Thinking of moving to 64 Studio from Ubuntu...also considering JackLab

  • jukingeo
Posted: Wed, 07/02/2008 - 14:03
Hello all, I just signed up to the 64 studio forum this morning because I am looking around at other distributions to record audio with besides Ubuntu Studio. Why am I considering the switch? Well, initially it started with a sound card issue over in Ubuntu Studio and as it turned out the card wasn't supported in Ubuntu. So I started to look around for another distribution. Sadly though, I found out my sound card really isn't supported that well in Linux in general. So more than likely I am going to get a different audio card. At any rate, I been finding that there are other problems with the current version of Ubuntu (8.04) and I wanted to see what other people thought. Surprisingly there are a good number of people into audio recording that have switched from Ubuntu Studio. In my research I narrowed down my choices to two distributions: JackLab and 64 Studio. I got the full spiel on JackLab, but I am curious as to what the 64 Studio people have to say about it. Further more I am interested in responses from those who have used all three distributions and which they feel is the best or what made 64 Studio the final choice. Overall I do not know too much about 64 Studio, but on the surface it does very much look comparable to JackLab. However, JackLab is OpenSuSE (Red Hat) based. 64Studio is Debian based, like Ubuntu. So right there one mark goes to 64Studio as I would be working in a familiar environment and more then likely the learning curve is easier. However, JackLab seems to come completely set up and ready to go with just about any driver I would need. Just the only issue is that a reset of the video driver is necessary. However, because of this ease of set up and that it recognizes most hardware, JackLab is a pretty big program. So if you were a past JackLab user and are now using 64 Studio, I would like to know why the switch. Ok, now to get you all up to speed with me, this is what I would like to do in Linux: 1) Audio and Video editing. I do like to work with various audio recording software (DAWs and Virtual synths). I also like to work with DJ mixing programs. I found much love in a Windows program called Ableton Live. So naturally I would like to find a Linux replacement for that. I was told that probably with several programs I could attain that level. I am new to video editing, but with two baby boys, there is quite a bit of video footage that I would like to make into a DVD movie. I was going to check out both Open Movie Editor and Cinelerra for video editing purposes in Linux. 2) GAMES GAMES GAMES! Yup, I am a gamer. However, I do know that for the latest and greatest, it is still going to be Windows XP for me. But I do like to play a lot of old DOS games and old console games as well. I have seen much of my needs being met in Linux with the various console emulators out there. Also Linux has many native games on-line to choose from...so I think I am good here. 3) Standard housekeeping (office) applications: Obviously I want to stay connected, so I am going to need to be able to surf the web, get emails and make documents. Thusfar this need was taken care of in Ubuntu and I would be hoping 64Studio can do the same. While I know that I will not be able to do EVERYTHING in Linux...I would like to gradually make the switch and would like to spend most of my time in it. Finally, I am a very big fan of organ music and organ emulators. I fell in love with a program called B4 by Native Instruments and I would like to be able to use that program here. But lately I have noticed that many more organ emulators have come on line ranging from the Hammond organs all the way up to theatre and pipe organs. I have been very fond of the Miditzer website (Wurlitzer organ emulator) and I do eventually would like to convert an old organ console into a fully computer based emulator. I already have noticed that Linux does have a similar counterpart to Miditzer and that is JOrgan. But I am curious to learn about other programs and other soft synths that are out there. I am particularly interested in sample based or Soundfont synths. So there you have it. I am curious to hear all opinions and views on your take on Ubuntu Studio v.s. JackLab v.s. 64Studio. Thank you for your input. Geo
‹ Just switched to 64 studio on my new lappy... Not Entirely Clear On Equalization ›

Studio variations.

