Another Linux system with some software

[Theo Verelst]

Doom thinking about the current digital synthesizers/workstations, for as far as I follow, it's often a Linux system with some interfaces that fetches a few thousand bucks because it makes music, a rompler, maybe some special sound simulations, a sequencer, some effects a keyboard and display/controls and somehow people want to make music on it...

 

Compute power-wise there are special DSPs, FPGAs, parallel machines (e.g. on graphics cards), mainstream processors (32/64 bit A.R.M. and others) or Intel variations, but from what I gathered most machines will not run very heavy processors for their Linux, and none of the synthesizers in a box run heavy graphics card acceleration or heavy (overclocked) processors.

 

But, there are special chips, usually Asic I guess (all the way bottom up chip design without pre-formed parts doesn't usually happen anymore), like in the Kurzweil, Yamaha and (FPGA) at least some Roland machines there are those, which when those chips are well designed and powerful can be worth it. Even impossible to match in terms of actually usable real time streaming processing power with a heavy PC.

 

Of course Linux for music applications (I've worked on this myself) might require special modes and precautions/limitations to stop page faults, memory bus contention problems, prevent device/service  interrupt priority management

from failing, and a good streaming protocol in place for audio and control signals to be real time and not unreliable. Also the programs and their controlling user interface elements have to be programmed such that they work like an industrial machine rather than "windows software".

 

So is it worth it ? I'm a fan of using a decent Linux for the application, but running a Raspberry Pi-5 only to create a thousands costing synthesizer isn't my idea of fun, so special chips, please, and all kinds of power and proper designs, regardless of the mainstream or completely specialized Linux version used.

 

Theo V.

[stoken6]

How about an alternative real-time OS on x86 or ARM?

45 minutes ago, Theo Verelst said:

Even impossible to match in terms of actually usable real time streaming processing power with a heavy PC.

I suspect that's the fault of the OS not the CPU. My first ARM-based device had a co-operative multitasking model - meaning that a process could refuse to relinquish control and simply claim 100% of the CPU to itself. That's not ideal for a multipurpose/multitasking device (hence Windows, Linux, OSX, iOS, Android...), but well suited to a keyboard with one job to do.

 

Cheers, Mike.