No audio input from Tascam US-122

[Zawiedek]

Hi!

I'm trying to get a Tascam US-122 USB interface to run on a newly installed AVL 5.0.3.

My status:

• The USB LED lights up.
• Running Jack, JACK has a TASCAM entry in the Connection > ALAS-MIDI tab, but no entry under Audio.
• Without Jack, Audacity lets me select TASCAM US-X2Y as playback and recording devices. However, if I start recording, Audacity stops after about half a second.
• Recording in Audacity with e.g. internal mic works fine. When I try to playback using th US-122, I get the error:

Code:

Error while opening sound device. Please check the output device settings and the project sample rate.

lsusb says:

Code:

Bus 002 Device 004: ID 1604:8007 Tascam US-122 Audio/Midi Interface

Haven't tested MIDI connection, but Audio is much more important to me.

I'm new to AV Linux, but familiar with Linux in general.


Thanks for advice!

[varpa]

First I suggest some background reading about Jack.  See the AVLinux manual, and this page:
http://en.flossmanuals.net/ardour/ch015_starting-jack-on-ubuntu/    (which describes QJackCtl setup).

Also, on Linux there are 2 systems for midi access - alsa midi, provided by alsa drivers whose connections show up on the QJackCtl "alsa" panel.  These connections appear independently of whether Jack is running, since they are provided by alsa, not jack.   The is also jack  midi which is a newer and better implementation provided by Jack, which shows up on the "midi" tab of QJackCtl.  If you run "aj2midid" an "a2j" connection appears in "midi" showing the alsa midi connections, allowing you to interconnect alsa and jack midi connections.  

Anyway, I think your first attempt to use the Tascam US-122 with Jack did not work since you did not see any Audio entries, only Alsa entries which, as I said above, are provided by Alsa, and do not require Jack to run.  

I'm not sure what your problem with Audacity is.  You can check the list of audio cards known to alsa with "aplay -l" command.  This will hopefully show your Tascam as well as onboard sound card.   To use the Tascam with Jack you'll need to select it in the "Interface" box in the QJackCtl setup screen.  You can check the QJackCtl Messages panel to check whether you have succeeded in starting Jack or not with the Tascam.

However, Audacity should be able to use the card directly (without Jack) with the alsa connection.  Audacity can also use Jack with the portaudio connection, but this is clumsy - the Jack connections appear dynamically only when you record or playback and are not permanent.  Programs with better Jack implementation like Ardour or Qtractor allow permanent connections which are much easier to work with.   I suggest checking the audacity forums or googling to figure out the audacity error message.

[GMaq]

Hi

I have a US 122 myself and it should work OOTB. I find occasionally I have to plug it in unplug it and plug it back in to get the green light to go on. I suggest plugging it in first and then starting JACK. I can confirm it works here so the necessary kernel drivers, firmware loaders, and udev rules are present. Are you certain your USB cable is good and plugged in securely?

[Zawiedek]

Thanks, varpa and GMaq, for your hints!

I tried to get more insight on this issue and also googled some more.

I'm not sure what your problem with Audacity is.  You can check the list of audio cards known to alsa with "aplay -l" command.  This will hopefully show your Tascam as well as onboard sound card.   To use the Tascam with Jack you'll need to select it in the "Interface" box in the QJackCtl setup screen.  You can check the QJackCtl Messages panel to check whether you have succeeded in starting Jack or not with the Tascam.

However, Audacity should be able to use the card directly (without Jack) with the alsa connection.  Audacity can also use Jack with the portaudio connection, but this is clumsy - the Jack connections appear dynamically only when you record or playback and are not permanent.  Programs with better Jack implementation like Ardour or Qtractor allow permanent connections which are much easier to work with.   I suggest checking the audacity forums or googling to figure out the audacity error message.

Indeed, on my outdated notebook with Ubuntu studio, I was using Audacity + ALSA only for a quick recording session to get hold of an idea and Jack/Ardour/Hydrogen/etc. setup for more serious recording projects. Because it all works on the old notebook, I know that the Tascam and USB cable are OK and functional, but better safe than sorry.

I checked aplay -l and the Tascam is identified correctly. I also had a look at the udev setups - they are in place. I even tried to start the loaders manually from command line and it worked without error. I did this as root, however, might try it as user again. But I think the Tascam is there and ready to go.

BTW, I was able to get some stuttered sounds from the Tascam via Jack when I leave the Interface setting on default and select the Tascam as input device. Jack has hundreds of xruns then.

I think the problem is with ALSA. Jack aside, the behaviour in Audacity reminds me of the situation when ALSA cannot start another audio application because it is already busy. How can I look into the ALSA setup?

Either that, or a rights problem. I had an awkward error I could not log in after install and had to reset the user and root passwords.

[GMaq]

Hi

Hmmm I wonder if the installation problem is causing an issue here, that is certainly not normal to require password resets something has definitely not gone according to plan there...also you should never have to run audio apps as Root to have them work.

Can you try the US-122 using the AV Linux LiveDVD or LiveUSB? It would be interesting to see if it works properly with the LiveDVD, anything that works on the LiveDVD should work on an install and the fact you had an installation problem may indicate a bad download or burn of the ISO in the first place.

I've been using a US-122 with JACK on Linux for years and one thing I've found is they are not low-latency devices at all, At settings less than 512 fpp and with less than 3 buffers US-122 will make crackly static noises even if no xruns are reported by Qjackctl, I love mine and use it all the time but unless I use it at 1024fpp with 3 buffers it is unstable and will randomly disconnect and cause issues with Ardour and Mixbus, if  use the settings I mentioned it will run all day long with no problems at all.

