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11 <h2><center>LinuxSampler for Windows &nbsp; <img src="gfx/logos/windows.png"> &nbsp; HOWTO by Benno Senoner&nbsp;</center></h2>
12 <br>
13 <center>August&nbsp;14,&nbsp;2009</center><br>
14 <div style="background-color: #F4F4FF; margin: 1em 3em 1em 3em; padding: 1em 1em 1em 2.2em;">
15 <a href="#intro">1.&nbsp; Introduction</a><br>
16 <a href="#requirements">2.&nbsp; Requirements</a><br>
17 3.&nbsp; Installation ...<br>
18 <a href="#install_w_inet">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3.a&nbsp; with Internet Connection</a><br>
19 <a href="#install_wo_inet">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3.b&nbsp; without Internet</a><br>
20 <a href="#using">4.&nbsp; Using the Applications</a><br>
21 <a href="#using_vst">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4.1&nbsp VST plugin Mode</a><br>
22 <a href="#using_standalone">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4.2&nbsp Standalone Mode</a><br>
23 <a href="#setup_midi">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4.2.1&nbsp; Setting up MIDI Input</a><br>
24 <a href="#setup_audio">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4.2.2&nbsp; Setting up Audio Output</a><br>
25 <a href="#load_samples">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4.3&nbsp; Loading Samples</a><br>
26 <a href="#save_session">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4.4&nbsp; Saving a Sampler Session</a><br>
27 <a href="#sequencer_routing">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4.5&nbsp; Routing LinuxSampler Outs Into Sequencer</a><br>
28 <a href="#houston">5.&nbsp; Installation Troubleshooting</a><br>
29 <a href="#docs">6.&nbsp; Detailed Documentation</a><br>
30 <a href="#bugs">7.&nbsp; Bugs, Problems and Feature Requests</a><br>
31 <a href="#contact">8.&nbsp; Contact</a><br>
32 </div>
33
34 <a name="intro"></a>
35 <p><center>
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48 </p>
49 <h3>1.&nbsp; Introduction</h3>
50 The LinuxSampler development team is happy to announce that
51 LinuxSampler, the most advanced free, open source sampler finally runs on
52 MS Windows too. More information will be added here soon, so check back frequently.<br>
53 <br>
54
55 The sampler can work in standalone mode or as a VSTi plugin.
56 In standalone mode it uses the Windows Multimedia Extensions System (MME)
57 for MIDI input and ASIO for audio out.
58 In VST mode it it can be loaded in any VST compatible sequencer. It uses intelligent
59 resource sharing where a single LinuxSampler engine can serve multiple VST instance offering
60 maximum performance and better memory utilization.
61 The VST plugin provides user definable effect sends which can be MIDI controlled and routed
62 to any LinuxSampler's VST audio out channels. That way you can use the sequencer's internal
63 FXes or VST effects to ie. add reverb, chorus, delay and other kind of effects which are all
64 MIDI controllable in real time. For example one can use a large General MIDI sample set and
65 for faithful playback of GM MIDI files including effects.
66 Planned additions are network module to run multiple sampler slaves distributed on Windows or
67 Linux machines (Linux provides better performance) all controlled from a
68 Windows box i.e. running the VST sequencer.<br>
69 <br>
70 LinuxSampler is implemented as a client/server application. This means
71 the sampling engine (the server / backend) runs
72 independently from the GUI (the client / frontend). Sampling engine and
73 client can be run on the same box or on different machines too, connected
74 over the network.<br>
75 <br>
76 The MS Windows version provides all the features of the Linux version
77 since it is built from the same source code base. This means when new features will come out the
78 Windows version will usually provide the same feature set as the Linux
79 version. This was made possible by the very modular design of both
80 low level, operating system functions and flexible audio / MIDI driver
81 system.<br>
82 <br>
83 The Windows version comes as a self extracting .exe file which will
84 install all the necessary modules to run both the server ( linuxsampler.exe )
85 and the GUI client. In addition it installs the VST plugin ( LinuxSampler.dll )
86 in the default VST path (which usually is C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VstPlugins ).
87 <br>
88 LinuxSampler provides 2 GUI clients:
89 <ul>
90 <li>One is <b>QSampler</b>, a light-weight frontend based on the
91 cross-platform Qt4 GUI toolkit with native OS GUI widgets</li>
92 <li>Another is <b>JSampler "Fantasia"</b>, a Java based GUI client called,
93 providing a modern skin-based user interface</li>
94 </ul>
95 At the moment JSampler is more advanced than QSampler as it implements all
96 the functionality present in the LinuxSampler engine. Due to the Java
97 virtual machine however it occupies a bit more RAM than the
98 QSsampler GUI (around 30MB or so) and takes a bit longer for startup,
99 but on a 1GB+ RAM box the difference should be negligible.
