Audio Interface for Linux

[Eric]

Hello everyone,

I've been working on recording into my computer with Linux for a while now, with mixed results. I currently have AC97 onboard audio, which I know is horrible, and I have a soundblaster PCI stuffed in a plastic bin somewhere, but haven't really checked if I have any PCI slots available to pop it in.

Anyway, aside from the options of lining in to my sound card (which does not always work), I have been looking for an audio interface. After doing some reading, it seems that the two major options are firewire or USB 2.0. As I don't have a firewire port, this option would require a PCI card. That's fine, provided I have an open slot for it.

My real concern is Linux compatibility. Driver support is no small matter with these audio interfaces, and while something like the Presonus Firebox looks like a winner, I don't want to drop $240 on it if it won't work with Linux.

Does anyone have any experience with this or can you offer any advice on Linux-friendly brands and/or models that are either firewire or USB 2.0?

 

[marnold]

Good question. I'm one of the resident Linux guys here (Slackware 12.2) but I've never tried an audio interface. I just record via my Soundblaster Audigy. I would also be concerned about compatibility. Have you checked the Audacity forums? That's where I would start. I'd also stick with USB just because Firewire seems to be going to way of the floppy drive.

 

[Monkus]

UbuntuStudio and Presonus Firebox

I have a presonus firebox that works beautifully with a Macbook pro using both logic and garageband. Plug the ins and outs to the firebox, set the proper drivers in the software and you're rocking. Really interested in the Ubuntu studio distro so tried to setup the firebox to work with it two weekends ago. Sadly, after two days of research and fiddling, couldn't get it to work properly. I'm not a linux guru so I'm sure that there is something simple that I'm not doing. Lots of people have done it so that it works. YMMV. Here's a link to a guide.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=835477

 

[Eric]

Good question. I'm one of the resident Linux guys here (Slackware 12.2) but I've never tried an audio interface. I just record via my Soundblaster Audigy. I would also be concerned about compatibility. Have you checked the Audacity forums? That's where I would start. I'd also stick with USB just because Firewire seems to be going to way of the floppy drive.

I went on the Audacity forums and found some info about setting up the inputs and outputs for ALSA, and they recommended QAMix, which supposedly sets up the AC 97 automatically, but I'm still having a little bit of trouble in Audacity.

How do you line in to your sound card typically? Do you ever record through a mic, or is it all guitar direct to the sound card? I'm still trying to figure out whether I can take an amp line out to the card or the guitar directly. I thought an audio interface was required, but I'm all for not spending $300 if I can avoid it.

I'm not sure if I have a specific question -- I'm more or less just curious what your setup looks like.

Relatedly, are you serious about firewire dying out? I just always assumed it was something for macs and certain applications (e.g. recording) that wasn't widespread on PCs, but that had a niche similar to how DATs were back in the day.

 

[marnold]

How do you line in to your sound card typically? Do you ever record through a mic, or is it all guitar direct to the sound card? I'm still trying to figure out whether I can take an amp line out to the card or the guitar directly. I thought an audio interface was required, but I'm all for not spending $300 if I can avoid it.

I record like this: amp line out->Audigy line in. Pretty straight forward. The only thing to watch out for is that some line outs really are more for headphones. You can overload the line in pretty easily. Start with the volume low and cut back if the it starts clipping.

Relatedly, are you serious about firewire dying out? I just always assumed it was something for macs and certain applications (e.g. recording) that wasn't widespread on PCs, but that had a niche similar to how DATs were back in the day.

Hardly anybody uses it. Do new Macs even come with it? It's used on high-end A/V stuff, but that's about it. With USB 2.0 out now and 3.0 coming soon there's no need for it. USB came about so that companies wouldn't have to pay royalties to Apple. Apple realized its mistake, but all too late. If you think this sounds like VHS v. Beta all over again, you're probably right.

 

[Eric]

I record like this: amp line out->Audigy line in. Pretty straight forward. The only thing to watch out for is that some line outs really are more for headphones. You can overload the line in pretty easily. Start with the volume low and cut back if the it starts clipping.

