Audacity Live Monitoring

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  1. Audacity Live Monitoring Online
  2. Audacity Live Playback

Antares Auto-Tune Pro, free and safe download. Antares Auto-Tune Pro latest version: An Audio Editing Tool That Experts Swear By. Auto-Tune by Antares. You should be able to hear your performance in the headphones; adjust the Volume control as needed for comfortable listening and Monitor in the middle of its range. Click 'Record'; Audacity will take a second to configure itself and start recording. The blue waves will start to crawl left to right as you perform.

  1. Ability to add sound effects on the fly while live-streaming (maybe using DAW) I believe MOTU M2's loopback feature can be used to add sound effects while live-streaming; but I'm not 100% sure about it. I'm newbie to audio recording and processing.
  2. The stereo headphone output with dedicated level control allows for monitoring both input and output. The U-CONTROL download area at Behringer's website offers a huge software package for recording and editing making the interface a complete audio solution, which provides a connection between the analog and digital domain.
This tutorial describes a known working method of creating a multiple sound track overdubbing session from scratch in Audacity. That is, you record one track and then play it back and add a second track against it: drums, guitar, voice -- repeat as needed.

This process uses a USB microphone amplifier that has headphones plugged into its side (required) and a plain XLR microphone. In this tutorial you will

be able to hear a mix of your live recording and the previous tracks simultaneously in your headphones (also required). Live monitoring is often unavailable (or you hear yourself too late) without purpose-built hardware.
The procedure is similar for any USB microphone pre-amp providing that it has a headphone output and some way to mix the microphone signal with the USB playback signal.

If your USB microphone amplifier does not have a headphone output, then you should follow the advice in Overdubbing using your computer's on-board soundcard, but using your USB microphone rather than your computer's built-in microphone.

Hardware

The Shure® X2U is an XLR microphone amplifier (pre-amp) with USB interface and headphone management. The X2U Volume and Monitor controls are used to provide a headphone mix of computer playback and live performance sound. This is the mix you need to sing or play to yourself with no latency, echoes or other impairment. The Shure X2U can supply 48v phantom power to any microphone that needs it.

The microphone used in this tutorial is an ordinary Shure SM-58 'rock band' microphone. Any XLR microphone will work. Almost any Linux®, Windows® or Mac® machine with fast enough USB and good storage can be used.

Our example here uses Mac earbuds for listening, but nearly any good headphones or earbuds are OK.

If you require cranium-crushing headphone volume, you may need a headphone amplifier. You must get the headphone sound from the Shure X2U, not the computer soundcard.

Headphone monitoring is good; live microphones and speakers in the same room is a recipe for feedback.

The Shure X2U has three jobs:

  1. It amplifies the tiny microphone signal, digitizes it and sends it down the USB cable for recording.
  2. It converts the USB digital audio from the computer back to analog.
  3. It has an internal headphone mixer. The X2U performs a mix of your existing track playback and your new, live performance so you can listen to both.

The one 'magic' feature of this device is the ability to mix your live voice with the computer's rhythm track so you can hear the mixed musical performance and that can only happen if the rhythm track is available. Making the USB device the playback device makes this functionality available.

First Recording

First we will make a simple recording, with no overdubbing or other fancy tricks. The system has to work correctly for simple recording and playback before we go further.

Connect the mic, USB and headphones:

USB audio will not go through a hub or long USB cables so the X2U must have a direct USB connection to the computer.

There is no requirement to have a microphone cable between the microphone and the X2U, so for the test we didn't use one. Good quality XLR microphone cables can be as long as 100 feet /30 Meters. One of the advantages of this system is the separation of the microphone and the computer.

  • The X2U should be connected with its light on before you start Audacity.
  • If the USB device does not appear in Device Toolbar, check that the USB device is connected correctly and try applying Transport > Rescan Audio Devices.

This is not a tutorial on making a recording and playing it back, but you need to be able to do that before you do anything else. There are multiple tutorials and wikis on Recording.

Set the computer control panels, preferences and Audacity dropdowns to recognize the X2U USB device for both recording and playback. The X2U's USB name is SHURE DIGITAL-USB.

