Review: Fervent Software Studio To Go!
Pages: 1, 2, 3, 4

Studio To Go! Astray

I experienced a few disenchantments with STG.

• A few popular audio applications are not included on STG. For instance, Muse and seq24 (both popular MIDI sequencers) are missing. I contacted Fervent about the absence and they indicated that both will be included in future releases.

• STG will only run on audio cards that have ALSA drivers. (See the ALSA Soundcard Matrix for audio card compatibility.) Many are supported, but FireWire audio devices are not.

• The wizards at Fervent Software perform their magic by utilizing the technology found in the popular Knoppix Linux distribution: the complete system is compressed onto one Live CD. When an application is launched, it is decompressed on the fly into RAM and then executed, which leads to a slow startup. Once in memory, though, the application usually runs fine. Because of this, I strongly suggest you have adequate RAM (I recommend 1GB) and CPU power. Note that the popular "FluidR3 GM" SoundFont bank is 145MB alone. You'll definitely need enough RAM to run synthesizers and applications, especially if you're recording digital audio.

• Since no software is written to hard disk, you cannot update drivers, the system file, or applications. However, registered users can purchase newer versions of the CD at a reduced rate. Depending on the cost, that could be a gotcha.

  The alternative is to install STG to hard disk. (There is a simple menu selection in the KDE menu for hard-disk installation.) When installed on hard disk, there are helpful system utilities that will update the software automatically—the likes of which are not found on the "other two" operating systems. Or course, once you install the software to a hard drive, you lose the portability of running it from the CD.

  If you decide to install STG, you have several alternatives: install over Windows (losing your Windows installation), install Linux to a separate partition and create a dual-boot PC (at boot time, you can choose between Windows or Linux), or install Linux on a separate drive. Hard disks are so cheap these days that I recommend this choice.

Charmed, I'm Sure

Fervent Software must be applauded for their magical gift to the audio community. Automatic device configuration, the high bang-for-the-buck ratio, the wealth of audio software, and the ability to travel from PC to PC are clear advantages of Studio To Go!. Minstrels and music hobbyists alike can conjure an audio DAW without the necromancy of installation. And once you're sold on Linux audio, you can easily install STG to hard disk to eliminate the disadvantages and create a no-fuss DAW in minutes. The lack of updates is minor if you require the freedom to travel light.

In fact, as I wrapped up this review, Fervent announced version 1.5 of STG. Spokesman Richard Bowd told me it "contains the latest releases of many packages; some slightly different packages, including some loop-based audio production tools, improved documentation and integration of that documentation, [and a] better installer. It's not a major change from the previous version, but it's much improved." Although I'm looking forward to trying the new version, I don't think it will affect my conclusions, particularly since the major applications I covered here are essentially unchanged. But I'll be sure to leave my impressions in the Comments section below, and I hope you'll do the same. Studio To Go! is a big step forward in computer music production, and it has the potential to significantly expand the Linux music community. If you're interested in either area, this could be your magic ticket.

Brad Fuller explores creative technology at www.bradfuller.com.

Other Audio Linux Distros and Helpful Links

Return to digitalmedia.oreilly.com