KXStudio FAQ

[Pablo]

In those instructions, sfArk refers to the decompressor application. Not to the compressed soundfont file. nameofffile would be sfark.exe or similar. Alas, it seems that the melodymachine site is offline.

Anyway, I just discovered this.

http://woolyss.com/chipmusic-soundfonts.php

EDIT:
I suggest you try Autostatic's solution first.

[autostatic]

@briandc: you don't need Wine to run Linux binaries. Short howto:

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sudo apt-get install libstdc++5
wget http://falcony.googlecode.com/files/sfarkxtc_lx86.tar.gz
tar zxvf sfarkxtc_lx86.tar.gz
mkdir ~/bin
mv sfarkxtc ~/bin
source ~/.profile
sfarkxtc yahama_u1_piano.sfArk

[briandc]

@briandc: you don't need Wine to run Linux binaries. Short howto:

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sudo apt-get install libstdc++5
wget http://falcony.googlecode.com/files/sfarkxtc_lx86.tar.gz
tar zxvf sfarkxtc_lx86.tar.gz
mkdir ~/bin
mv sfarkxtc ~/bin
source ~/.profile
sfarkxtc yahama_u1_piano.sfArk

Hi AutoStatic,
thanks (again) for all your help.

I did as you suggested here ^^, but I got this:

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This file was created with sfArk V1, and this program only handles sfArk V2+ files.  Use sfArk instead.

Looks like a need an older version..?

brian

[autostatic]

Looks like a need an older version..?

Yes, but that doesn't exist for Linux unfortunately. So you'll have to go the Wine way, or extract it on a Windows machine.

[briandc]

Looks like a need an older version..?

Yes, but that doesn't exist for Linux unfortunately. So you'll have to go the Wine way, or extract it on a Windows machine.

If I do it through Wine, what is the procedure? I tried by browsing the virtual drive, and selecting the sfArk app, but it did nothing..

brian

[autostatic]

I fear I can't help you with that as I barely use Wine. I guess it's something like:

• Download the Windows installer
• Start the installation with wine /path/to/installer.exe
• Run the app by clicking on it in your menu (probably Applications - Wine - Programs - sfArk)

[briandc]

I fear I can't help you with that as I barely use Wine. I guess it's something like:

• Download the Windows installer
• Start the installation with wine /path/to/installer.exe
• Run the app by clicking on it in your menu (probably Applications - Wine - Programs - sfArk)

Thanks again, AutoStatic! I'll see if I can get it working..

brian

[luster]

Thank you, falkTX for your excellent work. I am looking forward to creating with KXStudio.

I thought this description of my experience installing KXStudio might be of benefit to others. These are 64bit systems I am using, BTW.

I ran into a few 'problems' while upgrading/installing ubuntustudio 12.04 alongside of my ubuntustudio 10.04. I didn't want to manually partition my hdd but got stuck in an infinite loop when I somehow 'accidently' logged out during the install. LOL So, I had to manually re-partition the hdd. It went without a hitch, except for some nail-biting. And, I resized my swap partition to a more reasonable size. But that's not really anything to do with KXStudio. It ended up being a fresh install.

Starting with the fresh install of ubuntustudio 12.04, I logged in a couple of times to make sure all was OK and I didn't change or update anything, then set out to install KXStudio.

The step-by-step procedure falkTX provided was clearly written and easy to follow. When I received a notification of need for system restart, I did so. I think it was after step 2. I suppose I didn't have to restart, but the instructions I printed out didn't say specifically either way, and I kind of did it automatically, only thinking, as it rebooted, “Did I just make an error?” Anyway, it did not seem to hurt.

As I completed the last step, and was running “cadence” for the jack update, I found that I could hardly see the menu choices because the theme/style was so dark. (I had elected to update the theme/style to the default KXStudio theme/style.) So, I abandoned trying to setup jack and tried to find a color-theme/style that I could see. I tried all of the initial selections. The only one close to being able to see was “Phasex-Light” but it also had some areas where I could not see text in choice-windows. It was irritating. Some of the styles/themes seemed not to make any difference.

So, I decided to download some themes/styles, etc., and did so. I still couldn't find one I could see. Many of them seemed to not make any difference in what I was able to see, so I figured I needed to make sure my proprietary nvidia driver was installed and working.

