Shortly after I started using Linux in late 2007, I realized one of the biggest challenges before I could leave Windows behind was to find an alternative in the open source World to record my music. After a bit of research, I found about Ardour, Hydrogen, Jack, LADSPA and so many other great apps that were already available in Linux. I also found about the need of a low latency Kernel, so I needed an easy way to get all those ingredients installed in an simple and convenient packaging, something I found Ubuntu Studio covered well. For me, it was a natural move, given that Ubuntu was the distro I started with, so since April 2009, I was a happy "Ubuntu Studio-er". One of the reasons I had not updated my Ubuntu Studio 9.04 installation was that the recent past of the project had been a turbulent one. The previous release went through lots of trouble, as could be read in the official Ubuntu Studio 11.10
RELEASE NOTES. Essentially, the team behind the distribution almost disappeared, the transition to XFCE was far from complete, a low latency Kernel was nowhere to be found... Things were upside down, leaving last October´s release in a difficult position. Surprisingly (and it was a very happy surprise, I tell you), it seems things are now better than ever (sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom...) and this new LTS release has lots to offer. Here´s a list of some highlight features:
- Live-DVD
- GUI-based installation
- lowlatency kernel installed by default
- i386 images use the lowlatency-pae kernel
- XFCE is default desktop environment
- Pulse Audio <-> JACK bridging enabled by default
- New theme, icons, and default font
- New LightDM and Desktop background/backdrop images
- Documented work flows/new application choices provide better user support
- Menu restructured for better work flow support
- ARandR included for improved multi-monitor functionality
- mudita24 replaces envycontrol24 for ice1712 chip audio interfaces
- Long Term Support release (3 years)
Right after reading those features and knowing how good Ubuntu and Xubuntu 12.04 had proven to be during my testing, I couldn´t wait to start downloading and testing Ubuntu Studio as well!
GET INTO THE STUDIO One thing that concerned me was that I had a perfectly working system in Ubuntu Studio 9.04 and there was always a question mark on whether 12.04 would still provide support for my hardware (a simple, but old, M-AUDIO 1010 LT PCI card). On top of that, it had been years since I did all the configuration on 9.04, so I was not all that confident that I would remember what had to be done to get 12.04 moving with all my Ardour and Hydrogen projects. One of the many new great features in Ubuntu Studio 12.04 is the ability to run it as a LiveDVD, which allowed me to see my hardware was still fully supported. In fact, I have to say hardware support, just like in Ubuntu 12.04, is stellar: everything was correctly detected and configured on my desktop. The 1010LT soundcard was no exception, but most impressive was the seamless integration in the sound applet from the notification area, which would make it a breeze to change the default hardware audio output for different media applications. On top of that, of course, the LiveDVD allowed me to take a quick tour and check the vast array of applications included, as well as the new and attractive looks of the debuting XFCE desktop manager. Long story short, I had found what I was looking for and it took only a few minutes before I was clicking the install button.
INSTALLATION AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS As with any other x-buntu distro released back this April, the installation is superb. Quick, intuitive, only asking relevant questions and leaving the confusing bits aside, mature and stable. Thanks to the ability to download updates during the installation, I got a fully updated Ubuntu Studio desktop right off the bat, albeit taking longer than an "offline" installation would have, of course. The Ubuntu 12.04 splash screen is beautiful, impressive, looking very professional and sharp. Unfortunately not like it is the login screen, which looks a bit archaic, even if sporting a beautiful background image. Just as it is the case in Xubuntu, the LightDM theme in Ubuntu Studio is far from being as sleek as Ubuntu´s. Hopefully we will see improvements in this area come future releases. If not, thanks to the reduced complexity of LightDM, changes to the background picture, login window theme and fonts are fortunately quite simple. The desktop uses the same background as the login screen, incorporating a few changes from the GNOME Classic days. All in all, the default theme, fonts and icons look OK. However, since I love customizing things to my needs and Look&Feel means a lot to me, it didn't take long before I started tweaking. Conky, a change in fonts and the lower panel, plus the Faenza icons theme, all sitting on top of a better fitting wallpaper, put a smile on my face pretty quickly.
