Audinux

A Fedora COPR repository for Audio creation

Getting Started with Audinux

Table of Content

Audinux: Fedora Audio Production Environment

Audinux is a Fedora COPR repository designed to provide a complete audio production environment on Fedora. Audinux maintains the latest upstream versions of audio packages to ensure users have access to the most up-to-date features and fixes. Below is a categorized summary of the main software available in Audinux:

Plugin Hosts and Session Management

Audio Plugins and Effects

Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs)

Modular Systems

Guitar and Amp Simulation

Synths and Samplers

Spectrum Analyzer

Audio Signal Visualisation and Measurement

Practical Audio Routing and Monitoring

Table of Contents

Introduction

This guide demonstrates how to set up a flexible audio routing and monitoring environment on Fedora using tools provided by Audinux. Whether you’re a podcaster, musician, or voice-over artist, understanding signal flow and real-time monitoring is crucial.

Why Routing and Monitoring Matter

Proper audio routing allows you to:

Basic Setup with Carla

Carla is a powerful modular plugin host. It’s especially useful for setting up your audio environment graphically with JACK.

Steps:

Example:

[Mic Input] → [LSP Compressor (LV2)] → [LSP Parametric EQ (LV2)] → [Ardour Track Input]

Using Carla’s Patchbay for Visual Audio Routing

The Patchbay in Carla allows you to visually connect audio inputs and outputs between devices, plugins, analyzers, and monitoring endpoints. This graphical interface is ideal for setting up complex signal chains with real-time control.

Example Workflow: Vocal Monitoring with Real-time Analysis

Objective: Route microphone input through effects, analyze the signal, and monitor the output via headphones.

Steps:

Routing Example:

Each node in Carla’s Patchbay represents a JACK client or port. Simply click and drag connections between them to build your signal chain. This setup provides precise control and immediate visual feedback, ideal for recording or live use.

Case Study: Podcast Workflow

Goal: Apply compression and EQ to voice while monitoring with real-time spectrum analysis.

Steps:

This workflow is built in Carla with the JACK backend. All plugins are available via the Audinux COPR repository.

Case Study: Guitar Monitoring with AI Amp Modelling

Goal:
Set up a guitar sound using AI-based amp modeling, allowing for real-time playing and recording.

Steps:

Note:
This setup is typically built using Carla with the JACK backend. All plugins are available via the Audinux COPR repository.

For a more detailed guide and background, see Yann Collette’s article:
Using Artificial Intelligence to Set a Guitar Sound

Realtime Analysis: LSP Spectrum and Metering Tools

LSP Plugins (LV2) include a set of high-quality analysis tools for real-time visual monitoring during mixing or recording.

These tools provide visual feedback on:

Use Cases:

Summary

Audinux provides a robust and modular toolkit for managing audio routing and monitoring workflows. By combining Carla, JACK, and powerful analyzer plugins, you can build a flexible and efficient audio environment tailored to your creative and technical needs.

Understand Your Voice Chain

Introduction to important aspects of voice processing

The voice chain is the signal path from the microphone to the final output, which often includes various stages such as EQ, compression, and monitoring. Understanding each component and how they work together is crucial for achieving optimal sound quality in your recordings. In this guide, we’ll explore the essential stages of a voice chain and how you can use them to enhance your vocal recordings.

1. Making Your Sound - Hardware and Carla Setup

This section focuses on the physical setup (microphone selection and audio interface), followed by the routing of the voice through Carla. The key idea is to create a good starting point with solid hardware and ensure the signal is correctly routed within Carla(

Elaboration: What Is a Voice Chain?

In audio production, a voice chain refers to the series of audio processing stages your vocal signal passes through — from the microphone input, through various effects (plugins), until it reaches the final output. Each stage shapes or controls the sound for clarity, consistency, and musicality.

Unlike instrument chains or MIDI-based setups (which are very popular topics in the Linux audio community, especially around synths, guitars, or modular setups), a voice chain is unique because:

In short:

That’s why focusing on the voice chain offers a super practical guide for:

To begin building a solid voice chain, the first step is setting up the hardware and ensuring the appropriate software routing in Carla. Here’s how you can do this effectively.

Choosing the Right Hardware

The foundation of your voice chain starts with your microphone and audio interface. The quality of your hardware will significantly affect the final result. Common setups include:

Understanding Engine Processing Mode vs Interface Modes (Rack/Patchbay) in Carla

Once your hardware is set up, you can use Carla to route audio to and from your recording environment. Carla is a flexible, modular audio plugin host designed for real-time audio routing and plugin management. Carla gives you direct visual control over how your hardware, software instruments, and effects are connected.

The following image demonstrates typical Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the Carla Rack:

Carla Rack

Best for: Complex signal chains, live performance setups, combining software and external gear. The Patchbay canvas in Carla gives you a visual way to connect plugins, hardware, and system inputs/outputs like building blocks.

