Has anyone experience of using any of these distros? Currently my netbook is running on Mint 3, which I read is now out of date. I aim to be buying pianoteq in the near future to connect the netbook to my digital piano so I can play it with pianoteq. I was told on the pianoteq forum that these distros are better than using one with less audio features.
Firstly I would need to replace the current SSD which has low gig to a new HD which I have got- I’d have to get the local PC shop to do that as I am no good with this kind of thing, then put a new distro on.
The netbook has no CD/DVD drive so how would I load a new distro onto the netbook?
Mark helped me put Peppermint onto my old laptop which has Windows XP on before, but a live boot CD was used then as the laptop has a CD/DVD drawer.
Peppermint 3 is still supported as far as I am aware, it’s based on Ubuntu 12.04. Should be supported until 2017 if I understand correctly.
I’d question whether a netbook would have sufficient power for serious audio work. Will offline rendering of audio may work (slowly), I seriously doubt whether high-quality multi-channel audio could be rendered in real time. Plus, laptop hardrives in general are too slow for recording high-quality audio in real time (24 bit 88.2kHZ, or higher). I guess you could record at lower quality, but you can’t increase quality at a later time using a higher spec machine (e.g. a studio machine). Once it’s recorded “badly”, it’s always going to be bad.
The distros you mention are pretty heavyweight, because they are designed with meaty hardware in mind (as it typically found in studio computers). Your best bet is to try and install an “audio-grade” realtime kernel, as this is probably what the Pianoteq forum are talking about. If there isn’t a pre-rolled one that works with Peppermint, you may have to consider compiling your own
OR, maybe I’ve missed a trick - does Pianoteq just handle MIDI, rather than any audio? As in, does it just send MIDI to the digital piano, rather than being a software piano?
Peppermint 3 is still supported as far as I am aware, it's based on Ubuntu 12.04. Should be supported until 2017 if I understand correctly.
Thanks.
I'd question whether a netbook would have sufficient power for serious audio work. Will offline rendering of audio may work (slowly), I seriously doubt whether high-quality multi-channel audio could be rendered in real time. Plus, laptop hardrives in general are too slow for recording high-quality audio in real time (24 bit 88.2kHZ, or higher). I guess you could record at lower quality, but you can't increase quality at a later time using a higher spec machine (e.g. a studio machine). Once it's recorded "badly", it's always going to be bad.
Oh I won’t be using it to record- I just want to play the piano with the early keyboard sounds, that’s all. If I want to record myself playing I’d just use sound recorder, but I am a plonky beginner, so I am not really wanting anyone to hear me “play” lol. But pianoteq, from what I can see on their forum is better on laptops- everyone seems to be using them. It is not heavy on the system. Now, I am rather a dunce on audio stuff, so if I link you their descriptions of it, perhaps you will understand it much better than I.
The distros you mention are pretty heavyweight, because they are designed with meaty hardware in mind (as it typically found in studio computers). Your best bet is to try and install an "audio-grade" realtime kernel, as this is probably what the Pianoteq forum are talking about. If there isn't a pre-rolled one that works with Peppermint, you may have to consider compiling your own :(
Right, thanks for that. Maybe the above links will make it clearer for you how it works- I am rather a tech dunce! All I know is that plenty of users find it works on laptops and Linux.
OR, maybe I've missed a trick - does Pianoteq just handle MIDI, rather than any audio? As in, does it just send MIDI to the digital piano, rather than being a software piano?
I’m not sure what distro yet Mark. Firstly I have to get the money together to get the new HD put in it at the PC shop, then I’d have to put Linux back on the netbook, so would have to decide which distro before taking it to the PC shop.
I’m asking all this beforehand, so as to plan what I will do- as when I have more money to do that, then I can save to get pianoteq, so I want the netbook to be all updated, new HD etc ready to use it. That is why they have a demo so one can judge how it works on one’s laptop so any adjustments can be made before buying it.
I was asking if anyone had used the distros I mentioned. I was asking how could I download any new distro I might choose on the netbook without a disc drive ( on this laptop I ran a boot CD with your help).
I assume when you say “how could I download any new distro” you mean install any new distro,
if your netbook doesn’t have an optical drive (ie CD or DVD) you can boot from a USB drive which is more or less the same procedure except instead of burning a .ISO to a CD/DVD you would copy it on a USB pen drive using something like Startup Disk Creator or UNetbootin then booting from the pen drive.
To find out if you netbook can boot from USB you would need to access the BIOS and look under boot options or plug in a USB drive and select the Boot Menu option during boot, the key to press to invoke the Boot Menu varies between machines it could be something like F12 or Esc (as it is on my PC)
Right, I’ve had a read up on Pianoteq, and basically it’s a virtual/software instrument. I’d question whether the netbook would have the power for this, as it’s a realtime synthesised instrument, and it’s not sample-based (as it, it doesn’t play back audio samples) - it is a physical modelling synth. This means, that when you strike a key on the keyboard, the computer runs all the calculations that determine what sound should be produced. The software will calculate the frequency response over time, resonance, damping, reverberation, and many other factors that make up sound, all in realtime. That’s a lot to be asking of a netbook CPU
You can try it by all means, try turning all the quality settings & polyphony down, but I’m not overly hopeful
That said, I might be able to find a sample-based alternative that should work perfectly on your netbook? Kinda of a bummer if you already own Pianoteq, but I can look around if you like?
