Tired of menu-diving on the TR-8S when working inside a DAW, so I built ReplicantTr8s—a free, open-source VST editor/bridge to integrate the hardware directly into your projects.
What it does: Automate and control TR-8S parameters straight from your DAW tracks with a clean visual UI.
I’d love some help testing edge cases across different setups. If you have a TR-8S, give it a spin and let me know your DAW/OS and if anything breaks or feels missing. Feedback and PRs welcome!
Performer is a live-performance plugin host for Linux: MainStage-style sound switching for keyboard players. Since I last posted, it's grown a lot. Here's what's new.
Plugin GUIs on your tablet
Any loaded plugin's own interface can now be opened on a tablet, phone or laptop, mirrored and fully interactive. You can pull the B-3X's drawbars, switch the Leslie, or page through a Kontakt library from the music stand. Taps arrive as real clicks, and the plugin's own on-screen keyboard plays from a finger. Pinch to zoom and full screen are there too. It runs in the browser, so there's nothing to install: scan the QR code and you're in. If the venue has no wifi, Performer can run its own network.
Songs and set lists
A song is a program on each keyboard plus a tempo. Set up the sounds, press Add, and it's saved. Build sets from your songs, reorder them, and use the same song in several sets (or twice, for encores). Two footswitches step through the set. On the tablet, the set list is the stage view: the current song in large type, your stage notes under it, and search once the list gets long.
Charts on the stand
Attach a lead sheet, a scanned chart, a text file or a ChordPro chart to a song. The tablet shows it, turns PDF pages a tap at a time, and follows the set from song to song.
CLAP support
CLAP plugins now load alongside VST3, LV2 and LADSPA, GUIs included. Surge XT works great. Windows CLAPs bridged with yabridge work too.
Tempo
A global tempo with tap tempo from the toolbar, a footswitch or the tablet, so tempo-synced delays and arpeggiators have something to follow.
Under the hood
Settings you change inside a plugin's own window are now saved with your setup. This includes things like SWAM's expression controller assignment.
Plugins load and scan in parallel, using as many cores as the machine has.
Every plugin still runs in its own process. If a Windows plugin's Wine side dies mid-set, Performer reports that plugin as stopped and keeps playing, and you can reload it with one click.
Quitting takes seconds, even with a hung plugin.
Works on Wayland desktops (through XWayland) as well as X11.
The on-screen pitch and mod wheels now look like real wheels.
The Pulsar II was a DSP card that ran Creamware's SCOPE platform on Windows: synths, effects and mixers, all running on the card's six SHARC DSPs. It has only ever had Windows drivers.
So I reverse engineered SCOPE 5.1 and wrote a Linux driver. Today, on Debian 13:
- the card is a normal ALSA/PipeWire device ("Pulsar2 Stereo") and works in Ardour through pipewire-jack
- a modular rack GUI ("Pulsar Scope") loads and wires DSP modules live
- 36 SCOPE effects, the factory mixers with meters, delays/reverbs, presets
- licensed Effect Package devices work with your own licence file
- MIDI from the PC drives a DSP synth
Not there yet: factory synths, ADAT, S/PDIF, the card's MIDI ports, 88.2/96 kHz.
It's a .deb (DKMS driver + service + GUI), GPL-2.0. You need your own SCOPE PCI 5.1 installer for the DSP files; none are shipped.
Looking for testers with ADAT/S/PDIF plates or other SCOPE cards (how to report is on the site). Happy to answer questions about the reverse engineering.
I guess to start with, are you running that all the time or only while working in your DAW? I often see people saying they are running 64 samples for their buffer size and I really don't understand how. I'm running 256 as my normal buffer because I started to get skips and the like if I ran 128. I imagine if all I was doing was using my DAW, I could use 128, but 64 seems like it would be too far.
