The Wikiloops diary continued... July '25 edition

Let's not cancel this - tell us all what you're up to... :)

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july 1, 2025

i thought i read something about windows 10 earlier, now it's gone...it did prompt me to pull a report of current windows 10 machines and pass that along to our techs. we have until october to get these upgraded/replaced. that was my work 'to-do' today, among other things.

been exploring some metal guitar VSTs recently, fun stuff.

cheers!

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Yes, I had written something about the support end of Windows 10, which was planned for October this year. And this was used by some to propose a change to other systems - read about that in

https://endof10.org/

Microsoft however took back its initial decision, well kinda, read more about that here for instance:

https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/25/microsoft_free_esu_tier/

And there are some folks here who are using Linux to make their music, me included. I'm on Debian and on Arch Linux, and here are some links to get people going on those:

https://wiki.debian.org/Multimedia/
https://salsa.debian.org/nodiscc/awesome-linuxaudio
https://kx.studio/

That's for Debian, and for those who can install Arch (this isn't for beginners tho, my opinion), Arch makes it really easy once you've got it installed. See here:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Professional_audio
https://archlinux.org/groups/x86_64/pro-audio/

That means, if you install the pro-audio group in Arch, you'll get everything you'll need. Other distributions like Fedora have something similar:

https://fedoraproject.org/labs/jam

And then there are "production-ready" distributions like - to name a few:

https://ubuntustudio.org/
https://www.bandshed.net/avlinux/
(there's one for / based upon OpenSuse, but I forgot its name)

Mind you, this is still Linux - so Reaper yes, Bitwig yes, but no Protools, no Cubase, and whatever other proprietary stuff might be on your machine(s).

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I'm embarrassed to admit that I am still on Windows 7 :o
Now the good news, I got a new cable and voila, I have colours back on my monitor, no more turquoise haze on everything. I really must be careful how I drag equipment around now. The next thing I need is a new headset, the one I have now rattles, it was very cheap - I have bought newer better ones but I can't work out how to set them up so I've returned them.

When I started making music to go online I had a load of gear and help from my Son, now he lives away and no-one else is handy or interested. So I gradually stopped using my keyboard, mic and speakers as they stopped working. I guess I must be the lowest tech music maker at wikiloops.... probably on the internet. I still have an old version of Cool edit pro for mixing, but that's all - I had to install Audacity just to download mp3s. I'm not ambitious about music making. It's enough for me to find nice templates and add my voice or effects to them. I'm hanging on by a thread..... and threads are a feature I enjoy wherever I go. :) Thanks to Wolfgang for keeping the diary afloat for another month. Please come along and tell us what you're doing and thinking.

Jillianne [Shamika]

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Honestly??? I mean, we`ve got tons of folks here who could probably provide some help. Isn`t that another aspect of why WL is so good?

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No reason to be embarrassed - that was a good one, and lots of people loved it. It could be a bit dangerous to keep using it for an internet-connected machine tho, so you should probably think about alternatives. Message me if you need help, or anyone or all of us like MySounds suggested...



We can help with this as well I guess...



Well my suggestion from above concerning the Linux way would mean waving goodbye to things like Cool Edit Pro, but Audacity *is* available on Linux as well, and I know (I mean have met in real life) at least one other Wikilooper who does all of his recordings with that one.

You could have a look at programs which are available on all systems, so you can try them on Windows first, and later on use them on Linux as well. Some examples would be:

1. Reaper - there are some here who love it - look at https://www.reaper.fm/

Reaper is not open source, and also not free, but you can use it for 60 days or longer without paying anything. I paid for it, but I'm not using it regularly, so others can most probably supply more help for that one.

2. Ardour - that's what I'm using - look at https://ardour.org/

Ardour is open source, and even free in case you're using Linux. On Windows or on a Mac, you'll have to pay at least 1$ for the full download, but you can also download a trial version.

3. others

There are others like for instance Tracktion - see https://www.tracktion.com/ - but I haven't tried or used them.

