Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2016 10:42:51 +0200 From: Ralf Mardorf <ralf.mardorf@rocketmail.com> To: freebsd-multimedia@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Midi and Music Composition on FreeBSD Message-ID: <20161003104251.15edd955@archlinux.localdomain> In-Reply-To: <20161003181205.S6806@sola.nimnet.asn.au> References: <CALM2mEk8UV_0fQOO8Pm3tsRX91x1bCDisFT6sx=_uhTWkhqu8Q@mail.gmail.com> <20161002165348.0600b4d3@archlinux.localdomain> <20161003181205.S6806@sola.nimnet.asn.au>
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On Mon, 3 Oct 2016 18:23:31 +1100 (EST), Ian Smith wrote: >Seems you're quite often trying to steer people towards using linux >instead .. Yes, but only in regards to music. CNC machines might be affected, too, but I'm not a CNC user. One reason for his is "hard real-time" for audio, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_operating_system_kernels#Featur= e_overview . In regards to MIDI "hard"-real-time anyway isn't granted for a PC what ever OS you are using, since it requires direct access to the ports, as we had programming Assembler on old non-multi-task computers, such as the C64. However, some people have good look and their PC provides good MIDI abilities. Another reason are the missing mixers for prosumer and professional sound cards. Already the Linux version of totalmix, named hdspmixer, is completely outdated, but at least it works, to e.g. make usage of latency free hardware monitoring. There are several mixers, such as the envy24 mixers, too. Those mixers are part of ALSA. Something like hdspmixer, https://ccrma.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/user/nando/hdspmixer.png , can't be replaced by software mixers, since it enables all the possible hardware routing, including latency free hardware monitoring. If somebody has got a question in regards to e.g. firefox, you might see that I try to help solving a problem and perhaps post Linux output, because music is my domain, I'm usually not booted to FreeBSD and it's also not a maintained install, for the very same reason, but I try not to steer away a firefox user from FreeBSD. Anyway, is somebody is able to help the OP to use FreeBSD for the mentioned needs, I welcome it and I'll care a lot about such information myself, but Linux already isn't that easy to use for audio, while if for sure has got the better infrastructure for this purpose. The OP's needs using a simple sequencer and a virtual synth make much more fun when using at least a second-hand prosumer audio device, e.g. an Envy24 based card from a well known auctions website for 35,-=E2=82=AC. = Such a card is not as good as an expensive professional card, but already provides useful features a consumer device doesn't provide, but you need the hardware mixer for the device, to benefit from those advantages. We get both Linux and FreeBSD for free as in beer, both are more or less similar in regards to an UNIX, POSIX, FLOSS approach and by a dual-boot/multi-boot you can run them side by side. As an audio engineer and musician I'm using what is able to do the job, if possible FLOSS, but on a tablet PC I even use a fruit orientated proprietary operating system to make music. Regards, Ralf
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