Aside from the Audacity forums, do you have any good recommendations for guides on how to route sound, set up sound servers, and get recording working in Linux?

I use Ubuntu 9.04, but can't even manage to get a non-skipping, non-faint sound using the freaking sound recorder, so I need a reset button of some sort. I can't figure out whether I should be using ALSA, PulseAudio, or something else.

I would prefer to use the line out to line in method if possible, but right now I've hit many dead ends.

/frustrated

 

[tunghaichuan]

I experimented with a few distros of Linux, including Ubuntu Studio, Fedora/Planet CCRMA, and dyne:bolic. But I gave up out of frustration. Getting the JACK servers settings just right and getting it to interface with the recording programs and hardware was a nightmare for me. It helps if you're a computer programmer.

I went back to the Darkside and just use Windoze now. Much less of a headache.

tung

Aside from the Audacity forums, do you have any good recommendations for guides on how to route sound, set up sound servers, and get recording working in Linux?

I use Ubuntu 9.04, but can't even manage to get a non-skipping, non-faint sound using the freaking sound recorder, so I need a reset button of some sort. I can't figure out whether I should be using ALSA, PulseAudio, or something else.

I would prefer to use the line out to line in method if possible, but right now I've hit many dead ends.

/frustrated

 

[marnold]

Aside from the Audacity forums, do you have any good recommendations for guides on how to route sound, set up sound servers, and get recording working in Linux?

I use Ubuntu 9.04, but can't even manage to get a non-skipping, non-faint sound using the freaking sound recorder, so I need a reset button of some sort. I can't figure out whether I should be using ALSA, PulseAudio, or something else.

I would prefer to use the line out to line in method if possible, but right now I've hit many dead ends.

Well, FWIW, I haven't had any issues using Audacity in Slackware 12.2. I'm using the default version of KDE and the ALSA that is a part of the kernel. The only issue I had was figuring out which of the sliders in alsamixer would actually turn up the line in. After that it wasn't a problem.

For the skipping problem, a) make sure you don't have any other resource-hogging apps in the background and b) do this in Audacity:
1) Go to Edit->Preferences
2) Choose the first option: Audio I/O
3) Under "Latency" increase the value of "Audio to buffer." I set mine to 1000. That took care of the problem.

Also, what is the recording source? The line-out of an amp? What soundcard are you using?

 

[Eric]

Also, what is the recording source? The line-out of an amp? What soundcard are you using?

Using an AC 97 with an amp line out, 1/4" going to a stereo; 1/4" -> 1/8" adapter, 1/8" stereo cable into the sound card line in.

Right now I have pulse audio for most things -- is this a mistake? Some places love pulse, some love ALSA, some love OSS, some love JACK. I can't quite figure out how all of the pieces fit together, but right now all I can get is audio playback, which admittedly is better than nothing.

 

[marnold]

Right now I have pulse audio for most things -- is this a mistake? Some places love pulse, some love ALSA, some love OSS, some love JACK. I can't quite figure out how all of the pieces fit together, but right now all I can get is audio playback, which admittedly is better than nothing.

You're really talking about different things. OSS is the old system of Linux sound drivers, now deprecated and replaced with ALSA. PulseAudio and JACK are sound systems that run on top of ALSA. Pulse was intended to replace Enlightenment and Gnome's ESD. ESD is to Enlightenment and Gnome what aRTs is to KDE.

I've never messed with PulseAudio. I know a lot of people complained greatly about the original release in Ubuntu 8.04 (I believe that's the right version). I've heard the more recent versions are better, but I have no experience with it.

In the Ubuntu PulseAudio Wiki they have some instructions for getting Audacity to work with PulseAudio. That might help.

 

[Eric]

In the Ubuntu PulseAudio Wiki they have some instructions for getting Audacity to work with PulseAudio. That might help.