Oh, and I could provide short video howtos like a beginner's guide on how to install Arch Linux using its Archinstall script. That would be a very technical video, but it's not too complicated as long as you can type in some commands (no easy graphical installer like almost all others have it).

Just dare to tell us what you need, and I'm sure you'll get some help.

So much for my 2 (Euro-) Cents for today... ;)

Cheers,
Wolfgang

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You're right MySounds and Wolfgang (I just read your post), but even my best friend Google confuses me :o
I just have brain fuzz when I try to interpret instructions. I still don't remember how to find stuff on my TV - I struggle with tin openers, microwaves, coffee machines, air fryers et al - Anything electronic or technical including mobile phones is a mystery. I even need a magnifying glass to check numbers on my washing machine or find sell-by dates and ingredients. I never use the auto checkout in shops without having to ask for help :( My eyesight, observance and dexterity are poor so touch screens refuse to work for me.

I know this all sounds pathetic but I'm a very right brained person (or is it left, I can't remember) I'm arty, imaginative, sensitive and free spirited. I learn from pictures rather than words and I never have a plan (that lasts). <3 I think it's amazing I manage to do anything here at wikiloops :D

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Querida Shamika, no estas sola, voy a mi trastero donde me espera mi bateria Roland V6, año 2002, conectada a un PC W.XP, programa Cakewalk sonar8, y sound forge5 que ayuda mucho,
Internet?? A si el de mi telefono con el que descargo y subo lo que hago en el XP, a traves del bluethoot,
Animo, a mi me fuciona, eso si, siempre tengo viejos PCs, obsoletos para formatear a xp, ya que mis apps corren bien con este sistema

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Carlottis :) Aprecio tu publicación, pero tus palabras en cualquier idioma me harían dar vueltas la cabeza. Wikiloopers are so helpful but I think I am too stubborn to change now.
:D

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change is hard, I was using Audacity before Wikiloops and during my early Wikiloops days. I knew it fairly well and why would I want to change? but fellow loopers kept telling me about Reaper. I eventually switched, and the transition took some time, but wow, so glad I did...all thanks to fellow 'loopers.

it's July, summer and heat seems to be topic. it will be 101F today. well, time to get ready for work...cheers!

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Like it or not, I threatened to make a short, quick & dirty howto video, and here it is (some 21:44 minutes). Please excuse the bad audio quality, I should have used my studio mic instead of the webcam's built-in one. Here you go:

[youtube]OS-njxXw7uw[/youtube]

Also on my homepage / blog in case you want to visit it: https://wolfgang.lonien.de/2025/07/how-to-install-arch-linux-using-the-archinstall-script/

Oh, and for Arch with the KDE desktop I would recommend some minimum of 4GB main memory, and a CPU with at least 2 cores - the more the better. But no crazy stuff like Windows 11 would need it, so most older computers might do...

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It was probably way over my head from a technology perspective but I thought your presentation and content was very professional Wolfgang :W
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Thursday 3rd July. I'm having a crazy week musically but they say "variety is the spice of life" My songs have included "Euthanasia" "Mental overload" "Prostate Cancer" "Technology problems" "Dead fish" "Stop fighting plea" and a visit from "The Cuddle Monster" I wonder what tomorrow will bring :D What a fun hobby we all have :) <3

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Saturday 5th June.

Glastonbury Festival has just finished and I noticed plenty of old legends were asked to perform. (Rod Stewart - Ronnie Wood - Lulu - Neil Young)

The nicest story for me was a final performance after 69 years of Liverpool Pop band, The Searchers (first time at Glastonbury).
Here's their story on BBC Breakfast show....
[youtube]NmxZsHrRN1A[/youtube]
They did a song called "Ain't that just like me" which includes lyrics from Nursery Rhymes "Mary had a little lamb" "Humpty Dumpty" and more. (I just did a similar remix with Jack and Jill lyrics this week)

The Searchers had a bunch of really catchy songs, older UK wikiloopers may remember some I'm sure.

