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Pianoteq 作者谈钢琴建模与Linux开发
Pianoteq is an effort to model, rather than sample, acoustic pianos and other instruments on the computer. Now in its third major release, its interface and sound generation have each matured. Using mathematical models in place of recorded sounds, an entire grand piano fits in just a few megs of space, rather than requiring several DVDs, and the software maker claims the results can be more natural and playable.
Pianoteq 致力于在计算机上创建建模而非采样的声学钢琴。现在它的第三个主要版本发布了，它的界面和发声都更加成熟。使用数学建模代替录制声音，一整架钢琴可以放置在几兆的空间内，而不再需要好几张 DVD 来存放，而且软件作者声称它的声音会更自然和可演奏。
Pianoteq, which runs as do its rivals on Mac and Windows, is also unusual in providing support for the Linux operating system – something some developers have claimed isn’t practical with commercial music software. And a new “Player” addition, announced this month, makes it more affordable. In addition to software development, the team has even launched an extensive piano restoration effort:
http://www.pianoteq.com/kivir
Pianoteq 不仅像它的对手那样，可以运行在 Mac 和 Windows 系统上，而且非常罕见的提供了支持 Linux 的版本，有些开发者声称这对商业音乐软件来说很不现实。本月发布的一个全新的播放器（可以播放Midi文件）版本，让它变得更值了。除了软件开发外，该团队甚至还发起了一个钢琴复原计划（译者：目的是再造各博物馆里那些名琴）:
http://www.pianoteq.com/kivir
I’ve been impressed with my time playing with Pianoteq’s software. That’s especially meaningful to me, as my background in music has been on acoustic pianos, back to when I was literally old enough to reach the keys for the first time. But I also wanted to know more about how this software developed. Its rigorous approach to modeling has attracted a lot of attention in the virtual instrument world, and the fact that it targets Linux alongside Mac and Windows challenges notions that commercial software can’t make it on the free operating system.
使用 Pianoteq 软件令我印象深刻，这对我来说意义非凡，我之前在音乐方面的背景一直与声学钢琴相关，早在我足够大能够得到琴键时。但是我还想知道更多关于这个软件开发的信息，在虚拟乐器的世界中建模乐器已经获得了越来越多的关注，它在支持 Mac 和 Windows 的同时也支持了 Linux，这在考验一个观念，即商业软件在免费系统上不能成功。
Pianoteq sent along some extensive answers, which I’m pleased to be able to share. Naturally, they’re proud of their software, so there is a bit of expected boasting here. (I’ll discuss more of the experience of using the tool, and the new Player version, shortly). But they also have some fascinating commentary on sound design, modeling, and the development process. In the “geeky as we want to be” spirit of this site, here’s the full scoop.
很高兴我可以分享一些来自 Pianoteq 的回答。很自然地，他们对自己的软件感到自豪，所以他们期待市场能有爆发的反应。(我将更多的讨论使用这个软件的体验，以及简短描述全新的播放器版本)。他们对声音设计，建模和开发过程还有一番精彩的解说。以本网站 “我们要成为奇客” 的精神，下面是完整的独家报道。
CDM: Can you talk about the background of the company? How does one make a shift from dealing with the physical instruments and tuning to thinking about mathematical models, let alone translate that into actual software?
CDM: 可以谈谈公司的背景吗？怎么才能从弹奏真实乐器和调律技术切换到去考虑数学建模，先不论真的把这想法转变成软件？
Philippe: the Pianoteq history is strongly connected to my first job as a piano tuner. Then at the age of 31, I started a new life with basic studies in mathematics at the University of Toulouse, France. After what I prepared my PhD thesis on the parametrization of vibrating phenomena, without imagining that it would be the basis of my third life with Pianoteq. Thanks to these two skills and to an exceptional scientific environment in Toulouse, I succeeded in identifying important phenomena responsible for the generation of the piano sound and proposed a model which describes the whole interaction of the soundboard, strings, bridge and air.
Philippe: Pianoteq 公司的历史和我第一份作为调律师的工作密切相关。31岁那年，我开始了在法国图卢兹大学学习数学的新生活，在这之后我完成了我的博士论文，是关于参数化震动现象的，不用想这就是我与Pianoteq的基础。感谢我的这两种技能和图卢兹优越的科学氛围，我成功的辨识出导致钢琴发声的重要现象，并建立了一个描述整个音板、琴弦、桥码以及空气是如何交互的模型。
Julien: I was working as an engineer at Institute of Mathematics of Toulouse, with Philippe (who was also my teacher when I was a student). My focus was on an open-source finite element package (http://home.gna.org/getfem ) when Philippe told me about his project of piano sound synthesis. I took charge of the development of the real-time engine, and we quickly decided that we wanted to turn this research project into a commercial product. Thanks to the French law on innovation and research (1999), the support of INSA Toulouse, and the Institute of Mathematics, the start-up MODARTT was created in 2006 to sell Pianoteq, which was at that time the first fully modeled piano instrument.
Julien: 我曾经在图卢兹数学研究所当工程师，和 Philippe 一起工作 (他在我还是个学生时也是我的导师)。那时我的精力集中在一个开源的有限元程序上 (http://home.gna.org/getfem )，然后Philippe 告诉我关于他的钢琴声音合成项目。我负责开发实时引擎部分，我们很快决定把这项研究变成一个商业产品。感谢法国的创新研究法律(1999), 国立图卢兹应用科学学院以及和图卢兹数学研究所的支持，早期版本 MODARTT 建立于 2006 年，在那时是第一个完全建模的钢琴乐器。
Niclas: I represented many of Pianoteq’s customers of today, being a part time piano composer with a love for the piano instrument. I was updating an extensive article on digital piano technology in 2004 when someone advised me to have a look at Philippe’s research. I immediately understood its potential, which is why I suggested Philippe to assist in marketing and product development. Since then, I have participated in the product development and testing and am also in charge of sales and customer service.
