Our friends at Ardour have released Version 6.0, and we would like to offer them a huge congratulations! While the source code and their own builds were available on release day, many of you have been waiting for Ardour 6.0 to come to Ubuntu’s repositories.
Today, that day came. Ardour 6.0 has landed in Ubuntu Groovy Gorilla (future 20.10) and will be on Ubuntu Studio’s daily spins of Groovy Gorilla within 24 hours of this writing.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to backport Ardour 6.0 into Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, nor would we want to. This is because if we do, we might disrupt the workflow of people who are currently working with projects in 5.12 that are relying on its functionality and sound. Ardour 6.0 has an all-new Digital Sound Processor (DSP), and as such it may sound somewhat different.
Additionally, Ardour 6.0 projects are not backwards-compatible with Ardour 5.12 projects; once a 5.12 project is opened in 6.0, it is converted to a 6.0 project and cannot be used in 5.12 again unless restored from a backup.
This is also the reason why we will not be releasing Ardour 6.0 into Ubuntu Studio’s main Backports PPA. However, we are giving Ardour its own Backports PPA so that users may upgrade Ardour in their Ubuntu (Studio) 20.04 LTS installation whenever they are ready.
To upgrade Ardour to 6.0, open a terminal and type the following:
The Ubuntu Studio team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu Studio 20.04, code-named “Focal Fossa”. This marks Ubuntu Studio’s 27th release. This release is a Long-Term Support release and as such, it is supported for 3 years (until April 2023).
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.
You can download Ubuntu Studio 20.04 LTS from our download page.
Upgrading
Please note that those running Ubuntu Studio 19.10 will likely not receive an upgrade notification right away. This may take anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks. Since 19.10 reaches End Of Life in July, please upgrade as soon as possible.
Those running Ubuntu Studio 18.04 can also upgrade, but will likely not receive any upgrade notification until 20.04.1 is released in July. Please note that you should purge the Ubuntu Studio Backports PPA prior to upgrade. Since 18.04 was not an LTS release, please upgrade as soon as possible.
With the release of version 2.0 of MyPaint, the library conflict with GIMP no longer exists. As such, MyPaint has retruned to our default installation. This is a welcome re-inclusion for our graphics design community, and has been a long-requested feature. MyPaint, welcome back!
AVLDrums
Available as an LV2 plugin, AVLDrums is now included with the default installation of Ubuntu Studio. AVLDrums is a drumkit plugin which can be used in conjunction with MIDI in any DAW that supports LV2 plugins, such as Ardour.
Ubuntu Studio Controls
Our flagship audio control application, Ubuntu Studio Controls, got a large update this release. Among the new changes:
Audio setup tab is split into three tabs: Jack Master Settings, Extra Devices, Pulse Bridging
Firewire devices are no longer available under Ubuntu Studio Controls unless they work with ALSA. Consider upgrading to a modern USB or PCIe audio interface to take advantage of everything Ubuntu Studio Controls has to offer.
PulseAudio bridges can now be named by the user
Libreoffice Impress
One item that has been requested is the inclusion of Libreoffice Impress, which was missing in releases past. We now include it by default to help those who need it for making presentations.
Other Changes
Most of this release is evolutionary on top of 19.10 rather than revolutionary. As such, most of the applications contained are simply upgraded versions. Details on key packages can be found in the release notes.
We have followed Xubuntu’s lead on a few desktop packages and replaced them. GNOME Calculator has been replaced with MATE Calculator, FileRoller has been replaced with Engrampa, and Evince has been replaced with Atril.
Unfortunately, we did have to say goodbye to some applications that people rely on due to library incompatibilities. Most notably, Python 2 has reached End-Of-Life, and many packages that depend on Python 2 simply have not been upgraded to Python 3. Those packages are as follows:
DisplayCAL
The author needs to upgrade this package to Python 3. Once it’s upgraded, we will include it in the Ubuntu Studio Backports PPA.
Patchage
The author has already patched this for Python 3, but relies on a newer version of another library not yet included in Ubuntu. We may be able to add this package and its library to the Ubuntu Studio Backports PPA at a later date.
In the meantime, use the Patchbay functionality in Carla.
GMidiMonitor
This project appears to be dead upstream and relies on Python 2.
We have replaced it with midisnoop, which is functionally equivallent.
