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<h2><center>LinuxSampler for Windows <img src="gfx/logos/windows.png"> HOWTO by Benno Senoner </center></h2> |
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<br> |
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<center>December 13th, 2007</center><br> |
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<div style="background-color: #F4F4FF; margin: 1em 3em 1em 3em; padding: 1em 1em 1em 2.2em;"> |
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<a href="#intro">1. Introduction</a><br> |
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<a href="#requirements">2. Requirements</a><br> |
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3. Installation ...<br> |
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<a href="#install_w_inet"> 3.a with Internet Connection</a><br> |
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<a href="#install_wo_inet"> 3.b without Internet</a><br> |
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<a href="#using">4. Using the Applications</a><br> |
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<a href="#setup_midi"> 4.1 Setting up MIDI Input</a><br> |
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<a href="#setup_audio"> 4.2 Setting up Audio Output</a><br> |
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<a href="#load_samples"> 4.3 Loading Samples</a><br> |
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<a href="#save_session"> 4.4 Saving a Sampler Session</a><br> |
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<a href="#houston">5. Installation Troubleshooting</a><br> |
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<a href="#docs">6. Detailed Documentation</a><br> |
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<a href="#bugs">7. Bugs, Problems and Feature Requests</a><br> |
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<a href="#contact">8. Contact</a><br> |
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</div> |
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|
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<a name="intro"></a> |
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<h3>1. Introduction</h3> |
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The LinuxSampler development team is happy to announce that |
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LinuxSampler, the most advanced free, open source sampler finally runs on |
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MS Windows too. More information will be added here soon, so check back frequently.<br> |
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<br> |
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For now the sampler supports the Windows Multimedia Extensions System (MME) |
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for MIDI input and ASIO for audio out. This means it currently runs only |
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as a standalone application. A VST interface will follow soon, along with |
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a network module to run multiple sampler slaves distributed on Windows or |
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Linux machines (Linux provides better performance) all controlled from a |
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Windows box i.e. running the VST sequencer.<br> |
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<br> |
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LinuxSampler is implemented as a client/server application. This means |
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the sampling engine (the server / backend) runs |
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independently from the GUI (the client / frontend). Sampling engine and |
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client can be run on the same box or on different machines too, connected |
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over the network.<br> |
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<br> |
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The MS Windows version provides all the features of the Linux version |
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(except of the instruments DB feature yet) since it is built from the |
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same source code base. This means when new features will come out the |
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Windows version will usually provide the same feature set as the Linux |
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version. This was made possible by the very modular design of both |
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low level, operating system functions and flexible audio / MIDI driver |
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system.<br> |
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<br> |
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The Windows version comes as a self extracting .exe file which will |
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install all the necessary modules to run both the server ( linuxsampler.exe ) |
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and the GUI client. It installs 2 GUI clients: |
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<ul> |
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<li>One is <b>QSampler</b>, a light-weight frontend based on the |
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cross-platform Qt4 GUI toolkit with native OS GUI widgets</li> |
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<li>Another is <b>JSampler "Fantasia"</b>, a Java based GUI client called, |
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providing a modern skin-based user interface</li> |
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</ul> |
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At the moment JSampler is more advanced than QSampler as it implements all |
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the functionality present in the LinuxSampler engine. Due to the Java |
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virtual machine however it occupies a bit more RAM than the |
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QSsampler GUI (around 30MB or so) and takes a bit longer for startup, |
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but on a 1GB+ RAM box the difference should be negligible. |
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|
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<a name="requirements"></a> |
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<h3>2. Requirements</h3> |
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<ul> |
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<li>Windows 2000, ME, XP or Vista</li> |
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<li><a href="http://www.gtk.org/">GTK+</a> (<a href="http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gladewin32/gtk-2.10.11-win32-1.exe?modtime=1175123376&big_mirror=0">version 2.10.11</a>)</li> |
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<li><a href="http://www.gtkmm.org/">gtkmm</a> (<a href="http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/binaries/win32/gtkmm/2.10/gtkmm-win32-runtime-2.10.11-1.exe">version 2.10.11</a>)</li> |
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<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> |
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<li>sound card with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Stream_Input/Output">ASIO</a> driver</li> |
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</ul> |
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<a name="asio_tip"></a> |
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<b>Tip:</b> For consumer audio cards which do not come with their own ASIO |
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drivers you can install <a href="http://www.asio4all.com/">ASIO4ALL</a> to be |
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able to use LinuxSampler with your soundcard. |
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We recommend to use version 2.7, perhaps on Vista 2.8beta1 works better but |
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we did not perform tests on Vista so we cannot tell it. Please let us know |
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about your results so we can share them here! |
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|
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<a name="install_w_inet"></a> |
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<h3>3.a Installation with Internet Connection</h3> |
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Simply download the latest version of the LinuxSampler Windows installer |
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from the <a href="http://www.linuxsampler.org/downloads.html">LinuxSampler |
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Download Page</a>, execute the installer and follow the instructions. It will |
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automatically detect if the required software components are already installed. |
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If not, it will download them from the internet and install them on your |
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computer. |
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|