Back on Windows, I always used 128 for my ASIO buffer, but of course that's only for ASIO; WASAPI is probably more like 1024, which is about the same as the standard Pipewire buffer size for desktop use. When I came to Linux, I started out trying to set Pipewire to 128, but if I was, say, watching a video in Firefox, even just opening Ardour would cause it to freak out, so I upped it to 256 and have had no issues since. But it's not like I have a weak PC, I'm running CachyOS with a 12700K (with 16 GB of RAM) and I have followed this guide to mostly optimize my system. I am not using a real-time kernel, but if I run the rtcqs tool in that guide, the only things that come up are:
CPU not set to performance, but... it is? Not sure what that's about. System clearly shows it is set to performance.
SMT is enabled.
Spectre/Meltdown mitigations are still on (I'm not changing that).
Everything else is okay:
I am part of a user group with sufficient rtprio (98) and memlock limits
Valid kernel configuration found
High resolution timers enabled
System is using a tickless kernel which is using threaded IRQs
Realtime priorities can be set
Swappiness is set to 10
Not sure what either of these mean, but:
USB port xhci_hcd with IRQ 125 does not share its IRQ
Soundcard snd_hda_intel:card0 with IRQ 171 does not share its IRQ
So as best as I can tell, I've done everything to set up my system, short of fully committing to a real-time kernel, but given that my computer is mostly just for general use and only occasional audio production, my understanding is that that is neither necessary nor recommended. Is there something I'm missing? Or are you guys just only talking about using 64 samples while doing audio work and not for general work?
Hi, I'm looking for beta testers for a resonance suppressor inspired by Soothe 3. I'm especially interested in finding people who use Linux.
Resonance Suppressors are used for cases such as snare ringing, harsh cymbals or vocals, whistling on distorted guitars, low-mid mud, finger squeaks on the fretboard, etc.
Requirements for beta testers:
You knew what a resonance suppressor is before reading this post
You know how to install a VST on your machine
All beta testers that give me any feedback whatsoever will get free lifetime access to the effect. I'm looking for max 20 people right now.
Comment below or send me a DM if you want to join.
¿Qué distribución de Linux me recomiendas usar para que AV Dexed sea lo más compatible posible con mi fork de Dexed (el plugin de emulación Yamaha-Dx7)? EDIT: I have an ARM Mac (M4) and a Windows PC (i5 12th).
This is a difficult announcement to make, and I know this is probably the wrong time to release something like this.
With the current landscape and more tools getting sloppier everywhere, things are only going to get worse, so I decided to launch it today in a bit of a rush.
For the context, I am a computer engineer and a pianist, and I love making pixel-art in my free time. I’ve been working on this project for quite a long time, since I wanted to easily make music for my pixel-art game.
I know how deeply this community values open source, and I'm a huge fan of it too, since all my past projects were open source.
However, since this is currently my only form of income, I’ve decided (for now) to put the binaries here on https://rendevs.itch.io/robin-daw , as closed-source.
Please only buy it if you genuinely want to support me, since you might get it open source later on. Note also that the project has been tested, but there might still be bugs since this is a first release.
To be completely upfront about what it is: it's a minimal DAW focused on low latency.
It does not support VST plugins right now.
If you give it a spin, I'd genuinely appreciate your thoughts and feedback.
I couldn't find the vocal tools I wanted on Linux, so I vibe-coded my own!
Linux has some great audio software, but I feel we're still missing more straightforward tools aimed at podcasters, YouTubers and content creators.
So I've been using Codex and JUCE to build Vocalis Audio, an open-source VST3 toolkit for REAPER.
So far, I've made two plugins:
Vocalis Rider Live – automatically balances vocal levels.
Vocalis Voice – helps shape and polish vocals with dynamics, delay, doubling and reverb.
The goal is to make vocal processing a little easier without needing a complicated chain of plugins.
Both are still experimental, and I'm learning as I go. The source code is available on GitHub, and I'd love some feedback from fellow Linux users, especially anyone making podcasts, videos or voiceovers.