You may want to consider waiting a week or so and trying again with AV Linux 6.0 which will be a complete new ISO with MANY improvements, bug fixes, updated programs and other goodies.

[Grooveschmied]

Yeah! He said it. 1 week (or so...). 
I'm so hungry.

[Zawiedek]

Thanks, GMaq, zjat you keep on trying to solve this!  

The new version will definitely be worth a try. Looking forward to it!!

In the meantime I tell you what I tried, if you don't mind.

Using ALSA without Jack, I reported above Audacity starts recording for about half a second but then plain stops while still in record mode. I plugged in a guitar and found out that during this short amount of time the US-122 signal is actually recorded. I can playback over the Intel HDA sound card and the recording is without noise or stuttering.

I think this must be an ALSA problem. I blacklisted the internal sound card in case the devices would conflict in some way but that didn't help.

BTW, the internal sound card works flawlessly, recording the internal mic, the MIC IN jack (Guitarix makes fun  ), and playback over the speakers and the headphone jack.

Can you try the US-122 using the AV Linux LiveDVD or LiveUSB? It would be interesting to see if it works properly with the LiveDVD, anything that works on the LiveDVD should work on an install and the fact you had an installation problem may indicate a bad download or burn of the ISO in the first place.

In fact, yesterday I burned another DVD from the torrent sources, because the first one was from FTP download. I even checked md5sums with the 2nd DVD, but the behaviour of the US-122 was the same with both Live-DVDs. At the first Live-DVD try, I thought the US-122 problem would have been a minor issue that could be fixed once installed as everything else worked without any fiddling. I tested the onboard sound and also plugged in a USB midi keyboard and was able to make it work with the soft synths.

I've been using a US-122 with JACK on Linux for years and one thing I've found is they are not low-latency devices at all, At settings less than 512 fpp and with less than 3 buffers US-122 will make crackly static noises even if no xruns are reported by Qjackctl, I love mine and use it all the time but unless I use it at 1024fpp with 3 buffers it is unstable and will randomly disconnect and cause issues with Ardour and Mixbus, if  use the settings I mentioned it will run all day long with no problems at all.

I observed that too, it's not superfast, but it sounds well. I left Jack aside and concentrated on ALSA because this is the basic function.

I'll keep you updated if I can get it finally to work or if Vers. 6 works better for me in this regard. If the US-122 permanently fails I guess I have to look elsewhere but so far I like AV Linux and its underlying philosophy.

[Zawiedek]

OK,

installed ALSA support into Ubuntu 12.04 - exactly the same behaviour!  Seems to be a hardware incompatibility with the notebook.

[trulan]

This may be too simple of an idea, but can you try another USB port?  Maybe the conflict is hardware related.

Also, you could try installing a newer kernel from our kernel repository.  They're available in Synaptic.  It's possible that something is up with the USB drivers and has been fixed in the newer kernels.

[Zawiedek]

This may be too simple of an idea, but can you try another USB port?  Maybe the conflict is hardware related.

Thank for the hint, but of course already did that.

But what I'm going try out tonight, actually, is the use of a USB Y-adapter because possibly the USB ports do not give enough power. The US-122 is bus-powered only. I'll tell you how it works out!

[Zawiedek]

Connecting the US-122 via Y-adapter to give it more current doesn't help.

BTW, here's some command line output.

First without US-122 plugged in:

Code:

z6k@klympf3:~$ lsusb
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 04f3:0232 Elan Microelectronics Corp.
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

Plugging in US-122:

Code:

z6k@klympf3:~$ lsusb
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 1604:8007 Tascam US-122 Audio/Midi Interface
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 04f3:0232 Elan Microelectronics Corp.
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

ALSA sees the interface:

Code:

z6k@klympf3:~$ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 0: STAC92xx Analog [STAC92xx Analog]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: PCH [HDA Intel PCH], device 3: HDMI 0 [HDMI 0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: USX2Y [TASCAM US-X2Y], device 0: US-X2Y Audio [US-X2Y Audio #0]
  Subdevices: 1/1
  Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
z6k@klympf3:~$

May the HDMI playback be a problem here?

[trulan]

Did you try installing a newer kernel?  Those USB Rate Matching Hubs have been problematic, and a newer kernel would have a good chance of helping.

[Zawiedek]

Did you try installing a newer kernel?  Those USB Rate Matching Hubs have been problematic, and a newer kernel would have a good chance of helping.

Hi Trulan, No, I didn't try that. That would be one of the next debugging paths, getting the latest software versions compiled.

I'd wait for the upcoming AV Linux 6.0 before doing that, as GMaq advised me.

In the meantime, I'm learning more about ALSA. E.g. when I do following:

Code:

me@avlinux:$ arecord -L

both my onboard Intel PCH Stac whatever card and the plugged-in US-122 are listed as "Default Card ..."

Can that be correct?

[Zawiedek]

BTW, I got the US-122 fully running under pre-installed Windows 7 with the TEAC drivers installed in Vista compatibility mode and recording in full duplex with Win Audacity 2.0.1.

So it must be possible somehow to get it running under Linux!

[Zawiedek]

After I run more tests last night I decided to return the notebook to the shop.

I had the development version of the alsa libs compiled and installed, even fiddled around with newer kernels on AV Linux and ubuntu 12.04. That only gave some more detailed error messages from alsa. The error messages were related to buggy/faulty USB hubs. There is not a single user with these errors on the internets who was able to fix it.

I'm pretty sure if the USB interface does not run from the live disk, it will not run at all.