System > “Nvidia X Server Settings” reported “You do not appear to be using the NVIDIA X driver. Please edit your X configuration file (just run `nvidia-xconfig` as root), and restart the X server.” So I did so. At re-login, the screen resolution was 640X480. (I normally run 1600X1200) I went to change the resolution, and discovered that although my proprietary driver was installed and activated, “this driver is activated but not currently in use” and I couldn't change the resolution at all. I fiddled around with the alternate nvidia proprietary driver (there are two possible drivers to use on my system) but never got past the “this driver is activated but not currently in use” message. So, I undid the X11 xorg.config file changes and rebooted. Back to a workable resolution, but without the proprietary driver.

Q: What more must be done to actually use this proprietary nvidia driver, seeing that it is installed and active, but not in use?

I finally got to a color-theme/style I could see enough to use. I made a note during the installation process that “KXStudio Welcome” offers some configuration choices. I wondered if I de-selected the “use KXStudio theme” and updated, if that would 'unlock' some of the more useful color-themes/styles. I did that. Excellent. It worked.

NOTE: This directly above might be useful information to others who find themselves virtually blind as I did. Maybe bring it forward a bit? If it was stated somewhere, I missed it.

Next, I thought I'd be able to see enough to run 'cadence' and setup jack. But 'cadence' was still dark. So. I adjusted contrast/brightness on the monitor. That helped. I got jack running with about 5.3ms latency w/no xruns under the load I have so far placed on it.

I use audacity a lot. On my other system, ubuntustudio10.04, I start jack and apps, start making music, and when I want to record, I start audacity and record at will. When I start audacity on this 12.04KXStudio, it stops jack. I can restart jack, but thought there must be a better, more elegant way.

Q: What would having jack get stopped and then having to manually re-start it do to my connections such as with zynaddsubfx and hydrogen? Must I start audacity first, then re-start jack before setting up a playing/recording session? Should I not use audacity? What are the alternatives, or am I just clueless and thinking wrongly?

I also use puredata (Pd) a lot. I use pd-extended on the ubuntustudio 10.04system, and will install that, but I have not been able to get the installed default Pd to run. Seems like files are not being found and I can't get the audio/midi to work, but I haven't spent a lot of time on it.

Observations and opinions.
Ubuntustudio12.04: I don't like xfce at first glance, but I think I can live with it. I spent a lot of time tweaking and installing software on the old ubuntustudio10.04, and do not look forward to spending the time to get this one up to the same level. I see the dreaded pulseaudio is still installed. Maybe it will work this time. I'd like to gain the use of the nvidia proprietary driver. KXStudio looks enticing. I look forward to actually using it. Maybe I will regret getting rid of the line6 guitar pod/processor because it failed to work with 10.04.

Thanks again to falkTX for the excellent work.

[i2productions]

I had the nvidia driver problem using an early build of the kxstudio 12.04 distro ISO. I had to do a

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sudo apt-get autoremove nvidia-current

Then a

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sudo apt-get install nvidia-current

This should fix it. As near as I can guess, when you installed ubuntu you clicked the "third party driver" install. It always tries to install the driver and fails. Ubuntu should have left the video-drivers out of the actual install process. And yeah, I never use the kxstudio theme from the kxstudio welcome screen. It doesn't work super well unless you're running kde.

[luster]

Thank you falkTX for such rapid reply. I know you are busy and I really appreciate your work.

falkTX said:

Note that most issues you'll find are Ubuntu specifc (or actually linux specific) and may not be fixable directly in KXStudio. I have custom patched KDE for KXStudio, but XFCE is still the default.

I take it the KDE custom-patch is not available yet. I was fond of KDE until KDE4, after which, I abandoned it. I haven't used it for a couple of years.

On the nvidia driver issue, I see that i2productions responded with a possible fix. I'll try it. I have installed these drivers on several different linuxes including ubuntus and ubuntustudios. I never had any difficulty with them then, this must be an installation error/feature.

I, luster, had earlier said:

I wondered if I de-selected the “use KXStudio theme” and updated, if that would 'unlock' some of the more useful color-themes/styles. I did that. Excellent. It worked

falkTX said:

you got that wrong, I think you just forgot to re-login after making changes to the themes.
In the final step of the KXStudio-Welcome wizard I advise to re-login asap, perhaps it should be more clear?

No, I thought that part was clear. I think there is even a prompt in KXStudio Welcome to log out then back in for the changes to take effect(?) but I am on a different machine at the moment. I didn't forget to log out and back in. I ran KXStudio Welcome right after the installation according to the step-by-step instructions, looked at 'cadence', decided to address it a bit later, then logged out (re-started actually) then logged back in to run 'cadence' for jack but couldn't see well enough to be comfortable, so started then to try new themes/styles.

