How too ubuntu studio + m-audio fast track usb

[barbe-et-hache]

This will explain how I did to make my m-audio fast track usb work with my built in sound card on ubuntu studio.

My sound cards are :

• hda-intel with conexant chip
• m-audio fast track usb

I have a built in sound card that use the driver hda-intel from alsa, the module is called snd-hda-intel. Please replace those names by the correct one for your sound card.
The commands lspci lsmod | grep snd and the alsa web site may help you.

If you are a feisty user, to use your sound card with the best results (for recording), please install the low latency kernel.



To see if your card is recognized by your alsa version, try the command
$ cat /proc/asound/cards
it will return the recognized sound card. If your usb device is not in the list, you may have to build alsa from sources, else proceed to configuring jack.

ALSA
In my case, I had to build alsa from source because the conexant chip is better supported with the last version. Download

• alsa-driver
• alsa-lib
• alsa-utils

from the alsa website.
untar them with the command
$ tax -xf alsa-driver-version && tax -xf alsa-lib-version && tax -xf alsa-utils-version
Build the driver :
$ sudo apt-get install build-essential
$ cd alsa-driver*
$ ./configure --with-cards=hda-intel,usb-audio --with-sequencer=yes
$ make
$ sudo make install
Build the lib
$ cd ../alsa-lib*
$ ./configure && make && sudo make install
Build the utilis
$ cd ../alsa-utils*
$ ./configure && make && sudo make install
reboot and check if your both sound cards are recognized by your system
$ cat /proc/asound/cards

Configuring Jack
Right now you have your laptop sound card as the default sound card. We will see in the next section how to correct this. Lets check if everything is alright.
Launch jack
$ qjackctl
or select JACK control in the sound & video menu.
launch the setup in jack and configure jack :

• select Realtime
• Frames/Period 128
• Interface Fast Track
• intput device Fast track

Launch the server and open the Messages window. If everything works fine (no xrun), you can test the output with hydrogen for instance, and the input by recording you favorite instrument with ardour.

Everything okay? Let's make this sound card the default sound card.

Fast Track as default

open the texte file /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base
$ sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base
and replace the line
options snd-usb-audio index=-2
with
#options snd-usb-audio index=-2

create a file called /etc/modprobe.d/sound
$ sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/sound
and put the following lines in it
options snd-usb-audio index=0
options snd-hda-intel index=1


Lets play !!

[kangol69]

Thanks Again.

[Drophere]

Originally Posted by barbe-et-hache Launch the server and open the Messages window. If everything works fine (no xrun), you can test the output with hydrogen for instance, and the input by recording you favorite instrument with ardour.

Thanks for posting these details on how you got things working on your system.

I followed your instructions and my card is recognised, but I can't find a Qjackctl combination that gets rid of xruns. Do you have any suggestions on how to get rid of xruns?

Cheers,

Malcolm.

[barbe-et-hache]

Could you tell me more about your configuration (sound card, cpu, and kernel) ? I could help you to get the lowest latency possible. I will also post a How to get the lowest latency with ubuntu feisty, I could test it on you first .

Basicaly, to get ride of xruns, you need to increase the Frames/Period until there is no more xruns. If your sound card is not well supported, you may continu to get xruns wathever the jack config you use. I had the problem with an Audiophile usb from m-audio.

[Drophere]

Originally Posted by barbe-et-hache Could you tell me more about your configuration (sound card, cpu, and kernel) ? I could help you to get the lowest latency possible. I will also post a How to get the lowest latency with ubuntu feisty, I could test it on you first

OK.

Here's the output of $ cat /proc/asound/cards:

0 [V8235 ]: VIA8233 - VIA 8235
VIA 8235 with ALC650D at 0xd400, irq 19
1 [Speedio ]: USB-Audio - Speedio
Novation EMS Speedio at usb-0000:00:10.2-2, full speed

It's the Novation that I'd like to get to work with Qjackctl.

The Novation is not on the list of supported cards at alsa-project, but it gets identified correctly by the OS. If I go to System > Preferences > Sound I can see "USB Audio" as an option for "Sound Events" and the other preferences, but it does not appear as a device under "Default Mixer Tracks". If I try the "Test" button with USB Audio selected, audio gets sent to the Novation but it sounds like it's playing back at the wrong sample rate. The pitch is about half what it is when I "Test" using the VIA.

In Qjackctl I see both "hw 1: Speedio" and "hw 1,0: USB Audio".

If I select USB Audio as the playback device in Audacity, the program terminates as soon as I press play.

I'm not sure if this device can be made to work with Ubuntu Studio, but I'm happy to test things if there's a possibility.

Cheers,

Malcolm.

[barbe-et-hache]

Hi Drophere,

I still don't now if you are using a low latency kernel. Are you using Ubuntu studio?
Tell me which version of ubuntu you are using.

[Drophere]

Ubuntu Studio.

[barbe-et-hache]

Guys from Ubuntu Studio prepared a new kernel (a real time kernel). I tried it yesterday and it solved all my problems with xruns and Jack Server. I suggest you give it a try. You can find information and the kernel on this thread.