with Jack, and i can see
why, given the continuity that Ubuntu seeks to maintain, pulse gets
a viewing. But i maintain my view that Jack is a much better end result
for a recording/graphic/mixing environment.
That said, i faced the same situation as you when i graduated
from Gutsy to Hardy, and i decided at the time to install a barebones
setup with Hardy, and install as much as i could from up to date
source, for precisely the reason you gave, of the multiple app
dependencies that, when 1 app was removed, seemed to take a shedload of
others with it.
So i share the following based on my own modest experience:
UbuntuStudio, like it's counterparts in the Ubuntu family, is
based on stability, hence the lag in updates. Ubuntu isn't on its own
with this, and it's worth remembering here that the UB team is a small
one, and they cover a lot of ground maintaining the Ubuntu standard,
for our benefit. We get good value as users, and we have the choice as
to installation direction, either in Deb packages, or removing a
handful of apps, and patiently reinstalling them from source, taking
the chance that we'll be able to without too much angst. There are
exceptions, Musescore being an obvious example, where user enthusiasm
drove a fairly significant update, quickly. (Thanks Toby for doing
this.)
So I respectfully suggest here that you take a step back, grab a
decent nip of cognac, and plan ahead.
I wrote a list of apps that i use regularly based on experiments
in workflow that i conducted over some period of time.
After the list was done, and i'd collected all the source, SVN,
CVS, Waf, and Git addresses, i then installed Hardy UbStudio,
selecting NONE of the software install options for sound or graphic
during the install process.
The first thing i did when the install was finished, was remove
pulse, through Synaptic.
As i hadn't installed a shedload of apps, the 'damage' was
minimal, and didn't pull much back out at all. I then scoured the bin,
lib, share, and include directories for any vestiges of pulse, that may
have got left behind in some obscure dependency requirement.
I then updated Alsa, to a later build, installing only those
modules i wanted.
Then Jack.
Then LAD/Ingen/Patchage, and LASH, including all the up to date
libs and lib dev files from both ubstudio repos, and online.
(libsoundfile being a good example here.)
That's the sound server, and it's environment done, including
any GUI's required.
This a good place to check progress, and make sure the framework
is sound, and reliable. (Good foundations, right?)
After that it was LV2 and ladspa plugs.
Then the main apps like Linuxsampler, Rosegarden, Ardour, Jconv,
Aeolus, and so on, carefully reading install instructions, and taking
note of any dependencies required, and importantly, their version
numbers.
I guess you could say this is a fairly methodical approach, but
it's born out of clumsy user experience on my part, as i learnt to plan
ahead, and not go through 1 step forward, and 2 sideways, trying to
match dependencies, and not lose a handful of apps in the process. I
got the message eventually.
It's obvious to say this isn't windows, or simple out of the box
stuff, but the reward for me was a lean, fast, powerful system, with
ONLY the apps i wanted, and no bloat. (Within my very limited linux
perception of what constitutes bloat.)
You might well be happy with installing everything, and
shuffling back and forth, and that's certainly more than suitable for
those who like this approach. But after a lot of experiments, and
associated mistakes, i finally get the wisdom of the modular mindset of
linux, and the high percentage of satisfaction that comes with that.
Henry, i have no idea of your linux skill level, or what you
want out of your setup, so i only offer a personal experience of what
works for me. I wouldn't go back to a 'install the lot then up date'
approach, as the plan ahead and patiently install method, gives me a
better result, with good stability, and the advantage of all those
extra tools clever devs are building, and have done so in the last 6
months or so.
I can't offer anything for your soundcard, as i'm using
something else, but a trip to the ALSA site, and a browse in their
soundcard matrix, may turn up something in changelogs that may give a
clue to the current state of your particular module.
So as far as Pulse goes, and only as my experience, i pulled it
all out, and then followed Alsa and Jack instructions to setup a
dedicated, or 'craftsman's' sound server.
I find it easy now i know a little bit, and Jack's no bother at
all. In my humble opinion, it smacks anything else i've ever used for
ease of use, and i used to run 5 boxes, running the nightmare that was
multiple Gigastudio instances, just to achieve the same result for 1
linux box, and the mighty Linuxsampler.
Match that with Rosegarden, Ardour, Ingen, Aeolus and Jconv, and
the extra effort to install up to date packages from source, in a
'craftsman's' build, is more than worth it.
I've certainly rambled on here, but i'm enthusiastic about this
stuff, because, with a plan, and a source based install and maintenance
approach, it gives much greater end results, imho.
I wish you luck and success, whichever path you take.
Alex.
On Sun, Feb 22, 2009 at 1:51 AM, Henry W.
Peters
<hwpet...@jamadots.com>
wrote:
I am having troubles with my
Ubuntu Studio 8.10:
- It came with Ardour ver. 2.5, aside from sound input problems
(which I shall try to briefly address below), that version gave (&
now again, gives) me problems. I believe I need to uninstall
the earlier version to reinstall 2.7.1, is this correct...
& if so, I do not have the source folder to do a 'make uninstall'
command, & the synaptic package manager wants to take out
'ubuntustudio sound' if I go this route. Is Ardour 2.7.1 even
compatible with Studio 8.10, & if it is, I am wondering why
was it not included in this system upgrade, including the
latest version of jack & qjackctl? What to do?
- There was, a while back, some discussion regarding Pulse
audio (& possibly OSS), I do not wish to reignite that
discussion (I think I do not wish to use them), but I do think
some one mentioned taking Pulse Audio out (possible conflict w/
Alsa???). Is there some way to do this (or even determine if this might
have some conflict with my sound card/alsa setup (including OSS?)? My
sound card is MiaMidi (Echo Corp., manufactured).
- The sound preferences control panel also has a very confusing
array of options... which I may need to get back on, that is if the
possible solutions mentioned to the above are not resolving my no sound
input problem... (by the way, the sound input I am trying to connect from
(I say from, because I get sound out, just fine) is a
s/pdif from my Yamaha 01v digital mixer. & I do get
internal sound to run some radio/sound players, the echomixer does seem
to control the digital output of the Yamaha 01v, but no sound to the
above mentioned programs (& also, not exclusive to Ardour) etc.,
but cd players are another matter, or should I say, puzzle for me at
the moment; first things first).
Please feel free to ask for any clarifications (I have been trying my
best since my foray to Ubuntu, going on a year now to resolve with out
adding to the oft heard battle cry: "I can't get no sound), etc. Any
help would be, as usual, most appreciated.
Henry
