FOSSPicks
Music tracker
Radium 6
On Linux, we don't quite have the professional digital audio workstation equivalents to Cubase and Logic Pro, but we are getting very close with Ardour, Bitwig, and REAPER, as well as with a plethora of unique smaller projects, such as Renoise, LMMS, and Radium. We looked at Radium several years ago, back in its 4.x incarnation; it's fantastic to see it still being so actively developed. This success could be down to the way the project subsists, which is similar to Ardour. It's an open source project and freely buildable from source, but the convenience of Radium's binary downloads hides behind a paywall, and paying will obviously help fund the continued development of a project. This is definitely worth it, because Radium is a wonderful hybrid of old-school tracker, modern audio workstation, and modular synthesizer that can give you a totally unique perspective on how to make music.
Literally hundreds of features have been added to Radium in recent years. The user interface has been overhauled to improve menus and pop-ups; there's high DPI support, keyboard focus, and theming; and there's a brilliant suite of over 100 LADSPA effects, including ones that produce granular clouds of samples. There are audio meters everywhere, showing the audio path between your tracks, effects, busses, and outputs. The traditional tracker modulation parameters animate the audio waveform shapes. There's a comprehensive API with access from Python and Scheme and even an embedded version of Pure Data for the ultimate in open source audio manipulation. The sound still starts in the tracker-like view on the left where notes and audio automation are entered, passes through the piano roll note sequencer or audio editor at the bottom, and goes through to the effects, VST and other plugins, on to the Jack-hosted output. The output is frame-accurate and can synchronize to other audio applications like Ardour and Bitwig. It's quick, creative, productive, and quite unlike working with any other audio application.
Project Website
https://users.notam02.no/~kjetism/radium/
Data explorer
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you've found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
The GNU Project Celebrates Its 40th Birthday
September 27 marks the 40th anniversary of the GNU Project, and it was celebrated with a hacker meeting in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland.
-
Linux Kernel Reducing Long-Term Support
LTS support for the Linux kernel is about to undergo some serious changes that will have a considerable impact on the future.
-
Fedora 39 Beta Now Available for Testing
For fans and users of Fedora Linux, the first beta of release 39 is now available, which is a minor upgrade but does include GNOME 45.
-
Fedora Linux 40 to Drop X11 for KDE Plasma
When Fedora 40 arrives in 2024, there will be a few big changes coming, especially for the KDE Plasma option.
-
Real-Time Ubuntu Available in AWS Marketplace
Anyone looking for a Linux distribution for real-time processing could do a whole lot worse than Real-Time Ubuntu.
-
KSMBD Finally Reaches a Stable State
For those who've been looking forward to the first release of KSMBD, after two years it's no longer considered experimental.
-
Nitrux 3.0.0 Has Been Released
The latest version of Nitrux brings plenty of innovation and fresh apps to the table.
-
Linux From Scratch 12.0 Now Available
If you're looking to roll your own Linux distribution, the latest version of Linux From Scratch is now available with plenty of updates.
-
Linux Kernel 6.5 Has Been Released
The newest Linux kernel, version 6.5, now includes initial support for two very exciting features.
-
UbuntuDDE 23.04 Now Available
A new version of the UbuntuDDE remix has finally arrived with all the updates from the Deepin desktop and everything that comes with the Ubuntu 23.04 base.