100
101 <a name="requirements"></a>
102 <h3>2.&nbsp; Requirements</h3>
103 <ul>
104 <li>Modern Intel Pentium or recent AMD processor
105 <li>Windows 2000, ME, XP, Vista, Windows 7</li>
106 <li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_(Sun)">Java Runtime Environment</a> (<a href="http://www.java.com/getjava/">version 6</a>)</a></li>
107 <li>sound card with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Stream_Input/Output">ASIO</a> driver</li>
108 </ul>
109 <a name="asio_tip"></a>
110 <b>Tip:</b> For consumer audio cards which do not come with their own ASIO
111 drivers you can install <a href="http://www.asio4all.com/">ASIO4ALL</a> to be
112 able to use LinuxSampler with your soundcard.
113 We recommend to use version 2.7, perhaps on Vista 2.8beta1 works better but
114 we did not perform tests on Vista so we cannot tell it. Please let us know
115 about your results so we can share them here!
116
117 <a name="install_w_inet"></a>
118 <h3>3.a&nbsp; Installation with Internet Connection</h3>
119 Simply download the latest version of the LinuxSampler Windows installer
120 from the <a href="http://www.linuxsampler.org/downloads.html">LinuxSampler
121 Download Page</a>, execute the installer and follow the instructions. It will
122 automatically detect if the required software components are already installed.
123 If not, it will download them from the internet and install them on your
124 computer.
125
126 <a name="install_wo_inet"></a>
127 <h3>3.b&nbsp; Installation without Internet</h3>
128 First download the required components with a machine which has connection to
129 the internet:
130 <ul>
131 <li><a href="http://www.java.com/getjava/">Java Runtime Environment 6</a></li>
132 <li>and of course the latest <a href="http://www.linuxsampler.org/downloads.html">
133 LinuxSampler Windows installer</a></li>
134 </ul>
135 Transfer the downloaded files to the computer where you want to install
136 LinuxSampler and install them in the following order:
137 <ol>
138 <li>the JAVA runtime environment</li>
139 <li>linuxsampler setup EXE file</li>
140 </ol>
141 The order is important, since the components depend on each other and would
142 otherwise try to download the missing component from the internet.
143
144 <a name="using"></a>
145 <h3>4.&nbsp; Using the Applications</h3>
146 Now that we installed everything, let's get wet and start the applications:
147 <a name="using_vst"></a>
148 <h3>4.1 VST plugin Mode</h3>
149 <ol>
150 <li>Figure out where your default VST plugin path resides. The installer looks at the registry key Software\VST\VSTPluginsPath and if this key does not exist then it uses the default path C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VstPlugins. In this directory you should find a file LinuxSampler.dll which is the LinuxSampler VST plugin.</li>
151 <li>Add the path to your sequencer's VST paths and rescan the plugin list (in some cases restarting the sequencer app is probably better). LinuxSampler should now appear in the list of your plugins.</li>
152 <li>Load the LinuxSampler VST plugin into the sequencer. After a short delay the Fantasia LinuxSampler GUI should appear and you are ready to go. Please skip to the <a href="#load_samples">Loading Samples</a> section.
153 </ol>
154 <B>Important:</B> don't start the LinuxSampler standalone backend when using the VST plugin or don't set up MIDI and Audio ports in the GUI (The VST plugin does it automatically), otherwise it not work correctly.
155 <a name="using_standalone"></a>
156 <h3>4.2 Standalone Mode</h3>
157 <ul style="list-style-type: none;">
158 <li>1. First start the LinuxSampler backend: Click on <i>"Start" ->
159 "LinuxSampler" -> "LinuxSampler (backend)"</i>. A black console
160 window should immediately popup. It does what you think it does:
161 nothing ... yet ... because this is "just" the raw sampler, without a
162 user interface.</li>
163 <li>2. Now start a "frontend" application to actually control the previously
164 started sampler. For beginners and / or unpatient people, we recommend
165 you to use JSampler: Click on <i>"Start" -> "LinuxSampler" ->
166 "JSampler 'Fantasia' (frontend)"</i>. This usually takes about
167 20 seconds or so until the application finally appears on the
168 screens.</li>
169 <li>
170 <a name="setup_midi"></a>
171 <h3>4.2.1&nbsp; Setting up MIDI Input</h3>
172 Once the GUI opens, click on the left round button in the MIDI devices
173 tab.
