DAW Digital Audio Workstation

This article covers creating a Gentoo-based Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) for multitrack recording, mixing, producing, etc. using professional-grade products (such as the RME Hammerfall Digiface) and is largely based upon this article here: http://proaudio.tuxfamily.org/wiki/index.php?title=DAW_Digital_Audio_Workstation.

=Overview=

Typical Hardware Configurations
pretty pictures

Typical Software Configurations
pretty pictures Cover:
 * Hardware drivers
 * ALSA
 * Jack
 * Qjackctl
 * Mention manual jack configuration
 * connecting audio devices to programs (qjackctl, patchage)
 * The end software: Ardour, Rosegarden

Explain:
 * Latency:
 * How pro-audio differs from standard hardware devices in latency requirements
 * How linux differs from Windows & Mac in latency (and thus, performance).
 * When a Real-Time kernel is needed vs when standard kernel sources will work

=Kernel, Drivers & udev=

Kernel

 * How to degrade your performance to get the low latency needed
 * Choosing the correct driver(s) for your hardware

Realtime privs
cover both methods

Troublshooting
=Installation=
 * Global USE flags
 * Local USE flags
 * Recommended packages for experimental (~amd64/~x86) keywords
 * Packages to merge

RME

 * hdsploader, hdspconf & hdspmixer
 * Getting the fucking firmware & using hdsploader

Troubleshooting
If you're really stuck, log onto irc.freenode.net #lau or #lad and explain your problem. Be sure and pastebin the following: usr/sbin/lspci|grep -i rme cat /proc/asound/cards dmesg|grep -i hdsp =Sound Layer=

Jack
=Card-specific=
 * Qtjackctl (brief explaination of purpose, configuration, instructions)
 * Manual jack configuration

Other cards
=Connecting to your software= =The Software=
 * patchage
 * using Qjackctl patch bay
 * anything else descent

Rosegarden
=Topic Lost & Found=
 * VST plug-ins (32 bit only)
 * pro-audio overlay

=See Also=
 * http://proaudio.tuxfamily.org/wiki/index.php?title=DAW_Digital_Audio_Workstation
 * Music_studio
 * JACK
 * Wikipedia: List of Linux audio software
 * http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7024
 * http://www.audiodef.com/gentoo/proaudio/ProAudioForGentoo.php