Right, I've had a read up on Pianoteq, and basically it's a virtual/software instrument. I'd question whether the netbook would have the power for this, as it's a realtime synthesised instrument, and it's not sample-based (as it, it doesn't play back audio samples) - it is a physical modelling synth. This means, that when you strike a key on the keyboard, the computer runs all the calculations that determine what sound should be produced. The software will calculate the frequency response over time, resonance, damping, reverberation, and many other factors that make up sound, all in realtime. That's a lot to be asking of a netbook CPU :(
Right ok, thanks for that. I will ask them on pianoteq if anyone uses a netbook.I know they all use laptops, rather than desktops. You see I keep my laptop downstairs- the digital piano is in my bedroom, so it would be handier to use the netbook which I keep upstairs. Also this laptop is an old HP one and needs more RAM, which I can’t afford to get right now as I’m not in paid work. It freezes like 5 times a day, and has to be rebooted so would be hopeless to use for pianoteq.
You can try it by all means, try turning all the quality settings & polyphony down, but I'm not overly hopeful :(
That said, I might be able to find a sample-based alternative that should work perfectly on your netbook? Kinda of a bummer if you already own Pianoteq, but I can look around if you like?
Well the digital piano has 32 polyphony and as I’m a plonky beginner and don’t see myself ever becoming a virtuoso pianist, that is more than enough polyphony for my abilities! I’ve only got the free pianoteq demo right now as I can’t afford to buy pianoteq right this moment, but plan to when I am in paid employment. The reason I am asking all this right now is that I don’t understand much about media programmes so was getting some more info ( which you’ve helped me with thanks). The demo is there to be tried out to see how it works with someone’s digital piano, before buying.
Thanks yes, if you can find something that does what pianoteq does, with historical piano sounds I’d be very interested- but from what I have heard nothing matches it!
Now I’m confused by “digital piano” - I take it this isn’t just a MIDI controller? It produces sound on it’s own without software?
In which case, pianotec would seem a bit redundant…
Sorry to be so late getting back to you. Yes it’s a digital piano not a mid controller. It’s a Casio Privia px 100. No pianoteq is not redundant! It adds to the digital piano- as I said, one can play many many piano sounds on it through pianoteq- especially historical pianos and keyboards which I would like it for. Sounds that are not on any digital piano even the most expensive ones! No digital piano has a genuine 1790s piano sound from an historical collection in Austria!
I guess it’s both - it outputs MIDI as well as audio. I think you’ll still have problems with pianotec on that netbook, as it’s computationally intensive. It’s not sample-based (i.e. based on real recorded sounds, like most are), it synthesises sound in real time based on a load of physical parameters.
I question your statement “Sounds that are not on any digital piano even the most expensive ones! No digital piano has a genuine 1790s piano sound from an historical collection in Austria!”. Maybe not any hardware, but I’d be absolutely shocked if there wasn’t a Kontakt library out there with historical piano sounds.
Edit: This site - realsamples - Aus Liebe zum Klang. - has WAV versions that will work with any sampler/sample player (like LinuxSampler, for example). Might need a RAM upgrade on the netbook (polyphony will relate to RAM, higher polyphony = more RAM), but samplers aren’t very CPU dependent (people still use hardware samplers from the late 80s!)
I guess it's both - it outputs MIDI as well as audio. I think you'll still have problems with pianotec on that netbook, as it's computationally intensive. It's not sample-based (i.e. based on real recorded sounds, like most are), it synthesises sound in real time based on a load of physical parameters.
Yes, it outputs midi also. Well someone on the pianoteq forum said they have a netbook ( on Linux) and it works, but then I think they did some tweaking, which was far beyond my technical understanding. I still have to get round to trying out the demo properly- I’m so tired at night lately, it is just easier to play the piano as it is.
I question your statement "Sounds that are not on any digital piano even the most expensive ones! No digital piano has a genuine 1790s piano sound from an historical collection in Austria!". Maybe not any hardware, but I'd be absolutely shocked if there wasn't a Kontakt library out there with historical piano sounds.
Just had a look and no, and it costs way more than pianoteq!
Edit: This site - http://www.realsamples.de/English/ - has WAV versions that will work with any sampler/sample player (like LinuxSampler, for example). Might need a RAM upgrade on the netbook (polyphony will relate to RAM, higher polyphony = more RAM), but samplers aren't very CPU dependent (people still use hardware samplers from the late 80s!)
Ok, they have some historical piano sounds but for the price of one you get a whole set of piano sounds in pianoteq!
I guess it's both - it outputs MIDI as well as audio. I think you'll still have problems with pianotec on that netbook, as it's computationally intensive. It's not sample-based (i.e. based on real recorded sounds, like most are), it synthesises sound in real time based on a load of physical parameters.
Yes, it outputs midi also. Well someone on the pianoteq forum said they have a netbook ( on Linux) and it works, but then I think they did some tweaking, which was far beyond my technical understanding. I still have to get round to trying out the demo properly- I’m so tired at night lately, it is just easier to play the piano as it is.
I question your statement "Sounds that are not on any digital piano even the most expensive ones! No digital piano has a genuine 1790s piano sound from an historical collection in Austria!". Maybe not any hardware, but I'd be absolutely shocked if there wasn't a Kontakt library out there with historical piano sounds.
Just had a look and no, and it costs way more than pianoteq!
Edit: This site - http://www.realsamples.de/English/ - has WAV versions that will work with any sampler/sample player (like LinuxSampler, for example). Might need a RAM upgrade on the netbook (polyphony will relate to RAM, higher polyphony = more RAM), but samplers aren't very CPU dependent (people still use hardware samplers from the late 80s!)
Ok, they have some historical piano sounds but for the price of one you get a whole set of piano sounds in pianoteq!