174 At this point a window will open where you can create a new MIDI device.
175 Press Create. The window will close and the MIDI device will be created.
176 (MIDI Device 0 MME).
177 Now click on the right arrow which points downwards.
178 You can see that a MIDI device with a single Port (Port 0) was created.
179 Under Windows MME LinuxSampler always creates MIDI devices which are
180 connected to a single MME port.
181 To select the MIDI input port you must click on the field located on
182 the left of PORT.
183 A combobox pops-up where you can select the Windows MIDI port.<br>
184 <br>
185 You can create an arbitrary number of MIDI input devices by repeating
186 the procedure above.
187 Each MIDI input device is connected to a single Windows MME MIDI port.
188 This means LinuxSampler has no limitation in terms of number of MIDI
189 ports.
190 Each MIDI device can be routed to arbitrary sampler channels.
191 </li>
192 <li>
193 <a name="setup_audio"></a>
194 <h3>4.2.2&nbsp; Setting up Audio Output</h3>
195 LinuxSampler currently only supports the ASIO driver model for audio output
196 on Windows. ASIO drivers ensure reliable low-latency operation and are
197 virtually available for any soundcard (see <a href="#asio_tip">
198 ASIO requirements tip</a>).<br>
199 <br>
200 Click on the left round button in the Audio Devices tab.
201 At this point a window will open where you can create a new MIDI device.
202 When creating the Audio device you can set several parameters:
203 <ul>
204 <li><b>CARD</b> : The name of the soundcard, in case you have multiple cards
205 installed. It will show the default value (first card found).</li>
206 <li><b>CHANNELS</b> : Number of audio output channels, can range from 1 to
207 maximum number of channels your soundcard supports. We recommend to
208 leave the default value which is the maximum number of channels your
209 soundcard supports.</li>
210 <li><b>FRAGMENTSIZE</b> : ASIO buffer size in samples. The card's default
211 value is shown. If you experience clicks and pops during audio
212 playback then initialize the audio output device with bigger values.
213 (better if it's always a power of 2:&nbsp; e.g. 256, 512, 1024)</li>
214 <li><b>SAMPLERATE</b> : Sets the samplerate. The default value is shown.<br>
215 </ul>
216 Now Press "Create". The window will close and the Audio device will be
217 created: "AUDIO DEVICE 0 (ASIO)" appears.
218 </li>
219 </ul>
220 </div>
221
222 <a name="load_samples"></a>
223 <h3>4.3&nbsp; Loading Samples</h3>
224 In the middle of the screen below the volume slider, you see the sampler
225 channel strip pane. press on the round button located on the left.
226 This will create a new sampler channel. Click on "Load Instrument".
227 This opens a dialog which allows you to select an instrument to be
228 loaded in the sampler channel
229
230 (for information on how to use "orchestras" <a
231 href="http://www.linuxsampler.org/jsampler/manual/html/jsampler.html#USING_ORCHESTRAS">click
232 here</a>, but note: orchestras, a.k.a "instruments database" is not yet supported in this
233 first Windows version of LinuxSampler, but will certainly be on the next Windows release).
234
235 On the row&nbsp; "Select instrument from file" click on the orange icon
236 located on the right side. This opens a file dialog which allows you to
237 select a sample to be loaded
238 (currently only the GIG format is supported).
239 Select the sample to be loaded and then click on "Open".
240 At this point the fields Instrument file shows the filename.
241 You can click on the Instrument index and select the specific
242 instrument contained in the instrument file. Now press "OK".<br>
243 <br>
244 While it loads you see: "Loading" .. "90%" .. "100%" <br>
245 <br>
246 Once loaded, you see the Instrument's name: i.e.&nbsp;"FreePiano"<br>
247 <br>
248 On the left side of the sampler channel click on the arrow below
249 "Options".
250 This pane permits to set MIDI input device, port and channel and oudio
251 output channel.