The following image demonstrates typical Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the Carla Patchbay Canvas:

The Patchbay canvas

In/Out Ports (Audio Ports) represent audio signals entering or leaving a particular device or plugin.

2. Shaping Your Sound - Using LSP for Real-time Analysis and Refining:

This section introduces LSP (Linux Studio Plugins) as essential tools for shaping the sound of your voice. The emphasis is on using EQ to refine the sound and the LSP Spectrum Analyzer for real-time feedback, enabling users to monitor and adjust the voice chain during the recording or live monitoring process.

Purpose of EQ

EQ (Equalization) is used to shape the frequency response of your voice by boosting or cutting specific frequencies. Proper EQ can make your voice sound clearer, fuller, or more present, depending on your needs.

The following image demonstrates typical Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the LSP Parametric EQ:

The LSP Parametric EQ

The LSP Parametric Equalizer x8 Mono gives you 8 frequency bands to work with, which offers plenty of flexibility to shape the sound of a mono source. This makes it ideal for solo recordings or a single microphone setup (for instance, a voice-over recording or an acoustic guitar mic’d up in a simple setup).

How users adjust Key Controls inside LSP plugins

Purpose: Determines the central frequency for each band. You can adjust where the EQ will target specific frequencies on the spectrum.

How to Adjust: Click and drag the Frequency knob left or right. You’ll see the frequency change in Hz. Alternatively, you can also adjust the EQ by clicking and dragging a frequency point upward or downward directly on the graph. Dragging upward boosts the selected frequency, while dragging downward cuts it.

A/B test your changes: Bypass

In audio processing, a dry signal is the original, unprocessed sound, while a wet signal is the sound after it has been processed with effects like EQ, compression, or reverb. Imagine recording your voice with a microphone. The raw recording, without any effects, is the dry signal. If you add compression to control the dynamics and a bit of reverb to make it sound fuller, the result is the wet signal.

The following image demonstrates typical Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the bypass option on LSP plugins:

Bypass the LSP Parametric EQ

Right-click on the rack window of a plugin and tick the checkbox of ‘bypass’.

Always A/B test your changes. Bypass the EQ and listen to how your voice sounds without it, then engage the EQ and listen again. Make sure you’re not over-processing your voice.

Purpose of Compression

Compression controls the dynamic range of your voice, ensuring that quieter parts are brought up in volume while loud parts are reduced. This results in a more consistent sound level throughout your recording.

The following image demonstrates typical Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the LSP Compressor plugins:

The LSP Compressor

Typical Compression Settings

3. Save configuration

To save a configuration in Carla, you can use a .carxp file, which stores the setup of your patchbay, including all audio and MIDI routing, plugin settings, and connections. This file allows you to quickly restore your exact setup for future sessions without needing to manually reconfigure everything. To save a configuration, simply go to the File menu in Carla, choose Save Configuration As, and select the destination where you want to store your .carxp file. This file will contain all the details about your current patchbay, including the arrangement of plugins, the routing between them, and any device or system parameters. When you want to load the configuration later, you can open the .carxp file, and Carla will automatically restore your entire environment, making it a convenient and efficient way to manage your workflow.

4. Monitoring and Real-time Feedback

LSP Spectrum Analyzer x1

x1 is simple, lightweight, perfect for voice work. Mono matches your voice chain since microphone is usually mono.

The following image demonstrates typical Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the LSP Spectrum Analyzer:

The LSP Spectrum Analyzer

Setting up Monitoring

Singing helps you detect how plugins (especially EQ and compression) react to dynamic shifts and emotional expression. You can also catch subtle issues like breath noise or high-frequency peaks that don’t always show up during normal speaking.

5. Common Issues and Troubleshooting

Overcompression

Harsh Highs

Muddiness

6. Conclusion

Understanding your voice chain is essential for achieving the best possible sound quality in your recordings. By using EQ, compression, and monitoring tools correctly, you can shape and control your voice to suit your needs, whether for podcasts, voice-overs, or music recordings.

Key Takeaways

With a solid understanding of these tools and techniques, you can improve the quality of your voice recordings and achieve professional-sounding results.

Additional Resources

Build Your Audio Workflow

You have explored the essentials with Audinux. Your next steps can align with your creative goals, whether recording a podcast, building live setups, experimenting with plugin chains, or diving into full multi-track production. Audinux gives you a modular foundation, but your journey continues with tools like Ardour, Pipewire-jack, and advanced plugin workflows. Your path depends on how deep you want to go - performance, production, or precision mixing. You’re not just using tools now. You’re shaping your audio environment.

Audinux offers opportunities with open-source tools: you’ve already explored plugin hosting, routing, and monitoring. The next step is personal—build a repeatable workflow, trust your ears, and keep it simple at first. As with any creative tool, familiarity grows with use. Audinux doesn’t aim to mimic commercial DAWs—it gives you the freedom to shape your sound, in your way.

Additional Resources

tags: Introduction