Fundraiser: Expediting Linux Support for Focusrite Scarlett 4th Gen Devices

[geoffrey]

[posted with permission from raboof]

Hi all,

Some of you might know me from the work I've done to enable Linux support for the Focusrite Scarlett 2nd and 3rd Generation interfaces. As these interfaces are pretty popular, I've been on a mission to ensure we all can make the most out of them without having to revert to other OSs for configuration.

Focusrite dropped exciting news last week with the release of their "4th Generation" Solo, 2i2, and 4i4 devices.

The challenge is that getting Linux support for these devices requires having access to them for in-depth hands-on testing and development. Historically, support for the Gen 2 and Gen 3 came well after product release (2 years for Gen 2 and 1 year for Gen 3).

This time around, I'm aiming to be more proactive. Rather than waiting, I've set up a fundraiser so I can procure each new device and get the Linux support done ASAP.

If you're interested in supporting this endeavor or just curious, here's the link to the fundraiser: https://gofund.me/71f94a9c

Thank you for considering this, and if you have any questions or feedback, please let me know.

In case the fundraiser exceeds the goal, then I will also procure and add support for the missing products in the Focusrite Vocaster and Clarett+ series.

Best regards,
Geoffrey.

[glowrak guy]

Have you considered adding those who donate to the project be added to a list of raffle entries, then as each needed piece of gear is paid for,
put all the names of contributors in a hat, and pick a lucky winner, who would receive the gear later, when you're happy with the released software?

I would think it reasonable to add some percent of the donations to the coder's budget, as a gratuity for man-hours spent creating software
to modernize our hardware purchase range. I imagine the testing process is like trying to catch a chicken and a greased pig at the same time
Cheers

[Linuxmusician01]

Doesn't Focusrite want to send you them for free? All in all you're doing (free?) work for them. And if so: why don't they?

(Or better still: make their hardware class compliant, but that another discussion)

[geoffrey]

Have you considered adding those who donate to the project be added to a list of raffle entries, then as each needed piece of gear is paid for,
put all the names of contributors in a hat, and pick a lucky winner, who would receive the gear later, when you're happy with the released software?

I would think it reasonable to add some percent of the donations to the coder's budget, as a gratuity for man-hours spent creating software
to modernize our hardware purchase range. I imagine the testing process is like trying to catch a chicken and a greased pig at the same time
Cheers

Hi Glowrak,

Thanks for the idea. It would be nice to do something like that, but retaining the hardware is necessary for ongoing maintenance and possible extensions.

For example, when I added support for the 3rd Gen driver, I was able to integrate it in to the 2nd Gen driver with some refactoring. I also updated the initialisation sequence to one that was acceptable to both generations -- what I was doing for Gen 2 didn't work for Gen 3, but what worked for Gen 3 turned out to work for Gen 2 as well. Without having one of each device, it wouldn't be feasible to do this sort of thing and I'd have to rely on others to test which means a turnaround time measured in days rather than seconds (I've got it down to a fine art of killall -9 pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber alsactl; rmmod snd_usb_audio; unplug, replug).

I'm hopeful that the Gen 4 protocol will be close enough to integrate in a similar way, and once done, I will retest with every other 2nd and 3rd Gen interface to make sure I didn't break anything.

Another example: after developing the Gen 3 driver, I discovered the "standalone" feature of the interfaces, and was able to confirm that this worked and how it worked on Gen 2 as well. This would have been way less feasible if I had to rely on others for testing.

Regarding compensation for my time, I consider writing the code as my contribution to the community, and I'm not adding a percent for myself; this fundraiser is explicitly focused just on acquiring the hardware. Of course, tips or gratuities for the kernel driver & GUI are always appreciated, but I'm keeping this fundraiser completely separate from that.

Thanks again for the kind words and suggestion. Your understanding and support means a lot to me!

Regards,
Geoffrey.

[geoffrey]

Doesn't Focusrite want to send you them for free? All in all you're doing (free?) work for them. And if so: why don't they?

No, they don't, and yes, I'm doing this work as a volunteer. I've reached out to them a few times over the years. I think it would be beneficial to all parties, but so far, it hasn't happened. I'll ask them again for sure, because I expect Gen 4 bigger models out soon. Who knows? They might reconsider.

