fs2_equaliser version 4.0.0
** The Python3 version **
Please read the accompanying document
fs2_equaliser.pdf
Install the equaliser with the debian GDebi package installer 'gdebi'
if you don't have that, run
sudo apt-get install gdebi
before trying to install fs2_equaliser
The reason for this is that by default the dpkg and apt packages do not automatically
install packages dependencies, unless they have been configured to use "Smart Updates"
or
sudo dpkg -i fs2_equaliser_x.x.x_all.deb (and ensure dependencies are loaded yourself)
Dependencies: python3, wxpython 4+, pulseaudio (>= 11.0),pulseaudio-utils, swh-plugins, cmt, ladspa-sdk, bs2b-ladspa, vlevel
As of apt (version 1.1) package dependencies are installed for you.
Simply use the following command line to install footswitch (in the directory with the footswitch .deb file)
sudo apt install ./fs2-equaliser_x.x.x_all.deb
Also compliments Footswitch2 an application designed for audio transcribers to transcribe
using a USB foot pedal and integrated with LibreOffice, which can be found here:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/footswitch2/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pulseaudio
To get the version run 'pulseaudio --version' from the command line
1. Ensure the /etc/libao.conf defaults to pulseaudio
default_driver=pulse
[or edit or create a local .libao (note the dot as the first character) file in your
home directory (this will take precedence over the /etc/libao.conf file which is system wide)]
2. Ensure the /etc/pulse/default.pa contains a switch on connect module ** See Warning about pulseaudio 13 below
for pulseaudio version 11:
load-module module-switch-on-connect
for pulseaudio version 12 and above:
load-module module-switch-on-connect ignore_virtual=no
[/etc/pulse/default.pa also has a local override option in your home directory
namely $HOME/.config/pulse/default.pa]
3. Ensure that the pulseaudio daemon is enabled
systemctl --user enable pulseaudio.service pulseaudio.socket
* ********************* PulseAudio Version 13 Warning ***********************
* Version 14 Automatic switching to HDMI is now disabled by default
* PulseAudio 13.0 started to switch output to HDMI automatically when module-switch-on-connect was loaded
* This change was not intentional, and caused very annoying behaviour in cases where waking up the monitor
* from sleep appears as a plug-in event in ALSA.
* It could also, apparently, randomly change the audio output to a HDMI port.
* Version 14's, module-switch-on-connect has a configurable blacklist, which by default prevents switching to HDMI devices.
* The blacklist is configured with a module argument, named "blacklist", which takes a regular expression
* that is matched against sink and source names. The default blacklist regular expression is "hdmi".
* To disable all blacklisting, you can pass "" (empty string) as the module argument value.
*
* Footswitch now tests for Pulseaudio 13 (on installation) and removes the load-module module-switch-on-connect line
* from the default.pa file in $HOME/.config/pulse
* This does mean that when applying filters, you may have to check the "Output" tab of your PC's Sound Preferences
* to select the appropriate Sink.
* Until Mint/Ubuntu resolve the version of pulseaudio available, there seems little that can be done to fix this.
* fs2-equaliser version 4 tests for pulseaudio version 13 and attempts to remove the line:
load-module module-switch-on-connect
from the $HOME/.config/pulse/default.pa file for you
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
fs2-equaliser (4.0.0)
*
* An oversight which attempted to use the debug log before it was defined, in a new install has been corrected.
*
*
* The Equaliser goes 'Live' and a fundamental change to applying filters.
*
* Version 4 because filter linking appears to have changed and we move to python 3.8.10.
*
* Python 3.6 reached End of Life at the backend of 2021.
* The filter linking change is not assured, sometimes pulseaudio settings seem to allow certain behaviours
* and apparently unconnected changes, affect what you thought was working.
*
* The rub, is that throwing (chaining) filters at the default sink, appears to have stopped working, so in
* this version, filter sinks are now chained one to the other, leading back to the original fs2-equaliser sink.
* You may still chain multiple filters but removing a live filter, removes the entire chain.
* Attempting to reconstitute the chain after removing a link, is a bit like herding cats, so removing one
* of many filters, removes them all and the sound reverts to the base equaliser setting without filters.
