Ubuntu Studio and Home Recording Studio Gear Setup

[kvk]

Okay~

I think I've finally decided on the set-up for a home studio running UbuntuStudio.


ADK Pro Audio Qube~4GB RAM~Dual Core Intel Penryn 3.0~
M-Audio 410 w/Firewire interface (two instrument mics)
PreSonus Blue Tube Preamp (for vocals- inputs into 410)
Shure KSM44 (vocal mic)
Pair of AKG C1000 (instrument mics)
KRK RP8G2 studio monitors (2)
Assorted cords, stands, pop filter, wave damping materials

My only concerns are getting the 410 to run correctly. I like the Firewire for transfer speed, but it might be worth it to use a USB interface if the effort to get the Firewire running is too complex.

Does anyone have any feedback on any of the specifics here? If not. I'll get it up and running and post the results.

Thanks!

[paulmerchant]

Your fears about the M-Audio 410 are most likely founded. M-Audio does not release drivers for Linux or driver information. Perhaps one of the audio driver projects will (or has) come up with something that works, but the functionality will probably be limited (or easily broken down the road). You'll be stuck using Windows or Mac.

Why not get a card that has drivers for Linux? Why not get one of the many USB devices supported by the Linux community? Why support a company that doesn't provide drivers or information for Linux users?

[Edit] By the way, the rest of your studio is great. Have fun!

[kvk]

True enough regarding the M-Audio. I had been directed towards the M-Audio Delta as having been widely used by Linux musicians, and wanted to see if I could get a Firewire interface working.

Is there any signal degradation using USB as opposed to Firewire? And what piece of gear might you recommend in its place? I made my first recordings back before the Mac Classic II had even appeared, so the new digital gear is all foreign territory to me.

[paulmerchant]

I haven't played with too many audio interfaces the last few years. (I inherited a Tascam US-122. It isn't great but it powers my microphones and works. And it's easy to use in Ubuntu.)

To be honest, I'm sort of with you in liking many of the Firewire interfaces better than the USB interfaces. I think there have traditionally been some advantages with better stability and a tiny bit less CPU overhead on Firewire interfaces. But no, your audio shouldn't suffer at all for using USB. If you are even thinking about Linux, go with something that's well-supported.

[kvk]

I'm definitely using Linux, so that settles some issues.

After talking with the folks over at Presonus, I might replace the Presonus Blue Tube and the M-Audio 410 with a single unit form Presonus: the FP 10. They've indicated it's Linux-supported, and I found it on the Linuxstudiopro page, so that looks good.

[russo.mic]

The Firepod from Presonus works great under Freebob, pretty easy to get going. And best of all, if you buy up to 2 more, you can daisy chain them for up to 24 channels. Works reliably as hell, even with 3! I use them all the time.

The USB Interfaces for the most part, aren't really good enough for much IMO. Most of them aren't TRUE full Duplex, giving you an option to mix between one of the input channels and the stereo buss, and it kinda sucks.

Plus, firepods are cheap! The pres and A/D converts are okay for the money, can you always just buy new ones anyway!

Russo

[Julián Fernández]

The Firepod from Presonus works great under Freebob, pretty easy to get going. And best of all, if you buy up to 2 more, you can daisy chain them for up to 24 channels. Works reliably as hell, even with 3! I use them all the time.

The USB Interfaces for the most part, aren't really good enough for much IMO. Most of them aren't TRUE full Duplex, giving you an option to mix between one of the input channels and the stereo buss, and it kinda sucks.

Plus, firepods are cheap! The pres and A/D converts are okay for the money, can you always just buy new ones anyway!

Russo

Would you please help me set my Firepod? Thanks!

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=897236&highlight=firepod