Set Audacity Preferences:

Click on Edit > Preferences(on a Mac this is Audacity > Preferences)

  • in the Quality tab:
    • set Default Sample Rate to
    • set Default Sample Format to
  • in the Devices tab:
    • Under Playback set Device to
    • Under Recording set Device to the microphone and set Channels to
  • in the Recording tab:
    • check
    • uncheck
In Audacity by default using the Record button will append record onto your existing track, see the Recording page.
  • In order to record on a new track, for multi-track overdubbing, you will need to use Shift and the Record new track button , or use its shortcut Shift + R.
  • You can change this in Recording Preferences by checking 'on' the 'Record on a new track', doing this will make Audacity record on a new track with just the Record button and Shift and will append record onto your existing track.
You may want to make the Audacity project window larger than its default and expand the Meter Toolbar.


Click once anywhere inside the recording meter (the one with the mic icon) to put the meters into Monitor Mode. They will display the microphone's sound level without starting Audacity recording and wasting drive space. This may fail on certain Linux machines using Jack.

Adjust the X2U Mic Gain for good level. Don't peak much over -10 to -6. You can fix low levels later, but you cannot fix overloading, smashing, and clipping (meters too far to the right). You should be able to hear your performance in the headphones; adjust the Volume control as needed for comfortable listening and Monitor in the middle of its range.

Audacity Live Monitoring Online

Click 'Record'; Audacity will take a second to configure itself and start recording. The blue waves will start to crawl left to right as you perform. Play or sing a simple song that you can use for rhythm and timing later.

Click 'Stop', then 'Home' and then click 'Play' to hear the track you have just made. You should hear the track in your headphones. While listening, if you tap or scratch the microphone, you can hear the scratching/tapping too--they're both live.

This is an example of what you will hear during the overdub sessions. Any combination of existing tracks will play in your headphones, in addition to your live voice, allowing you to set a good mix and timing.

Setting the Recording Latency

Click 'Home' then click 'Record' and you will get a new recording underneath the first one. Sing or perform in time to the first track; when finished click on 'Stop' then 'Home'.

The audio will have two tracks, one from each performance, but it may be seriously out of time or rhythm -- even though you were in perfect time when you recorded it. This is recording latency and you can adjust it to zero using Audacity's latency tools; done properly, both the live recording session and the later playback will be in perfect time.

  • Choose File > Close click 'Don't Save'.
  • Choose File > New.
  • Choose Generate > Rhythm Track click 'OK' - to generate a click track
  • Audacity Preferences > Recording set 'Latency Correction' to [ 0 ] milliseconds, click 'OK'.
  • Play the new track and set VOLUME control on the X2U for loud but not painful. Take off your earphones.
  • Turn the Mic Gain all the way up. The gain on the X2U is a little wimpy, so that control usually lives up there.
  • Roll the Monitor control on the X2U toward the microphone. This causes only the click track to play into the headphones.
  • Hold the headphones against the microphone:
  • Click 'Shift + Record'. Track one's click track is now being recorded -- badly -- onto track two through the headphone and microphone. Good fidelity is irrelevant here.
  • Do that for five or ten seconds and click 'Stop'.
  • Select the new track and choose Effect > Amplify... (accepting the defaults) click 'OK'.
  • Reduce the volume a bit and put your headphones back on.
  • Click 'Play', both tracks will probably play out of step.
  • Magnify the Timeline around one of the pair of clicks (drag-select and CTRL+E (or on a Mac CMD+E).
  • Drag-Select the distance between the start of the click on the top track and the start of the same click on the bottom track.
That's how much the rhythm misses and that's the latency. Keep magnifying until you can get a good shot at accuracy. Use CTRL+3 (or on Mac CMD+3) to back out slightly if you magnify too much by accident.
  • At the bottom of the Audacity window in the Selection Toolbar set the middle time control to 'Length' (one of the two radio buttons) then change the format using the dropdown menu to:
hh:mm:ss: + milliseconds.
You're mostly interested in the milliseconds -- the last numbers on the right. The reading in the example above is 209 msec.
  • Audacity Preferences > Recording... set Latency Correction to the negative of the number in the Length dispaly - in this case -209 milliseconds - then click 'OK'.
  • Go through the whole process again.

This time the two click tracks should look perfectly on (or very close to it) and sound perfectly in time. If not, zoom in, measure the new difference and add that number to the latency value.

