Ubuntu Sequencer
March 9, 2016 1:11 AM Subscribe
I am looking for a sequencer for Ubuntu Linux, something cheap or inexpensive please, as I am poor.
I have acquired a broken MC303, the dial doesn't work, some of the buttons don't work, and the little, plastic piano keyboard is broken, so I want to midi it up to access the sounds. I have used Cubase in the past (a long time ago when it was a much simpler program) so something like that would be good. Some caveats: It needs to work through midi via USB. I am not a midi engineer, I just know how to hook stuff up, so I don't want anything tricky to use or set up, but also to be powerful enough to do more when you get used to it. Preferrably something with good, easy to understand documentation. Also, if anyone has a suggestion as to the best small mixer to link this and a drum machine and a bass-station to, that would be appreciated. Again, cost is an issue, so nothing fancy or expensive please.
I have acquired a broken MC303, the dial doesn't work, some of the buttons don't work, and the little, plastic piano keyboard is broken, so I want to midi it up to access the sounds. I have used Cubase in the past (a long time ago when it was a much simpler program) so something like that would be good. Some caveats: It needs to work through midi via USB. I am not a midi engineer, I just know how to hook stuff up, so I don't want anything tricky to use or set up, but also to be powerful enough to do more when you get used to it. Preferrably something with good, easy to understand documentation. Also, if anyone has a suggestion as to the best small mixer to link this and a drum machine and a bass-station to, that would be appreciated. Again, cost is an issue, so nothing fancy or expensive please.
LMMS?
Though with open-source software you often get what you pay for in terms of documentation -- I understand LMMS because it shares a LOT of UI overlap with FL Studio, which is fairly skeuomorphic to start from, but if you're starting from no prior experience I could see it being a bit problematic.
posted by Alterscape at 7:40 AM on March 9, 2016
Though with open-source software you often get what you pay for in terms of documentation -- I understand LMMS because it shares a LOT of UI overlap with FL Studio, which is fairly skeuomorphic to start from, but if you're starting from no prior experience I could see it being a bit problematic.
posted by Alterscape at 7:40 AM on March 9, 2016
You can edit midi sequences either in piano-roll or score mode using Rosegarden.
I found RG to be a little crashy, though, and would recommend trying other programs first.
+1 to "you get what you pay for in terms of documentation." I had to learn much more than I wanted to get Rosegarden going. Stuff that was painless in Garage Band was quite the opposite in the Ubuntu world.
As for mixers, I have a tiny four-channel Behringer unit that has served me well for a few years, but I don't ask a lot of it, just that it has mixer knobs that get louder when I turn them clockwise.
posted by Sauce Trough at 11:34 AM on March 9, 2016
I found RG to be a little crashy, though, and would recommend trying other programs first.
+1 to "you get what you pay for in terms of documentation." I had to learn much more than I wanted to get Rosegarden going. Stuff that was painless in Garage Band was quite the opposite in the Ubuntu world.
As for mixers, I have a tiny four-channel Behringer unit that has served me well for a few years, but I don't ask a lot of it, just that it has mixer knobs that get louder when I turn them clockwise.
posted by Sauce Trough at 11:34 AM on March 9, 2016
Tracktion works in Linux, Mac, and Windows and is full featured yet very easy to use. I don’t know anything about the Linux setup though.
It is not free, but $60.
posted by bongo_x at 12:55 PM on March 9, 2016
It is not free, but $60.
posted by bongo_x at 12:55 PM on March 9, 2016
If you really just want literally MIDI support only, and don't need any other functionality and don't anticipate needing any, you can try seq24 (very very minimal but meant to be used live) or Jazz++. Jazz++ in particular is super old-school, but I've used it and it works.
One quick note is that you may also need to install jackd in order to get decent latency, depending on your setup. (Try without it first because it can be a little fiddly.)
posted by en forme de poire at 6:03 PM on March 10, 2016
One quick note is that you may also need to install jackd in order to get decent latency, depending on your setup. (Try without it first because it can be a little fiddly.)
posted by en forme de poire at 6:03 PM on March 10, 2016
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posted by greenish at 2:55 AM on March 9, 2016