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<a name="install_wo_inet"></a> |
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<h3>3.b Installation without Internet</h3> |
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First download the required components with a machine which has connection to |
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the internet: |
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<ul> |
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<li><a href="http://downloads.sourceforge.net/gladewin32/gtk-2.10.11-win32-1.exe?modtime=1175123376&big_mirror=0">gtk+ 2.10.11</a></li> |
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<li><a href="http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/binaries/win32/gtkmm/2.10/gtkmm-win32-runtime-2.10.11-1.exe">gtkmm 2.10.11</a></li> |
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<li><a href="http://www.java.com/getjava/">Java Runtime Environment 6</a></li> |
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<li>and of course the latest <a href="http://www.linuxsampler.org/downloads.html"> |
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LinuxSampler Windows installer</a></li> |
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</ul> |
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Transfer the downloaded files to the computer where you want to install |
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LinuxSampler and install them in the following order: |
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<ol> |
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<li>gtk-2.10.11-win32-1.exe</li> |
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<li>gtkmm-win32-runtime-2.10.11-1.exe</li> |
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<li>jre-6u2-windows-i586-p.exe</li> |
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<li>linuxsampler_20071207_setup.exe</li> |
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</ol> |
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The order is important, since the components depend on each other and would |
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otherwise try to download the missing component from the internet. |
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|
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<a name="using"></a> |
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<h3>4. Using the Applications</h3> |
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Now that we installed everything, let's get wet and start the applications: |
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<ol> |
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<li>First start the LinuxSampler backend: Click on <i>"Start" -> |
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"LinuxSampler" -> "LinuxSampler 0.5.1 (backend)"</i>. A black console |
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window should immediately popup. It does what you think it does: |
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nothing ... yet ... because this is "just" the raw sampler, without a |
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user interface.</li> |
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<li>Now start a "frontend" application to actually control the previously |
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started sampler. For beginners and / or unpatient people, we recommend |
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you to use JSampler: Click on <i>"Start" -> "LinuxSampler" -> |
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"JSampler 'Fantasia' 0.8a (frontend)"</i>. This usually takes about |
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20 seconds or so until the application finally appears on the |
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screens.</li> |
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</ol> |
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</div> |
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|
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<a name="setup_midi"></a> |
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<h3>4.1 Setting up MIDI Input</h3> |
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Once the GUI opens, click on the left round button in the MIDI devices |
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tab. |
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At this point a window will open where you can create a new MIDI device. |
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Press Create. The window will close and the MIDI device will be created. |
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(MIDI Device 0 MME). |
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Now click on the right arrow which points downwards. |
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You can see that a MIDI device with a single Port (Port 0) was created. |
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Under Windows MME LinuxSampler always creates MIDI devices which are |
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connected to a single MME port. |
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To select the MIDI input port you must click on the field located on |
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the left of PORT. |
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A combobox pops-up where you can select the Windows MIDI port.<br> |
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<br> |
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You can create an arbitrary number of MIDI input devices by repeating |
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the procedure above. |
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Each MIDI input device is connected to a single Windows MME MIDI port. |
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This means LinuxSampler has no limitation in terms of number of MIDI |
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ports. |
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Each MIDI device can be routed to arbitrary sampler channels. |
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|
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<a name="setup_audio"></a> |
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<h3>4.2 Setting up Audio Output</h3> |
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LinuxSampler currently only supports the ASIO driver model for audio output |
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on Windows. ASIO drivers ensure reliable low-latency operation and are |
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virtually available for any soundcard (see <a href="#asio_tip"> |
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ASIO requirements tip</a>).<br> |
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<br> |
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Click on the left round button in the Audio Devices tab. |
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At this point a window will open where you can create a new MIDI device. |
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When creating the Audio device you can set several parameters: |
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<ul> |
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<li><b>CARD</b> : The name of the soundcard, in case you have multiple cards |
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installed. It will show the default value (first card found).</li> |
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<li><b>CHANNELS</b> : Number of audio output channels, can range from 1 to |
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maximum number of channels your soundcard supports. We recommend to |
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leave the default value which is the maximum number of channels your |
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soundcard supports.</li> |
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<li><b>FRAGMENTSIZE</b> : ASIO buffer size in samples. The card's default |
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value is shown. If you experience clicks and pops during audio |
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playback then initialize the audio output device with bigger values. |
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(better if it's always a power of 2: e.g. 256, 512, 1024)</li> |
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<li><b>SAMPLERATE</b> : Sets the samplerate. The default value is shown.<br> |
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</ul> |
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Now Press "Create". The window will close and the Audio device will be |
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created: "AUDIO DEVICE 0 (ASIO)" appears. |
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|
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<a name="load_samples"></a> |
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<h3>4.3 Loading Samples</h3> |
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In the middle of the screen below the volume slider, you see the sampler |
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channel strip pane. press on the round button located on the left. |
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This will create a new sampler channel. Click on "Load Instrument". |