In this example, the tracks align to within 23 samples, which is about 0.5 milliseconds - less than the smallest correction you can make in the Latency Correction. This is as good as it gets.
Before you get too obsessive about this, an orchestral musician once said that the chances of any two instruments in the orchestra starting the same note at the same time is zero, so you don't need to adjust things down to the digital sample level. The latency values on home computers can wander in normal use.

Performance

File > Close (you don't need to save any of your tests). You're ready for the first recording session. The first recording can be whatever you're planning to use as a base, guide or rhythm track. It can be anything including Generate > Rhythm Track which can be adjusted for rhythm and composition. It can be the music from a rhythm and chord machine playing to the microphone.

You should record a lead-in. That is, a non-musical rhythmical clue before the music starts so as to warn you of the imminent start. In a live band, this would be the drummer or lead guitar count-in. Use the keyboard rhythm stops or perform several rim shots into the microphone to establish the rhythm before the first note; tapping on the table with a pencil also works. You can sheer it off later in post production so nobody else will hear it. Tick, tick, tick, tick, music; adjust as appropriate for music type and rhythm.

Click 'Stop', then 'Home' and then 'Shift + Record' to record track two using your live performance and track playback in your headphone mix as a guide. Repeat for as many tracks as required. Repeat until bedtime. Lay in supplies. Once working, this is seriously addictive.

The and buttons to the left of each track are valuable in overdubbing. Solo causes only that track to play and Mute turns that track off. Solo has options that can be set in Preferences. The gain control in the Track Control Panel to the left of each waveform controls the playback volume of that track -- it affects the headphone mix.

When you get to a stopping point click the Stop button then choose File > Save Project > Save Project to save your project.

As you progress, you should save a new Project periodically with a slightly different file name using File > Save Project > Save Lossless Copy of Project.... A good recommendation is to use ISO date and time for the file names or the start of the file names; refrain from using slash marks or other punctuation marks in a file name.


ISO Date and time

201110011500.aup That's 3PM. 2011 October First, 1500hrs.

Then save a new version of the song about every twenty minutes:
201110011520.aup
201110011545.aup

201110011602.aup


Do not go weeks with one Project and file name, and never cover up or record over existing work. If anything happened to that one Project, your project would be ruined and could nullify weeks of work. Think of what would happen if the lights went out right now, the computer ground to a halt and you were forced to use the last known good version of the project.

For extra safety it is good practice to periodically back up your project versions to a DVD-R or external hard drive for archive purposes. Remember that it is important to keep the AUP file and the _data folder together. One way to make sure of this is to create a zip archive of the AUP file and _data folder. In the unlikely event that the Audacity project is corrupted or your hard drive crashes you will be able to recover your work.

Note that Audacity projects cannot be played in computer media players nor burned to audio CDs. Export your project as 16-bit WAV or AIF for burning to a CD, or to MP3 for email or internet delivery. See Mixing Audio Tracks, in the Audacity Manual, for advice on doing the final mix of your project.

Troubleshooting

  • The headphones must be plugged into the Shure X2U for overdubbing, and not the computer. The computer soundcard audio will most likely be late (off rhythm) and you can't easily change it.
  • If the USB device does not appear in Device Toolbar, check that the USB device is connected correctly and try applying Transport > Rescan Audio Devices.
  • How much hard disk space do you have available? If your only experience with computer files is with spreadsheets, email or Photoshop pictures, live audio (and video) production will stun you with the amount of disk space it consumes. With high quality overdubbing and UNDO, project files and folders get big in a hurry; with periodic saving, a project can get very seriously large.
  • Communications features on newer Windows machines can cause unwanted changes in recorded volume or make the recording sound tinkly and/or hollow. See this FAQ.
  • Always ensure that you are directly connected to a USB port on your computer. You can't send audio through a self-powered USB hub or share any hub, ever.