Click on image to enlarge. APPLICATION GALORE Unlike Xubuntu, Ubuntu Studio 12.04 leans towards GNOME in its applications of choice, so it is no surprise that Nautilus handles file management, instead of XFCE´s Thunar.
Click on image to enlarge. Another departure from Xubuntu´s defaults is the text editor of choice, good old Gedit.
Click on image to enlarge. Aside from a few minor differences, though, the similarities with Xubuntu are obvious. This should come as no surprise since both are using XFCE now. A good example of those similarities is the identical System Settings tool.
Click on image to enlarge. The Audio Production application catalog is full of candy. Mudita 24 quickly helped me manage my 1010LT input and output levels, while Jack gave me a hand in choosing the hardware interface and adjusting connections. I still get an old issue at times, when my two audio cards seem to battle to take the first spot (HW0) at boot, making my default Jack setup fail. Choosing "default" in Jack Interface drop-down menu didn´t help, unfortunately. Now, I know there is a fix to this which involves hard coding which interface should go in first, but I was hoping this would be managed automatically at this stage. Oh, well.
Click on image to enlarge. I quickly fired Hydrogen (testing version 0.96) and loaded one of my songs. Of course, I had to go through the tedious task of mapping instrument layers, but I was happy to see some new features that made my life a little easier when recording. All in all, though, Hydrogen is still poor in several areas, the user interface being the one I probably have more problems with. It does get the job done, though, and since this is an Ubuntu Studio review, I won´t go on about it.
Click on image to enlarge. I then started Ardour (version 2.8) and was happy to see all looking very much familiar. I loaded some old projects and it all went buttery smooth. I only had to remap connections through Jack to get my drum tracks in, and I must say I am getting the best results ever in terms of latency, with less than 10ms. and almost zero xruns. The whole thing comes preconfigured with LADSPA effects, mastering tools like Jamin and players like Audacious, among many others. Thanks to the intuitive audio setup, I now find it very easy to master my songs, export them and then check them out through my standard speakers or regular headphones, all without having to switch or change anything on Jack. It´s making mixing and mastering way easier and faster!
Click on image to enlarge. Ubuntu Studio is not focused solely on Audio Production, though, Video, Image Manipulation and Digital Animation are very much part of it thanks to applications like OpenShot, GIMP and Blender. I have no skills at animation, though, so to me Blender is just a great companion to OpenShot for the 3D titles.
Click on image to enlarge. The default Video Player handles a wide arrange of formats, but I find it is no match for my favorite: VLC. Luckily, Ubuntu Studio 12.04 benefits from being part of the x-buntu family and includes a fully up to date version of the great Ubuntu Software Manager, which made installing VLC (just an example) a breeze.
Click on image to enlarge. As can be seen, the application catalog in Ubuntu Studio is impressive, but I think there are better options than Brasero for burning CDs/DVDs, specially in a distro like this, which may take such applications to their limits. Personally, I would have included K3B, my favorite.
Click on image to enlarge. GIMP (which does include all of its plugins by default) I use quite a lot on most of my installations, but it does feel good to have it here, on a dedicated distro. Ubuntu Studio will probably handle all my image manipulation from now on.
Click on image to enlarge. A SINGLE WORD: CONGRATULATIONS! At the end of last year, the future of Ubuntu Studio looked uncertain, so to see the distro come back to life in such style is a most welcome and impressive surprise. The best thing, though, is that it just starts there, but only truly unfolds when one starts using it in depth and finding how good Ubuntu Studio 12.04 actually is. Its 3 year support resulting from its LTS nature is very welcome added plus. Aside from the release itself, I think the best piece of news is that the team behind the project seems to be in best shape, which only raises expectations towards better upcoming releases. Yes, there is still work to be done around things like LightDM or a smoother XFCE integration, but looking at what those guys have achieved in such a short amount of time I can only congratulate them and thank them, hoping that future releases will stay this good.
