Sound Working With Fast track Pro But Ardour or Guitairx Not Picking It Up...

[setanta]

Hi there, thanks for all the help with the previous posts, I am over from Windows & Sonar Producer so new to Linux. Sound is now working through Fast Track Pro if I play a DVD or Youtube but no sound from Ardour, Guitarix or Rackarrack none are registering the signal from my Guitar so in Ardour for instance nothing is recorded even though the guitar is coming through the monitors via Fast Track Pro. I have tried playing around with Jack set up as the input and outputs on Jack set up give me the following options Fast Track Pro or USB Audio# 1. Both combinations allow sound via Youtube DVD but Ardour or other Guitar software will not connect.

Any ideas's?

Thanks

[varpa]

Since you are new to Linux I recommend reading more about how Jack works.   I suggest reading the Jack section in the AVLinux manual, and this section (or really all) of the "Introduction to Ardour" FLOSS Manual: http://en.flossmanuals.net/ardour/ch015_starting-jack-on-ubuntu/    (written, for Ubuntu, but after the part about how to start QJackCtl, the rest is the same for AVLinux).

[setanta]

Hi, once more thanks for your reply. I assumed that Ardour would just pick up the Guitar signal as Jack seemed to be connected to it. I read up on Jack via the link you posted and the AV manual on that basis I tried playing around with Jack and connecting manually but still no sound.. Any suggestions would be appreciated, perhaps a screen shot of what Jack connectivity to Ardour should look like, if you or anyone else had time. I am very keen to learn Linux recording.

Thanks.

[GMaq]

Hi

I don't personally have a FTP to test but there is an excellent blog article by Joe Giampaoli here: http://joegiampaoli.blogspot.ca/2011/06/m-audio-fast-track-pro-for-debian-linux.html

Now you don't have to worry about all the kernel and setup stuff in that article because AV Linux has it all done for you, however I have attached the screenshot of the Qjackctl setup from the blog which may help you choose your settings. You will need to pay attention to the Input and Output device settings specifically and see if they work for you.

[varpa]

I recommend working through the Ardour floss manual.   You need to start an Ardour session, create a track, route your guitar input to the track.   Look at this section of the manual:  http://en.flossmanuals.net/ardour/ch023_recording-audio/

I attached a picture of what the configuration for Guitarix might look like.   My guitar is plugged into capture_1 which would correspond to physical "input 1" on your Fast Track.  Your screen probably will show a different number of inputs, whatever the Fast Track provides.  I connected "capture_1" to in_0 of gx_head_amp.  At this point when you strum your guitar you should see meter move on guitarix.  If it does not then check that connections, both real (guitar cable, correct input jack), and the Jack connections.   Also in the picture the output of gx_head_amp (out_0) connects to the input of gx_head_fx (in_0), and the output of gx_head_fx (2 channels, i.e. stereo) to the system out (playback1, playback_2) which would be the output jacks of the Fast Track presumably connected to speakers or headphone.

To record, route the outputs of gx_head_fx to a stereo track on Ardour.

[setanta]

Many Thanks For All the Help. This helps loads.

[canezila]

I have a Fast Track Pro.  I hate it.  For the LONGEST time it was not working with any kernels.. and I never successfully got the patches working ... the output works but the input did not. 

I swear that recently, I had it working (but just to test it out)... but right now, I cant get the ins to register through jack.  I am so thankful I have other devices now.  I spent so many painful hours failing on this throughout the years.  This device humbled me for sure.

You are in the best area to get it fixed.  I wish you good luck. 

[pgreenwood]

Again, my naive sense is that USB is a well-established, single standard. The challenge is with ALSA and JACK. This link  http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=63419&start=40  got me on the right track.

I think.

[varpa]

Well, USB is not a single standard.  There is a USB 1.1 audio standard which is supported by Linux and luckily many older USB audio devices do use it.  There is also a USB 2.0 audio standard which is supported by Linux. but unfortunately, is NOT widely used by USB 2.0 audio devices (these devices require specific drivers, which are almost never provided for Linux).  The unfortunate truth is that with Linux you need to investigate hardware compatibility very carefully before buying.    The problem, as always, is that many vendors neither provide driver or information to allow open source drivers to be written.

[pgreenwood]

Thank you for the clarification. I will seriously have to get better educated about hardware now that I've dipped my toes into the AV water. It appears my Vostro 1320 has USB 2.0. It's not clear to me what version the iO4 has. The Alesis site says "The USB interface is class compliant for plug-and-play operation with Mac OS X and Windows XP, Vista and 7." I will keep testing it.

[varpa]

"USB Class-Compliant" is a good sign.  There is some information about linux compatibility at these places:
http://www.alsa-project.org/main/index.php/Matrix:Main   and   http://wiki.linuxmusicians.com/doku.php?id=hardware

[setanta]

Many Thanks I got Ardour to record and playback. I think Linux is great but there is a learning curve involved in the audio side which is no bad thing although time is a factor. I am beginning to see this more clearly now compared to producing audio on Windows. I intend to continue learning to produce on Linux but I realise this will take time, so I may continue to use Windows and Reaper from time to time. I think AV Linux is great and have told a number of people about it! Many thanks

[trulan]

Glad you got it working!

But be warned:  Once you get the hang of how Jack connections work, you may find yourself so discontented with all other OS's that you just might end up being stuck using Linux whether you like it or not.   

Now that you've got it working, I would recommend spending some time playing with Jack connections in Patchage.  It gives a good visual representation of how audio is routed in Jack.  Blue boxes are audio, green boxes are alsa MIDI, red boxes are Jack MIDI (yes, there are two separate MIDI systems in Linux - don't ask me why).  You can connect and disconnect virtual wires by clicking on inputs and outputs, or by clicking and dragging from an input to an output, etc.

Happy audio production!

[varpa]

As an aside the reason there are 2 midi systems is historic - Alsa midi is the original, part of alsa, obviously.   Jack midi is more recent, and is improved, for example less timing jitter.   You can use "aj2midid" to allow interconnections between alsa and jack midi.   I start aj2midid automatically when starting Jack by including the line "/usr/bin/a2jmidid -e &" in QJackCtl->Setup->Options->Execute Script after startup.
Alsa hardware devices will use Alsa midi, whereas firewire will use Jack midi.   Software will use one or the other or both depending how it is written.

[trulan]

Right.  Don't ask me that question, ask varpa.