Audio File Editors

  • Audacityis a cross-platform multitrack audio editor. Please readthis postfor instructions on how to get Jackaudio and Audacity working together.
  • gi_editoris a software editor for theJuno Gi,based on Roland’s midi specification.
  • Gnusoundis a multitrack sound editor for GNOME 1 and 2.
  • Marlinis a sample editor.
  • mhWaveEdita graphical audio editor.
  • ReZounda graphical audio editor. Version 0.7.0 or above.
  • sauditora simple sample auditor.
  • snda sound editor.
  • snd-lsis a distribution of Bill Schottstaedt’s sound editor SND.Its target are people that don’t know scheme very well, and don’twant to spend too much time configuring Snd.
  • Swamiis an advanced instrument editor for MIDI music compositionand a software synthesizer frontend.

Control Applications

  • Aj-snapshotis a small program that can be used to make snapshots of the connectionsmade between JACK and/or ALSA clients. It is also capable of running in thebackground, restoring connections while clients and ports appear.
  • ALSA Patch Bayis a graphical patch bay for the ALSA sequencer API and the JACK audio API. Itcan use FLTK or GTKmm for the interface and take advantage LASH sessionmanagement.
  • gjacktransportis a standalone application that provides access to the JACK transportmechanism via a dynamic graphical slider.
  • njconnectis a curses Jack connection manager, based on naconnect byNedko Arnaudov.
  • patchageis a modular patch bay for audio and MIDI systems based on Jack and Alsa.
  • pyjack is a Python module which provides an interface to Jack.
  • QJackConnectis a Qt based patchbay for JACK
  • QjackCtlis a Qt based graphical control application for JACKwith routing capabilities.
  • Cadence (KXStudio) manages JACK, calls other tools and also checks and tweaks the system.
  • Catarina(KXStudio)is a JACK Patchbay similar to Patchage that supports JACK Transport.
  • Claudia (KXStudio)is a LADISH frontend.
  • Jack Sanityis a scriptable environment for controlling jackdbus clients.
  • PatchMatrixis a standalone JACK patch bay with metadata support in matrix layout.
Audacity Live Monitoring

DJ Software

  • DJPlaya dual player designed for the live DJ.
  • Mixxxa digital DJ system, for wave, ogg and mp3 files.
  • xwaxis open-source vinyl emulation software for Linux.

Effects Processors

  • arcangelis a Jack effect and LADSPA plugin for arctan distortion.
  • Bristol Synthesizer Emulatorapplication. The latest version uses Jack.
  • BruteFIRa software convolution engine.
  • CP-GFXGuitar effects processor.
  • creoxa realtime sound processor.
  • DSSIis an API for audio processing plugins, particularly useful forsoftware synthesis plugins with user interfaces.
  • Ecamegapedala real-time effect processor. Version 0.4.0 or above.
  • freqtweaka frequency domain FX box. This is one of the coolest FX boxesyou may ever use.
  • Guitarixis a simple Linux amplifier with one input and two outputs.
  • IEM Plug-in Suiteis a set of VST-plugins (with a DAW independent standalone-mode) for Ambisonics sound field encoding, analysis, processing and decoding.
  • jackEQa tool for routing and manipulating audio from/to multiple input/output sources.
  • JAMinthe state-of-the-art realtime mastering processor.
  • linuxDSPprovides ‘plugin’ audio processing software for linux.
  • Louderboxan 8 band audio processor.
  • Rakarrackis a guitar effects processor that is easy to use,but it contains features that make it unique in this field of applications.
  • RedFXis an effects processor mainly for guitars.
  • ReTiSARis a binaural renderer for live-streamed, recorded or measurement-based spherical microphone array signals.
  • SoundScape Rendereris a tool for real-time spatial audio rendering providing a variety of rendering algorithms such as WFS and binaural.
  • tapiiris an audio effects processor inspired bythe classical magnetic tape delay systems.Version 0.7.0 or above.

Graphics Applications

  • Blenderis the free open source 3D content creation suite.Currently, Blender 2.50a1 and above use Jack.
  • fluxusis a graphical live coding environment for Scheme.Builds for Linux or OSX, and released under the GPL licence.
  • Le Biniouis a program which creates images from sound, in an intelligent way.
  • Sonifyiterates pixel-by-pixel through an image,encoding each pixel’s hue and luminance values as a waveformof a particular frequency and amplitude.
  • VisualJackMlets you connect ProjectM to Jack.

