FOSSPicks
FOSSPicks

This month Graham looks at Bespoke, Waydroid, OpenShot, pedalboard, Onivim 2, Mr. Rescue, and more!
Modular music maker
Bespoke
It's amazing just how many incredible audio-related open source projects keep appearing. There seem to be more releases in this software category than any other, indicating the popularity of synths and music production. One of the best of these new releases, Bespoke is a super high-quality modular synth and music-making environment that follows hot on the squeals of the similar and equally remarkable VCV Rack. While VCV Rack is being used to primarily emulate real and fictional Eurorack hardware, complete with virtual patch cables that sink with gravity and skeuomorphic controls that need to be twiddled from a mouse, Bespoke is focused on good user interface (UI) design. It doesn't bear any resemblance to physical hardware or other audio projects, other than the unique touchscreen table and physical controllers of Reactable and perhaps even the ancient Bars & Pipes sequencer for the Commodore Amiga. Even if you have no interest in audio, you will want to play with it.
The heart of a modular synth is its modules. These are the parts that need to be wired together to generate a sound, and this is where Bespoke really excels. Many modules are included, split into categories such as instruments, synths, note effects, plugins, modulators, and audio effects. Every module has a beautifully designed UI with a "1970s disco meets vector display" aesthetic that forces you to play with it. There's a polyrhythmic sequencer called circlesequencer that consists of four concentric and rainbow-colored circles, and notes are played when the hand of a dial crosses their step point. The grids of the matrix note and drum editors could be from Tron, and the envelopes in the FM modules look like green CRT oscilloscopes. When a module offers multiple parameters, these are easily edited directly with text entry or by using sliders and buttons just like in any well-designed UI and not like a copy of a physical hardware unit transposed onto a screen. You can still drag connections between modules, but you can also drag modules together to create a default configuration, and there are keyboard shortcuts for everything. All of this is built on a zoomable and scrollable canvas that never taxes your GPU.
The most impressive graphical element becomes visible when you begin to connect modules together. Much like connections in the aforementioned Reactable, virtual wires stretch between inputs and outputs and animate to show what's been carried across them. If you start with a simple signal generator, set this to produce a sawtooth waveform, and connect this to a gain module to control its amplitude, the virtual cable will wobble to illustrate the shape of the audio waveform going through the cable. More than just eye candy, it's an excellent way to quickly see what is happening where and the effect that certain modules are having on the audio or data streams. The background of the canvas will also animate to display an oscilloscope representation of the output, and it can all be turned off if you don't like the distraction. Needless to say, it sounds just as good as it looks. Plus, there's a brilliant features matrix on the website that shows the difference in features between the free version, the plus version, and the pro version – the only difference being the fewer dollars in your pocket if you choose to make a financial contribution, which is definitely a worthwhile thing to do.
Project Website

Android emulation
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Direct Download
Read full article as PDF:
Price $2.95
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
Kubuntu Focus Announces XE Gen 2 Linux Laptop
Another Kubuntu-based laptop has arrived to be your next ultra-portable powerhouse with a Linux heart.
-
MNT Seeks Financial Backing for New Seven-Inch Linux Laptop
MNT Pocket Reform is a tiny laptop that is modular, upgradable, recyclable, reusable, and ships with Debian Linux.
-
Ubuntu Flatpak Remix Adds Flatpak Support Preinstalled
If you're looking for a version of Ubuntu that includes Flatpak support out of the box, there's one clear option.
-
Gnome 44 Release Candidate Now Available
The Gnome 44 release candidate has officially arrived and adds a few changes into the mix.
-
Flathub Vying to Become the Standard Linux App Store
If the Flathub team has any say in the matter, their product will become the default tool for installing Linux apps in 2023.
-
Debian 12 to Ship with KDE Plasma 5.27
The Debian development team has shifted to the latest version of KDE for their testing branch.
-
Planet Computers Launches ARM-based Linux Desktop PCs
The firm that originally released a line of mobile keyboards has taken a different direction and has developed a new line of out-of-the-box mini Linux desktop computers.
-
Ubuntu No Longer Shipping with Flatpak
In a move that probably won’t come as a shock to many, Ubuntu and all of its official spins will no longer ship with Flatpak installed.
-
openSUSE Leap 15.5 Beta Now Available
The final version of the Leap 15 series of openSUSE is available for beta testing and offers only new software versions.
-
Linux Kernel 6.2 Released with New Hardware Support
Find out what's new in the most recent release from Linus Torvalds and the Linux kernel team.