Puppy Audio Workstation!

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boohickey11
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 07:41

Puppy Audio Workstation!

#1 Post by boohickey11 »

Hello all,
I haven't been here in a while. Just thought I would start a thread to discuss my usage of Puppy to turn an old extra laptop I have into a portable digital audio recorder. The idea was to start out with a bare bones distro and add what I needed for recording. The less there is running on the computer the less chance there is of a crash in the middle of a recording. I am familiar with puppy as I played with it some years ago so I decided it would be a good idea.

So far, I have installed Slacko on the hard drive and installed Audacity. I plugged the mixer (Allen & Heath ZED 10) and didn't have to install any drivers. It already worked! Windows 7 recognized the mixer too but it doesn't use the data flow correctly. It treats a line level input as a mic and there is no way to change it. On a side note this feature was available on XP and it was discontinued (of course.)

I'll try to keep this thread updated as to how it all works out! And I'm open to any suggestions on how I can make it more stable and safe. For instance, I changed the temp folder for Audacity to a folder on the hard drive so that if there is a power issue or some other crash during a recording I wouldn't lose everything.

Volhout
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Joined: Sun 28 Dec 2008, 08:41

audio

#2 Post by Volhout »

studio1337

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darkcity
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#3 Post by darkcity »

Hi boohickey11

Sounds like an interesting project. I've used the big sister of that mixer
http://www.allen-heath.com/ahproducts/zed-10/

More details would be good-

What is the specification of the laptop you are using and the storage medium?

Are you connecting laptop to mixer via USB?

Moving temp files out of the savefile (using application configuration or symlinks) is a very good idea to avoid savefile bloat, as well as reliability issues.

What quality is the recording, no glitches?

On some computers I've found Jack to improve audio recording performance.
http://jackaudio.org/

boohickey11
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 07:41

#4 Post by boohickey11 »

Some specs:

Code: Select all

# uname -a
Linux puppypc13849 3.4.82 #1 SMP Mon Mar 3 17:15:25 EST 2014 i686 Genuine Intel(R) CPU           T2300  @ 1.66GHz GenuineIntel GNU/Linux
# lspci -v
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/PM/GMS, 943/940GML and 945GT Express Memory Controller Hub (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Capabilities: [e0] Vendor Specific Information: Len=09 <?>
	Kernel driver in use: agpgart-intel

00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
	Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16
	Memory at d8100000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=512K]
	I/O ports at 1800 [size=8]
	Memory at c0000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
	Memory at d8200000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256K]
	Expansion ROM at <unassigned> [disabled]
	Capabilities: [90] MSI: Enable- Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit-
	Capabilities: [d0] Power Management version 2
	Kernel driver in use: i915

00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/GME, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 03)
	Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Memory at d8180000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=512K]
	Capabilities: [d0] Power Management version 2

00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 43
	Memory at d8240000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
	Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 2
	Capabilities: [60] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit+
	Capabilities: [70] Express Root Complex Integrated Endpoint, MSI 00
	Capabilities: [100] Virtual Channel
	Capabilities: [130] Root Complex Link
	Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel

00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Bus: primary=00, secondary=02, subordinate=02, sec-latency=0
	I/O behind bridge: 00002000-00002fff
	Memory behind bridge: d4000000-d5ffffff
	Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 00000000d0000000-00000000d1ffffff
	Capabilities: [40] Express Root Port (Slot+), MSI 00
	Capabilities: [80] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit-
	Capabilities: [90] Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Capabilities: [a0] Power Management version 2
	Capabilities: [100] Virtual Channel
	Capabilities: [180] Root Complex Link
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Bus: primary=00, secondary=03, subordinate=03, sec-latency=0
	I/O behind bridge: 00003000-00003fff
	Memory behind bridge: d6000000-d7ffffff
	Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 00000000d2000000-00000000d3ffffff
	Capabilities: [40] Express Root Port (Slot+), MSI 00
	Capabilities: [80] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit-
	Capabilities: [90] Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Capabilities: [a0] Power Management version 2
	Capabilities: [100] Virtual Channel
	Capabilities: [180] Root Complex Link
	Kernel driver in use: pcieport