* You will have to click on the filters you wish to re-instate.
*
* fs2-equaliser now recognises not only the existing setting when restarting but also, if it is still present,
* any existing filter chain and sets the appropriate sink to be the default.
* In layman's terms if you left pulseaudio running with an equaliser setting of "Bass", and for example
* with a normalising filter and Low Pass filter in vigour, it will start up with those live.
*
* The equaliser now applies changes to the level values of the slider, "Live", you no longer have to hit "Apply".
* When the mouse stops moving the slider, that value is applied to the equaliser setting in pulseaudio.
* This works for a single Left or Right click and at the button release following a drag
* It is also activated on scroll and keyboard up/down, which is less useful, as it changes the settings
* for each small increment, so unless you mean, change by a fraction, use clicks or drags of the mouse.
*
* Changes to the equaliser setting always removes existing live filters, so adjust first, then apply filters.
* Why? Because the equaliser is the base upon which the filters are laid and re-applying filters, while you are
* still adjusting the equaliser is futile.
* Filters are in essence, just gravy.
*
* An additional choice box denoting the Live Sink name has been added.
* This allows you to select which of the sinks, in a chain of filters, you wish to use.
* The default is the end of the chain i.e. all of the combined filters.
* e.g. You're using Preset Bass with a normalising filter and a HighPass filter
* The sink set would be fs2-hpf, the end of the chain.
* The sinks available would be fs2-Equaliser (Bass), fs2-norm (Normaliser) and fs2-hpf (HighPass)
* Selecting fs2-Equaliser the sound reverts to just the Preset Bass
* Selecting fs2-norm the sound would be the Preset Bass combined with the Normaliser
* Selecting fs2-hpf would be all three
*
* With the change to the way filters are chained, allowing filters to start by default has been removed.
* This is due to the fact that I have no way of knowing the order of the chained filters and for the
* average user, introducing chain sequences would simply make it too complicated. Quite apart from the
* fact that given we're talking audio, there really is no sensible default, all audio is different.
* We console ourselves with, once started up with or without the Preset, the filters are but a click away.
*
* New Pulseaudio Menu providing Live Statistics, a list of live Sinks and a list of live Modules.
*
* To avoid confusion the debug log has been rename to $HOME/.config/pulse/debug.log
* The debug log now attempts to walk you through pulseaudio events, as they happen, in a cleaner format.
*
* The debug log is now a rotating log, based on a 50K byte size.
* Once the 50K byte limit is hit, the debug log is renamed to debug.log.1 and logging continues
* in a new debug.log file unseen by you. Subsequent rotations overwrite debug.log.1
*
* Why this obsession with logging you may ask?
* Pulesaudio is structured reasonably simply but it's a tricky beast to attempt to get all of the plates,
* spinning in concert one with another, at the same time.
* The log, in addition, to trying to explain how, what, when and where, is also used as a debug tool by me, to make
* sense of what is happening and why.
*
* ********************* PulseAudio Version 13 Warning ***********************
* Version 14 Automatic switching to HDMI is now disabled by default
* PulseAudio 13.0 started to switch output to HDMI automatically when module-switch-on-connect was loaded
* This change was not intentional, and caused very annoying behaviour in cases where waking up the monitor
* from sleep appears as a plug-in event in ALSA.
* It could also, apparently, randomly change the audio output to a HDMI port.
* Now module-switch-on-connect has a configurable blacklist, which by default prevents switching to HDMI devices.
* The blacklist is configured with a module argument, named "blacklist", which takes a regular expression
* that is matched against sink and source names. The default blacklist regular expression is "hdmi".
* To disable all blacklisting, you can pass "" (empty string) as the module argument value.
*
* Footswitch and the Equaliser have tested pulseaudio 13 (on installation) removing the load-module module-switch-on-connect line
* from the default.pa file in $HOME/.config/pulse AND leaving it in.
* The results seemed different depending on the hardware attached to the system. Most unsatisfactory.
* Pulseaduio could switch to HDMI output or freeze up entirely.
*
* THE FINAL DECISION WAS TO LEAVE IT IN - on the basis that a frozen pulseaudio is the worst outcome.