For a more complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
Backports PPA
Packages already exist in the Ubuntu Studio Backports PPA for 20.04 for items that could not make it into the official Ubuntu repositories in time for release. These items include:
dragonfly-reverb 3.0.0
lsp-plugins 1.1.19
The above have also been backported to 19.10 and 18.04, along with many packages that did make it to the official Ubuntu repositories. However, as of today, the packages for 18.04 in the backports PPA will be frozen. If 18.04 users wish to receive further updates, please upgrade to 20.04 as soon as possible.
Instructions for enabling the Ubuntu Studio Backports PPA
Unlike other flavors of Ubuntu, Ubuntu Studio isn’t based on its desktop environment. We strive to look for the best experience for all of our users, which includes more than just audio.
About two years ago, we decided to try to release a second version of Ubuntu Studio with the KDE Plasma desktop environment. Unfortunately, that proved to be too time-consuming as we’d essentially have to be introducing a new flavor of Ubuntu, subject to the same application process as other new flavors. Knowing it would be too much for our small team, we decided to drop that idea and, with Ubuntu Studio Installer, make it so that other flavors could have Ubuntu Studio as a bolt-on, which enabled users to choose their desktop environment themselves.
Ubuntu Studio Installer isn’t going away, but we did reach a decision that does affect the future of Ubuntu Studio.
Ubuntu Studio 20.04 LTS will be the final release of Ubuntu Studio using the Xfce Desktop Environment. As such, upgrades from Ubuntu Studio 20.04 to later releases may result in breakage.
Future versions of Ubuntu Studio, beginning with 20.10, will be using the KDE Plasma Desktop Environment by default. Plasma has proven to have better tools for graphics artists and photographers, as can be seen in Gwenview, Krita, and even the file manager Dolphin. Additionally, it has Wacom tablet support better than any other desktop environment.
It has become so good that the majority of the Ubuntu Studio team is now using Kubuntu with Ubuntu Studio added-on via Ubuntu Studio Installer as their daily driver. With so many of us using Plasma, the timing just seems right to focus on a transition to Plasma with our next release.
For audio production, nothing in terms of resource usage changes. If the display compositor proves to be problematic, a simple alt-shift-F12 disables the display compositor. It can also be disabled from starting at login. A known resource hog from KDE, the Akonadi server in the KDE Personal Information manager, will not be included by default (Kubuntu currently does not use KDE PIM, but Thunderbird as do we). The Plasma desktop environment has, without Akonadi, become just as light in resource usage as Xfce, perhaps even lighter. Other audio-focused Linux distributions, such as Fedora Jam and KXStudio, have historically used the KDE Plasma desktop environment and done well with audio.
We will be working with the Kubuntu project on these changes, and the Lubuntu project as they have already cut the path ahead of us in changing desktop environments.
We look forward to working with the Kubuntu and KDE teams on this transition, and are excited to be joining the KDE community.
Evaluation of Included Applications
During this transition to Plasma, we will be evaluating our included applications to see if there is any duplication going on. Some have pointed out that there is duplication of application purpose. For example, we include 3 video editors by default: Pitivi, OpenShot, and Kdenlive, and each may have features the other does not have. We will be doing a lot of evaluation like that over the course of the next release cycle.
More details on all of this will emerge in the coming months. Please stay tuned to our website, our Twitter feed, and Mastodon for updates.
A Personal message from the Project Leader
The rest of this announcement is a personal message from our project leader, Erich Eickmeyer
This release represents the culmination of two years of hard work by the Ubuntu Studio team. This release is much more revolutionary than was released for 18.04 when I first started leading this project. We have come a long way since then, when a group of burnt-out developers were rallied into making a great product.
I would very much like to thank the following volunteers who made this release happen:
Len Ovens: Ubuntu Studio Controls, Ubuntu Studio Installer, Coding
Len has become my right-hand with this, and though we have disagreements about things, we have a common goal: making audio production on Linux easy, affordable, and ready for everyone with little to configure.
Thomas Ward: Packaging, Ubuntu Core Developer for Ubuntu Studio, Code Cleanup
I’d say Thomas is my other right-hand, but I don’t have two right hands, so Thomas gets to be my left hand. When I have questions about Ubuntu policy, or need a new package sponsored and uploaded, Thomas is my guy. He has been absolutely instrumental with Ubuntu Studio, and is someone I can genuinely call a friend.
