Since I think freedom is very important and I do not find an up to date audio
GNU/Linux distro, I use Trisquel Mini as the basis for my audio production.
Maybe others are interested in this, therefore this little guide.
Install Trisquel Mini (because you have an old laptop with low RAM and/or
want to have the most of the memory free for audio production), you can use
Trisquel also.
Get all the updates:
code in a terminal
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
Reboot
Short list of proposed software:
To not install a package from the list simply delete it from the command
above. Be sure to respect spaces if you do it otherwise the command will not
work. These packages will require about 1 GB of free space.
zram-config: "compresses" automatically the RAM when it reaches saturation,
especially useful on the less powerful system, basically allows to have in
theory a little more RAM
preload: automatically create a cache for the most used programs, increasing
the speed of their execution
indicator-cpufreq: allows to modify on the fly the frequency of your
processor as well as its profi
gparted: it is very useful, do not miss to install it if you begin. It allows
to resize its partitions in graphical interface. If your pc crashes you will
need it.
htop: System monitor for terminal, very useful when the graphic world has
planted (used, especially since a tty)
lm-sensors: A service that provides information about the temperature of the
components (with the "sensors" command).
vlc : we do not present it anymore, it has proven itself on all the OS.
Compatible with JACK.
audacious : It is a powerful player that is more compatible, useful for
listening to something when one Jack launched: to give the inspiration for
example
ardour : Digital Audio Workstation, Audio and MIDI sequencing, Recording,
Mixing
tap-plugins: A plug-in pack in LADSPA format.
amb-plugins: Set of plug-in ambisonics.
so-synth-lv2: Small software synthesizer pack in LV2 format.
calf-plugins: a list of good quality plugins
pulseaudio-module-jack: needed to use PulseAudio with JACK
LMMS: DAW, Software sequencer semi-pro, more or less clone of FL-Studio, easy
to take in hand. For electronic / dance music genres.
Qtractor: DAW, Advanced Audio / MIDI Sequencer.
Musescore: Free (ergonomic) score editor.
Yoshimi / Zynadd / Zynaddsubfx: A free software synthesizer.
musescore
drumkv1
soundconverter
ladspa: plugins
lv2: ladspa version 2 plugins
hydrogen: an advanced drum machine for GNU/Linux
guitarix
and more...
code in a terminal (adapt to your wishes)
sudo apt-get install zram-config preload indicator-cpufreq gparted lm-sensors
vlc audacious audacity ardour tap-plugins amb-plugins so-synth-lv2
calf-plugins lv2fil swh-lv2 fil-plugins qtractor lmms musescore
fluidsynth-dssi nekobee wsynth-dssi whysynth ghostess zynaddsubfx-dssi hexter
zynadd zynaddsubfx yoshimi zynjacku x42-plugins zam-plugins slv2-jack vocproc
abgate eq10q jalv fomp ir.lv2 avw.lv2 drumkv1 invada-studio-plugins-lv2
lv2vocoder mda-lv2 naspro-bridges samplv1 synthv1 ams autotalent blepvco blop
bs2b-ladspa guitarix invada-studio-plugins-ladspa jackeq jamin
ladspa-foo-plugins mcp-plugins omins rev-plugins rubberband-ladspa
swh-plugins terminatorx vco-plugins wah-plugins pulseaudio-module-jack
zita-at1 zita-bls1 zita-mu1 zita-rev1 hydrogen meterbridge jack-rack
rakarrack vmpk pavucontrol aeolus caps foo-yc20 phasex qsynth petri-foo
specimen parole baobab catfish soundconverter gsmartcontrol
jackd2-configuration: Enable realtime process priority? Select Yes.
System Configuration
You may want to consider the following often seen system optimizations:
Add yourself to the audio group.
sudo gpasswd -a user audio
Add yourself to the video group (not necessary, but I add myself)
sudo gpasswd -a user video
Add the threadirqs kernel parameter.
Open /etc/default/grub with your favorite editor as root. Look for the line
that starts with GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT and add threadirqs to the list of
options:
!!! In the latest grub file there are two lines that have to be edited before
you can update your grub!!!
I also shorted the timeout to 2 seconds:
Example of my system:
GRUB_DEFAULT=0
#GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0
#GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true
GRUB_TIMEOUT=2
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash threadirqs nomdmonddf nomdmonisw"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="nolapic"
Save the file, close it and update the grub configuration:
sudo update-grub
Installing a real-time/lowlatency kernel
Not necessary in Trisquel 7.0, there is a lowlatency kernel in use.
Add noatime to fstab.
Setting the noatime parameter in your /etc/fstab file reduces the amount of
disk I/O (the inode access times are not updated each time a file is read)
which could improve the overall performance of your system.
/dev/sdax / ext4 noatime,errors=remount-ro 0 1
Open /etc/fstab with your favorite editor as root and add ‘,noatime’ with
no blanc space (important). Example of my system:
code:
#
# / was on /dev/sda1 during installation
UUID=3e08f8fd-30dc-495d-b22e-6e57d04c9243 / ext4
errors=remount-ro,noatime 0 1
# /home was on /dev/sda6 during installation
UUID=3902c1fd-d544-4102-bcb8-ecc142e3dab1 /home ext4
defaults,noatime 0 2
# /home/nick/Studio was on /dev/sdb5 during installation
UUID=eadd37bb-f475-426d-824c-a246e6f43302 /home/nick/Studio ext4
defaults,noatime 0 2
# swap was on /dev/sda5 during installation
UUID=b6ffb441-bd12-4dab-a533-2ee6c40f4bf8 none swap sw
0 0
Save the file and close it.
Decreasing swap frequency and increasing watches
By reducing the swap frequency “swappiness” number to 10, the system will
wait much longer before trying to write to disk.
When working with lots of audio data, a lot of watches will need to be kept
track of, so they will need to be increased. These two settings can be
adjusted in /etc/sysctl.d/99-sysctl.conf.
Open /etc/sysctl.d/99-sysctl.conf (if not present, create it as root) with
your favorite editor as root and add following lines ad the bottom:
vm.swappiness = 10
fs.inotify.max_user_watches = 524288
Save the file and close it.
Reboot.
If you want to reboot with the terminal type, make sure all other programs
are closed:
sudo reboot now
Adding the KXStudio repositories:
I add the KXStusios repositories to get more updated versions of audio
software. Integration of these PPAs without worries. But also note that
adding third-party repositories can compromise the freedom of your system.
That is why I only use these repositories to update software NOT to install
new software.
You can find updated information about adding the repositories on the
KXStudio site: http://kxstudio.linuxaudio.org/
I used the method described on following page:
http://kxstudio.linuxaudio.org/Repositories
Then get all the updates again.
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
Reboot
There you have it, an audio production system based on Trisquel Mini.
Before starting any application using Jackd, you must start Jackd. I use
QjackCtl. It’s best to open up QjackCtl, and change the settings in there.
A few webpages that can help you to set the right settings for your system:
http://kxstudio.linuxaudio.org/Documentation:Manual:jack_configuration
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HowToJACKConfiguration
https://qjackctl.sourceforge.io/qjackctl-index.html (homepage of QjackCtl)
Have a nice time with your audio system!