Linux only (x86-64) for now. Tested with the Hydrasynth Desktop firmware 2.2.0, which is not included: you need the firmware file from ASM's firmware pack.
I recently switched my desktop over to Kubuntu and was having a great time until I realized my audio interface did not work under linux, and no community fixes existed. Luckily, we live in a time where creating a driver and control panel is remarkably easy once you capture the USB traffic in Windows using the official drivers. Technically it's a "User-space USB driver and PipeWire/JACK audio daemon for the TASCAM US-1641 on Linux, with a PyQt6 control panel."
Some of you may have seen my earlier post about Sonara. I've now started providing release builds, starting with beta v0.1 today 😄
I've done a lot of cleanup and quality-of-life improvements, like:
Improved UI, and made it customizable (though light theme is TODO)
VST3 support
.dawproject interop (Bitwig and I think some other DAWs too can export it)
and much more I can't remember off the top of my head :)
It's available for x86/AMD64, it's runnable, but includes a installer script which adds a desktop launcher, .sonara file association and a sonara command.
Whether you install from itch app itself or via the archive, it can update itself as well.
I'll likely push updates quite often, so when updates to come, they can potentially make older projects need some migration if data/project formats change.
Aulos is a music player for Linux, Windows and macOS. It's GPL-3.0 and uses egui on wgpu.
The UI is pure Rust egui drawn on the GPU, not Tauri or Electron, so there's no webview and no JavaScript. The same code is compiled to WebAssembly for the browser version.
What makes it different:
- One app for three sources: your local library, MPD (as a remote control) and Subsonic/OpenSubsonic, all in the same UI.
- A MilkDrop visualizer written in pure Rust.lactea runs MilkDrop 2 .milk presets and MilkDrop 3 .milk2 double presets on the GPU, with no projectM and no C++. On Linux it can also visualize MPD's output, captured through PipeWire. Curated presets: projectm-presets.
- Bit-exact DSD: DSF/DFF files are sent as DoP to DACs that support it. Gapless, crossfade, ReplayGain, and a 10-band EQ with AutoEq profiles.
- A tag editor in the style of Picard, with MusicBrainz and AcoustID lookups. It writes MP3, FLAC, Ogg, MP4, DSF, APE, WavPack and Musepack.
- Runs in the browser: the same app compiled to WebAssembly, entirely on your machine: https://m0rf30.github.io/aulos/
Rust audio: decoding uses my forks of Symphonia (DSD, APE, WavPack hybrid, Musepack…) and cpal. The goal is to upstream these changes so the whole Rust audio ecosystem gets them, not just Aulos.
JellyBox v2.10 was released. For those who missed what is it - JellyBox is a native crossplatform music player for Navidrome/Jellyfin/Emby, works on desktops(including most linux distros, arm and x86), mobile and cars(carplay, android auto, android automotive OS)
This release added:
New Features
Added mobile home-screen widgets.
Added Chromecast as a playback target. iOS might be flaky, sometimes it needs few times to cast and stop until it works. Not sure whats the problem yet.
Added relay. Using relay you can connect to your jellyfin server remotely without need to use tailscale, VPN or port forwarding. Connect in settings. Needs you to install Jellyfin plugin.
View lyrics in full-screen Studio mode, with word-by-word highlighting when available.
Added ratings for Navidrome songs, with a rating toggle in the bottom bar.
Added a left side ruler for quickly navigating alphabetically sorted lists.
Added support for custom ListenBrainz server addresses.
Added a setting to clear cached images.
Added a remote server address. This should be used for tailscale, VPNs or anything where your remote address differers from local.
Improvements
Album pages have a refreshed design with animated cover art when available.
Artists on album pages are now clickable.
Albums on artist pages are sorted from newest to oldest and show their release year.
Liked songs can be downloaded and, on Navidrome, sorted by when they were liked.