In the meantime I'll just do what's necessary to add Linux support for whatever of their products I can get my hands on.

(Or better still: make their hardware class compliant, but that another discussion)

Novel concept . FWIW, I actually have no idea if it's even feasible for them to offer all the features of the interface in a class-compliant way (ironically, despite my efforts, I'm no USB developer!). At least the basic audio-in-and-out-over-USB functionality is class-compliant!

[tavasti]

If you're interested in supporting this endeavor or just curious, here's the link to the fundraiser: https://gofund.me/71f94a9c

Is it possible to support this with paypal?

[geoffrey]

If you're interested in supporting this endeavor or just curious, here's the link to the fundraiser: https://gofund.me/71f94a9c

Is it possible to support this with paypal?

Hi tavasti,

Absolutely, PayPal support is available. Please see https://github.com/geoffreybennett/alsa ... #donations for the address and ensure you note that it's for the 4th Gen fundraiser. Thank you for your willingness to contribute!

Regards,
Geoffrey.

[Linuxmusician01]

Doesn't Focusrite want to send you them for free? All in all you're doing (free?) work for them. And if so: why don't they?

No, they don't, and yes, I'm doing this work as a volunteer. I've reached out to them a few times over the years. I think it would be beneficial to all parties, but so far, it hasn't happened. I'll ask them again for sure, because I expect Gen 4 bigger models out soon. Who knows? They might reconsider.

In the meantime I'll just do what's necessary to add Linux support for whatever of their products I can get my hands on.

Pretty ungrateful of 'm if you ask me. Manufacturers of audio hardware send their products for free to Youtube reviewers who then give their "unbiased" review of it. I'll bet you a million dollars they won't send their stuff anymore to someone who gives 'm a bad review.

Linux driver/software support is free publicity without the risk of a bad review. So it's not only ungrateful, it's arrogant and stupid too. I'll never buy me Focusrite stuff. Needs software to be configured. If the software don't work you're screwed.

[tavasti]

Is it possible to support this with paypal?

Hi tavasti,

Absolutely, PayPal support is available. Please see https://github.com/geoffreybennett/alsa ... #donations for the address and ensure you note that it's for the 4th Gen fundraiser. Thank you for your willingness to contribute!

Wow, I was expecting low fees with paypal, but no. If I send 5€, fees for paypal will be 4€

[geoffrey]

Wow, I was expecting low fees with paypal, but no. If I send 5€, fees for paypal will be 4€

Ouch! I wasn't expecting that. Please don't worry about it! I truly appreciate your willingness to support the project; your intent means a lot.

[ufug]

Done and done. Thank you geoffrey for keeping this going while Focusrite sleeps on the opportunity.

[geoffrey]

It's happening! I just posted this as an update on the GoFundMe page:

Wow! One week in and I'm truly blown away by your generosity! Thanks to all of you, we've raised enough for both a 4i4 and a 2i2! It took GoFundMe a bit of time to process the first donations, but all the recent ones have come through, and the remaining funds are scheduled for tomorrow.

I've been prepping in anticipation: I've tidied up my Focusrite Linux Integration Workspace, upgraded my Linux test box to Fedora 38, upgraded my Windows test VM, and I'm ready to go!

Once again, a massive thank you to everyone for making this possible so quickly! I'll update you again soon!

[geoffrey]

Forgot to add the picture!

75199293_1694589639632373_r.jpeg (40.58 KiB) Viewed 7899 times

[geoffrey]

Now the hard work begins! Once I've got some progress to share, I'll create a Gen 4 thread in the Computer Related Hardware subforum.

Any further funds raised will go towards getting a Gen 4 Solo next, then to the Vocaster One and Two, then to the 2Pre and 4Pre Claretts.

Thank you all again for your support!

Here we go...

4i4-front.jpg (93.53 KiB) Viewed 7508 times

2i2-front.jpg (92.34 KiB) Viewed 7508 times

2i2-and-4i4.jpg (167.9 KiB) Viewed 7508 times

[geoffrey]

And pics of the rear for completeness:

4i4-back-sm.jpg (22.95 KiB) Viewed 7505 times

2i2-back-sm.jpg (22.25 KiB) Viewed 7505 times