Eylul Dogruel: Artwork, Graphics Design, Website Lead
Eylul has been amazing to work with. She had a bit of a hiatus over the past couple years, but that was completely understandable. We have many VOIP discussions about the future of the project, and it’s great having her perspective as a graphics designer. She has become a great friend, even though she lives halfway across the globe from me.
Ross Gammon: Upstream Debian Developer, Guidance, Sage Wisdom
Ross does most of his work upstream with Debian project, making sure our upstream has functioning code for us to use. He always keeps Ubuntu Studio in mind when working on packages in Debian, even taking some of my packaging in Ubuntu to use. He is someone I have historically gone to when I have questions about packages, and, when there’s a huge update in Debian, is my go-to for getting that package synced to Ubuntu.
Steven Jay Cohen: Reddit moderator, perhaps more soon!
Steven is a recent example of someone who uses Ubuntu Studio actively in a recording studio. He came wanting to get involved with the project and proved to be very engaging on Reddit. I have already seen plenty of potential in Steven when it comes to community and communication, so I’m looking forward to working with him more.
Krytarik Raido: IRC Moderator, Mailing List Moderator
Although we share some of these responsibilities now, Krytarik has been very instrumental in keeping the IRC room and mailing lists clean of spam. I’m very thankful for his help over the years.
Set Hallstrom: Previous Ubuntu Studio Leader
Shortly after taking a lead role for Ubuntu Studio back in 2016, Set had to step back. However, even though he was unable to lead the project, the transition to handing the project over was smooth and accomplished in the course of the past two years. Without Set’s guidance, I wouldn’t have known where to begin.
Other help along the way, including some key players:
Steve Langasek
Adam Conrad
Simon Quigley
Chris Cooper
Matthias Klassen
Filipe Coelho
Robin Gareus
David Runge
Olivier Humbert
Mattieu Trudel-LaPierre
Ian Lane
Łukasz Zemczak
Colin Watson
William Grant
Rik Mills
Valorie Zimmerman
Sean Davis
Unit193
And anyone else I missed!
Success Stories
Over the past two years I have come in contact with many people who have used Ubuntu Studio as part of their professional environments. I’d like to highlight a few here.
I mentioned Steven Jay Cohen above, who recently converted all of his recording studio machines over to Ubuntu Studio and uses them for his professional audio production.
Another person I’d like to point out is Mike Holstein, who uses Ubuntu Studio for his production environment. Here’s a track from him produced entirely with Ubuntu Studio:
Last but not least we have the band Lorenzo’s Music, who uses Ubuntu Studio to record and produce their music, develop their artwork, and even produce their music videos. They recently released a new EP entitled Spaghetti Mid-Western. I highly recommend checking-out their music.
Conclusion
Finally, I want to thank the entire Ubuntu Studio community for being with us through the past two years. It hasn’t been easy, especially since we couldn’t release 18.04 as a long-term support release. I’m humbled to be leading this project, and I believe it has a bright future.
In technology, you hear the term “support” thrown around a lot. There are multiple definitions of that word. Here, we will focus on two
Development and Maintenance
The first one is related to development and maintenance. This is where the Ubuntu Studio development team comes in. That scope is rather limited since most of the software included in Ubuntu Studio isn’t maintained or packaged by the development team, but rather other teams within Debian and Ubuntu. This includes the lowlatency kernel, which is maintained by the Ubuntu Kernel Team, and the desktop environment, which is maintained by the Xubuntu team.
This support also deals with the length of time of the maintenance and upkeep of said components. For LTS releases it’s 3 years; for standard releases it’s 9 months.
Technical Support
This deals with something the community (this means you) currently should be doing but is not. This is an area that the developers cannot be doing, otherwise they would be working on Ubuntu Studio full-time. Currently, there are NO paid staff of Ubuntu Studio. Therefore, to keep from burning-out the development team, they will not be handling support requests, but will be glad to provide guidance to those who do.
Providing technical support is as easy as helping each other out on askubuntu.com or on the IRC/Matrix chatroom. We have #ubuntustudio (Matrix: Ubuntu Studio Support) for helping each other out, and #ubuntustudio-offopic (Matrix: Ubuntu Studio Cafe) for casual conversation. Please stay on-topic: i.e. no support conversation in the offtopic (Cafe) room and no offtopic (non-support) in the main (support) room.
