I am replacing Windows with Ubuntu and am struggling with Renoise. Every track I try to play sounds glitched (constantly stuttery).
I followed the FAQ to set limits.conf for @audio and Renoise no longer shows warnings that it cannot create real time threads, but it makes no difference to the stuttering.
I also set CPU scaling, and the output of cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_governor is (repeated four times) performance
Audio is completely stuttery with ALSA. If I set the audio to Jack then Renoise is totally silent.
Any further advice for Ubuntu?
Should I even try to get this working if the PC isn’t going to be a dedicated DAW?
This seems to be a Jack thing rather than a Renoise thing but it seems like I need to Start Jack if I expect audio from Jack. When I click Start I notice that it’s using a different interface (device) than the one I expect to use (my headphones). No matter what I try to do to save/apply my Jack settings, when I click Start, Jack is using a different device than I tried to configure.
Hello tkna -
I installed pavucontrol-qa and in the Configuration tab I un-selected output devices other than my USB headphones.
Renoise now correctly plays audio on Jack
Thank you very much!
(I am marking this thread as Solved , even though the default ALSA audio option still doesn’t work. Perhaps the install guide/FAQ for Renoise should recommend setting up and understanding Jack?)
Since there is no strictly common way to implement Linux and the trend changes easily, it is a delicate question whether it is necessary to write it in the manual or not.
I don’t think the manual/FAQ/installer should attempt to cover how to implement Linux audio; but perhaps the manual could forewarn the user that most (all?) Renoise users on Linux will need to understand their audio configuration and make some changes.
In my case I am migrating from Windows to a fresh installation of Ubuntu, with zero experience of Linux audio. i.e. I am a dummy A forewarning that Renoise probably (definitely?) will not work on a fresh Linux installation would have been a nicer experience.
Yeah there are some tweaks required to make a standard distribution realtime stable. Some are suggested by the renoise team, others are more extensive. Some distributions are already tweaked, i.e. there are some media/audio/video distros.
Honestly, it is up to the distributor to configure the system, not up to the renoise staff. Renoise does work when used “naively” btw. - but you have to use a very high latency (i.e. > 100-250ms) for it to work glitch-free. Maybe the manual isn’t clear enough on this?
To be able to use renoise with a very short latency (i.e. 10-20 ms, or even like 40 ms), that will allow tight interaction and realtime recording of audio/midi, you’ll have to tweak the system or use a specialised distro.
Hey and it’s Linux. People are used there is no support but communities to ask and wikis etc. Supposed to RTFM or just use Google to find your way… Linux was way more elitist in the beginning, first Suse and then Ubunutu had changed that a lot. People were used to that if you use it, you’re actually a power user able to fix things yourself. Maybe that’s why it can be a little unfriendly to newbies - the people making the docs etc. are all nerds who are used to being able to fix it themselves, telling newbies to RTFM before asking by default…
P.S.: look what I just did here, the linuxaudio.org link in there is the best guide on tuning a system to get that low latency:
Renoise does work when used “naively” btw. - but you have to use a very high latency (i.e. > 100-250ms) for it to work glitch-free. Maybe the manual isn’t clear enough on this?
Yes, I missed this. I see it is in Setting Up Audio Devices - Renoise User Manual but I only read the Linux FAQ to discover Linux specifics. I see that the “Latency” paragraph is not Linux-specific… but I have never had to tweak this in a tracker program on Windows, Mac or even Amiga.
This directly solves the original post - Alsa output was stuttering/crackling, increasing the latency fixes that.
It does look weird that the tracker doesn’t scroll smoothly with this higher latency (it appears to scroll unevenly…). Since I got Jack working, I’ll use that. But the solution for Alsa is much appreciated!
Hey and it’s Linux. People are used there is no support but communities to ask and wikis etc. Supposed to RTFM or just use Google to find your way… Linux was way more elitist in the beginning, first Suse and then Ubunutu had changed that a lot. People were used to that if you use it, you’re actually a power user able to fix things yourself. Maybe that’s why it can be a little unfriendly to newbies - the people making the docs etc. are all nerds who are used to being able to fix it themselves, telling newbies to RTFM before asking by default…
100% understood and agreed; I think I’m just an edge case coming over from Windows and having blind optimism that in modern Ubuntu everything “just works”. The Renoise installer itself is solid. My personal suggestion is just that the installer and FAQ should inform Linux users that latency is their responsibility.
Maybe we argue that it’s not Renoise’s responsibility - but the installer script has checks and hints at the end to see if the system is configured OK and hints for what should be configured, so Renoise is already stepping into responsibility here.
look what I just did here
Awesome! I overlooked this before creating this topic. Though I still would have been ignorant to your point that Renoise works natively if I allow for longer latency.
A forewarning that Renoise probably (definitely?) will not work on a fresh Linux installation would have been a nicer experience.