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   From: Franz Fripplfrappl    
   Subject: Re: ubuntu MIDI questions   
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   Date: Fri, 09 Feb 2007 20:59:04 -0600   
   Xref: number1.nntp.dca.giganews.com alt.os.linux.ubuntu:10079   
      
   On Fri, 09 Feb 2007 18:50:04 -0600, arachnid wrote:   
      
   > On Fri, 09 Feb 2007 15:08:12 +0000, Franz Fripplfrappl wrote:   
   >    
   >> Ubuntu 6.1 Edgy here.   
   >>    
   >> I have a Korg SB-250 keyboard and I wish to connect it via MIDI to   
   >> Rosegarden.   
   >>    
   >> The motherboard is an Asus A7N8X with onboard sound.   
   >>    
   >> What do I need to do to make the connection work?   
   >>    
   >> Can I connect the keyboard via USB?   
   >    
   > I'm not familiar with the Korg but I have an M-Audio Axiom with built-in   
   > midi-to-USB converter. It works fine with USB. I know there are   
   > midi-to-USB converters that work well with Linux but don't know the models   
   > offhand. If you need one, there are a few users in comp.music.midi or   
   > alt.music.midi who also run Linux who might recommend specific brands. A   
   > little googling can also turn up numerous discussions of MIDI->USB   
   > converters under Linux.   
   >    
   > Here are some pages dealing with MIDI on the Ubuntu site:   
   >    
   >   https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuStudioPreparation   
   >    
   >   https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HowToJACKConfiguration   
   >    
   > However these try to have you do too much at once and IMO are more   
   > confusing than helpful. Also if you have a fast enough motherboard, you   
   > probably don't need to go to all the hassle of building a real-time kernel   
   > like they advise. I do OK with a 2.2 Ghz CPU.   
   >    
   > There's an easier way to start that involves only installing and   
   > configuring three applications. That'll get you up to the point where your   
   > keyboard can make sounds. But first, if you have a speed-stepping CPU, you   
   > need to disable the speed-stepping or it will cause all sorts of odd MIDI   
   > problems. I don't know about other systems, but, on mine I disable   
   > speed-stepping by killing the powernowd daemon:   
   >    
   >   sudo killall powernowd   
   >    
   > This causes the CPU to zoom to maximum speed and stay there. I have no   
   > idea if this is bad for CPU's but mine hasn't melted down (yet). You'll   
   > need to repeat this every time you boot. You can disable the powernowd   
   > daemon for good using System->Administration->Boot-up Manager. Look for   
   > "Controls CPU Speed and Voltage to save Power" and underneath that in   
   > small letters, "powernowd". Uncheck the box, close it, reboot. If you're   
   > running a laptop this will have the side-effect of increasing power   
   > consumption which is why I prefer to disable powernowd only when I need to   
   > do MIDI stuff.   
   >    
   > [If you don't already have something set up, you can monitor CPU speed   
   > using the CPU Frequency Scaling Monitor. Right-click the taskbar to the   
   > left of your icon tray, select "Add to Panel", look under   
   > "System&Hardware", and you should see it. Once you've added it, it will   
   > display the current CPU speed]   
   >    
   > Now here's a gentler MIDI setup than UbuntuStudioPreparation. This is off   
   > the top of my head, so just say something here if it doesn't work and I'll   
   > figure out what I got wrong:   
   >    
   > Start by installing just three programs - jack, jackctl, and zynaddsubfx.   
   > zynaddsubfx can display its own on-screen keyboard. The plan is to use   
   > this to make sure everything else is set up and working before plugging   
   > the Korg in. That way if the Korg doesn't work, you'll know the problem   
   > isn't in your MIDI setup.   
   >    
   > JACK is a patch panel and is used to connect and route MIDI and audio   
   > inputs and ouputs. JACK can be controlled from the command line but in a   
   > GUI you access it through jackctl. For new we need to use it to connect   
   > the output of zynaddsubfx to your soundcard inputs.   
   >    
   > So, run Applications->Sound&Video->JACK Control. If it doesn't start with   
   > the dialog on-screen, just click the red icon that appears in the icon   
   > tray. Click on setup and follow the instructions on the above   
   > HowToJACKConfiguration page to configure it (but ignore the side trip to   
   > the UbuntuStudioPreparation page). Click on "Messages" so you can keep an   
   > eye on messages, and then click on "connect" and note the connections   
   > window. Ignore xruns for now - they're common when nothing is connected.   
   >    
   > Now start up Applications->Sound&Video->zynaddsubfx. If it asks you which   
   > mode to start in (beginner or something else), chose beginner. It should   
   > start up with a keyboard displayed. If you start it in the more advanced   
   > mode, you can still bring the keyboard display up using   
   > Instrument->Virtual Keyboard.   
   >    
   > You should now see zynaddsubfx on the left side of the connections window   
   > and some sound-channels on the right (on my system the sound is alsa_pcm).   
   > Expand both. If you see lines connecting them, skip the rest of this   
   > paragraphy. Otherwise, click out_1 on zynaddsubfx and playback_1 (or   
   > whatever) on the right. Click "Connect". Do the same for channel 2 of   
   > each. Lines will now appear connecting them.   
   >    
   > At this point you should hear some clicks and tones when you click the   
   > mouse on the virtual-keyboard keys. To get a better instrument sound,   
   > click on Instrument->Show Instrument Bank. There'll be an *empty* dropdown   
   > box. Click on that and it will list some categories. Select one of those   
   > and the instrument bank will be listed. Click the instrument you want. Now   
   > the virtual keyboard should play it.   
   >    
   > Chances are you'll be getting all kinds of xruns in JACK Control's   
   > Messages window, and the sound will be a little scratchy. Go to Setup in   
   > Jack Control and keep increasing Frames/Second until the xruns go away.   
   > Note the effect that increased values have on your latency. Opinions of   
   > acceptable latency vary from 3 millisconds to about 30 milliseconds,   
   > depending on who you ask. On a 2.2 Ghz CPU I use a Frames/Second setting   
   > of 256, which gives me a latency of about 11 milliseconds.   
   >    
   > Now it's time to plug in your keyboard. Plug it in and go to the   
   > connections window again. Click the MIDI tab and you should see a new MIDI   
   > device on the left. You want to expand it, expand ZynAddSubFX on the   
   > right, and connect the MIDI channel on the left to ZynAddSubFX's input   
   > channel on the right. Now when you press keys on the Korg you should hear   
   > a tone. You can change the instrument sounds in zynaddsubfx.   
   >    
   > Now just for a little fun (and to become more comfortable with JACK), you   
   > can start up additional copies of zynaddsubfx. In the Connections Window,   
   > connect all their outputs to the same audio inputs as before. Configure   
   > each zynaddsubfx for a different instrument. Now you can play different   
   > instruments on the different virtual keyboards.   
   >    
   > By now you will have a good overview of setting up MIDI applications under   
   > Linux and routing them with JACK. The UbuntuStudioPreparation page will go   
   > a lot easier now.   
   >    
   > You're likely to end up with Rosegarden as your MIDI editor. I haven't   
   > used it too much myself but I did play with it for about an hour and as   
   > best I can tell it has no way of giving sound to the physical keyboard as   
   > you're using it to enter notes. I had to send my keyboard's MIDI output   
   > both to zynaddsubfx and to Rosegarden. This seems a bit kludgy so I may be   
   > missing something.   
   >    
   > Just post back in this thread if you have any problems. I'm no expert but   
   > I usually manage to stumble through things.   
      
      
   I'm trying to track down cables, so it may take a bit.  Thanks again.   
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