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Post subject: Alsa, SB-Live
 Posted: Oct 08, 2005 - 13:12
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Newbie
Joined: Oct 23, 2004
Posts: 12
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Has anyone here got midi working;
on Pegasos, with a sound card
with debian, or, for that matter any Linux distribution???
I have a PegasosII with an SB-Live card. I wanted that card for it's midi-capabilities. I use midi a lot (on the wife's Wintel), and manage a web-site for a choir with lots of midis for practice; so I neeed to be able to run midi-files.
The first problem after installing alsa is that programs complain that they can't find things like /dev/sequencer.
Running ....alsa-base/snddevices, seems to fix that problem. At least I got a ton of new entries in /dev and /dev/snd
However, now the midi players ran without complaining, but without a sound.
May be, I thought, one has to load the sound-font on every start-up, so I tried;
-- sfxload /etc/midi/CT4MGM.SF2
at which sfxload retorted,
-- No AWE synth device is found
I found some advice that seemed to be almost up-to-date (http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/history/364572), and took some of what seemed to be relevant;
pegian:/home/ron/Music# modprobe snd-seq-midi
pegian:/home/ron/Music# modprobe snd-emu10k1-synth
pegian:/home/ron/Music# modprobe snd-emux-synth
Now sfxload seemed to do it's thing. But still no midi sound. And this time no wav, mp3 or ogv either.
Running alsaconf fixed that last problem.
I've been a bit long winded. but do any of you have any suggestions as to what I might have been doing wrong or misunderstood? Or is it a problem with powerpc-Debian?
Vanliga Halsningar |
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Post subject: RE: Alsa, SB-Live
Posted: Oct 08, 2005 - 13:26
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Order of the Butterfly
Joined: Aug 26, 2003
Posts: 1784
Location: Malmö
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| ChrisWhite of Gentoo fame had the Pegasos (II) running with MIDI at some convention in the US. You should talk to him about that as he seems to have an interest in those sorts of things, and he found the Pegasos to be a great platform for that purpose. You can usually find him on irc.freenode.net in #Gentoo-ppc |
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I need this baby in a month send me nine women!
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Post subject: RE: Alsa, SB-Live
Posted: Oct 08, 2005 - 13:26
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Order of the Pegasos
Joined: Aug 16, 2003
Posts: 2538
Location: Göteborg
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Hi Ron,
Can you please post a link to some site containing MIDI-files for downloading ?
Edit,
Found a site. |
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Mvh Gunne
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Post subject: Re: RE: Alsa, SB-Live
Posted: Oct 08, 2005 - 13:52
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Newbie
Joined: Oct 23, 2004
Posts: 12
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| gunne wrote: | Hi Ron,
Can you please post a link to some site containing MIDI-files for downloading ? |
My first impulse was to lead you to the site I manage, but it's members only, and there are legal issues...
Also, many of them may not sound all that good. They are only intended for practice...
You can find midi-files all over the place. When most people had telephone-modems they were almost the only option. They often sound quite bad...
These files you can have, 'cause they are my (choir) arrangements based on traditional songs
http://www.utoroa.com/Filer/Midi/2crows_SATB.mid
http://www.utoroa.com/Filer/Midi/Michael.mid |
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Alsa, SB-Live
Posted: Oct 08, 2005 - 14:12
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Order of the Pegasos
Joined: Aug 16, 2003
Posts: 2538
Location: Göteborg
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Hi Ron,
I found this site: http://www.mididb.com/
And I would like to be interested in knowing more about this things. So if you find more information on this subject, for instance in Linux, I would be interested to know.
I also would like to know whats the benefit is in using a Soundblaster Live soundcard for this purpose instead of the Pegasos onboard audio, if there is any ?
Why I wonder this, is that we do sell a Midi interface that amongst other computers suites also the Pegasos, and it is delivered including the MorphOS software Bars'n Pipes, which is said to be known as one of the best programs for manipulating and editing midi files and to work with midi music instruments.
On the Pegasos this equipment is aimed to be used together with the Pegasos onboard audio.
The Bars'n Pipes website is to find here: http://www.alfred-j-faust.de/indexeng.html
There is also other information, also about MIDI, on the website.
And I rember I played a little with it on the Amiga several years ago, maybe 10 years ago or something.  |
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Mvh Gunne
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Alsa, SB-Live
Posted: Oct 08, 2005 - 16:08
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Newbie
Joined: Oct 23, 2004
Posts: 12
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I'm no expert, more a struggling newbe.
A sound-card like the SB-Live uses sound-banks with a much higher fidelity than those on normal computer mother-boards. That, I assume, is the difference. Also, the SB-Live (and Audiology?) can be loaded with different "sound-fonts". I know that this made a huge difference when I put a Soundblaster card in the wife's PC...
As far as I know, a midi-interface, is a device for communication with keyboards and musical instruments. That's not what I need...
All I want is to click on a file and listen to it. 
Midi on SB-Live should work in Linux. The drives are in the kernal, alsa supports the card, and the programs to play the files are common. (Kmid even runs through the text of my songs when it can find dev/sequencer, no sound though). Unfortunately most of the information about making it work that I have managed to find on the web seems to have been a bit out of date or relevant to other distributions. I've seen that other people have had similar problems...
