Getting a free audio workstation for you home recording studio

Greetings fellow netizens!

My first post here talked.. er rambled about how the Windows operating system isn't really ideal for use as an audio work station, unless you have very current hardware, and have optimized the operating system, as much as it will let you at least.

Linux based operating systems are much more suited to the task, and can transform an otherwise outdated collection of hardware into a very usable system. Actually I am amazed with what I am able to do using a lowly 2GHz CPU and 1GB of RAM. 2GB now :D

The crux of that assertion is due to Windows inability to get under the hood. Compared to Linux, Windows is extremely limited on what you can do to effect how the OS uses system resources. There is also tons of free open source software that negates the need for expensive audio apps & hardware.

Even still, a fresh install of a Linux based operating system will likely need some tweaking, both to free up as much resources as possible, and optimized for real time audio work. Since my previous post talked about installing Ubuntu, and then transforming it into Ubuntu Studio, I thought maybe I should provide a bit more detail on that process.

1. Install Ubuntu, I used the handy Windows installer found here
   http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/windows-installer
2. Using the "Ubuntu Software Center" install the "Synaptic Package Manager"
   You'll thank me later for this tip


3. Follow the directions here...
   https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuStudioPreparation
   Particularly the "Real-Time Support" section which will walk you through steps to optimize the system for audio work.


4. To free up a bit of RAM, I recommend changing the window manager from the default to a lightweight version like XFCE or maybe FVWM
   See https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/LowMemorySystems#Adding_a_Window_Manager


5. My next step was to use Ubuntu Software Center to remove a bunch of software I wouldnt be using, but that is optional of course.
6. Finally, check out all the goodies in the Multimedia section of your applications menu (and just think, it was all FREE !)

As mentioned in my previous post, at this point I used 3 programs to "dial in" in the setup. Namely Qjackctl, Hydrogen and SooperLooper.

QjackCTL is a GUI to help you configure the Jack audio service. Using it's Setup menu, you can try various sampling rates, frame and buffer sizes until you find the optimal settings for your unique hardware setup. After every change, I'd restart the jack server, play a simple drum track with Hydrogen which is connected to SooperLooper via Qjackctl's "Connections" panel. I also had the output of a guitar plugged into the LINE IN jack of my sound card (using the microphone jack is not recommended)

Once I had a basic loop created, I'd overdub it 3 to 4 times and then listen for a few minutes, keeping an eye on the overruns (aka XRUNS) counter. Once I was able to do that with no audible pops or clicks, and zero overruns, I knew my settings were pretty close to optimal.

I wound up with a sampling rate of 48000, 64 frames, 2 period buffers, and 128 port maximum. Oh, and full duplex too. That gives me an estimated latency of just 2.67msec. Well under the 8msec boundary where delays start causing noticeable timing problems. Not bad for a 10 year old computer eh?

I could likely bump things up a bit, but I'm satisfied with the responsiveness and the quality of the audio at this point. So now time to play with all those marvelous toys under the multimedia menu.. OOoh Rackarrack is fun too !