Niclas: 我代表了现在很多的 Pianoteq 用户，我是一个热爱钢琴这件乐器的业余作曲者。在 2004 年我正在更新一篇讨论数字钢琴技术的文章，有人建议我看看Philippe的研究。我立刻明白了它的潜力，这也是为何我建议 Philippe 做市场和产品开发。从那时起，我就开始参与产品的开发以及测试，我还负责销售以及客户服务。
[ 本帖最后由 vanferry 于 10-6-30 08:24 编辑 ]
观众反应
Modeling the Piano with Math用数学为钢琴建模I remember trying previous attempts at piano modeling and finding them interesting but ultimately unsatisfying. I think people who pick up Pianoteq have, immediately, a different experience. What’s different about this modeling approach than those that have come before – and, for that matter, why did it take until now?
我记得曾经尝试过钢琴建模，发现它很有意思但最终效果不令人满意。我认为人们使用 Pianoteq 时，会立刻感觉到完全不同的体验。这个建模方法和以前那些有什么不同，为什么现在才出现？
Philippe: The idea of modeling musical instruments is very old and has always faced great difficulties: the complexity of physical phenomena, the sensitivity of the human ear to the slightest imperfection, and the difficulty of running a complex model in real-time. The latency needs to be so small that it gives to the musician the impression of playing a real acoustic instrument. Until now, attempts have only confirmed that the task was not easy. The state of the art of digital pianos is based on sampling technology. Each note is a recording of how it sounded at a specific moment, without taking into account the complexity of the instrument. The huge data generated by sampling can reach 40 Gbytes for a single piano. The flow rate of data transmitted from the hard drive to the sound device is too high for the current hardware capacity and it can happen that one hears crackles. [Ed.: I would say fast hard drives, optimized software streaming, and other intelligent configuration can certainly avoid crackles, but the fact that, say, a low-end hard drive might choke means that Philippe's point about data intensity here is nonetheless well taken. -PK]
Philippe: 乐器建模的想法很老了，并且总是遇到非常大的困难：物理现象的复杂性，人类耳朵对微小瑕疵的敏感性，以及一个复杂模型实时运行的难度。延迟必须很小，这样可以给音乐家一个正在弹奏一件真正的声学乐器的感觉。到现在，各种尝试只是确认了这件事的难度非同小可。数码钢琴艺术的现状是基于采样技术，录制下每个音符在一段时间内的发声，丝毫没有考虑到乐器本身的复杂性。采样可以为一个钢琴制造出高达 40GB 的巨大数据，对于现在的声音设备的能力来说，从硬盘传送的数据流太多了，很容易产生爆裂音。[Ed.: 我想说快速的硬盘, 优化的数据流, 以及其它一些智能的配置当然可以避免爆裂音。可事实是, 一个低端的硬盘可能会被阻塞住，Philippe 的观点在这里更好接受些。-PK]
Moreover, the reproduced sound lacks vividness. Hence, creating a piano model which takes into account the interaction between hammer and strings, the interaction between strings and soundboard via the bridge and the interaction of the soundboard with the air is of great interest. Based on mathematical models, Pianoteq allows parameters to be stretched as long as the model permits, resulting not only in new performance styles but also in new piano sounds. Pianoteq is thus also an innovating tool for music creation and can be useful not only to musicians but also to piano manufacturers and piano tuners for simulation and training purposes. Pianoteq makes excellence in piano available to all. Among Pianoteq users, composers and professionals in music creation are certainly the most excited with our innovation. Pianoteq offers what acoustic and sampled pianos cannot offer: new opportunities for music creation and a pure piano sound that is not altered by its environment (reverberation) or by recording devices.
此外，(采样) 产生的声音缺少了(真实乐器的那种) 生动。因此，创建一个考虑了琴槌和琴弦的交互，琴弦和音板通过琴码的交互，以及音板和空气的交互的模型就显得特别有意思。基于数学模型，只要模型允许，就可以调整 Pianoteq 的参数，产生的不仅是新的演奏风格，还能创作新的钢琴音色。Pianoteq 因此也是一个用于音乐创作的创新工具，不仅对音乐家有用，而且可满足钢琴制造者，钢琴调律者的模拟和训练需要。Pianoteq 提供给所有人，并做到最好。在Pianoteq用户中，作曲家和专业音乐制作者对我们的创新产品表现的最为激动。Pianoteq 提供了声学钢琴和采样钢琴所不能提供的东西，音乐创作的新机遇和一个不受环境 (混响) 或录音设备影响的纯粹的钢琴声音。
Can you talk more about the model itself? I can see the components that are modeled, but – realizing we have fairly technical people among our audience – what are the basic modeling techniques?
能多谈谈建模本身吗？我知道有些模块是建模的，但考虑到我们的读者中有不少科技人士，基本的建模技术都是什么？
Philippe: the modeling technique is based on various standard techniques issued from mechanics theory including modal analysis (calculation of vibration frequencies and the corresponding modes) and parametrization techniques that we developed at the university, as well as from a precise knowledge issued from my previous job as piano tuner/restorer of what is going on in a piano and what is important.
Philippe: 建模技术基于好几个标准的技术，有机械方面的原理，包括模态分析 (震动频率和对应的模式的计算) 和我们在大学里开发的参数化技术，还有我从上一份钢琴调律/修造师工作中获得的精确的知识，关于钢琴里发生了什么以及那些因素很重要。
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How did that approach to modeling evolve? Obviously, there’s this strong mathematical research background. But what’s the process like of translating that theory into something that’s usable? Were there mistakes or adjustments along the way?
那种建模的方法是怎么进化来的? 很显然的，这里有很强的数学研究背景，但是怎么把它转化成一种实用的东西呢？这个过程中有错误和修正的情况吗？
Philippe: I don’t think there were mistakes along our model evolution, but more a constant improvement in the details taken into account by the model, looking closer to the physics of the piano and finding suddenly some simplification in the algorithms that allow to take include more details for the same computational cost or being more precise in the simulation.