Live Loopers

  • Freewheelinga live looping instrument.
  • Giadais a free, minimal, hardcore audio tool for djs and live performers.
  • Loopcenteris an easy-to-use live looper with functionality similar tothe Boss LoopStation pedal.You can record and overdub at user-set tempos and meters.
  • SooperLoopera live looping sampler capable of immediate loop recording, overdubbing,multiplying, reversing and more.

Media Players

  • AlsaPlayera “new type of pcm player”.Can play mp3s, oggs, cds, among other audio file formats.Thanks go to Andy Lo-A-Foe for releasing the first applicationwith support for Jack!
  • AqualungIt plays audio files from your filesystem and has the feature ofinserting no gaps between adjacent tracks
  • Audaciousis a fork of beep-media-player 0.9.7.1
  • Data Jockeyis a digital disc jockey tool which leverages audio meta-data(both computed and manually added by the user) in order to allowfor new approaches in content selection and juxtaposition.
  • kluppea gtk-based loop player for files and live-input.
  • MadJackis an MPEG Audio Deck with an OSCbased control interface.
  • MOCMusic On Console is a console audio player for LINUX/UNIX,designed to be powerful and easy to use.
  • MPlayera movie player.
  • Qmmpis a Qt-based media player with a similar UI as XMMS or Winamp.
  • Tttriggeris a program for playing sound effectsin connection with a theater or other show.
  • veejaya visual ‘music’ instrument.
  • VLCis a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats(MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, …) as well as DVDs, VCDs,and various streaming protocols.
  • xmms-jackan XMMS audio output plugin for jack.

Metering and Analysis

  • Baudlineis a time-frequency browser designed for scientific visualizationof the spectral domain.
  • Brianalyzeis a pretty simple JACK-connected spectrum analyzer
  • BRP-PACUis a dual channel FFT based acoustic analysis tool to help engineersconfigure professional sound systems by using the transfer function.
  • Ebumeterprovides level metering according to the EBUR-128 recommendation. The current release implements all featuresrequired by the EBU document except the oversampled peak levelmonitoring. This will be added in a future release.
  • Jaaaan audio signal generator and spectrum analyser.
  • JACK demolitiona very simple jack client that connects to every input portand squirts undesirable numbers (denomals, HUGE, NaN, Inf etc.) to it.
  • Jack Meteris a basic console based DPM (Digital Peak Meter).
  • japais a ‘perceptual’ or ‘psychoacoustic’ audio spectrum analyser.
  • Loudspeaker Frequency Allocatoris a 4-way, stereo DSP loudspeaker crossoverthat works with ASIO compatible multichannel sound cardson a Windows XP computer. Jack4wininstructions can be found here.
  • meterbridgea nice VU-style meter to watch signal levels on arbitrary JACK ports.
  • Sonic Visualiseris an application for viewing and analysing the contents of music audio files.
  • Tap Reverb Editoran interactive tool for room acoustics simulation.

Mixers

  • jack_mixeris a GTK+JACK audio mixer app with a look similar to its hardware counterpart.It has lots of useful features, apart from being able tomix multiple JACKaudio streams.
  • JackMiniMixis a simple mixer with an OSCbased control interface.
  • JackMixis a Jack mixer.
  • The Non Mixeris a powerful, reliable and fast modular Digital Audio Mixer.
    Legacy (mixers)
  • JackMasterwas a Master Console.