Ubuntu Studio Will Die…
…if you do not step-up and start giving back to the community by providing each other with technical support. Relying on the developers to provide technical support is not sustainable as they’re simply volunteers themselves and not available all hours of the day.
You get the operating system for free, the only thing we expect in return is you to give back by helping each other out.
With that, we implore you to please start volunteering on the IRC/Matrix chatrooms and/or on askubuntu.com.
Out of 41 entries, the following 10 wallpapers were selected. Congratulations to the winners! These should be included on the daily Focal Fossa (future 20.04 LTS) daily ISO images shortly.
We would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who submitted a wallpaper for the Ubuntu Studio 20.04 LTS wallpaper contest. We had 41 submissions, out of which we have narrowed it down to 17 of the best.
Out of these 17, the top 10 will be selected to be a part of Ubuntu Studio 20.04’s wallpaper selection. Please note that none of these will be selected to be the default desktop wallpaper as that’s already being done by a long-time member of the Ubuntu Studio development team.
As we begin getting closer to the next release date of Ubuntu Studio 20.04 LTS, now is a great time to show what the best of the Ubuntu Studio Community has to offer! We know that many of our users are graphic artists and photographers and we would like to see their/your talent also reflected more directly in the upcoming version.
For this purpose, we are holding a wallpaper contest. Submission will be open to works of photography, codeart, abstract paintings, illustrations and other art genres that highlight the capabilities of the software available and of open source software in general.
The Ubuntu Studio leadership will be selecting a short list of images that will be put up to public vote. The top selections will become part of the wallpaper pool of Ubuntu Studio 20.04 LTS.
To submit, upload your creation to imgur.com and tag it with #ubustucontest2020. We are looking forward to seeing your creations!
Our favorite Disco Dingo, Ubuntu Studio 19.04, has reached end-of-life and will no longer receive any updates. If you have not yet upgraded, please do so now or forever lose the ability to upgrade!
Ubuntu Studio 20.04 LTS is scheduled for April of 2020. The transition from 19.10 to 20.04 will be relatively smooth, so at this time we are recommending all new installations to be 19.10.
Ubuntu Studio has had the same website design for nearly 9 years. Today, that changed.
We were approached by Shinta from Playmain, asking if they could contribute to the project by designing a new website theme for us. Today, after months of correspondence and collaboration, we are proud to unveil this new, modern site made with open source software available in Ubuntu Studio.
Feel free to explore. We plan on updating some screenshots in the coming weeks, but for now, we just want to show-off the amazing work that the folks at Playmain have done.
If you need a theme for your wordpress site, we highly recommend Playmain. Their work is second-to-none, and they are proud users of Ubuntu Studio and love the open source community.
Ubuntu Studio 19.04 was released on April 18, 2019. As a non-LTS release, 19.04 has a 9-month support cycle, and, as such, the support period is now nearing its end and Ubuntu Studio 19.04 will reach end of life on Thursday, January 23, 2020.
The supported upgrade path from Ubuntu Studio 19.04 is via Ubuntu Studio 19.10. Instructions and caveats for the upgrade may be found at:
If you’re still running Ubuntu Studio 19.04 (Disco Dingo) you need to upgrade to 19.10 as soon as possible in order to continue receiving updates. Failure to upgrade to Ubuntu Studio 19.10 from 19.04 may result in the inability to upgrade at all or require using difficult upgrading techniques.
We would like to thank those of you who have participated in the Ubuntu Studio Telegram Groups over the past year. While it has been productive, we decided that it would be best to sunset our Telegram bridge to our IRC channels, thereby dropping Telegram from our official support and community channels.
We have a few reasons for this:
Spam has been an issue.
People in the Telegram groups have, at times, not been abiding by the Ubuntu IRC Guidelines, the key one being staying on-topic in the Support group.
Support via a bot-based bridge is difficult as messages appear to come from a single user in IRC (studiobot) and Telegram (Ubuntu Studio Bridge Bot).
We will be transitioning the Telegram groups out before 7:00pm US Pacific Time on January 12, 2020.
However, we don’t wish to remove one method of easy access without replacing it. As such, we are introducing Matrix as an official support channel.
Matrix is a messaging platform similar to IRC. The reason this acts better is because it can be accessed from a web interface or desktop client, and each individual user in Matrix shows up in IRC and vice-versa.