Philippe: 我觉得在建模发展过程中算不上有什么错误的东西，更多的情况是不断改进的细节。更深入的了解钢琴的物理特性，突然发现一些算法中能简化的东西，在相同的计算量下可以引入更多东西，或者在模拟时更精确些。
[ 本帖最后由 vanferry 于 10-6-30 08:24 编辑 ]
我记得曾经尝试过钢琴建模，发现它很有意思但最终效果不令人满意。我认为人们使用 Pianoteq 时，会立刻感觉到完全不同的体验。这个建模方法和以前那些有什么不同，为什么现在才出现？
Philippe: The idea of modeling musical instruments is very old and has always faced great difficulties: the complexity of physical phenomena, the sensitivity of the human ear to the slightest imperfection, and the difficulty of running a complex model in real-time. The latency needs to be so small that it gives to the musician the impression of playing a real acoustic instrument. Until now, attempts have only confirmed that the task was not easy. The state of the art of digital pianos is based on sampling technology. Each note is a recording of how it sounded at a specific moment, without taking into account the complexity of the instrument. The huge data generated by sampling can reach 40 Gbytes for a single piano. The flow rate of data transmitted from the hard drive to the sound device is too high for the current hardware capacity and it can happen that one hears crackles. [Ed.: I would say fast hard drives, optimized software streaming, and other intelligent configuration can certainly avoid crackles, but the fact that, say, a low-end hard drive might choke means that Philippe's point about data intensity here is nonetheless well taken. -PK]
Philippe: 乐器建模的想法很老了，并且总是遇到非常大的困难：物理现象的复杂性，人类耳朵对微小瑕疵的敏感性，以及一个复杂模型实时运行的难度。延迟必须很小，这样可以给音乐家一个正在弹奏一件真正的声学乐器的感觉。到现在，各种尝试只是确认了这件事的难度非同小可。数码钢琴艺术的现状是基于采样技术，录制下每个音符在一段时间内的发声，丝毫没有考虑到乐器本身的复杂性。采样可以为一个钢琴制造出高达 40GB 的巨大数据，对于现在的声音设备的能力来说，从硬盘传送的数据流太多了，很容易产生爆裂音。[Ed.: 我想说快速的硬盘, 优化的数据流, 以及其它一些智能的配置当然可以避免爆裂音。可事实是, 一个低端的硬盘可能会被阻塞住，Philippe 的观点在这里更好接受些。-PK]
Moreover, the reproduced sound lacks vividness. Hence, creating a piano model which takes into account the interaction between hammer and strings, the interaction between strings and soundboard via the bridge and the interaction of the soundboard with the air is of great interest. Based on mathematical models, Pianoteq allows parameters to be stretched as long as the model permits, resulting not only in new performance styles but also in new piano sounds. Pianoteq is thus also an innovating tool for music creation and can be useful not only to musicians but also to piano manufacturers and piano tuners for simulation and training purposes. Pianoteq makes excellence in piano available to all. Among Pianoteq users, composers and professionals in music creation are certainly the most excited with our innovation. Pianoteq offers what acoustic and sampled pianos cannot offer: new opportunities for music creation and a pure piano sound that is not altered by its environment (reverberation) or by recording devices.
此外，(采样) 产生的声音缺少了(真实乐器的那种) 生动。因此，创建一个考虑了琴槌和琴弦的交互，琴弦和音板通过琴码的交互，以及音板和空气的交互的模型就显得特别有意思。基于数学模型，只要模型允许，就可以调整 Pianoteq 的参数，产生的不仅是新的演奏风格，还能创作新的钢琴音色。Pianoteq 因此也是一个用于音乐创作的创新工具，不仅对音乐家有用，而且可满足钢琴制造者，钢琴调律者的模拟和训练需要。Pianoteq 提供给所有人，并做到最好。在Pianoteq用户中，作曲家和专业音乐制作者对我们的创新产品表现的最为激动。Pianoteq 提供了声学钢琴和采样钢琴所不能提供的东西，音乐创作的新机遇和一个不受环境 (混响) 或录音设备影响的纯粹的钢琴声音。
Can you talk more about the model itself? I can see the components that are modeled, but – realizing we have fairly technical people among our audience – what are the basic modeling techniques?
能多谈谈建模本身吗？我知道有些模块是建模的，但考虑到我们的读者中有不少科技人士，基本的建模技术都是什么？
Philippe: the modeling technique is based on various standard techniques issued from mechanics theory including modal analysis (calculation of vibration frequencies and the corresponding modes) and parametrization techniques that we developed at the university, as well as from a precise knowledge issued from my previous job as piano tuner/restorer of what is going on in a piano and what is important.
Philippe: 建模技术基于好几个标准的技术，有机械方面的原理，包括模态分析 (震动频率和对应的模式的计算) 和我们在大学里开发的参数化技术，还有我从上一份钢琴调律/修造师工作中获得的精确的知识，关于钢琴里发生了什么以及那些因素很重要。
How did that approach to modeling evolve? Obviously, there’s this strong mathematical research background. But what’s the process like of translating that theory into something that’s usable? Were there mistakes or adjustments along the way?
那种建模的方法是怎么进化来的? 很显然的，这里有很强的数学研究背景，但是怎么把它转化成一种实用的东西呢？这个过程中有错误和修正的情况吗？
Philippe: I don’t think there were mistakes along our model evolution, but more a constant improvement in the details taken into account by the model, looking closer to the physics of the piano and finding suddenly some simplification in the algorithms that allow to take include more details for the same computational cost or being more precise in the simulation.
Philippe: 我觉得在建模发展过程中算不上有什么错误的东西，更多的情况是不断改进的细节。更深入的了解钢琴的物理特性，突然发现一些算法中能简化的东西，在相同的计算量下可以引入更多东西，或者在模拟时更精确些。
[ 本帖最后由 vanferry 于 10-6-30 08:24 编辑 ]
Developing for Linux开发 Linux 版
How did you make the decision to support Linux in addition to Windows and Mac?
