certain problems trying to get Bitwig to play nice
Version, Distribution, Desktop Environment: ubuntu 21.04
Description of Problem: Bitwig Studio... various mutually incompatible problems
How Reproducible:
Not sure. Actually I need some further assistance identifying the causes of these problems, in order to better understand what is wrong.
Steps to Reproduce:
- Install pipewire
- Add
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/pipewire-0.3/jack
to/etc/environment
- Install QJackctl and setup Pipewire to be JACK
- All devices both hardware + applications comes up in QJackCtl Connections Graph
- Test other audio programs - works. Can connect them / disconnect them. Seems good
- Now Install Bitwig Studio v3.3.1
- Bitwig is not a very well behaved citizen. Yet it worked for 3+ years (before replacing jack with pipewire). Now pipewire breaks it, this buggy program as it is.
My real problem:
- Well I simply cannot use any other DAW under linux
- Ardour is just far too complicated and difficult to use, frankly dangerous for me. Once was connecting buses. Got far too confused and nearly blew up my speakers. Never again.
- Ardour works in this configuration BTW, audio comes through fine. But I cannot use it.
- Ableton Live is actually my preferred DAW. However Ableton under WINE is also very challenging, and time consuming to setup. And very well might still not work. It did not work the last time
- Ardour is just far too complicated and difficult to use, frankly dangerous for me. Once was connecting buses. Got far too confused and nearly blew up my speakers. Never again.
So this leaves the buggy Bitwig as the only DAW I can acceptibly use under linux in 2021. And it's really been fine up until now. Despite it's seems certain things not been done right, the audio interfacing under linux. At least it does not suffer the bigger drawbacks of the other above DAWs. And can work barely, but just about, given a strong enough wind in the right direction, (and enough blind luck).
So what's the problem then? Well IDK! And trying to find out has been pretty confusing and overwhelming. But here is my experiences so far:
Actual Results:
-
When 'Jack' Audio engine is selected
- Audio artefacting, of some sort
- After 'printing' the distorted audio in question (export to file), same distortion playing back thru known good audio player
- Audio clip attached - pipewire_-bitwig-_artefacting_distortion*
-
When 'ALSA' Audio engine is selected
- Without some custom ALSA config, Bitwig does see and permit connection only to real ALSA hardware devices
- However in other program 'audacious' the list of ALSA devices is much more comprehensive list. Many more software devices. Everything. And perhaps everything that pipewire sees. IDK why Bitwig does not sees this.
- Selecting ALSA on my main soundcard - does nothing to change the Graph in QJackCtl. And I cannot send / receive audio from other applications. Such as audacious. No good.
- Without some custom ALSA config, Bitwig does see and permit connection only to real ALSA hardware devices
OK so then I tried adding an ALSA loopback device using this simple cmdline instruction here:
And then that appears to Bitwig under ALSA Engine. And I can select one of those Loopback devices.
- However the Graph Connections in QJackctrl remains the same, and nothing new appears there.
- Trying to playback audio out, and again nothing appears to connect to the soundcard nodes and get sound out.
- I can run
pw-ctl list
and see the ALSA loopback device is in 'suspended' state. According to pipewire
Now call me a fool but maybe there is some extra configuration steps needed to create another ALSA device(s) using the loopback devices. However the method I have seen online is hideously complicated. And impossible for me to understand. It is just far too complicated. And I would be sure to make some error(s) even attempting that.
And the underlying reason for the weird audio distortion is still a complete mystery to me.
Expected Results:
Audio works somehow? But no way have I found it so far.
Additional Info pw-dump -N > file
(As Attachment): pw-dump.json