* If your version of pulseaudio is version 13 and you are having issues consider adding or removing the line
* load-module module-switch-on-connect ignore_virtual=False
* to/from the $HOME/.config/pulse/default.pa file
*
fs2-equaliser (3.2.2)
*
* Can be called with an extra parameter, when resetting the equaliser's pre-set.
* This allows the equaliser to know, it should not attempt to show itself, avoiding
* that blip, where for a fraction of a second, it flashes on the screen.
*
* Fix for Preset name blanking, after Saving its slider values.
*
* Left and Right Balance maximum values increased to 200, previously limited to 125.
*
* Fix for noting sink id's for pre-existing loaded filters
* This could cause the filters to double up, if editing the filters live
* leaving the existing sink for the filter un-cancelled.
* Filters found to pre-exist on loading, are logged in the debug log for reference
*
* Filter Edit - presentation of spin controls tidied up
*
* LADSPA_PATH environment variable defaults to /usr/local/lib/ladspa:/usr/lib/ladspa
* as pulseaudio 13 doesn't appear to set the default correctly.
* If you have the ladspa filters somewhere else, set the environment variable appropriately.
*
* ********************* PulseAudio Version 13 Warning ***********************
* Version 14 Automatic switching to HDMI is now disabled by default
* PulseAudio 13.0 started to switch output to HDMI automatically when module-switch-on-connect was loaded
* This change was not intentional, and caused very annoying behaviour in cases where waking up the monitor
* from sleep appears as a plug-in event in ALSA.
* It could also, apparently, randomly change the audio output to a HDMI port.
* Now module-switch-on-connect has a configurable blacklist, which by default prevents switching to HDMI devices.
* The blacklist is configured with a module argument, named "blacklist", which takes a regular expression
* that is matched against sink and source names. The default blacklist regular expression is "hdmi".
* To disable all blacklisting, you can pass "" (empty string) as the module argument value.
*
* The equaliser now tests for version 13 (on installation) and removes the load-module module-switch-on-connect line
* from the default.pa file in $HOME/.config/pulse
*
fs2-equaliser (3.2.1)
*
* Added Right Click on a Slider will reset that Slider to zero.
* Gets around the fiddling about, trying to reach exactly 0.0
*
* Include Low and High Pass Filter values in their tooltips
*
fs2-equaliser (3.2.0)
*
* Altered the colour controls to change the text colour between black and white
* as appropriate for the background colour set.
* This allows text to be read when a really dark colour has been chosen.
*
* Added the footswitch.colours file to $HOME/.config/pulse
* This provides a larger choice of colours
* Upon editing, it also allows you to add your own colours
*
* The window becomes expandable vertically, allowing more room for fine adjustments
* on the sliders
*
* A bit of tarting up of the screen with a gradient colour rather than a solid block colour.
*
* Included the sources for the ladspa filters bs2b and vlevel which can be difficult to find
* Now you can build your own. (you will need to install the appropriate libraries and developement
* packages - for instance libbs2b, libbs2b-dev, ladspa, ladspa-dev). The configure and make commands
* should steer you in the right direction, when they fail.
*
fs2-equaliser (3.1.1)
*
* Test for pulseaudio version on setup
* Due to changes between versions 11 and 12, setting:
*
* load-module module-switch-on-connect ignore_virtual=False
*
* in the $HOME/.config/pulse/default.pa file can cause pulseaudio to fail
* if it is less than version 12
*
* This is effectively catastrophic for the equaliser as it depends on pulseaudio
* running.
*
* This test only adds the above 'load-module' if the pulseaudio version is 12 or above
*
* If the equaliser fails on start up or after an update:
* remove from the directory $HOME/.config/pulse/ the files:
* default.pa
* fs2-equaliser.cfg
*
* then restart the equaliser.
* It will repopulate those files, hopefully with the right settings
*
* From the notes for Pulseaudio Version 12
* module-switch-on-connect now ignores virtual devices
* When a new device appears, module-switch-on-connect makes the new device the default device and
* moves existing streams there. The module is not loaded by default, because there are cases where
* this is not what users generally want. One of those cases has been virtual devices - for example, if
* the user (or some application) creates a null sink for some purpose, it's probably not a good idea
* to make the null sink the default device, but previously module-switch-on-connect didn't make any
* distinction between different kinds of devices. Now the module ignores virtual devices, unless the
* "ignore_virtual=no" argument is passed when loading it.
