Baslinux mailing list

[sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>]

On Wed, 19 Apr 2006, David Moberg wrote:

> sindi keesan wrote:
>
> > > > > http://timidity.sourceforge.net/
> > > >
> > > > That won't get me external midi playing, and I don't need it if I have
> > > > AWE.
> > >
> > > but it'll work if you have neither...
> > You mean with SBlive cards?
>
> Also, if you do not have a midi synthesizer, this will work with cards
> that only do FM synthesis.

I may resort to this if I ever run out of ISA slots on all my computers.


> Fluidsynth is similar to Timidity, but it uses the AWE soundfonts.
Why use it if you have drvmidi or playmidi that use AWE?

> > > > > playmidi -r is for realtime note display...
> > > >
> > > > I know.  Why would it segfault?  That leads me to believe there is some
> > > > motherboard incompatibility with linux and sound.
>
> I think that this may be a bug with the playmidi source code because I
> have seen playmidi -r also segfault on two other distributions.

> > Same software works elsewhere, has to be hardware.  memtest was happy.
>
> CPU incompatibility with the binary, perhaps?


So maybe there is also some incompatibility with playmidi -4 as well, 
since I can't do FM synthesis, and I don't think I need pnp capability for 
that, just for AWE.  Time to switch computers.


> > > btw, the FM synthesis chips were never intended to play general
> > > midi... ill upload some files later to show you what the OPL3 is
> > > really capable of...
> > Thanks.

> OPL3 sounds much better if you load the free 3rd-party instruments.
> You can load them with ALSA (in fact, you are required to before you
> will get any sound, just like the AWE), but I don't think that you can
> with any other sound system.

I have OSS.  I don't really care about FM synthesis, other than the fact 
that it is not working at all on this one computer, since I have AWE.

> > > > How would I 'set it up'?
> > > > Do I need to specify io -
> > > > insmod sb ..... mpu_io=330?
> > >
> > > its a seperate module; mpu401.o
> >
> > That should help!  I will try it on the computer where AWE works.

> With some drivers the mpu-401 support is built into the main driver so
> you do not need to load this module. I bet that if the driver accepts
> the mpu_io option that it has mpu-401 support built in.

sb.o I think accepts that option.  Looks like my problem is in pnp and 
maybe the 16-track midi playing to a 1-track piano.

> > For piano I probably only need 1 track.
>
> That is correct.

> This page seems to say that many Clavinova models are GM-compatible:
> http://www.stagepass.com/midi/midichart.html
I will check it out for my 1986 model.  If some are not, probably they 
would be the older models.

So do I need to convert to 1-track, even though only 1 of the 16 tracks is 
being specified in the 16-track midi file?

> > > there -is- a windows port of the gimp.... might want to look into it...
> > Thanks, that sounds less annoying.

> You can save printer settings in the gimp permanently by clicking the
> large 'Save settings' or 'Print and save settings' button in the printer
> dialog (it appears just after you click Print... to choose resolution and
> size)

First we need to unclog the printer.  Maybe I can just install the GIMP in 
BL2 on my one computer with SW9.1 glibc, if the SW9.1 precompiled version 
supports this printer.

We learned to label photos with ppmlabel.
Sindi

> David