I have also played with midi on the Amiga. There was a great program called (Octa)med that could output midi files. That wasn't 10 years ago, but it seems like 20.  |
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Alsa, SB-Live
Posted: Oct 08, 2005 - 18:24
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Order of the Butterfly
Joined: Sep 08, 2003
Posts: 1370
Location: EU
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| Not sure about the current status of the ALSA driver emu10k1, but it used to be that the MIDI wasn't supported with the driver and the same was true for the open source driver from Creative, but you should be able to find a bit information about the driver and what it supports on the alsa-project home page. You can always use timidity to play midi files, of course it won't be as good as using the midi features on a SB Live card. |
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Join the Pegasos.Org Team at Seti@Home.
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Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Alsa, SB-Live
Posted: Oct 08, 2005 - 20:32
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Order of the Pegasos
Joined: Aug 16, 2003
Posts: 2538
Location: Göteborg
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Ron,
Well, ok Im not sure either, thats why I'm asking, as people tends to pop up speaking about how good a Soundblaster is compared with the Pegasos onboard audio.
The audio chip used in Pegasos is Sigmatel STAC9766T.
You can read about this chip at the manufacturers website here: http://www.sigmatel.com/products/stac9766pb.htm
Product sheet is here: http://www.sigmatel.com/documents/stac9766pb-4-0.pdf
At least it offers 20bit full duplex stereo and SigmaTel SS3D Surround, digital output, and there is also a MIDI connector on the Pegasos motherboard.
Yes, the MIDI Interface is aimed for communicating with external MIDI equipments and instruments.
I have not tried yet to play any MIDI files with any software, but probably Timidity as Trizt suggest should work to use in Linux.
Here is a list of Linux software I did find when looking around: http://linux-sound.org/midi.html
I will ask kicko again when I meet him. He is a musician and uses this kind of software each and everyday...
And I leave this with MIDI features for now, to them who knows better about this things..
Will give it a try little later, and see if i can play some MIDI files in Linux. |
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Mvh Gunne
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Post subject:
Posted: Oct 08, 2005 - 21:11
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Newbie
Joined: Oct 23, 2004
Posts: 12
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A lot of the information of a later date that I have seen, like the link I mentioned in the o p, seem to imply that it should work. I think I read somewhere that Midi runs in Debian "out of the box".
I could try Timidity, though it seems a shame when should I have the resources on the sound-card (it's the reason that I thought I needed the sound-card), and I suspect that it uses a lot more cpu-time.
I just had a look at alsa-project.org and realized it might be a matter of permissions. I might try doing it all again tomorrow, though I realy ought to try and spend some time on some other stuff... |
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Post subject:
Posted: Oct 09, 2005 - 08:21
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Order of the Pegasos
Joined: Aug 16, 2003
Posts: 2538
Location: Göteborg
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I tried KMid and Timidity. Timidity did work playing MIDI files with, I couldn't get KMid to work for some reason (no sound).
Yes, I know it works playing this kind of files 'out of the box' as to say with Windows and Internet Explorer by clicking on a such file in IE, and the Media player will start and play the sound through the sound card. At least it works this way in some Windows versions.
When you find a way you like in Linux, you probably have to configure Mozilla, Opera or Firefox (or what you use) to start the application when you click on a link containing a such link. Some applications may also allow to draw and drop files/links in its window. KMid is supposed to work this way I think.
I myself mainly use Ibrowse in MorphOS for browsing the net, and I have configured its mimetypes to start certains applications on certains occations, like for stream-mp3 for instance. The updated OpenURL did help a lot here, in making it easier to get working.
PS. I must say when trying som MIDI files now, it sounded little 'old-sounded' or how to say . I played some Beatles tunes.
Sorry, I couldn't be of much more help here. |
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Mvh Gunne
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Post subject:
Posted: Oct 09, 2005 - 08:36
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Order of the Butterfly
Joined: Aug 26, 2003
Posts: 1784
Location: Malmö
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| Mr Jeremy, I suggest you talk to ChrisWhite, he really is an expert on this subject. If you are unable to get a hold of him via IRC you can probably find him at forums.gentoo.org. I'm sure he will help you, as a fellow MIDI affecionado, even though you are running Debian. |
_________________
I need this baby in a month send me nine women!
Last edited by dholm on Oct 09, 2005 - 11:09; edited 1 time in total
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Post subject:
Posted: Oct 09, 2005 - 08:40
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Order of the Pegasos
Joined: Jan 22, 2004
Posts: 2517
Location: Göteborg
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Post subject:
Posted: Oct 09, 2005 - 11:08
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Newbie
Joined: Oct 23, 2004
Posts: 12
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| ironfist wrote: | | What was this topic about? Windows or Linux?.. |
Just a minute...
linux = True
windows = False
answer = (windows or linux)
...
Yes! |
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Post subject:
Posted: Oct 09, 2005 - 11:09
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Order of the Butterfly
Joined: Aug 26, 2003
Posts: 1784
Location: Malmö
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Post subject:
Posted: Oct 09, 2005 - 16:06
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Order of the Pegasos
Joined: Aug 16, 2003
Posts: 2538
Location: Göteborg
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Hi,
When you are discussions around Linux or Windows I keep on using MorphOS
Anyway, for coming back to topic, I gave it some more tries in Linux. I compiled libmid which is supposed to work as a plug-in to xmms for playing MIDI-files. xmms is a quite nice multimedia player btw.
However it did not work. Could only make it to result in crap sound so far. Maybe it can be a benefit here with a SB Live, as it contains some synthesizer effects and 48 MIDI channels as what I understand. A benefit with SB Live could also be if the jack sound server works to use with this card, as some Linux Audio software rely on this server. |
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Mvh Gunne
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