I'm ultimately interested in trying Ardour, which I'm pretty sure requires JACK, so I think that will be something I dive into eventually, but for now I'm keeping it simple.

I started using Pulse some time ago when I couldn't get my sound to work at all, so I thought it was required as a sound server. I'll look into getting rid of it, as it seems like an extra layer to muck things up, though I might try your link first.

I'm sure I'll update on the results eventually.

 

[marnold]

Keep us posted! Unfortunately things like PulseAudio are brand-spanking new, thus few people have experience with it. Linux has come a long way. I remember when I first started using it having to jump through tons of hoops just to get my SB16 to work. Now most of that stuff just works out-of-the-box. It's the more esoteric stuff like this that requires some elbow grease.

 

[Eric]

This has fallen by the wayside somewhat, but I did eventually get recording to work, albeit with the mic, which is not what I wanted. I think my problem might still be with the amp -> computer connection. Anyone have any input on what sort of cable to use?

My amp line-out is 1/4", my computer line-in is 1/8". I was using an 1/8" stereo cable with a stereo 1/4" to 1/8" adapter on the amp side, but was not able to get any sound coming through the computer that way.

 

[deeaa]

Can't help you but wishing you luck.

Every year I try and install Linux on my box, Ubuntu was my last effort, and I have never ever gotten the sound systems up to notch. I can get the interal AC97's to work somehow, but none of my external cards have worked (Echo Layla, M-Audio 410, Presonus Firepod). Even though there were lots of tips and tricks how to get them to work in Linux I never did manage anything but the most basic playback/recording at best. Not to mention trying to get them to work with DV video editing etc.

I currently dualboot to Xp and a basic Linux setup which boots real quick, but I hardly ever use it because every other webpage won't work on Linux side and no sound. Oughtta delete it.

Yeah, Xp is by far the best platform so far for music work.

Plus if you are on a budget, www.thepiratebay.org or mininova.org etc. have thousands of top class audio programs available for windows platform...of course illegal, but still all too easily available...I must admit I have been known to try out some stuff that way as well.

BTW its really crazy with media/piracy these days; for instance try to buy a movie and you get a version that won't play on any other country, has all kinds of mandatory crap that you can't skip in the beginning etc. plus you gotta wait for it to be released in your country and then go get it, physically, from a store...

Enter Piratebay or something, you get that movie in 20 minutes with no annoying ads and warnings and ready to show direct off the machine without the need for them clumsy disks...in best cases you can even start the download and immediately start to watch it on your TV while it downloads the movie as it plays.

Not that I endorse it, but I can understand that it's hard to resist when you get a better product quicker and for free if you just bend your morals a little.

Media houses just don't get it that people don't want those clumsy disks no more; most people I know, like myself, have HD quality media players or several and like up to a coupla terabytes or so disk to play movies etc. from...I've rented my movies for years now directly to my TV and none of that disk playing crap or need to return the disk...it's SOOOO past world that the media and software houses live in still. Damn, these days I even buy my Xbox360 games as direct downloads to the machine and good riddance to them silver disks that scratch.

They still believe people want to own a physical disk or something; only old people do in reality.

 

[marnold]

This has fallen by the wayside somewhat, but I did eventually get recording to work, albeit with the mic, which is not what I wanted. I think my problem might still be with the amp -> computer connection. Anyone have any input on what sort of cable to use?

I use a standard guitar cord running from the amp's line out to a mono 1/4" to 1/8" adapter into my computer's line-in. Works like a charm.

 

[Eric]

To come back to this whole thing, I've been having some success in my latest attempts. I bought a Behringer audio interface a while ago (UCA202) and have been taking my guitar directly through that, with the Sansamp on for electric and just direct for acoustic.

The thing I've been working on most recently is that after I record one track in Audacity, if I try to put another one over that, Audacity just sits there when I hit record. It makes a new track and acts like it's recording, but it never moves from 0:00:00.

I tried changing the buffer last night to 1000, which worked, but I don't know why. What does the audio buffer size change?