  • skullnotions
  • 09/29/07
  • Wed, 07/23/2008 - 17:22
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Hi Geo, 70% of my computer time is spent on 64studio. 30% is shared between JackLab and UbuntuStudio. I multiboot all three. Your remarks about support are all spot on, the forums are all very different. Don't forget 64studio is based on Debian so you can check out their forum also. I wouldn't like to choose one distro over the others because they all vary. The Studio I use is 64studio, The 30% shared on the others is mainly taken up with upgrades and checking out other aspects of GNU/Linux. I have installed kde4 on JackLab and have followed its development. The default E17 Desktop is a work of art in itself. UbuntuStudio has always been on my computer also, I love the theme.. Also the fact it is closer to testing/unstable. Comparing the three is a great way to keep up with Driver/Software development. 64studio will hit version 3.0 this year. If history is anything to go by it will take some beating. Cheers! dave

Hello guys, Thank you for

  • jukingeo
  • 07/02/08
  • Wed, 07/23/2008 - 15:31
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Hello guys, Thank you for the comments. I did try out Aeolus and it does sound great, but the problem is that it is a 'fixed' system. I cannot change the sounds nor do I have access to changing the stops. So right off the bat this is too limiting for me. I instead settled in on the JOrgan project in which everything is customizable and it can even run through Jack. All the stops are completely customizable and can be controls through REAL stops on a REAL organ console. So I am sold on JOrgan as of now. But getting back to the topic. I was really looking for input from those who have used JackLab and can compare it to using 64Studio. I will say that coming from an Ubuntu background 64Studio would already have an edge because it is Debian based. JackLab is OpenSuSE/Red Hat. So that would mean more of a learning curve there. However, I do have to chalk one up for JackLab because it is supposedly plug -n- play and it comes set up with WineAsio for Windows applications. So this is appealing to me. BUT if 64Studio also has this capability, then that would seal of the deal for JackLab and I will install 64Studio instead. I do have another question in regards to the 64Studio side. The support here is definitely much slower than the Ubuntu forum. That is a understandable considering that Ubuntu is the favored Linux distro as of now. BUT being Debian based, would much of the support that applies to Ubuntu work for 64Studio? If so, then that would pretty much seal the deal. But if 64Studio doesn't come with WineAsio, can it easily be set up? That information would help greatly in my decision because as of now I am still very much on the fence about going to either side. The thing that I just DON'T like about JackLab is that the forum seems dead over there. Very little action. Yet, JackLab comes as a very highly regarded Linux Distribution. I hear more about JackLab than 64Studio. Yet there seems to be more action here. Go figga! Geo

organ synths

  • stevea
  • 06/25/07
  • Thu, 07/03/2008 - 13:44
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Hi, Just to add to synthgeek's feedback: Aeolus sounds absolutely fantastic and is difficult to differentiate from a genuine pipe organ - I use it for rehearsal on a regular basis. There is an FAQ on this website to give initial help. Bristol runs OK on 64studio, but installation is sometimes not straightforward because the package is under constant development. Again there is an FAQ which gives the basic procedure to (hopefully) get it compiled. Beatrix is another package worth looking at. It is a rather good hammond B3 emulation - it is not GPL so can't be redistributed but the sourcecode is free to download. I had no great difficulty getting it compiled and running on 64studio - the only minor issue is that the synth is locked at 22050 rate so you will need a suitable soundcard. Check out the sample sounds on the Beatrix page. Beatrix is here..... http://people.dsv.su.se/~fk/beatrix_home.html s~

64 studio comes with Aeolus

  • synthgeek
  • 05/11/08
  • Thu, 07/03/2008 - 13:30
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64 studio comes with Aeolus pipe organ simulator, which is quite realistic in terms of operation and sound. Bristol synths looks like it might have a good hammond simulation, but i've not tried it due to installation difficulties. I've not tried Jacklab or Ubuntu Studio so I cant offer any comparison. I chose 64 studio when I found out that one of the developers of Agnula is part of the development team. For a while I ran 64 studio on my best computer and only used it for soft synths (with the idea that i'd eventually get around to doing some multitracking). Now I need more power for my everyday work but I think that running mysql and apache and day to day work is not really compatible with running soft synths, so I will be creating a dual boot of 64 studio and another distro. To contrast all this computer wizardry, I had a go on a Roland Fantom at my local pub last night, had a nice electric piano sound (with some nice sounding distortion). I hadn't really gone for "bread and butter" sounds before but this was really expressive and playable and sounded good. What I wonder is: why are there no new "classic sounds"?