*
fs2-equaliser (3.1.0)
*
* Where appropriate the standard CheckBox has been replaced
* by a custom On/Off Slider button
*
fs2-equaliser (3.0.0)
*
* Updates to the documentation concerning the starting and stopping of pulseaudio,
* which is now controlled by systemd
*
* The equaliser now listens and responds to connections on a tcp/ip port.
* This allows other programs to connect to it and request changes to the settings
* It also means that only one copy is running at a time, ensuring that pulseaudio
* cannot receive competing instructions from more than one source.
*
* pulseaudio version requirement moves to at least 11.0 due to changes in the
* ladspa module
*
* Now uses configparser to handle configuration variables
* The configuartion file $HOME/.config/pulse/fs2-equaliser.cfg has the following structure:
*
* [control]
* client_tcp_port = 5005
* server_tcp_port = 10010
* tcp_server = localhost
* tcp_client = localhost
* colour = lightslategrey
* ignore = False
*
* The server and client computer names are only configurable by editing the file
* as I have no reason to believe that anyone will use them other than on the localhost
*
* The equaliser turns itself off if an unknown preset name is sent unless "ignore" is set.
* In essence, if ignore is set, new audio or audio without a preset will have the current
* filters and preset applied. If ignore is set, new audio or audio without a preset will
* turn off the equaliser. This assumes you will want to apply new settings.
*
* Various filters that were spread around between fs2-equaliser, footswitch2 and
* footswitch2basic, have all been reorganised to be controlled by fs2-equaliser.
*
* The available filters are:
* - Bauer stereophonic-to-binaural
* - sc4_1882 normalising compressor
* - dyson_compress_1403 limiter
* - vlevel-ladspa stereo volume leveller
* - matrix_ms_st_1421 stereo to mono
* - split_1406 mono to stereo splitter
* - Simple Low Pass Filter
* - Simple High Pass Filter
*
* The machine is checked to see if the filters exist on starting the equaliser.
* Filters that aren't loaded are disabled.
*
* These are in addition to the standard equaliser mbeq_1197 multiband equaliser.
* The filters are now additive, in that they combine with the equaliser and one another.
* So you can run with the equaliser and include for example, the Bauer,
* Lowpass filter and the Highpass filter all at the same time.
*
* Each filter is customisable and can be defined to be automatically started with
* the equaliser.
* Each filter and its component controls can be configured live.
* The exceptions to this are the mono/stereo filters.
* Each filter can be turned on or off in the live environment
*
* Left - Right Audio Balance Added
* Allows you to adjust the stereo balance of the audio if it is not centred properly
* or your ears aren’t
*
* Each filter is checked to establish it is on the system, if not, it is disabled.
*
* The debug log which tracks the pulseaudio instructions issued across a session
* is now viewable from within the equaliser. This allows you to see the instructions
* that have been issued, providing an insight into the ladspa plugins and how they are used.
*
* Some internal pulseaudio commands changed for accuracy, speed and simplicity.
*
* All 'os' calls changed from old ( deprecated ) format to new,
* up to date, 'subprocess' calls.
*
* When the equaliser is turned on, it checks the current settings in vigour with pulseaudio
* These settings are re-applied.
* If you have been adjusting and applying the adjustments, those settings are applied, not the
* Saved Preset values. If this is the case you will see **** Live values differ from Preset ****
* on the screen.
* Prior to this version, current temporary settings were ignored and the Preset values
* were re-applied.
*
* If you find that an old Preset declares "**** Live values differ from Preset ****" when
* they don't, it's merely a difference in formatting, simply "Save" the Preset and the
* message will no longer occur.
*
* If the equaliser is opened with a preset request that is currently in vigour,
* the screen settings are adjusted to reflect that but pulseaudio is not called.
* This avoids un-necessary work and a blip in the sound when settings are applied.