你是怎么决定在支持Windows和Mac的同时还想到要支持Linux的？
Julien: The initial prototypes for pianoteq were developed on Linux, using [audio system] JACK, with no GUI. Later, when we added a graphical interface and turned it into a VST plugin, we used VSTGUI for its interface, which is not available on Linux. However we had quite a few requests from Linux users, and we did make sure that pianoteq was running fine in WINE [an open-source implementation of Windows' APIs, allowing Windows programs to run in Linux]. During the development of Pianoteq 3, we switched to the JUCE toolkit, which is a great piece of cross-platform software. Thanks to JUCE, the Linux port was really easy to do, so we decided to give it a try and see what happens.
Julien: pianoteq 最初的原型是在 Linux 下开发的，使用了JACK 音频系统，没有界面。后来，我们添加了用户界面，改成了VST 插件格式，我们使用 VSTGUI 建立界面，它不支持 Linux。可是我们有些 Linux 用户的需求，我们确信 pianoteq 在 WINE (一个开源的Windows环境模拟，能让Windows程序运行在Linux环境下) 下运行的很好。在 Pianoteq 3 的开发期间，我们改用JUCE界面库，它是一个伟大的跨平台软件。幸亏用了JUCE，移植到Linux变成一件容易的事，所以我们决定尝试一下看看效果怎么样。
One complaint I hear from developers about Linux is that it’s “impossible” to do commercial development, because you “can’t” distribute binaries. Obviously, that didn’t stop you. I’ve tried Pianoteq on Fedora and Ubuntu, though, under both the real-time and default kernels, and had immediate success. Now, I imagine there’s a good bit of work that goes into making that happen. What was your experience like as a developer? Do you feel that the result is successful, that it is a usable solution for users?
我从开发者那里听到的一个关于Linux的抱怨是那里"不可能"开发商业应用，因为你"不能"发布可执行文件。很显然，这也没能阻挡你们。我在Fedora 和 Ubuntu下尝试了Pianoteq，在实时内核和默认内核下，都能立刻运行成功。现在，我想像这里有一些很棒的工作来实现这件事，你这里的开发经验是什么样的？你们觉得这个结果是成功的吗？对于用户来说是可用的解决方案吗？
Julien: This was in fact something that we also feared, that the Linux port would turn into a support nightmare. However a good example of a successful application that is distributed in binary form is Renoise. That showed us that it was possible to do. In fact Renoise also uses JUCE, but I was not aware of that fact at that time. What helps here for binary portability is that we have very few dependencies. JUCE is statically linked, so pianoteq depends on very few dynamic libraries: ALSA, X11, libc (even old versions), and basically that’s all. We had to hack some sort of weak linking for JACK in order to allow pianoteq to run even when libjack.so is not available. Of course, if you want better integration in the desktop, things get much more complicated.
Julien: 这也是我们害怕的一件事，万一 Linux 移植变成一场技术支持噩梦怎么办。好在有一个成功软件的榜样作用，那就是Renoise的执行文件发布，它告诉我们这是可以做到的。实际上 Renoise 也用了JUCE，但我那时没注意到这件事。对执行文件发布最有重要的是，我们的库依赖很少。JUCE 是静态链接的，所以pianoteq只依赖少数几个动态链接库：ALSA，X11，libc (甚至很早的版本都可以)，基本上这就是全部了。我们不得不hack几个JACK的弱连接情况，以便让 pianoteq 在没有libjack.so文件时也能运行。当然，如果想要和桌面系统更好的集成在一起，事情就会复杂多了。
What’s your own Linux testing setup like? (distro? kernel?)
自己测试用的Linux环境是怎么样的? (发行版? 内核?)
Julien: Pianoteq is built on a Debian Sarge box, otherwise we generally use Ubuntu for the desktop, with the default kernel. [Ed.: The distribution Ubuntu is itself built on packages from Debian; 10.04 LTS uses Debian Testing.]
Julien: Pianoteq 在基于Debian Sarge 的机器上编译创建，除此以外我们一般用Ubuntu做桌面，使用默认内核。[Ed.: Ubuntu发行版本身就构建基于Debian; 10.04 LTS 版使用的是Debian Testing。]（译者：默认内核下，给用户添加实时权限，就可以运行JACK了，见后面。）
I’ve likewise been impressed with the vanilla kernel (as opposed to the “real-time” branch), which can save some setup time and configuration work. (My audio interface is a Native Instruments Audio Kontrol 1). Any thoughts on what setups may be most advisable? (You document some of this in the readme.)
我同样对vanilla内核方式印象深刻(对应于“real-time”分支)，它可以节省一些安装时间和配置的工作。(我的音频接口(译者：硬件，可认为是声卡)是Native Instruments Audio Kontrol 1) 对于怎么设置更有建设性有什么想法吗？(你们在帮助文件里写了一些。)
Julien: I’ve never been lucky with the kernels labelled “rt” , and I really hate when the computer randomly hangs so I prefer to stick with default kernels. We don’t have issues with them, as long as your user account has been granted real-time priviledges. I believe that for now, the most overlooked setting for realtime audio is the CPU frequency throttling, which is a real audio performance killer, especially on the less powerful machines such as netbooks. You really need to have your cpu running at full speed 100% of the time, especially with a software like Pianoteq which needs quite a bit of CPU power.
Julien: 在使用标记有“rt”（实时）的内核时我从未有什么幸运，我真的很讨厌机器随机的就挂住了，我倾向于支持默认内核模式。我们没遇到什么问题，只要你的用户账户具有实时权限就行。我相信就现在来说，对实时音频来说最被忽视的设置就是CPU频率的节流(throttling)，它真的是实时音频的杀手，特别是对性能不怎么强劲的机器如上网本。你真的需要让它在所有时间都全速运行，特别是运行Pianoteq这样需要大量CPU运算能力的程序。
Ed.: Before we give the realtime kernel a bad name, some of those “random hangs” were not necessarily the kernel’s fault – a bug in Ubuntu’s implementation caused the system to crash when combining the RT kernel with proprietary NVIDIA drivers, for instance. But if this sort of thing scares you, the vanilla kernel remains a strong option – it’s the default for a reason. The larger discussion is best saved for another article, but suffic,e to say, if latency-sensitive piano instrument developers are okay with the vanilla kernel, you shouldn’t feel you have to install a realtime kernel just to make music. If you want to test it, projects like Fedora’s Planet CCRMA can make it easier to use.