00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
	Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 23
	I/O ports at 1820 [size=32]
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
	Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 19
	I/O ports at 1840 [size=32]
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
	Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 18
	I/O ports at 1860 [size=32]
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02) (prog-if 00 [UHCI])
	Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16
	I/O ports at 1880 [size=32]
	Kernel driver in use: uhci_hcd

00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 02) (prog-if 20 [EHCI])
	Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 23
	Memory at d8444000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1K]
	Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 2
	Capabilities: [58] Debug port: BAR=1 offset=00a0
	Kernel driver in use: ehci_hcd

00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev e2) (prog-if 01 [Subtractive decode])
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0
	Bus: primary=00, secondary=04, subordinate=08, sec-latency=32
	I/O behind bridge: 00004000-00004fff
	Memory behind bridge: d8000000-d80fffff
	Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 0000000040000000-0000000043ffffff
	Capabilities: [50] Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366

00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801GBM (ICH7-M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0
	Capabilities: [e0] Vendor Specific Information: Len=0c <?>

00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801G (ICH7 Family) IDE Controller (rev 02) (prog-if 8a [Master SecP PriP])
	Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 19
	I/O ports at 01f0 [size=8]
	I/O ports at 03f4 [size=1]
	I/O ports at 0170 [size=8]
	I/O ports at 0374 [size=1]
	I/O ports at 1810 [size=16]
	Kernel driver in use: ata_piix

00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 82801GBM/GHM (ICH7 Family) SATA AHCI Controller (rev 02) (prog-if 01 [AHCI 1.0])
	Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 42
	I/O ports at 18d0 [size=8]
	I/O ports at 18c4 [size=4]
	I/O ports at 18c8 [size=8]
	I/O ports at 18c0 [size=4]
	I/O ports at 18b0 [size=16]
	Memory at d8444400 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=1K]
	Capabilities: [80] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit-
	Capabilities: [70] Power Management version 2
	Kernel driver in use: ahci

00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation N10/ICH 7 Family SMBus Controller (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Flags: medium devsel, IRQ 19
	I/O ports at 18e0 [size=32]

02:00.0 Ethernet controller: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. 88E8038 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller (rev 14)
	Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 44
	Memory at d4000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
	I/O ports at 2000 [size=256]
	Capabilities: [48] Power Management version 2
	Capabilities: [50] Vital Product Data
	Capabilities: [5c] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/2 Maskable- 64bit+
	Capabilities: [e0] Express Legacy Endpoint, MSI 00
	Capabilities: [100] Advanced Error Reporting
	Kernel driver in use: sky2

03:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 3945ABG [Golan] Network Connection (rev 02)
	Subsystem: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 45
	Memory at d6000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
	Capabilities: [c8] Power Management version 2
	Capabilities: [d0] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit+
	Capabilities: [e0] Express Legacy Endpoint, MSI 00
	Capabilities: [100] Advanced Error Reporting
	Capabilities: [140] Device Serial Number 00-18-de-ff-ff-b0-d1-9d
	Kernel driver in use: iwl3945

04:09.0 CardBus bridge: Texas Instruments PCIxx12 Cardbus Controller
	Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 168, IRQ 17
	Memory at 44000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
	Bus: primary=04, secondary=05, subordinate=08, sec-latency=176
	Memory window 0: 40000000-43fff000 (prefetchable)
	Memory window 1: 48000000-4bfff000
	I/O window 0: 00004000-000040ff
	I/O window 1: 00004400-000044ff
	16-bit legacy interface ports at 0001
	Kernel driver in use: yenta_cardbus

04:09.1 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Texas Instruments PCIxx12 OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller (prog-if 10 [OHCI])
	Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 18
	Memory at d8005000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=2K]
	Memory at d8000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
	Capabilities: [44] Power Management version 2
	Kernel driver in use: firewire_ohci

04:09.2 Mass storage controller: Texas Instruments 5-in-1 Multimedia Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO/xD)
	Subsystem: Gateway 2000 Device 0366
	Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 64, IRQ 17
	Memory at d8004000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]
	Capabilities: [44] Power Management version 2
	Kernel driver in use: tifm_7xx1

# cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor	: 0
vendor_id	: GenuineIntel
cpu family	: 6
model		: 14
model name	: Genuine Intel(R) CPU           T2300  @ 1.66GHz
stepping	: 8
microcode	: 0x39
cpu MHz		: 1667.000
cache size	: 2048 KB
physical id	: 0
siblings	: 2
core id		: 0
cpu cores	: 2
apicid		: 0
initial apicid	: 0
fdiv_bug	: no
hlt_bug		: no
f00f_bug	: no
coma_bug	: no
fpu		: yes
fpu_exception	: yes
cpuid level	: 10
wp		: yes
flags		: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx constant_tsc arch_perfmon bts aperfmperf pni monitor vmx est tm2 xtpr pdcm dtherm
bogomips	: 3327.63
clflush size	: 64
cache_alignment	: 64
address sizes	: 32 bits physical, 32 bits virtual
power management:

processor	: 1
vendor_id	: GenuineIntel
cpu family	: 6
model		: 14
model name	: Genuine Intel(R) CPU           T2300  @ 1.66GHz
stepping	: 8
microcode	: 0x39
cpu MHz		: 1667.000
cache size	: 2048 KB
physical id	: 0
siblings	: 2
core id		: 1
cpu cores	: 2
apicid		: 1
initial apicid	: 1
fdiv_bug	: no
hlt_bug		: no
f00f_bug	: no
coma_bug	: no
fpu		: yes
fpu_exception	: yes
cpuid level	: 10
wp		: yes
flags		: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx constant_tsc arch_perfmon bts aperfmperf pni monitor vmx est tm2 xtpr pdcm dtherm
bogomips	: 3327.63
clflush size	: 64
cache_alignment	: 64
address sizes	: 32 bits physical, 32 bits virtual
power management:

boohickey11
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 07:41

#5 Post by boohickey11 »

Also, it's a Gateway MX6958.

It was a Best Buy black friday special. I.E. a cheapo!

boohickey11
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 07:41

#6 Post by boohickey11 »

I haven't run the recoding quality through the ringer yet. I need a reliable tone source. Maybe I'll start off by just recording hours of silence and make sure there aren't any pops or other noise.

I'm just using a typical SATA drive.

I'm connecting to the mixer using USB. The mixer's built-in USB chip sends Two channels (L/R) of 16 bit/48khz audio. It can also receive stereo audio through USB or send one channel of audio to the computer while receiving one channel.

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darkcity
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#7 Post by darkcity »

Thanks for all the information. Its very useful to know which combinations of hardware work.

8)

boohickey11
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Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 07:41

#8 Post by boohickey11 »

Finally figured out how to prevent the computer from suspending with the lid closed (which would be a problem if it happened during a recording.)

I edited /etc/acpi/events/lid-conf to be:

Code: Select all

# This is a based on sample ACPID configuration
# Additional scripts catered specifically for Puppy Linux 4.1.x

event=button/lid*
#action=/etc/acpi/actions/suspend.sh
It didn't work at first because I forgot that since the file was already loaded I would need to restart the computer for the changes to take place. So now the screen goes black when I shut the lid but it does not go into suspension.

boohickey11
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 07:41

#9 Post by boohickey11 »

Then there was the wireless.

So, the wireless driver that pup wanted to use was iwl3945. It seems like it should have worked but it did not. Eventually, I went online and found a legacy driver called iwlegacy at http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/iwlegacy.

I unpacked the driver and just dragged it into /lib/firmware. It had to paste and replace another driver (which I assume is the intel driver that pup was trying to use.) After pasting it I went into wireless setup and it automatically scanned and found all the local hotspots, finally!

So I guess I needed the legacy driver. It works now so I am happy.

boohickey11
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#10 Post by boohickey11 »

Eventually, once my business has paid for itself, I will be getting an external A/D, or audio interface so that I can record 24-bit. For now I consider the business to owe me money for the equipment that I have already purchased. All in all I will need to make around $500 before the business is "out of the hole." :wink:

boohickey11
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Joined: Mon 05 Dec 2005, 07:41

#11 Post by boohickey11 »

Thank you for the Jack recommendation. I don't know if I will be needing anything like that for now but I will make a note to learn the ends and outs of it so that when I DO need it I already know the pitfalls that might cause problems.