*
fs2-equaliser (2.4.1)
* The fs2_equaliser executable in /usr/bin has become a script that
* executes fs2_equalier.py in /usr/share/fs2-equaliser, rather than a renamed copy
* of fs2_equaliser.py.
* This is the correct method for a package like this
*
* The debug log ($HOME/.config/pulse/debug_equaliser.txt) is now via a
* contextlibrary not via redirecting sys.stdout.
* This avoids print commands in modules that call the equaliser apparently disappearing
* down a black-hole, whilst actually being tagged onto the equalisers debug log.
*
* Resizing the window now allows for the equaliser sliders to resize to fill
* the expanded window, if the middle sash is adjusted
*
fs2-equaliser (2.4.1)
* The fs2_equaliser executable in /usr/bin has become a script that
* executes fs2_equalier.py in /usr/share/fs2-equaliser, rather than a renamed copy
* of fs2_equaliser.py.
* This is the correct method for a package like this
*
* The debug log ($HOME/.config/pulse/debug_equaliser.txt) is now via a
* contextlibrary not via redirecting sys.stdout.
* This avoids print commands in modules that call the equaliser apparently disappearing
* down a black-hole, whilst actually being tagged onto the equalisers debug log.
*
fs2-equaliser (2.4.0)
* Changes made to puleaudio 12.0 stopped equaliser settings being activated
* without a re-start
*
* module-switch-on-connect now ignores virtual devices
* Now the module ignores virtual devices, unless the "ignore_virtual=no"
* argument is passed when loading it.
*
* The $HOME/.config/pulse/default.pa file requires a line added or edited to be:
*
* load-module module-switch-on-connect ignore_virtual=no
*
* This is now added automatically by fs2-equaliser on a new install.
* If you are running an older version of pulseaudio, it may need to be replaced
* with the old method:
*
* load-module module-switch-on-connect
*
* If that file doesn't exist make the change to
* /etc/pulse/default.pa
*
fs2-equaliser (2.3.0)
* Add ability to integrate into footswitch2 rather than
* being called as a separate progam
* Can still be used as a standalone program.
*
* -Added Activate/De-activate equaliser settings
*
fs2-equaliser (2.2.0)
* Converted to wxpython 4+ (Phoenix) Gtk2 and Gtk3
fs2-equaliser (2.0.1)
* added file name normalisation to saved preset file names
* to avoid special characters, which may cause issues when
* deleting them
*
* Bug fix - Don't overwrite preset file on installation
* if it already exists. It may have been changed
* to have different settings
*
fs2-equaliser (2.0.0)
* Converted to python3 wxpython 4.0.3 (Phoenix)
*
fs2-equaliser (1.5.0) unstable; urgency=low
* Equaliser controls grow to fit the size of the window if the window is re-sized.
* User selected colour is saved and used subsequently
fs2-equaliser (1.4.0) unstable; urgency=low
* Added ability to use combined plugin on pulseaudio sinks.
* This allows the equaliser to function with the mono-stereo
* plugin active and inactive
* Pitch changer removed, too complicated for negligable results
* bs2b audio plugin included
* The Bauer stereophonic-to-binaural DSP (bs2b) library and plugins is
* designed to improve headphone listening of stereo audio recordings.
* Recommended for headphone prolonged listening to disable superstereo
* fatigue without essential distortions.
fs2-equaliser (1.3.0) unstable; urgency=low
* Added a pitch changer ladspa plugin.
* A spin control has been added which operates between 0.96 and 1.04
* for the ladspa plugin am_pitchshift_1433.so
* This alters the pitch of audio when slowing down or speeding up the
* playback of the file, in an attempt to make the voices sound normal
* with play back at higher or lower speeds. Higher speed - reduce pitch
* lower speed - increase pitch
fs2-equaliser (1.2.0) unstable; urgency=low
* pulseaudio sink device names are now selectable from a drop down list.
* For use with systems that have multiple sound cards, should remove the
* need for the soundcard-override.txt file option
fs2-equaliser (1.1.1) unstable; urgency=low
* More robust effort to discover pulseaudio master device added.
fs2-equaliser (1.1.0) unstable; urgency=low
* Initial version of the software.
Download Latest Version
fs2-equaliser_4.0.0_arch.tar.gz (1.3 MB)