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This opens a dialog which allows you to select an instrument to be |
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loaded in the sampler channel |
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(for information on how to use "orchestras" <a |
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href="http://www.linuxsampler.org/jsampler/manual/html/jsampler.html#USING_ORCHESTRAS">click |
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here</a>, but note: orchestras, a.k.a "instruments database" is not yet supported in this |
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first Windows version of LinuxSampler, but will certainly be on the next Windows release). |
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On the row "Select instrument from file" click on the orange icon |
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located on the right side. This opens a file dialog which allows you to |
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select a sample to be loaded |
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(currently only the GIG format is supported). |
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Select the sample to be loaded and then click on "Open". |
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At this point the fields Instrument file shows the filename. |
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You can click on the Instrument index and select the specific |
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instrument contained in the instrument file. Now press "OK".<br> |
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<br> |
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While it loads you see: "Loading" .. "90%" .. "100%" <br> |
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<br> |
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Once loaded, you see the Instrument's name: i.e. "FreePiano"<br> |
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<br> |
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On the left side of the sampler channel click on the arrow below |
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"Options". |
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This pane permits to set MIDI input device, port and channel and oudio |
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output channel. |
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Notice that under Windows MME the Port value is always 0. |
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So the only values you can change is "MIDI device" (normally 0 if you |
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created only a single |
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MIDI input device) and the MIDI channel (from 1 to 16). |
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|
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<a name="save_session"></a> |
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<h3>4.4 Saving a Sampler Session</h3> |
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Click on the 3rd icon from the left on the row where you see the round |
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icon with the LinuxSampler "S"-shape logo. |
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Now select the directory where you want to save the file to (extension |
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.lscp = <i>Linux Sampler Control Protocol</i>). |
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Enter the name and press save (add .lscp at end of file otherwise you |
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will not see it in the file-open dialog later, when you want to load it again).<br> |
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<br> |
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Next time you can load a sampler session by clicking on the second icon |
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from the left, then select a .lscp file in the file dialog and press "Open". |
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This will automatically set up the MIDI devices and audio devices, |
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create the sampler channels and load all the samples that were previously |
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loaded by you in the saved sampler session. |
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<a name="houston"></a> |
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<h3>5. Installation Troubleshooting</h3> |
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It could happen that due to previous installations of Gtk+ and gtkmm DLLs |
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even after deinstallation leave some stale keys in the windows registry which |
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could fool the installer into |
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believing that the needed DLLs are already installed therefore skipping |
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its installation which will |
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cause the sampler not being able to start due to the missing DLLs. |
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We recommend in this case to install gtk+ and gtkmm manually as described |
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above in "<a href="#install_wo_inet">Installation without Internet</a>". |
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Just install those mentioned Gtk+ and gtkmm versions and then LinuxSampler |
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should work correctly. |
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|
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<a name="docs"></a> |
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<h3>6. Detailed Documentation</h3> |
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You find more detailed documentation about our software, i.e. about JSampler |
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or gigedit on our official <a href="http://linuxsampler.org/documentation.html"> |
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LinuxSampler documentation site</a>. |
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|
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<a name="bugs"></a> |
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<h3>7. Bugs, Problems and Feature Requests</h3> |
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Since the Windows port of LinuxSampler is very young, there could be several |
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bugs which we hope to root out soon. |
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Please report them using our bug tracking system:<br> |
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<br> |
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<a href="http://bugs.linuxsampler.org/">http://bugs.linuxsampler.org/</a><br> |
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<br> |
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Some bugs and problems I discovered so far: |
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<ul> |
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<li>when adding a channel there noises could occur while playing on other |
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channels</li> |
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<li>if you overload the sampler (CPU overload or disk overload) it |
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produces noises</li> |
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<li>when editing an instrument using gigedit, after saving it, it could |
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happen that LinuxSampler does not accept commands from the GUI anymore. |
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if this happens close the GUI and the LinuxSampler console window and |
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restart both.</li> |
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</ul> |
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|
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<a name="contact"></a> |
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<h3>8. Contact</h3> |
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If you have questions or want to help us to improve the sampler, |
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subscribe to the <a href="http://www.linuxsampler.org/developers.html"> |
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LinuxSampler Developer's mailing list</a>. Alternatively, since I did most |
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of of the Windows porting, you can write me (Benno) directly about Windows |
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related issues. You can find my email address here:<br> |
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<br> |
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<a href="http://www.linuxsampler.org/developers.html">http://www.linuxsampler.org/developers.html</a> |
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<br><br> |
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That's it, enjoy!<br> |
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<br> |
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