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darkcity
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#12 Post by darkcity »

Glad you are making progress. Having a business plan is a solid idea.
8)

boohickey11
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#13 Post by boohickey11 »

I just finished recording my first gig on Saturday! The Puppy workstation worked like a champ. The only real problem was that I found out that I REALLY need some longer mic cables; we're talking a couple 75 footers! I had to sit way too close to the band. Who knew Bluegrass could hurt your ears!

I have a Facebook page now, although I need to add a lot to it. https://www.facebook.com/kissrecordinglouisville

I have installed puppy and audacity on a different, even older, laptop I have. I'm going to use it as a backup/test workstation. I will attempt to get a full feature DAW working on it before I attempt the same on my main workstation. I will use one of the programs from this thread: http://linuxmusicians.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=11430

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puppyluvr
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#14 Post by puppyluvr »

:D Hello,
Look into Studio 13.37.
Realtime kernel and Jack built in.
Audacity, Hydrogen, Rosegarden etc..
Free on this furum.
I use it a lot..
Close the Windows, and open your eyes, to a whole new world
I am Lead Dog of the
Puppy Linux Users Group on Facebook
Join us!

Puppy since 2.15CE...

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darkcity
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#15 Post by darkcity »

Great to see you making progress. What features are you looking for in a DAW? 8)

boohickey11
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#16 Post by boohickey11 »

For my purposes, I'm mostly focused on cleaning up the sound that I record. I spent a lot of time on this first project listening and finding the feedback that was occurring and pulling the feedback out with the equalizer in Audacity.

I am wanting to look into a setup that gives me the greatest flexibility as far as undoing any changes I make. Audacity will save changes until you close the program at which time all the changes become permanent.

I'm going to look for a good real-time audio spectrum analyzer so that, while I'm recording, if the system starts getting feedback I can find the frequency easier to cut it back on the monitors.

So, my main tower PC (Windows 7) which I built for decent gaming back in 2008 just had the power supply start going belly up. I decided about six months ago that when that PC started having problems I would gut it and rebuild it into a rack mountable chassis. So, my next project will be to do that and start building an audio rack. I'll probably dual boot Windows and some dedicated Linux DAW.

boohickey11
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#17 Post by boohickey11 »

Also, I've finished my first project and given the CD to my client. Now I'm finding out the joys of CD-R. I knew there may be problems with CD-Rs not working for people but I didn't expect it to be the first client. The last few songs played with digital noise in his car CD player but ripping the audio from my CD-R wasn't a problem and had no noise.

A great article to read on the subject (although it is a bit heavy) is here:
http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/ ... oblem.html

Basically, I need to find better CD-Rs and find out the best speed to burn. It turns out that it will depend on the burner as which speed to use. Generally slower is better but 1X and 2X have also caused problems from what research I've read.

I guess I'll need to try to find a finicky CD player as a test unit.

Mostly, I think this is only an actual problem when playing CD-Rs. My CD-Rs are not really for listening directly but more a delivery system for the 16Bit/44.1K audio.
Last edited by boohickey11 on Wed 30 Jul 2014, 14:23, edited 1 time in total.

boohickey11
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#18 Post by boohickey11 »


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darkcity
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#19 Post by darkcity »

CDs and DVDs can been a pain for sure. Not surprising there isn't much love for the format.

CD in Audio format are particularly tricky - as the format doesn't appear to be designed for data fidelity. Depending on the clients needs, maybe supply on CD in Data format.

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Smithy
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#20 Post by Smithy »

boohickey11 wrote: I spent a lot of time on this first project listening and finding the feedback that was occurring and pulling the feedback out with the equalizer in Audacity.

I'm going to look for a good real-time audio spectrum analyzer so that, while I'm recording, if the system starts getting feedback I can find the frequency easier to cut it back on the monitors.
Hi Boohickey, just wondering, would it not be best to find the reason for feedback occurring before recording? Are you using headphones to monitor or some kind of monitoring speakers?

Out of interest what (pair of?) mics are you using?

There are some realtime linux speccy analysers, that maybe you would have to feed from an aux bus, guess it might be best to find one as a plugin to a daw though for less cabling and complexity in tight situations!

Good to hear your approaches and good luck with your gigs.

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