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I had some "fun" on the weekend with my dishwasher. It stopped working, sometimes not taking water, getting stuck and just humming but not progressing, I feared the worst. However, I decided to have a look. Some Chatgbt, some youtube, I decided to have a look. Suspect number one is the inlet water chamber, one the left of the picture, which has a valve on top that gets stuck with grime. You soak it with citrus acid, I inserted a small nail and with a magnet moved it to the area and wiggled it until all the grime went and the valve was lose. It takes some time, and you need to find a hose you can stick in the orifices to pump water through, I made a bit of a wet floor but it was worth it.

Anyways, after it was clean, the machine worked a bit better but still not good, so I decided to have a go at the part on the right, it has a float that stops the machine from working if it thinks the floor is flooding. It wasn't flooding, but the float could not go down because of muck, so the machine thought there is a problem. So out it went, cleaned, and now the machine is working like new!

So if you have this problem, a tehnician might come to your house, charge you for the trip and the time it takes to find the problem. No technican would spend hour of soaking and cleaning the water chamber, so he would have to order if. Costs new about 90 Euro or so. By the time he has the part, comes back and fits it, and cleans the float you probably paid 2-300 Euro. Not worth it if a new one costs less than 500...

It cost me 4 Euros for citric acid powder, some swearing, a few hours on the internet.

By the way, my dishwasher is 18 ears old, still going strong. Don't give up on man's (or woman's) best friend as easily ;)

[img]https://wloops2.r.worldssl.net/galleries/17765/files/6b3bb66f60b1eb1da7eb894b2da489e4.jpg[/img]

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-Like many others, I watched yesterday's Black Sabbath concert today. I must admit, there was something beautiful about the concert that almost made a big man cry. :)
I haven't watched all the shows yet, but the ones I have seen have been good. :W:W:W


-I started making my own song, but it was left unfinished when I realized my riff fits into a Rootshell song, so I'm using it there.

Or maybe not, because it's his band's song and I don't want to mess it up. :D


-Next week, I will start photographing flowers and trees. I know my son isn't keen on doing his summer homework, so I have to go along into the woods to get the homework done.
Well, it's not that bad, as the nearby forest is my favorite place in all of Kuopio. :)


-Other than that, things are the same as always. Gym, ecrima, Japanese language, and a bit of bass playing...

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Dear Diary,

if you search me, you'll find me at the Pool.

Yours sincerely!

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Monday, 7th of July '25

Today while updating/-grading my files in Arch Linux, I noticed an upgraded app called 'jacktrip'. Out of curiosity, I decided to have a look, and the Arch info about it pointed me to this:

https://jacktrip.github.io/jacktrip/

Aha. I know, we have discussed the topic of "live remote jamming" here several times, and each time the outcome was more or less the same: too problematic because of latency issues.

Nevertheless, I still followed it a bit further, and found its home page at

https://www.jacktrip.com/

and later on also its YT channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Vqjhy52e6lZfq5mHLznHw - where I saw two videos:

[youtube]DvcWfLYh6GY[/youtube]

and

[youtube]blvQkjOHOsg[/youtube]

And because I had seen the application on my machine already, I had a look - but the VST3 file was missing (have to report this to the Arch package maintainer). So I downloaded it from the app's website, extracted it, and copied the VST3 to the correct location like this:

sudo cp -R /bigdisk/wjl/download/jacktrip/JackTrip-v2.7.1-Linux-x64-binary/JackTrip.vst3 /usr/lib/vst3

And voila - I could add the plugin in Ardour, as the screenshot under this post will show.

Haven't tried it yet, as it's a paid service (with 4 weeks free as far as I've read). Has anyone of you? If so, then I'd like to hear/read about it...

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wjl attached the following image:

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Edited by wjl on July 7, 2025 at 1:20 PM

... and as a P.S. to my post from above, in case you want to read more about it, here are some infos from Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_remote_music_performance_software
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Networked_music_performance

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