Should I have logged out each time I selected a new theme/style? Such as when I selected "clearlooks" for instance? I didn't think that I might have to log out and back in for them to take effect. I was able to immediately see the difference with “Phasex-Light”. Is logout and login necessary to select and apply other lighter themes? I did log out and back in several times after selecting different themes/styles due to the nvidia driver issue and I noticed no useful-to-me visible differences.

It was only after I re-ran the KXStudio Welcome with the KXStudio theme unselected, then logged out and in, that I was able to see any visual difference that was useful to me. I might still have a wrong idea, though. Maybe I should have de-selected the default theme in KXStudio Welcome, then updated, then logged out and back in with every change in theme/style? How could that be--because I found that I was able to apply new themes and see them working immediately (without logging out and back in) after I unselected the KXStudio theme in the KXStudio Welcome wizard, updated, and logged out then back in. I thought the step-by-step instructions were a model of clarity and simplicity. But I guess I am still unclear on this.

falkTX said:

If jack is running, all apps should output sound trough it. JACK is not perfect and may crash sometimes though.
Having jack started, audacity should "just work". if not, it's a bug.
Is audacity configured to use JACK? (the welcome-wizard is suppose to do that)

PulseAudio in KXStudio is supposed to be bridged to JACK (or just not used at all). But beware of pulseaudio-based audio mixers (which I think it's what XFCE uses).
If in doubt, 'qamix' works fine.

Jack was running. When I started 'audacity', jack stopped. It may have crashed. I could not see how to setup 'audacity' to use jack. I logged out and back in several times after tweaking jack settings. 'Audacity' stopped jack on each of several tries. On ubuntustudio 10.04 I am able to tell 'audacity' to use jack. I will try the KXStudio Welcome wizard with this in mind.

'Pulseaudio' was bridged and seems to work OK. I will try 'qamix' I have used 'Gnome alsamixer' in the past, but also 'qamix' I'll try and see what happens.

Thanks again, falkTX.

[Thad E Ginathom]

With respect to your creative sensibilities, I would suggest that you remove the application of the theme from the Welcome Script or at least default it to not selected.

Isn't System->Preferences->Appearance->Themes the appropriate place to be changing the appearance of the desktop? Shouldn't the KXStudio installation be about functionality rather than appearance?

I'd suggest that many, if not most, installers would be Linux users already, with desktop, themes, etc, long since tuned to their personal preference.

It's hard to know where to draw the line, of course, eg should boot-up flash screens be replaced? Well, my off-the-cuff reply to my own question there would be: yes, there should be a certain branding of KXStudio just to give credit to the excellent work that it is.

Just my thoughts on something which is, after all, a very small part of the whole picture...

[briandc]

With respect to your creative sensibilities, I would suggest that you remove the application of the theme from the Welcome Script or at least default it to not selected.

Isn't System->Preferences->Appearance->Themes the appropriate place to be changing the appearance of the desktop? Shouldn't the KXStudio installation be about functionality rather than appearance?

I'd suggest that many, if not most, installers would be Linux users already, with desktop, themes, etc, long since tuned to their personal preference.

It's hard to know where to draw the line, of course, eg should boot-up flash screens be replaced? Well, my off-the-cuff reply to my own question there would be: yes, there should be a certain branding of KXStudio just to give credit to the excellent work that it is.

Just my thoughts on something which is, after all, a very small part of the whole picture...

One idea might be to use a very special font type. I use Asturix on my laptop, and the font type is very unique, and makes it seems very "branded."

I too have difficulty with the dark screen themes. In some cases, I can't see certain parameters (thinking of V-Ray synth, that I can't read any of the indicators at all, so basically I can't use it to make music).
As it stands, I don't open the icons on the desktop, but rather the file manager option in the menu file, which brings up a window with white background. It's much easier to read and work from.

brian

[luster]

FalkTX, thanks once again for your valuable attention and excellent work on KXStudio.

Personally, I used to love dark themes. Used to. I actually complained loudly when blinking lights and switches gave way to nixie-tubes, then to monochrome green/amber on black monitors, then to RGB color, then to black on white. But I learned to live with the progress of technology. Who is to say that I might not still come back around to your preference for dark themes? Aging eyes, I suppose; and maybe a bit of curmudgeonry.

