[64studio-devel] Re: DSSI

[Bill Allen]

Daniel James wrote:
> Hi Gabriel,
>
>> i am pleased that 64Studio is running quite nicely on my Compaq R4000 
>> / ATI xpress200m chipset-graphics / etc.
>
> Glad to hear it! :-)
>
>> so here is my question: are there any plans for DSSI, or even 
>> DSSI-VST (i know i would have to get the headers and compile :) )?
>
> The DSSI packages are available from Debian:
>
> http://packages.debian.org/cgi-bin/search_packages.pl?keywords=dssi&searchon=names&subword=1&version=testing&release=all 
>
>
> The easiest way to get these is to add a Debian line to your 
> /etc/apt/sources.list file:
>
> deb ftp://ftp.uk.debian.org/debian/ testing main
>
> where 'uk' is your local mirror. Then run an apt-get update before the 
> apt-get install 'packagename' command. You can also add repositories 
> and search for packages in Synaptic, if you prefer a GUI. Desktop -> 
> Administration -> Synaptic on the Gnome menu.
>
> We will probably add DSSI instruments in version 2.0, out some time 
> next year. At the moment, we're up against the space limitations of 
> the 700MB iso image. Not everyone has a DVD burner available, and we 
> really don't want to use multiple CD installs.
>
>> Clearly this is a great distro as it is for anyone who records a lot 
>> of audio, and produces music / post-production in a more traditional 
>> way; but there are very few options synth-wise that are part of the 
>> distro; or that is how it appears to a novice linux user like myself.
>
> There are actually six different synths included in the latest version 
> - we've tried to cover all the bases...
>
> 1. Ams is a modular synth with patch cables, like the Moog modular.
>
> 2. AmSynth is a knob-turning synth, like a VCS3
>
> 3. Hydrogen is a drum synth and sequencer, a bit like a TR808 but with 
> many other drum kits available
>
> 4. Qsynth is a GUI for playing your old-school soundfonts via the 
> fluidsynth engine
>
> 5. Qsampler is a GUI for LinuxSampler, which supports Gigasampler 
> files (you may not have this installed yet, as we've only recently 
> re-added it)
>
> 6. Zynaddsubfx is a keyboard synth, with lots of good sounds in the 
> presets and infinite tweakability
>
>> LMMS would be nice too, but finding the dependencies for debian 64 is 
>> proving too difficult for me. Also, Muse doesn't seem to work either.
>
> We've packaged Rosegarden 1.4.0 as the default sequencer.
>
>> I hope this doesn't come accross the wrong way. I think what you have 
>> done is amazing! But i am a musician and artist, not a technician, 
>> and am finding it frustrating trying to work it all out. (sigh)
>
> One of our aims for the distro is to make it as simple as possible to 
> use. Even expert Linux users can find configuration problems very 
> tedious.
>
> Cheers!
>
> Daniel
>
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One of the great things about DSSI is when using Rosegarden, for 
example, one can assign tracks to fluidsynth-dssi instruments within 
Rosegarden. These tracks and assignments (like plugins, volume, etc) are 
saved within RG, so that startup is easy even with a large number of 
tracks. In other words, you don't have to start external applications 
(like fluidsynth) in the proper order to have your RG tracks work correctly.

I installed DSSI like described above, but there isn't a package for 
fluidsynth-dssi, so I downloaded and built it from the tarball. This is 
a huge productivity gain for me and well worth including in subsequent 
releases.

Thanks for the great distro.

Bill