Multi-track sequencers and HDR systems

  • ardoura multichannel hard disk recorder and digital audio workstation.
  • dinois a pattern based MIDI sequencer
  • ecasounda “software package designed for multitrack audio processing”.Check the original release announcement here.
  • Jackbeatis an audio sequencer.
  • LinuxBandis a GUI front-end for MMA (Musical MIDI Accompaniment).Type in the chords, choose the groove and LinuxBand will playa musical accompaniment for you.
  • LMMSis a free cross-platform alternative to commercial programs likeFL Studio®, which allow you to produce music with your computer.
  • MusEa MIDI/Audio sequencer with recording and editing capabilities.
  • OpenOctaveMidiis a linux-based classic midi/audio sequencer with a look and feel,users will find in commercial equivalents.
  • Qtractoris an Audio/MIDI multi-track sequencer application written in C++around the Qt4 toolkit.
  • quinceris a sequencer for composed music with text-editable input.
  • Renoiseis a contemporary digital audio workstation (DAW)based upon the heritage and development of tracker software.Its primary use is the composition of music using sound samples,soft synths, and effects plug-ins.It is also able to interface with MIDI equipment.
  • Rosegardena sophisticated MIDI (and audio) sequencer and notation editor
  • The Non DAWis a powerful, reliable and fast modular Digital Audio Workstation system.
  • The Non Sequenceris a powerful real-time, pattern-based MIDI sequencer for Linux.
  • Traversois a GPL licensed, cross platform multitrack audiorecording and editing suite, with an innovative and easy to masterUser Interface. It’s suited for both the professional and home user,who needs a robust and solid DAW.
  • Wireda music production and creation software.
  • Bitwig StudioBitwig Studio is dynamic software for creation and performance of your musical ideas on stage or in the studio.
  • Zrythma digital audio workstation designed to be featureful and easy to use.

Music Notation Editors

  • Denemois a music notation editor that lets you rapidly enter notationfor typesetting via the LilyPond music engraver.You can compose, transcribe, arrange, listen to the music and much more.
  • MuseScorelets you notate and compose music easily with your keyboard,your mouse, or a MIDI keyboard.

Plugin Hosts

  • Carla (KXStudio)is an audio plugin host.
  • FSTHOSTis a linux VST host - hybrid using winelib.Runs as a Jack client for Audio/MIDI, and with GTK GUI.
  • JACK Racka LADSPA effects rack for jack.
  • jackspais a small utility which will host a LADSPA plugin,providing JACK ports for its audio inputs and outputs.
  • jostis a host for native linux vst plugins (jack / alsa_seq).
  • ng-jackspais a set of simple user interfaces that host a LADSPA plugin,providing JACK ports for its audio inputs and outputs,and dynamic setting of its control inputs.Additionally, the plugin controls can be exported to or controlled bycontrol voltages on standard JACK audio ports.
  • Soundtanka midi controlled host for softsynths made out of LADSPA plugins.
  • Synthpodis a lightweight non-linear plugin container.

Programming Libraries

  • Allegroa game programming library.
  • Clamis a multiplatform software framework forresearch and application development for the Audio and Music domains.
  • FAUSTis a compiled language for real-time audio signal processing.
  • GTKIOStreamprovides allows easy use of JACK within GTK apps and has many other toolsfor DSP, Audio Masking, FFTs and plotting data.
  • jackcppis a C++ class wrapping most of the jack client functionality,a “blocking” interface for jack and a template class wrappingthe jack ring buffer.
  • libjackasynis a library that allows to access the jack audio serverin asynchronous mode.
  • libjackmmis a C++ interface to the jack audio connection kit.
  • Praxis Liveis an hybrid visual live programming for creatives,for programmers, for students, for tinkerers.
  • Pure Datais a real-time graphical programming environment foraudio, video, and graphical processing.
  • Qjackallows you to connect Jack to QT very easily.
  • RtAudiois a set of C++ classes that provide a common API(Application Programming Interface) for realtime audio input/output.
  • Winean application that lets you run andrecompile Windows applications under Linux.

Language Bindings

C#

  • JackSharpis a .NET and Mono API for JACK.
  • NAudio.Jackis a binding of JackSharp for NAudio, a .NET audio library.
  • luajackis a Lua bindings for JACK.

Go

haskell

Java

  • JNAJackan alternative Java bridge API for JACK.Provides a more direct mapping of JACK functions,and supports all platforms that JACK runs on.

Python

  • PyJacka Python module which provides an interface to Jack.

Rust

Radio

Audacity Live Playback

  • admin-srbAdministration and radioautomation of public radiostations
  • ARASis an open source radio automation system,it has been designed to be highly configurable and easy to manage.It uses JACK through GStreamer library, in both playback and recording.
  • Internet DJ Consoleis an Internet radio app for making a live radio show or podcast.
  • JMPXis a software-based FM stereo encoder.
  • J-QAMis a QAM soundcard modem.
  • Rivendellan audio automation system aimed at professional radio broadcasters.

