The Ubuntu Studio team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu Studio 19.04, code-named “Disco Dingo”. This marks Ubuntu Studio’s 25th release, and is its largest and most feature-full release in a long while. This release is a regular release and as such, it is supported for 9 months.
For those requiring longer-term support, we encourage you to install Ubuntu Studio 18.04 “Bionic Beaver” and add the Ubuntu Studio Backports PPA, which will keep 18.04 supported through April 2020. Please do not install Ubuntu Studio 16.04 LTS anymore as it reaches end-of-life (EOL) on April 21, 2019.
Since it’s just out, you may experience some issues, so you might want to wait a bit before upgrading. Please see the release notes for a complete list of changes and known issues.
New This Release
Ubuntu Studio Installer
Ubuntu Studio is arguably the most popular multimedia creation operating system on Earth. With Ubuntu Studio Installer, it is now not only an operating system, but a complete multimedia toolkit for all official flavors of Ubuntu.
This means you are no longer limited to our default Xfce-based desktop, but can now install Ubuntu Studio’s benefits on the Ubuntu flavor of your choice.
For more information, please see the official wiki article.
Carla 2.0.0
Officially released on April 15, 2019, Carla 2.0.0 has been added to Ubuntu Studio to replace the outdated jack-rack and add more functionality.
Carla is an audio plugin host that can handle many different types of plugins, from Ladspa to DSSI to LV2 to VST. In fact, if you install the WINE bridge (not installed by default), Carla can host Windows-compiled VST plugins.
Carla can also act as a plugin itself, allowing your DAW to use any audio plugin.
Carla also includes a patchbay, which is functionally similar to that of Patchage.
Other Changes
Ubuntu Studio Controls has been upgraded to 1.7 with many bugfixes, and is now the preferred method for starting Jack. As such, we ask that you discontinue use of QJackCtl for starting Jack. QJackCtl remains a good way to monitor Jack’s performance and logs.
Also in Ubuntu Studio 19.04 is new default theming for our Desktop Environment, Window Manager, and Icons.
Want to help out?
Ubuntu Studio is maintained by a very small team and we are actively seeking new contributors. We are looking for developers, packagers and testers. Even if you are interested in contributing outside these areas, please do not hesitate to reach out. Your contribution is precious regardless of your field of activity. We are open to volunteers with all expertise levels. Just head over to our contribute page to find out how to get started.
Found a bug?
Taking the time to report bugs makes a huge difference; it’s the first step towards improvement! Clear and specific bug reports is the best way to get attention to a problem that needs fixing. The easiest way to create a bug report is with the terminal.
Open one up and type: ubuntu-bug <package>
Read more about this at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs
Special Thanks for This Release
- Erich Eickmeyer, Council Chair, Communications, Ubuntu Studio Installer contributions, Social Media, Packaging, Documentation, Artwork, Theming, Vision
- Len Ovens, Council Member, Ubuntu Studio Controls, Ubuntu Studio Installer, Coding
- Set Hallstrom, Council Member, Guidance
- Eylul Dogruel, Artwork
- Ross Gammon, Council Member, Guidance, Packaging, Sage Wisdom
- Our many testers and help along the way
