VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

kgenus · Last edited by kgenus on Thu Jun 09, 2011 8:54 am; edited 3 times in total

A few months ago I was talking with Anthony Mendez who surprised me when he said he'd installed Ubuntu, one of the distributions of Linux that has been highly accepted by the Linux populace as it is easily one of the most user friendly variants available, supports most of the hardware and is a quick and painless install (your mileage may vary). As expected, using Linux in the studio eventually came up and while I've done so for administrative tasks, never before was I able to get things working properly on account of the audio card I owned – the LynxTWO – basically a $1000 paperweight as far as Linux was concerned, but I've used Linux since 1993 so it should come as no surprise that I'm one of those people who believe the future will always give you everything you want if you're patient and after talking with Anthony I started checking things out.

Apparently the future began showing up last year when Ardour became the base package for the Harrison Mixbus around the same time Avid announced ProTools would be a stand alone package like pretty much everything else that's available under $28k. What is Ardour? Ardour was the initial brain child of one man to create an Open Source DAW for Linux and tons of Linux users around the globe were watching it's development because most of those people were wannabe musicians or in to computer music, yeah, I said it. The cool thing is that while this developer was working on Ardour, he wrote code for Harrison whose consoles have been used on pretty much everything, most notably Michael Jackson's album, “Thriller.” So the Harrison Mixbus is actually one plugin framed around Ardour, it's not just a fancy digital recorder like everything else, it's an audio engine that models a consoles... pretty cool idea and for the $80 it cost, it sounded amazing but one problem – ironically it was for Mac.

Last week I checked back to see what was going on and to my surprise, two changes took place. First, LynxTWO audio drivers were available for Open Sound System (oss). OSS is old, real old. It sounds great, but nobody develops under that architecture any longer. Is it supported? Sure, but don't run out and buy anything because it's supported by OSS … and for that reason, this would probably be moot for most people. Finding a card that has full ALSA support is what you want and all you need to know. Second, Harrison Mixbus is now available on Linux. I was so happy I almost wet myself. “Yeah Baby!! Sca-rew Winblows!!(1)”

Configuring this stuff is pretty simple if you're not squeamish or afraid to make mistakes and while I won't go into this here, I'll say after three (3) years, my LynxTWO card fired up under Linux and Ardour and it sounded just like everything else I've used. I bought the Harrison Mixbus application, installed and HOLY MOLY, I now understand why so many Mac users were buying it … used properly, it sounds like you're recording to a reel-to-reel, not a hard disk and without all the dark buildup on bottom. I'm using it for sessions that don't require phone or ISDN patches, as I'll probably buy another audio card to acquire the routing I need or patch the Mackie 1202VLZ into the new setup to do the same. This is the setup I've been after for quite some time and moving forward I'd be willing to discuss this here with anyone interested. For starters -

Software Installed:
- Ubuntu 11.04 64-bit
- UbuntuStudio (installed via Synaptic Package Manager, also available as a separate distribution)
- OpenSound drivers (**only if you require OSS support)
- Harrison Mixbus - now $219
- Audacity (installed via Synaptic Package Manager)
- CrushFTP - less than $50

Hardware:
- Dual core system of choice
- Audio Card (ALSA Supported Card)
- Mic, preamp, etc.....
- Dual display

Note:
I wanted to start a thread to help document this process for anyone who might be here searching for Linux this information. I'm certain it will be a thread in progress and I would very much appreciate it if we could keep this thread on point.

Thanks,
Kevin

(1) - Always use protection with Windows, you'll catch something.

06/08/2011 - Added current price and dual display
06/09/2011 - Added CrushFTP
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bobsouer · Posted: Mon May 16, 2011 8:47 pm Post subject:

Kevin,

I haven't been using Linux as long as you have, but I'm very interested in these developments! One frustration I have right now is that my M-Audio ProFire 610 is also a black paperweight under Linux (Ubuntu 10.10). I switched to Ubuntu last year after several years with Mandriva because Mandriva didn't have support for the NIC in my Dell workstation.
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Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
ISDN, Source Connect, phone patch

Voxman · Posted: Tue May 17, 2011 1:19 am Post subject:

Really interested in this Mixbus. What is the editing ability like compared to something like say Audition or Twistedwave etc etc. This software is getting such great reviews around especially its anologue sound.

anthonyVO · 14th Avenue Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 1470 Location: NYC

Voxman,

The editing capability in Mixbus is not much different than the DAW it's built on - Ardour. If you'd like to test, install UbuntuStudio (either as the distro or via Synaptic Manager on an existing Ubuntu install) and play with Ardour. Then, if you want the sound that Mixbus gives you, then buy it.