Ed.: 在我们搞臭实时内核名声之前，我得说，那些随机挂住的问题不都是内核的错误，比如Ubuntu发行版中的一个实现，在遇到实时内核与某些特定的 NVIDIA 显卡驱动时，就会这样。但是如果这种事情吓到你了，vanilla 内核保留了一个强势的选项，把它当作默认值总是有原因的。更广泛的讨论最好留在其它文章里讨论，我们在这里说，如果vanilla内核的延迟对敏感的钢琴乐器开发者是可以接受的话，你就会觉得不必为制作音乐而安装一个实时内核。如果你想试试，那比较容易的办法是使用象 Fedora 的 Planet CCRMA 这样的项目。
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[ 本帖最后由 vanferry 于 10-6-30 08:45 编辑 ]
How did you make the decision to support Linux in addition to Windows and Mac?
你是怎么决定在支持Windows和Mac的同时还想到要支持Linux的？
Julien: The initial prototypes for pianoteq were developed on Linux, using [audio system] JACK, with no GUI. Later, when we added a graphical interface and turned it into a VST plugin, we used VSTGUI for its interface, which is not available on Linux. However we had quite a few requests from Linux users, and we did make sure that pianoteq was running fine in WINE [an open-source implementation of Windows' APIs, allowing Windows programs to run in Linux]. During the development of Pianoteq 3, we switched to the JUCE toolkit, which is a great piece of cross-platform software. Thanks to JUCE, the Linux port was really easy to do, so we decided to give it a try and see what happens.
Julien: pianoteq 最初的原型是在 Linux 下开发的，使用了JACK 音频系统，没有界面。后来，我们添加了用户界面，改成了VST 插件格式，我们使用 VSTGUI 建立界面，它不支持 Linux。可是我们有些 Linux 用户的需求，我们确信 pianoteq 在 WINE (一个开源的Windows环境模拟，能让Windows程序运行在Linux环境下) 下运行的很好。在 Pianoteq 3 的开发期间，我们改用JUCE界面库，它是一个伟大的跨平台软件。幸亏用了JUCE，移植到Linux变成一件容易的事，所以我们决定尝试一下看看效果怎么样。
One complaint I hear from developers about Linux is that it’s “impossible” to do commercial development, because you “can’t” distribute binaries. Obviously, that didn’t stop you. I’ve tried Pianoteq on Fedora and Ubuntu, though, under both the real-time and default kernels, and had immediate success. Now, I imagine there’s a good bit of work that goes into making that happen. What was your experience like as a developer? Do you feel that the result is successful, that it is a usable solution for users?
我从开发者那里听到的一个关于Linux的抱怨是那里"不可能"开发商业应用，因为你"不能"发布可执行文件。很显然，这也没能阻挡你们。我在Fedora 和 Ubuntu下尝试了Pianoteq，在实时内核和默认内核下，都能立刻运行成功。现在，我想像这里有一些很棒的工作来实现这件事，你这里的开发经验是什么样的？你们觉得这个结果是成功的吗？对于用户来说是可用的解决方案吗？
Julien: This was in fact something that we also feared, that the Linux port would turn into a support nightmare. However a good example of a successful application that is distributed in binary form is Renoise. That showed us that it was possible to do. In fact Renoise also uses JUCE, but I was not aware of that fact at that time. What helps here for binary portability is that we have very few dependencies. JUCE is statically linked, so pianoteq depends on very few dynamic libraries: ALSA, X11, libc (even old versions), and basically that’s all. We had to hack some sort of weak linking for JACK in order to allow pianoteq to run even when libjack.so is not available. Of course, if you want better integration in the desktop, things get much more complicated.
Julien: 这也是我们害怕的一件事，万一 Linux 移植变成一场技术支持噩梦怎么办。好在有一个成功软件的榜样作用，那就是Renoise的执行文件发布，它告诉我们这是可以做到的。实际上 Renoise 也用了JUCE，但我那时没注意到这件事。对执行文件发布最有重要的是，我们的库依赖很少。JUCE 是静态链接的，所以pianoteq只依赖少数几个动态链接库：ALSA，X11，libc (甚至很早的版本都可以)，基本上这就是全部了。我们不得不hack几个JACK的弱连接情况，以便让 pianoteq 在没有libjack.so文件时也能运行。当然，如果想要和桌面系统更好的集成在一起，事情就会复杂多了。
What’s your own Linux testing setup like? (distro? kernel?)
自己测试用的Linux环境是怎么样的? (发行版? 内核?)
Julien: Pianoteq is built on a Debian Sarge box, otherwise we generally use Ubuntu for the desktop, with the default kernel. [Ed.: The distribution Ubuntu is itself built on packages from Debian; 10.04 LTS uses Debian Testing.]
Julien: Pianoteq 在基于Debian Sarge 的机器上编译创建，除此以外我们一般用Ubuntu做桌面，使用默认内核。[Ed.: Ubuntu发行版本身就构建基于Debian; 10.04 LTS 版使用的是Debian Testing。]（译者：默认内核下，给用户添加实时权限，就可以运行JACK了，见后面。）
I’ve likewise been impressed with the vanilla kernel (as opposed to the “real-time” branch), which can save some setup time and configuration work. (My audio interface is a Native Instruments Audio Kontrol 1). Any thoughts on what setups may be most advisable? (You document some of this in the readme.)
我同样对vanilla内核方式印象深刻(对应于“real-time”分支)，它可以节省一些安装时间和配置的工作。(我的音频接口(译者：硬件，可认为是声卡)是Native Instruments Audio Kontrol 1) 对于怎么设置更有建设性有什么想法吗？(你们在帮助文件里写了一些。)
Julien: I’ve never been lucky with the kernels labelled “rt” , and I really hate when the computer randomly hangs so I prefer to stick with default kernels. We don’t have issues with them, as long as your user account has been granted real-time priviledges. I believe that for now, the most overlooked setting for realtime audio is the CPU frequency throttling, which is a real audio performance killer, especially on the less powerful machines such as netbooks. You really need to have your cpu running at full speed 100% of the time, especially with a software like Pianoteq which needs quite a bit of CPU power.