252 Notice that under Windows MME the Port value is always 0.
253 So the only values you can change is "MIDI device" (normally 0 if you
254 created only a single
255 MIDI input device) and the MIDI channel (from 1 to 16).
256
257 <a name="save_session"></a>
258 <h3>4.4&nbsp; Saving a Sampler Session</h3>
259 When in VST plugin mode saving the current LinuxSampler session happens transparently.
260 Just save the session in your sequencer and it will automatically save the current settings
261 and loaded samples in LinuxSampler too. When you load the session in your VST sequencer
262 LinuxSampler reloads all the settings and samples accordingly.
263 <p>
264 When running LinuxSampler in standalone mode you can load and save LSCP files
265 from within the Fantasia GUI:
266 <br>
267 Click on the 3rd icon from the left on the row where you see the round
268 icon with the LinuxSampler "S"-shape logo.
269 Now select the directory where you want to save the file to (extension
270 .lscp = <i>Linux Sampler Control Protocol</i>).
271 Enter the name and press save (add .lscp at end of file otherwise you
272 will not see it in the file-open dialog later, when you want to load it again).<br>
273 <br>
274 Next time you can load a sampler session by clicking on the second icon
275 from the left, then select a .lscp file in the file dialog and press "Open".
276 This will automatically set up the MIDI devices and audio devices,
277 create the sampler channels and load all the samples that were previously
278 loaded by you in the saved sampler session.
279
280 <a name="sequencer_routing"></a>
281 <h3>4.5&nbsp; Routing LinuxSampler Outs Into Sequencer</h3>
282 When running LinuxSampler as a VST plugin it is fully integrated within the VST sequencer so for routing refer to the
283 documentation that comes with your sequencer.
284 If you run LinuxSampler in standalone mode you can route the audio into your sequencer either
285 by using physical cables or internal routing via ASIO. Some audio cards offer this feature.
286 <br>
287 The <a href="http://www.reaper.fm">Reaper</A> sequencer allows ASIO routing by implementing a virtual
288 ASIO based driver independently from the soundcard type (ReaRoute). Basically in LinuxSampler you select the ReaRoute as ASIO output driver which
289 appear as input ports in Reaper. Coupled with the MIDI controllable FX sends in LinuxSampler you can use
290 Reaper's FX egine to add reverb, chorus etc to LinuxSampler instruments, fully MIDI controllable, similar to
291 other MIDI based modules.
292 <br>
293 Our forum user moonskin (thanks Graham!) has described the steps needed to perform in order to set up the routing.
294 <a href="http://bb.linuxsampler.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=111&sid=d745353791f6cb1ef46946af4168aada&start=10#p944">
295 See here</a>
296
297
298 <a name="houston"></a>
299 <h3>5.&nbsp; Installation Troubleshooting</h3>
300
301 <a name="docs"></a>
302 <h3>6.&nbsp; Detailed Documentation</h3>
303 You find more detailed documentation about our software, i.e. about JSampler
304 or gigedit on our official <a href="http://linuxsampler.org/documentation.html">
305 LinuxSampler documentation site</a>.
306
307 <a name="bugs"></a>
308 <h3>7.&nbsp; Bugs, Problems and Feature Requests</h3>
309 Our Forum is a good place to ask for help:<br>
310 <br>
311 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://bb.linuxsampler.org">https://bb.linuxsampler.org</a><br>
312 <br>
313 We have a dedicated forum section for
314 newbies and support.<br>
315 <br>
316 Since the Windows port of LinuxSampler is very young, there could be several
317 bugs which we hope to root out soon.
318 Please report them using our bug tracking system:<br>
319 <br>
320 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://bugs.linuxsampler.org/">http://bugs.linuxsampler.org/</a><br>
321 <br>
322 Some bugs and problems I discovered so far:
323 <ul>
324 <li>when adding a channel there noises could occur while playing on other
325 channels</li>
326 <li>if you overload the sampler (CPU overload or disk overload) it
327 produces noises</li>
328 <li>when editing an instrument using gigedit, after saving it, it could
329 happen that LinuxSampler does not accept commands from the GUI anymore.
330 if this happens close the GUI and the LinuxSampler console window and
331 restart both.</li>
332 </ul>
333
334 <a name="contact"></a>
335 <h3>8.&nbsp; Contact</h3>
336 If you have questions or want to help us to improve the sampler,
337 subscribe to the <a href="http://www.linuxsampler.org/developers.html">
338 LinuxSampler Developer's mailing list</a>. Alternatively, since I did most
339 of of the Windows porting, you can write me (Benno) directly about Windows
340 related issues. You can find my email address here:<br>
341 <br>
342 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.linuxsampler.org/developers.html">http://www.linuxsampler.org/developers.html</a>
343 <br><br>
344 That's it, enjoy!<br>
345 <br>
346
347 </body>
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