I think you'll find that Ardour (and therefore Mixbus) is very robust and can compete with any proprietary DAW on the market now.

---

Bob,

Have you tried upgrading to Ubuntu 11.04? They've drastically improved audio compatibility and several generic (open-source) drivers are now available that might bring your ProFire back to life. If you decide to upgrade from Ubuntu 10, I'd do a full install (side-by-side/dual-boot) versus going the in-place upgrade route. I had issues when upgrading from 10.10 to 11.04 because of all the mods I had done that were still in place. A clean install fixed it right up and I'm now working in 11.04 with no glitches at all.

-Anthony

kgenus · Posted: Tue May 17, 2011 9:29 am Post subject:

Voxman,

I've always appreciated Cool Edit Pro's simplicity as an editor and believe Adobe made the right choice keeping that particular feature "somewhat" unmolested. Looking at the other offerings, SoundForge, Audacity, etc all appear to have adopted the similar looks and feels and as a result, all these things have become much more user friendly than where we were ten years ago.

In this regard, it's fair to say Ardour is "fundamentally" the same. It supports the same general editing features like shuffling and sliding audio from a grid or sample, slicing, fading, cross-fading, etc -- there's even a build that allows you to use VST plugins (which I have yet to test).

Harrison Mixbus, adds features that should have been the default if you ask me - EQ and compression. So if you've ever worked with a console that had these modules on every channel, you'll immediately understand what you're getting. That's one of the reasons the reviews are coming in positive, the engine has been integrated in a way that doesn't consume all of your CPU, it's a consistent sound across the board as opposed to differing plugins sprawled about the channels and it's a workflow sound engineers used for ages.

I think the real advantage is that Ardour uses the JACK (Jack Audio Connection Kit) framework, which allows for some interesting setups. This video is for "Patchage" - a program that allows you to patch other sound applications into an audio chain with a few mouse clicks. So in terms of editing, I can see an entirely different way of processing audio on the horizon. For producers, imagine popping in an Open Source Dorrough Meter or an LM100.

One feature I don't like about this Mixbus and Ardour is that it does not export MP3 and that's due to licensing issues, so you'll have to convert your PCM flavored file to MP3 or other format... and there's command line converters for everything. Command line, yes, command line. Reminds me of the time someone asked me where they could the "Command Line" program....

Anyway, you get the idea... you'll have more challenges learning the new a Hobo Tounge

than the actual editing, but I'm talking 2-3 hours tops... not much to worry over.

Kevin
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kgenus · Posted: Tue May 17, 2011 11:15 am Post subject:

Bob,

Be frustrated no mas! Someone posted the steps to get his ProFire 610 working on the M-Audio Forums and it's all laid out for you, step by step.

However, since you're using Ubuntu, if you install UbuntuStudio (it's the Ubuntu equivalent of Adobe CS, lolz) via the Synaptic Package Manager, everything this guy is talking about should be taken care of under jack2.

Kevin
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Genus

bobsouer · Posted: Tue May 17, 2011 11:52 am Post subject:

Kevin,

Thank you. UbuntuStudio is installing as I type this reply. I'll post again with my findings, later.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
ISDN, Source Connect, phone patch

kgenus · Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 5:20 pm Post subject: MicPort Port Pro + Linux

After hearing the audio examples Geroge Whittam posted in Steve Knight's thread, "New mic pre on the way...." I talked with George and ordered a Mic Port Pro which arrived today. Without fail, the Mic Port Pro worked out of the gate using JACK and ALSA (Ubuntu 11.04 with UbuntuStudio).

