Turn-Key Linux Audio FAQ

Q - What is Turn-Key Linux Audio?

A - Please see the home page for a complete explanation.

Q - Who is this package for?

A - It is for anyone who wants to use Linux to make music, and for those who wish to circumvent the all-to-frequent dependencies/versioning messes that have plagued Linux installations for far too long.

Originally, my intent was to create a fool-proof installation package for my electronic music students, allowing them to mirror the applications they were using in their courses in the studios at the Eastman Computer Music Center on their home systems. It was so well recieved, that I thought others might find it useful, especially other computer music labs which are notoriously understaffed, underfunded, and overly dependent on expensive proprietary software solutions.

Q - There are other installation packages like TKLA, such as Demudi/Agnula and PlanetCCRMA, why create yet another one of these all in one audio "distros"?

A - Though even the venerable Demudi package did not exist when I first created this package for students, Turn-Key Linux Audio does indeed share its model with these existing (and excellent) audio "distros". The comparison with PlanetCCRMA is really the best one, since TKLA installs on top of an existing (ideally new) Linux installation (currently Mandrak 9.0 only, though most packages build from sources and you are welcome to try it in other distributions!).

However, TKLA is not merely a collection of applications and utilities. Dozens of aliases, environment variable, templates, and macros make this installation a complete, enhanced audio workstation. (see the quickstart guide for further details). In addition, most applications and their dependencies build from sources, creating optimum performance and encouraging source-code-level awareness of users' own systems.

If you prefer, you can download and install ONLY these audio workstation enhancements, incorparating them into your existing system. Visit the ECMC portion of the explore page (near the bottom).

Q - Your question...

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