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JayBird707
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Thanks for having me!

Post by JayBird707 »

Hello All!
Struggling keyboard player who has discovered there's more to the keyboard that black & white keys. I have a Casio CGP-700 and up until a few months ago used it only to take piano lessons. It all changed when my teacher "The Maestro" asked if I could record her on the Casio. Well now I record her on the Casio, her granddaughter on vocals and use Ardour to put everything together.

What led me here? The only Mic input I figured out how to use is the 3.5mm input on my computer, and boy is it noisy. So I want to use a USB interface for the Mic, in hopes of eliminating the noise issue. As long as I'm going to purchase a USB interface I want to also interface the Casio and maybe a second Mic. My goal is to connect the Mic(s) and Casio through a USB interface and do all the mixing and filtering in Ardour.

If your still reading this and I'm spinning my wheels please let me know. In the last week I've spent untold hours playing with two old USB interfaces (one cheap C-Media Electronics, Inc. CM106 and a Creative SB X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro) and all I can use them as is output devices only. Even though I see all the inputs in Pulse Audio and ALSA MIxer I can't figure out how to route the USB input to my internal sound card output.

Well off to start learning!
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Michael Willis
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Re: Thanks for having me!

Post by Michael Willis »

Does Ardour recognize the internal sound card and the USB devices? In Ardour's `Window` menu, select `Audio Connections`, then in the dialog that pops up, pick the "Hardware" tab on the left vertical side to see what inputs Ardour is aware of.

If you don't see what you are looking for there, you might try using JACK (which comes with its own learning curve).
JayBird707
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Re: Thanks for having me!

Post by JayBird707 »

I found the problem it had to do with ALSA commands (alsa_in and alsa_out). It is in this article http://www.penguinproducer.com/Blog/201 ... with-jack/ . Here's what I have available now in JACK:

3 sound cards CM = C-Media Electronics, Inc. CM106, SB = Sound Blaster X-Fi Pro 5.1 Sound Card and System = On Board Sound card

I also have the PulseAudio Sink and Source, using these sources besides connections in JACK requires selections in PulseAudio Volume Control.

When I use Ardour I don't make any connections in JACK it's all done in Ardour.

One lesson I'm learning is that going through the USB interfaces eliminates all the noise I would get when inputting directly to the computer Mic or Line In.

Next step get my Casio CGP-700 connected. Wish me luck.
4.10.0-42-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 5.4.0) Cinnamon 3.6.7 Linux Mint 18.3 Sylvia
HP 6300 SFF
Intel 7 Series/C210 Series Family High Definition Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.10.0-42-generic
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Michael Willis
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Re: Thanks for having me!

Post by Michael Willis »

You're making progress! Linux audio gives you a lot to learn; honestly I let it scare me for a number of years and refused to use JACK, but I'm glad that I finally decided to do it. After the learning curve, you have at your command a very flexible system that gives you a lot of freedom to create.
JayBird707 wrote:When I use Ardour I don't make any connections in JACK it's all done in Ardour.
One clarification - Ardour and JACK are different "layers". Ardour can use either ALSA or JACK as its backend audio system. If your Ardour session is using JACK, then connections that you make inside of Ardour will also be visible in other apps that control JACK routing, like QjackCtl, Carla, etc. In fact, you can have multiple of these apps running at the same time, and connections that you make in one of them will be immediately visible in the others.
JayBird707 wrote:One lesson I'm learning is that going through the USB interfaces eliminates all the noise I would get when inputting directly to the computer Mic or Line In.
Indeed! I started really learning Ardour/JACK/LinuxSampler/etc. on a laptop with the onboard sound and quickly decided that an external interface would be much better. I ended up buying a used Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 on reverb.com and have been really happy with it.
JayBird707 wrote:Next step get my Casio CGP-700 connected. Wish me luck.
Best of luck, let us know if you need any help. I use a similar 88-key digital piano with a midi cable wired up to the Focusrite interface.
JayBird707
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Re: Thanks for having me!

Post by JayBird707 »

Thanks for your words of encouragement! Progress has been made! Casio is connected and working I only have the Calf plug ins so I'm only using Calf Organ. I've been writing a paper in parallel about all the things I've learned in case I forget or have to rebuild my system. Just finished putting a short script together and added it to QjackCtl so JACK starts with all my hardware connected.

Actually setup an Ardour session with every input I have and the Desktop and got everything working, I nearly soiled myself!

I have my eye on the Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 up to now didn't want to invest any cash until I knew I could get things working. I figured if I could get things going with one cheap USB interface and an old SB interface I would be good to go if I invested more money.

Here's where I'm headed next:
1- Plug Ins - Need a concert piano and other instruments.
2- Recording - I have to record my piano teacher (the Maestro) being accompanied by her granddaughter singing. I did it once before and had the music laid down and had the granddaughter sing while listening with a headset to eliminate background effects. Recording didn't come out bad but the kid is 10 so some other songs were not good. The Maestro demands I record the singing at the same time she's playing the piano so she can adjust her playing tempo to the singer in realtime. Anyway I've been experimenting I got a good mic and I get minimal piano on the vocal track but it is there. I need to find out how to get rid of the backing music off the vocal track.
3- Figure out what a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 can do above what I've already configured and if the advantages / improvements are worth it make the investment.

Keep wishing me luck! Thanks for encouraging!
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HP 6300 SFF
Intel 7 Series/C210 Series Family High Definition Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.10.0-42-generic
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Michael Willis
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Re: Thanks for having me!

Post by Michael Willis »

42low wrote:You got me curious. May i ask you, did you use before the FS2i4 some kind of analogue interface? Or did you plug in everything on the onboard?
I wasn't recording audio at the time, just arranging midi, so I used a simple USB midi interface. Still I was unhappy with the level of noise from my studio speakers until I got the Focusrite interface. Now with that (and your advice) I purchased a cheap dynamic mic that I'm trying some simple recordings.
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