Julien: 在使用标记有“rt”（实时）的内核时我从未有什么幸运，我真的很讨厌机器随机的就挂住了，我倾向于支持默认内核模式。我们没遇到什么问题，只要你的用户账户具有实时权限就行。我相信就现在来说，对实时音频来说最被忽视的设置就是CPU频率的节流(throttling)，它真的是实时音频的杀手，特别是对性能不怎么强劲的机器如上网本。你真的需要让它在所有时间都全速运行，特别是运行Pianoteq这样需要大量CPU运算能力的程序。
Ed.: Before we give the realtime kernel a bad name, some of those “random hangs” were not necessarily the kernel’s fault – a bug in Ubuntu’s implementation caused the system to crash when combining the RT kernel with proprietary NVIDIA drivers, for instance. But if this sort of thing scares you, the vanilla kernel remains a strong option – it’s the default for a reason. The larger discussion is best saved for another article, but suffic,e to say, if latency-sensitive piano instrument developers are okay with the vanilla kernel, you shouldn’t feel you have to install a realtime kernel just to make music. If you want to test it, projects like Fedora’s Planet CCRMA can make it easier to use.
Ed.: 在我们搞臭实时内核名声之前，我得说，那些随机挂住的问题不都是内核的错误，比如Ubuntu发行版中的一个实现，在遇到实时内核与某些特定的 NVIDIA 显卡驱动时，就会这样。但是如果这种事情吓到你了，vanilla 内核保留了一个强势的选项，把它当作默认值总是有原因的。更广泛的讨论最好留在其它文章里讨论，我们在这里说，如果vanilla内核的延迟对敏感的钢琴乐器开发者是可以接受的话，你就会觉得不必为制作音乐而安装一个实时内核。如果你想试试，那比较容易的办法是使用象 Fedora 的 Planet CCRMA 这样的项目。
[ 本帖最后由 vanferry 于 10-6-30 08:45 编辑 ]
Are you finding that there is some positive response to the Linux version?
你有没有发现 Linux 版有些正面的反馈?
Julien: Yes, very positive response. In fact, a bit more than what we expected at the beginning. Approximately 4% of our customers are using the Linux version.
Julien: 是的，有很正面的反馈。实际上，比我们起初预想的还多，大约占我们用户的 4% 是用 Linux 版的。
I could even imagine it working on netbooks. Based on load, it appears perfectly workable, which means a really cheap ultra-portable piano you can take anywhere.
我甚至可以想像它运行在上网本上的情形。软件启动后，它看起来完全可以工作，这意味着是一个可以随身携带的便宜的钢琴。
We spent some time to make sure that the latest versions could run on netbooks, altough with very high CPU load (80% or more). However I’d recommend to use a more powerful laptop in order to have more room for the cpu. Ed.: Given the range of Atom netbooks out there now, I may have to test some of the newer models on this.]
我们花费了不少的时间确保最新版本可以运行在上网本上，不过 CPU 占用很高 (80% 或更高)。我会推荐使用一个性能更强劲的笔记本电脑来让 CPU 占用更有余地。Ed.: 鉴于现在基于Atom芯片的上网本种类的丰富，我可能需要测试更多的新型号。]
There’s not currently a Linux plug-in version, correct? I’ve been just as happy using JACK [a standard for routing audio between applications], but what went into that decision?
现在没有Linux 下的音频插件版本，对吗？我通过 JACK (一个在程序之间路由音频的标准) 使用感觉很愉快，可是什么造成了这个决定？
Julien: Right, no plug-in version on Linux for now. The problem is that “plug-in” may mean any combination of VST, DSSI, and LV2. VST would be the easiest for us, but very few hosts support it ( basically only proprietary hosts such as renoise and energyxt, and also jost). DSSI is said to be obsolete, while being not to hard to support (except the GUI has to run in a separate process..). LV2 is said to be the future, but it seems to be quite complicated to fit a “vst-like” plugin into an lv2 plug-in. We have not yet taken a decision. It is already enough of a pain to support the numerous plug-in formats on Mac and Windows. We will probably add support for JACK sessions quite soon.
Julien: 是的，现在没有Linux下的插件版。问题是"插件"可能意味着VST, DSSI 和 LV2 这几种格式的任意组合。做个 VST 可能对我们最容易，可是没有什么宿主软件支持它( 基本上只有专有的宿主软件，如 renoise，energyxt 和 jost)。DSSI 据说已经停止开发了，虽然支持它不难 (除了界面部分要运行在单独的进程里...)。LV2 据说是未来的趋势，不过看来把一个类似 vst 的插件转变成 lv2 格式的有些复杂。我们还没有决定好，同时支持 Mac 和 Windows 下那些大量的插件格式已经很辛苦了，我们可能会很快支持 JACK 会话(sessions)方式吧。
In Use
使用
Initially, having so much power over sound could be overwhelming – looking at the number of parameters you can adjust in the real-time mathematical model. Aside from the presets (which themselves sound pretty terrific), how would you suggest someone go about beginning to explore the options? Is there a workflow that makes sense for approaching adjusting the sound?
一开始，看到在实时的数学模型中有什么多参数可以调，有这么强大的控制声音的能力让人难以抗拒。除了预设值外(它们已经听起来很棒了)，你会如何建议用户开始探究这些选项呢？有没有什么流程来让调节声音更有效？
Answer from Pianoteq:
Pianoteq 的回复：
http://www.pianoteq.com/faq?category=pianoteq_working
Ed.: So I should have read the *** manual! Here’s their advice:
Ed.: 我该看看用户手册！这里是他们的建议：
Indeed, this commentary makes sense. Hammer hardness is something that could be adjusted in the maintenance of an actual piano. Since you listen to a software piano model as though it is amplified, adjusting mic placement (as on a number of piano software emulations) is a no-brainer. And dynamics and velocity curve are essential not only for MIDI files, but if your keyboard controller lacks these controls onboard.