Click on image to enlarge. APPLICATION GALORE Unlike Xubuntu, Ubuntu Studio 12.04 leans towards GNOME in its applications of choice, so it is no surprise that Nautilus handles file management, instead of XFCE´s Thunar. 
Click on image to enlarge. Another departure from Xubuntu´s defaults is the text editor of choice, good old Gedit. 
Click on image to enlarge. Aside from a few minor differences, though, the similarities with Xubuntu are obvious. This should come as no surprise since both are using XFCE now. A good example of those similarities is the identical System Settings tool. 
Click on image to enlarge. The Audio Production application catalog is full of candy. Mudita 24 quickly helped me manage my 1010LT input and output levels, while Jack gave me a hand in choosing the hardware interface and adjusting connections. I still get an old issue at times, when my two audio cards seem to battle to take the first spot (HW0) at boot, making my default Jack setup fail. Choosing "default" in Jack Interface drop-down menu didn´t help, unfortunately. Now, I know there is a fix to this which involves hard coding which interface should go in first, but I was hoping this would be managed automatically at this stage. Oh, well. 
Click on image to enlarge. I quickly fired Hydrogen (testing version 0.96) and loaded one of my songs. Of course, I had to go through the tedious task of mapping instrument layers, but I was happy to see some new features that made my life a little easier when recording. All in all, though, Hydrogen is still poor in several areas, the user interface being the one I probably have more problems with. It does get the job done, though, and since this is an Ubuntu Studio review, I won´t go on about it. 
Click on image to enlarge. I then started Ardour (version 2.8) and was happy to see all looking very much familiar. I loaded some old projects and it all went buttery smooth. I only had to remap connections through Jack to get my drum tracks in, and I must say I am getting the best results ever in terms of latency, with less than 10ms. and almost zero xruns. The whole thing comes preconfigured with LADSPA effects, mastering tools like Jamin and players like Audacious, among many others. Thanks to the intuitive audio setup, I now find it very easy to master my songs, export them and then check them out through my standard speakers or regular headphones, all without having to switch or change anything on Jack. It´s making mixing and mastering way easier and faster! 
Click on image to enlarge. Ubuntu Studio is not focused solely on Audio Production, though, Video, Image Manipulation and Digital Animation are very much part of it thanks to applications like OpenShot, GIMP and Blender. I have no skills at animation, though, so to me Blender is just a great companion to OpenShot for the 3D titles. 
Click on image to enlarge. The default Video Player handles a wide arrange of formats, but I find it is no match for my favorite: VLC. Luckily, Ubuntu Studio 12.04 benefits from being part of the x-buntu family and includes a fully up to date version of the great Ubuntu Software Manager, which made installing VLC (just an example) a breeze. 
Click on image to enlarge. As can be seen, the application catalog in Ubuntu Studio is impressive, but I think there are better options than Brasero for burning CDs/DVDs, specially in a distro like this, which may take such applications to their limits. Personally, I would have included K3B, my favorite. 
Click on image to enlarge. GIMP (which does include all of its plugins by default) I use quite a lot on most of my installations, but it does feel good to have it here, on a dedicated distro. Ubuntu Studio will probably handle all my image manipulation from now on. 
Click on image to enlarge. A SINGLE WORD: CONGRATULATIONS! At the end of last year, the future of Ubuntu Studio looked uncertain, so to see the distro come back to life in such style is a most welcome and impressive surprise. The best thing, though, is that it just starts there, but only truly unfolds when one starts using it in depth and finding how good Ubuntu Studio 12.04 actually is. Its 3 year support resulting from its LTS nature is very welcome added plus. Aside from the release itself, I think the best piece of news is that the team behind the project seems to be in best shape, which only raises expectations towards better upcoming releases. Yes, there is still work to be done around things like LightDM or a smoother XFCE integration, but looking at what those guys have achieved in such a short amount of time I can only congratulate them and thank them, hoping that future releases will stay this good.
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