Booyah!

Kevin
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Bruce · Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 7:10 am Post subject:

Hey guys....I have that Google toolbar on my browser, and one of the features is the nifty "Translate" button. Click on it and it will figure out what language is used in the site you're visiting and translate it into English for you. I've tried it a couple of times now on this thread with no luck.

But as I believe your people say, May Ubuntu smile upon your Mixibus.

B
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I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

kgenus · Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 7:24 pm Post subject:

Here's the translation....

Ubuntu - What people say when they can login to their computer and begin working 5-10 seconds after it starts the boot process.

Ubuntu.
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kgenus · Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 5:06 pm Post subject: Mixbus 2.0

Harrison Mixbus 2.0 just came out, new price is $219.

Mixbus 2.0 Features
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allensco · Posted: Sat May 28, 2011 3:03 pm Post subject:

This IS excellent news Kevin! As a daily user of Ubuntu, I would be very happy to not have to boot into Winduhs to do my audio work!

Also, just as a side note, I prefer to stay with the LTS versions for stability and am currently using 10.04.2 LTS for my daily chores.

After reading this, I will most certainly give Ardour a try. I have tried Audacity and it's okay..but not what I wanted. I'll be checking into this more and will see if the Echo Mia/Midi card I have is supported.

Thanks for the info!

A~

anthonyVO · 14th Avenue Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 1470 Location: NYC

Allen,

Are you using Ubuntu for work? I thought of going the Long-Term Support version as well, but - after a few bumps - I have v11 running well.

I'm waiting for my MicPort Pro (after hearing George's audio samples in the preamp thread, I felt it good enough to at least audition on the road if not finish with) and will be testing a mobile setup with my Dell Mini9 running Ubuntu. If it works, that will be the cheapest and smallest solution I've thought of so far (the mini9 can be had for b/w $150-200 nowadays.)

-Anthony

kgenus · Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 9:06 am Post subject: Dual Monitors and the X Server

Dual displays on Linux is pretty easy to set up, plug and play, done. However, if your video card has CRT and DVI ports for your monitors, the X11 server (the daemon that creates the desktop) will use the CRT as the primary display. The primary display is where, among other things, the actual login prompt is presented. In the past there was a check box you could click, not the case with Ubuntu 11.04. To change this behaviour, you need to add the following line to the X11 configuration file (/etc/X11/xorg.conf) in the first section labeled 'Section "Screen"' -

Option "UseDisplayDevice" "DFP"

Restart the X server or reboot the computer and you should have the behaviour you're after.
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kgenus · Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 9:58 am Post subject: CrushFTP FTP Server by Ben Spink

I've written about this server in the past as it's the software I use for clients to access session audio. It's Java based, runs on Linux, Windows and Mac, supports multiple connection methods and supplies a beautiful web interface that completely integrates into your site as if it was part of the design.

Installing CrushFTP in Linux is very easy and takes about 5 minutes. Here's what you need to do:

*Use Synaptic Package Manager to Install the Java JRE.

*Unzip CrushFTP.zip to /opt/CrushFTP5_PC. You'll need to modify the CRUSH_DIR value in crushftp_init.sh to reflect the directory where you've installed CrushFTP (in this case /opt/CrushFTP5_PC).

*Set crushftp_init.sh to an executable: sudo chmod +x /opt/CrushFTP5_PC/crushftp_init.sh

*link /etc/init.d/crushftp to /opt/CrushFTP5_PC/crushftp_init.sh: sudo link -s /opt/CrushFTP5_PC/crushftp_init.sh /etc/init.d/crushftp

*Create your admin user: java -jar CrushFTP.jar -a "remoteadmin" "mypassword"

*Set CrushFTP to start automagically: sudo update-rc.d crushftp defaults

*Start it up: sudo service crushftp start

Now you should be able to open a browser and go to http://localhost or https://localhost and login to CrushFTP. Under Linux with a 7200rpm hard drive, you can easily run this FTP server from the machine on which you record without fail. I won't get into the specifics, but the file system Linux uses is, simply put, much more efficient. So while you're on to your next project, your client can quickly login and download their files.
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