确实，这个注解很有帮助。琴槌的硬度是维护一个真钢琴时可以调整的东西。既然用户听到的软件钢琴的声音总是被放大的，调整麦克风的位置（被认为是软件钢琴的几种模拟方式的一种）是显而易见的做法。动态以及力度曲线不仅对适用于 MIDI 文件，也适用于你MIDI键盘自身缺少这种控制能力时。
As my friend Jim Aikin noted in his review of Pianoteq – why would you adjust the speed of sound? ;) (I suppose you could account for different altitudes; I could replicate the Aspen Music Festival!)
就像我的朋友Jim Aikin 在他对Pianoteq的评测中指出的那样，为什么你想要调整声音的速度？;) (我猜你可能需要解释几种不同的态度，我都能复制一个阿斯本音乐节了！)
Julien: Well, why not ! Being in a virtual world gives you access to some parameters that cannot be easily modified in the real world, if they give interesting variations of the sound, then they are worth being adjusted!
Julien: 恩，为什么不呢！在虚拟的世界中给了你机会去修改一些在显示世界中不可能修改的参数，如果它们能造出有意思的声音变化，那么它们就是值得调整的！
One small note – it seems the metronome is not connected to the playback and recording, which means that MIDI sequences won’t export to SMF correctly? (Or is this a Linux bug?)
还有一件小事，看起来节拍器并没有连接到播放或录音上，这意味着导出的 MIDI 文件可能不太正确？(或者这是个 Linux 版的 bug?)
Julien: Yes, it’s not a bug, the MIDI recording and playback abilities of the standalone application are very minimalistic. It is best to use a real sequencer for serious work.
Julien: 这不算是bug，单独运行版程序的 MIDI 录音播放功能很少，做这些事最好还是使用一个真正的音序器软件。
Where can people read more about the featured historical instruments?
到哪里可以找到关于历史上的重要乐器的信息？
http://www.pianoteq.com/cimbalom
http://www.pianoteq.com/grimaldi
http://www.pianoteq.com/blanchet
http://www.pianoteq.com/schmidt
http://www.pianoteq.com/graf
http://www.pianoteq.com/cp-80
There are some fascinating add-ons that aren’t pianos. Is it possible at some point that other sound designers might be able to use the sound engine to design their own instruments?
软件里有些有意思的扩展组件，不是钢琴的。有没有可能其它的声音设计者能够使用Pianoteq 的声音引擎造出他们自己的乐器呢？
Julien: We believe that Pianoteq PRO is already a first step in that direction, with its ability to edit each parameter note by note.
Julien: 我们认为 Pianoteq PRO 已经在这个方向上迈出了第一步，具有逐个音符编辑的能力。
How are users using this onstage and in the studio? What sorts of users have you found using the product?
用户怎么在舞台或者录音室里使用这个软件？你们发现那种用户最经常使用这些产品？
Niclas: There are many composers and keyboardists that use Pianoteq, from amateurs to professionals, on stage as well as in the recording studios. We have presented a few reference users here: http://www.pianoteq.com/references
Niclas: 很多作曲家和键盘乐手在使用Pianoteq，当中有业余爱好者，也有专业人士，在舞台上也在录音室里使用。我们列举了一些用户：http://www.pianoteq.com/references
Thanks to the Pianoteq guys for being thorough in the answers. I know not everyone responds in the same way in regards to the perceived quality of the model, but my own feeling is that the effort makes the instrument terrifically playable and responsive. The best way to see for yourself is to give the demo a go, and listen to the results. I’ll follow up more on this instrument, and how it’s become a central part of my Linux music workstation, soon. Let us know if you have questions for the developers I missed.
感谢Pianoteq人员详尽的回答。我知道不是所有人对同样的模型都有相同的感受，但我自己的感觉他们的努力使得这件乐器真正好听并感应灵敏。感受最好的办法就是自己去尝试一下试用版，倾听它的声音。我会更多的关注这件乐器，它现在已经成为我自己Linux音乐工作站的核心组成部分。如果你对开发者有什么问题而我把它们遗漏的话，请告知。
[ 本帖最后由 vanferry 于 10-6-30 08:25 编辑 ]
你有没有发现 Linux 版有些正面的反馈?
Julien: Yes, very positive response. In fact, a bit more than what we expected at the beginning. Approximately 4% of our customers are using the Linux version.
Julien: 是的，有很正面的反馈。实际上，比我们起初预想的还多，大约占我们用户的 4% 是用 Linux 版的。
I could even imagine it working on netbooks. Based on load, it appears perfectly workable, which means a really cheap ultra-portable piano you can take anywhere.
我甚至可以想像它运行在上网本上的情形。软件启动后，它看起来完全可以工作，这意味着是一个可以随身携带的便宜的钢琴。
We spent some time to make sure that the latest versions could run on netbooks, altough with very high CPU load (80% or more). However I’d recommend to use a more powerful laptop in order to have more room for the cpu. Ed.: Given the range of Atom netbooks out there now, I may have to test some of the newer models on this.]
我们花费了不少的时间确保最新版本可以运行在上网本上，不过 CPU 占用很高 (80% 或更高)。我会推荐使用一个性能更强劲的笔记本电脑来让 CPU 占用更有余地。Ed.: 鉴于现在基于Atom芯片的上网本种类的丰富，我可能需要测试更多的新型号。]
There’s not currently a Linux plug-in version, correct? I’ve been just as happy using JACK [a standard for routing audio between applications], but what went into that decision?