Simple Recorders

  • jack_captureis a small program to capture whatever sound is going outto your speakers into a file.
  • JACK Timemachinean application that constantly records signals coming in on its inputs,waiting for you to press record.When you do it writes the last ten seconds to disk and keeps recording.
  • meterecis a console based multi-track monitoring and recording tool.Focus on your instrument, not on the software!
  • QARecorda simple but multithreaded stereo recording tool.
  • QJackRcdis a simple stereo recorder for Jack with few featuresas silence processing for automatic pause,file splitting, background file post-processing.

Sound Generators

  • AlsaModularSyntha realtime modular synthesizer and effect processor.You will need version 1.5.3c or above.
  • amSynthan analogue-modelling soft synth.
  • arpageis a MIDI Arpeggiator w/ JACK Tempo Sync.
  • CheeseTrackera portable Impulse Tracker clone.
  • ClockLoopa very simple JACK application for playing back audio loops.
  • CodeSoundingis a java sonificationlibrary: the sound produced running a .class (or .jar)is a function of how was structured its source code before compilation.You can therefore produce computer-generated music.
  • Csound5is a sound and music synthesis system,providing facilities for compositionand performance over a wide range of platforms.
  • dinis a software musical instrument and audio synthesizer.
  • energyXT2is a complete music studio.Commercial product with a free demo available.
  • fastbreederis an experimental genetic programming synthesiser.
  • FluidSyntha real-time software synthesizer based on the Soundfont2 specifications.
  • gAlana modular synthesiser, drum-machine, sequencer and effects-unit.Version 0.3.0-test1 or above.
  • Gneutronicaa MIDI drum machine for Linux.
  • Haruhiis a virtual analog audio synthesizer written in Qt.
  • hearneta simple granular synthesizer driven by your incoming network traffic.
  • Horgandan organ synthesizer.
  • Hydrogena pattern based drum machine.
  • ingenis a modular audio processing system for GNU/Linux audio systemsusing the Jack audio server and LV2, LADSPA or DSSI plugins.
  • Jack Keyboardis a virtual MIDI keyboard - a program that allows youto send JACK MIDI events (play ;-) using your PC keyboard.
  • Jackeris a MIDI tracker for Jack.
  • jMaxa visual programming environment for buildinginteractive real-time musical and multimedia applications.Version 4.0.1 or above.
  • LegaSynthan old chip/synthesizer emulator.
  • LDruma drum machine.
  • LinuxSamplera software audio sampler.
  • Midi Player Prois the software you need to be able to play any kind of musicin seconds with your fingertips. It useslibumidi20,which also uses Jack.
  • Mx44is a polyphonic multichannel midi realtime software synthesizer.
  • Octaviana realtime software synthesizer.
  • Pda real-time music and multimedia environment.
  • Pianoteqis a high-class virtual piano software offeringsuperb dynamics, natural resonances and unique physical parameters.This is a commercial product.
  • Phasexis an experimental software synthesizer.
  • QMidiArpis a MIDI-Arpeggiator.
  • QMIDICurveslets you change the velocity response of any MIDI device(like a MIDI keyboard for instance).
  • reMIDuses the reSID emulation library to providea virtual SID based synthesizer, controllable in real-time via MIDI.SID was the sound chip used in the Commodore 64 computer.
  • rtsyntha reliable, if plain, multi-oscillator synthesizer
  • Sampsonis a small, lightweight, no-frills software samplerfocusing on drums and percussion.
  • Seq24a loop based MIDI sequencer
  • Simsama simple MIDI sample playback program
  • Slagis a pattern-based audio sequencer that can currently be used as asimple drum box.
  • Solfeges free music education software.Use it to train your rhythm, interval, scale and chord skills.Solfege - Smarten your ears!
  • Soundtrackera music tracker similar to FastTracker and ProTracker.Version 0.6.7pre1 or above.
  • Specimena midi controlled audio sampler.
  • Spiral Synth Modulara cool and expandable modular synthesizer.
  • SuperCollidera realtime sound synthesis server andan interpreted object oriented language.
  • terminatorXa realtime audio synthesizer that allows you to “scratch”.
  • Timidity++a software synthesizer. Jack support currently only in CVS.
  • Virtual Keyboardis a simple fake of a MIDI keyboard on X-windows system.
  • ZynAddSubFXa software synthesizer.