While consuming multiple pots of hot coffee, I've been tweaking my installation of KXStudio (this, over a fresh install of ubuntustudio12.04 amd64), and trying to resolve the two major issues I have so far discovered. These are, (1) getting 'audacity' to see jack and work with it, and (2) trying to have the system use the proprietary nvidia driver for my Nvidia Quadro card.

So far, I have been unable to get the nvidia driver to work. The suggestion provided by user i2productions above did not work for me, though I think it points in the right direction. Anyway, I put that on the back burner for now since the system appears to be usable without it, though I would like easy access to the tweaks the proprietary driver affords. Onward.

I'd finally managed to install a very useful-to-me visual theme/style using the procedure I outlined above. One thing, though: 'cadence' and its associated UIs are still very dark--irritatingly so, for me. I keep my monitor set at low levels of brightness, saturation, gamma, etc., because at my current level of poverty, a new monitor purchase would be impossible. This monitor is an old CRT, but it's 21” and though it's now a bit “fuzzy” I like it mainly because it works and I'm stuck with it.

So, I played around. Last night, I performed and recorded some music, playing guitar through 'guitarix' along with a 'hydrogen' drum part, set up a MIDI keyboard connected to 'zynaddsubfx', microphone, and recorded in 'rosegarden'. Nice. I look forward to doing some real work very soon.

However, the potential lack of 'audacity' is irritating. I have used 'audacity' for years. It's almost second nature to me. I would hate to have to abandon it. So, I decided to try to get 'audacity' to recognize and work with 'jack'.

First step was to gather some initial information.

Log out and in. Jack is running. Start audacity, jack stops. I restarted 'jack' with 'cadence' while 'audacity' was running. It restarted seemingly OK, but 'audacity' still failed to see 'jack'. Tried to play a youtube video, but no sound. Log out and back in. Started 'jack' with 'QjackCtl' to see if that made a difference. No difference. Managed to get 'audacity' running at the same time 'jack' was running (but 'audacity' still failed to recognize 'jack') and record something. Massive xruns. Tried to stop 'jack', couldn't stop 'jack'. Log out and back in, try other stuff, to no avail. I didn't keep very good notes, but then again, this is just preliminary fiddling around to gain some information.

Along the way, I un-installed/removed completely, 'bluez-alsa', a bluetooth item which was reported to cause some problems with 'audacity' and its recognition of 'jack', but that did not make a difference. Onward.

While running 'audacity' from a terminal, I got some more clues (too long to detail for this post), and decided that maybe I should see what the latest stable 'audacity' release had to offer. Well... I decided to compile the latest version (which is 2.0.1) to replace the initially installed version (which was 2.0.0), and see if that made a difference.

I had some initial resistance to doing this because I had seriously wanted this installation to be relatively free of clutter, and devoted solely to music-making. So much for that plan. Onward.

So, checking dependencies, I installed what was necessary. Well, there were a few packages, notably, “nyquist:i386”, and “libavcodec53”, which caused synaptic to desire to uninstall, among other things, the entire KXStudio meta. So, I declined to install these “dependencies” (and ask, maybe therein lies further clue to this 'problem'?)

I compiled 'audacity 2.0.1' with success.

Running it, I experienced the same lack of 'audacity' to recognize 'jack', the same stopping of 'jack' when 'audacity' was run, and no real difference that I could easily detect. :sadness:

Despite this travail, I think I am going to stick with KXStudio. Damn. What are the options other than 'audacity'? I don't want/need another learning curve. I still hope to resurrect 'audacity'. That would make life nearly perfect, except for the nvidia driver issue. Heh

Thanks again, falkTX.

[luster]

Thanks, flakTX.

I'm on it as I type.

[luster]

FalkTX said:

There's one simple thing you can try.
quit audacity, start jack, open in a text editor this file:

.config/audacity-data/audacity.cfg

and replace the whole content with this:

[AudioIO]
RecordingDevice=JACK Audio Connection Kit: system
Host=JACK Audio Connection Kit
PlaybackDevice=JACK Audio Connection Kit: system
RecordChannels=2
[GUI]
ShowSplashScreen=0

I edited the file as suggested. Re-ran audacity, no change. Jack still stopped.

Next, I looked again at the edited file, after running 'audacity' again, I see that the edited file has reverted to what it was before I edited it.

I edited the file “~/ .audacity-data/audacity.cfg” with gedit but it has been re-written/over-written with the original information coming from 'audacity' or something else.

Re-cap: I edited the file ~/ .audacity-data/audacity.cfg - but it does not seem to alter the behavior of 'audacity' and looking at the file after re-running 'audacity' it is no longer as I edited it.