Re: [linux-audio-user] CLI synths

Atte André Jensen wrote:

> S. Massy wrote:
>
>> I've looked into a few synthesis languages, but, of them all, though
>> csound as always seemed to me most interesting, it's also the one that's
>> always seemed to me most daunting.
>
>
> Really? Just tried out chuck and supercollider, and I'm back to csound.

Traditionally Csound has had the simplest linguistic elements for
beginners. I haven't tried Chuck yet, but I have worked with SC3 a fair bit.

SC3's modernity might be a handicap for new users, but if you have any
background in an OO language it may have more immediate appeal than Csound.

> Supercollider seems very confusing to me, esp being on linux. Startup
> dir conventions, server/client concepts, the doc comming in strange
> rtf format.

I didn't have problems with these issues. The RTF docs are readable in
emacs (complete with examples for direct evaluation from within the docs
themselves, something Csound could use), the concept of an audio
client/server system is no weirder than your video system, and the Linux
installation was not particularly difficult.

That said, I'll emphasize again that SC3's semantics and syntax are
potentially more difficult in the initial learning stages, but I think
it can do some things better than Csound and more directly. However,
read on...

> Csound admittedly has a strange, dated language at places, but that
> can mostly be worked around using #include's and #define's. The strong
> sides of csound is it very well documented, it's using clear
> conventions and it's probl the fasted one outthere. You can do
> deferred time, python stuff (didn't try it out yet) and realtime with
> midi, you can play samples in almost any format even soundfonts. And
> somehow I don't feel the thing is fighting me (which could be said
> about other linux softsynths)...

Csound5 is simply awesome. Virtually everything in the language has been
rewritten, and an amazing number of improvements has been added. Items
Atte didn't mention include multiple instantiations, support for JACK
and the ALSA sequencer, LADSPA support, and a hefty number of graphic
and command-line interfaces (Tcl/Tk, FLTK, Java, Python). And at long
last there is the brand-new Csound API, which is meeting approval from
the 3rd-party Csound developers such as Matt Ingalls, Jean Piche, and
Iain Duncan.

The Cs5 developers want to make a release before the year is out, and
RC1 is already available. Installers are available for Windows and the
Mac, and RPM packages are ready for Linux users. Of course the CVS
sources are also there for anyone who wants to build Cs5 locally.

These languages are becoming shamelessly incestuous. Cs5 now talks to Pd
and Common Music directly, and CM at least has had Csound as one of its
output targets for a long while already.

If it's command-line synthesis you want, we got it. :)

If it's command-line softsynths you want, well, we have some. Fluidsynth
comeds to mind immediately, and I believe someone has mentioned that
ZynAddSubFX can be run from the CLI too. Haven't tested that stuff yet,
but I suspect Julian Claasen has. Julian, are you there ?

Personally, I love having the best of all possible worlds. :)

Happy holidays to all !

dp
Received on Sat Dec 24 16:15:04 2005