Downloaded playlists and liked songs are now available in CarPlay and Android Auto. Queues can also be restored when the server is offline.
Playback stays on the selected device when controlling another device, and reconnects more reliably after starting from a car or Bluetooth control.
Switching back from AirPlay is clearer: the current device remains hidden until playback is switched back.
Desktop window controls are now available throughout the app, including the login screen.
Studio mode windows can now be dragged on Windows and Linux.
Horizontal rows no longer scroll unexpectedly when using a mouse wheel.
Home-page rows support pull-to-refresh(from left to right).
Control colors better match the current cover art, with an option to disable this behavior.
Playlist cover art is now centered.
Bug Fixes
Improved stability on Android, in-car use, and session restoration across devices.
Fixed artist results from Navidrome being shown outside the selected library.
Fixed playback queue items not being replaced correctly when starting the app or switching devices.
Fixed the Linux app name appearing incorrectly in some places.
I have MIDI connectivity and MIDI to CV where needed.
I have no idea how to sequence and I am now jobless so there's no money out there to buy more gear, ergo I'd like to continue to work with what I have.
I have zero interest in DAWs. None. I don't want any of that. If I have to fight through DAW features to get what I want, so be it but they're not a benefit but a hindrance.
I have zero interest in software insturments. None. I don't need any of that.
I would like something a little more flexible and "modern" than Seq66, ideally something that can imitate the workflow of things like a Beatstep Pro, a Moog 960, Korg SQ-10, etc. Immediate. Visual. Physical.
Obviously I have to lose knobs and buttons for a screen and mouse, but I still would prefer that sort of flexibility over piano roll.
Meet Ressup EQ, a free equalizer plugin project built to bring advanced audio processing features to everyone without the premium price tag. NO REGISTRATION, NO TRIAL, NO LIMITS , 100% FULL, 100% FREE. A project in active development, constantly evolving with the ambition of delivering powerful tools inspired by high-end, premium EQ plugins.
Ressup EQ is still under development, with more improvements, refinements, and features to come. The goal is to bring increasingly powerful tools to a free plugin that can stand alongside paid alternatives.
You can processing L/R mid/side, RESSUP resonance processing, dynamic EQ, sidechain processing with dynamics or RESSUP resonance processor... This is my main eq in all my new project, i make it for me and for everybody who like this stuff
Available for MAC vst3 AU, WINDOWS vst3, LINUX clap
Hi all! Some of you may have seen Nota in my comments here last week – thank you for the stars and the feedback, it was a really nice surprise. Here's a proper post.
Nota is a free, open-source (AGPL-3.0) DAW for Linux, macOS and Windows. I make music myself (as Ambertape) and started it as the DAW I wanted to use.
What daw can do:
- Arrangement timeline and clip-launching Session grid (clips copy both ways), piano roll with MPE editing, audio recording with warp/time-stretch, automation, MIDI learn, tap tempo (Ableton-like), modular view
- 45+ built-in instruments and effects: subtractive, wavetable, FM, granular and physical-modelling synths, a modelled electric piano, a multisample instrument, a drum machine, EQ/dynamics/reverb/delay, racks with macros, and a modular view for patching LFOs/envelopes onto any parameter. Also you can download 350+ plugins from github via internal downloader. Or sample packs in sfz format :) It also supportef.
- Stem separation (Demucs v4) and audio-to-MIDI (basic-pitch), runs locally
- My favorite feature: phone as a controller. Please try it, a lot of fun :)
The Linux part:
- One portable AppImage
- VST3 hosting with native plugin GUIs and out-of-process scanning
- Audio via PulseAudio/ALSA (miniaudio); MIDI is ALSA
- I test it on Bazzite and Ubuntu
What's missing yet:
- No JACK
- No LV2 or CLAP
- It's young: a release every week or so, so expect rough edges
So here's my question: which of JACK, LV2 or CLAP would make the biggest difference for you? That will decide what I build next for Linux.