Streamers

  • ac3jacka tool for creating an AC-3 (Dolby Digital) multichannel streamfrom its JACK input ports.
  • DarkiceLive audio streamer.
  • edcast-rebornis an Icecast/Shoutcast streamer.
  • Jamulusis an audio streaming application for musicians toplay together in real-time over the internet.
  • SonoBusis an easy to use application for streaming high-quality,low-latency peer-to-peer audio between devices overthe internet or a local network.

Tuners

  • Free Music Instrument Tunera… free music instrument tuner.
  • tuneita simple command-line instrument tuner.
  • qjacktuneran instrument tuner for JACK.

Utilities

  • aubioa tool designed for the extraction of annotations from audio signals.
  • bio2jacka library that allows for simple porting ofblocked io OSS/ALSA audio applications to Jack.
  • FxEngineFramework simplifies the plugin architecture for the data flow processing.
  • FxJackPackcontains two plugins for the FxEngine framework which enables therecording and playback of sound through JACK.
  • GLASHCtlis a simple applet for controlling the LASH Audio Session Handler.
  • jack_convolveis a simple command line based, convolution engine for JACK.
  • jack_snapshotis a little tool for storing/restoring jack connection states.Version 0.0.4 will compile with gcc-4.3+
  • Jack-smf-utilsis a set of two utilities - jack-smf-player and jack-smf-recorder.
  • Lashis a session management system for JACK audio and ALSA MIDI applications.
  • jassis a rather simple sampler application for jackd.
  • jissJack Interactive Sequencer Software.
  • kontrollis a small utility to create midi cc messagesfrom mouse position regardless of window focus.
  • LinABXLinabx can be used to get information about audibilityand to train your ears in an audio-technical way.
  • netjackRealtime audio transport over a generic IP network.
  • Oscilloscopeplugin with two channels, controllable trigger,time resolution, separate amplification andDC offset for both channels.
  • polarbearis a tool for designing filters in the complex domain.Version 0.5.0 or above.
  • QLouda tool to measure loudspeaker frequency andstep responses and distortions.
  • QOscCis a highly flexible and configurable software Oscilloscope.
  • sauditoris a sample auditor that is intended to be simple and quick to use.
  • Silent Jackis a silence/dead air detector.
  • Simple Sysexxeris a small tool to load, send, receive, save and request sysex data.It can be used to do backups of the memory contents of MIDI deviceslike synthesizers, MIDI controllers or effects processors.
  • slatallows you to use your mouse to adjust pitch and volumeby waving the pointer over the interface.
  • SoundPattyis an efficient and fast sound (i.e. record) recognition software.
  • Synthcloneis a Qt-based application that can “clone” your MIDI-capable instruments.It does this by sending out MIDI data that instructs an instrumentto emit sounds for a series of notes, velocities, controls,and aftertouch values.It then saves this data as a sample-based instrumentthat can be loaded by sampler software.

Video Applications

  • KSubtileis a KDE program which provides an easy to use interface toedit subtitles in the SRT format.It supports moving, stretching and individual editing of subtitles in a file.To help you synchronize with a particular movie we provide GUI con
  • LiVESis a Video Editing System. It is designed to be simple to use, yet powerful.It is small in size, yet it has many advanced features.
  • Shotcut is a free and open-source cross-platformvideo editing application for FreeBSD, Linux, macOS and Windows.
  • VideoJacka tool that reads video and audio signals from its jack inputs.
  • xjadeois a very simple video player that is synchronized to jack transport.
    Legacy (Video Applications)
  • Open Movie Editoris designed to be a simple tool, that providesbasic movie making capabilities.

VOIP

  • Asteriskis the world’s leading open source telephony engine and tool kit.Offering flexibility unheard of in the world of proprietary communications,Asterisk empowers developers and integrators to createadvanced communication solutions…for free.
  • I Hear Uis a Voice over IP (VoIP) application that creates anaudio stream between two computerseasily and with the minimal network traffic.

VST

  • fstis a program by which uses Wine, Jack andSteinberg’s VST Audio Plug-Ins SDK toenable the use of many VST audio plugins under Gnu/Linux.

Other

  • Mozilla Firefoxprovides JACK support when compiled with custom build flags

Wikipedia References