现在没有Linux 下的音频插件版本，对吗？我通过 JACK (一个在程序之间路由音频的标准) 使用感觉很愉快，可是什么造成了这个决定？
Julien: Right, no plug-in version on Linux for now. The problem is that “plug-in” may mean any combination of VST, DSSI, and LV2. VST would be the easiest for us, but very few hosts support it ( basically only proprietary hosts such as renoise and energyxt, and also jost). DSSI is said to be obsolete, while being not to hard to support (except the GUI has to run in a separate process..). LV2 is said to be the future, but it seems to be quite complicated to fit a “vst-like” plugin into an lv2 plug-in. We have not yet taken a decision. It is already enough of a pain to support the numerous plug-in formats on Mac and Windows. We will probably add support for JACK sessions quite soon.
Julien: 是的，现在没有Linux下的插件版。问题是"插件"可能意味着VST, DSSI 和 LV2 这几种格式的任意组合。做个 VST 可能对我们最容易，可是没有什么宿主软件支持它( 基本上只有专有的宿主软件，如 renoise，energyxt 和 jost)。DSSI 据说已经停止开发了，虽然支持它不难 (除了界面部分要运行在单独的进程里...)。LV2 据说是未来的趋势，不过看来把一个类似 vst 的插件转变成 lv2 格式的有些复杂。我们还没有决定好，同时支持 Mac 和 Windows 下那些大量的插件格式已经很辛苦了，我们可能会很快支持 JACK 会话(sessions)方式吧。
In Use
使用
Initially, having so much power over sound could be overwhelming – looking at the number of parameters you can adjust in the real-time mathematical model. Aside from the presets (which themselves sound pretty terrific), how would you suggest someone go about beginning to explore the options? Is there a workflow that makes sense for approaching adjusting the sound?
一开始，看到在实时的数学模型中有什么多参数可以调，有这么强大的控制声音的能力让人难以抗拒。除了预设值外(它们已经听起来很棒了)，你会如何建议用户开始探究这些选项呢？有没有什么流程来让调节声音更有效？
Answer from Pianoteq:
Pianoteq 的回复：
http://www.pianoteq.com/faq?category=pianoteq_working
Ed.: So I should have read the *** manual! Here’s their advice:
Ed.: 我该看看用户手册！这里是他们的建议：
Indeed, this commentary makes sense. Hammer hardness is something that could be adjusted in the maintenance of an actual piano. Since you listen to a software piano model as though it is amplified, adjusting mic placement (as on a number of piano software emulations) is a no-brainer. And dynamics and velocity curve are essential not only for MIDI files, but if your keyboard controller lacks these controls onboard.
确实，这个注解很有帮助。琴槌的硬度是维护一个真钢琴时可以调整的东西。既然用户听到的软件钢琴的声音总是被放大的，调整麦克风的位置（被认为是软件钢琴的几种模拟方式的一种）是显而易见的做法。动态以及力度曲线不仅对适用于 MIDI 文件，也适用于你MIDI键盘自身缺少这种控制能力时。
As my friend Jim Aikin noted in his review of Pianoteq – why would you adjust the speed of sound? ;) (I suppose you could account for different altitudes; I could replicate the Aspen Music Festival!)
就像我的朋友Jim Aikin 在他对Pianoteq的评测中指出的那样，为什么你想要调整声音的速度？;) (我猜你可能需要解释几种不同的态度，我都能复制一个阿斯本音乐节了！)
Julien: Well, why not ! Being in a virtual world gives you access to some parameters that cannot be easily modified in the real world, if they give interesting variations of the sound, then they are worth being adjusted!
Julien: 恩，为什么不呢！在虚拟的世界中给了你机会去修改一些在显示世界中不可能修改的参数，如果它们能造出有意思的声音变化，那么它们就是值得调整的！
One small note – it seems the metronome is not connected to the playback and recording, which means that MIDI sequences won’t export to SMF correctly? (Or is this a Linux bug?)
还有一件小事，看起来节拍器并没有连接到播放或录音上，这意味着导出的 MIDI 文件可能不太正确？(或者这是个 Linux 版的 bug?)
Julien: Yes, it’s not a bug, the MIDI recording and playback abilities of the standalone application are very minimalistic. It is best to use a real sequencer for serious work.
Julien: 这不算是bug，单独运行版程序的 MIDI 录音播放功能很少，做这些事最好还是使用一个真正的音序器软件。
Where can people read more about the featured historical instruments?
到哪里可以找到关于历史上的重要乐器的信息？
http://www.pianoteq.com/cimbalom
http://www.pianoteq.com/grimaldi
http://www.pianoteq.com/blanchet
http://www.pianoteq.com/schmidt
http://www.pianoteq.com/graf
http://www.pianoteq.com/cp-80
There are some fascinating add-ons that aren’t pianos. Is it possible at some point that other sound designers might be able to use the sound engine to design their own instruments?
软件里有些有意思的扩展组件，不是钢琴的。有没有可能其它的声音设计者能够使用Pianoteq 的声音引擎造出他们自己的乐器呢？
Julien: We believe that Pianoteq PRO is already a first step in that direction, with its ability to edit each parameter note by note.
Julien: 我们认为 Pianoteq PRO 已经在这个方向上迈出了第一步，具有逐个音符编辑的能力。
How are users using this onstage and in the studio? What sorts of users have you found using the product?
用户怎么在舞台或者录音室里使用这个软件？你们发现那种用户最经常使用这些产品？
Niclas: There are many composers and keyboardists that use Pianoteq, from amateurs to professionals, on stage as well as in the recording studios. We have presented a few reference users here: http://www.pianoteq.com/references
Niclas: 很多作曲家和键盘乐手在使用Pianoteq，当中有业余爱好者，也有专业人士，在舞台上也在录音室里使用。我们列举了一些用户：http://www.pianoteq.com/references
Thanks to the Pianoteq guys for being thorough in the answers. I know not everyone responds in the same way in regards to the perceived quality of the model, but my own feeling is that the effort makes the instrument terrifically playable and responsive. The best way to see for yourself is to give the demo a go, and listen to the results. I’ll follow up more on this instrument, and how it’s become a central part of my Linux music workstation, soon. Let us know if you have questions for the developers I missed.
感谢Pianoteq人员详尽的回答。我知道不是所有人对同样的模型都有相同的感受，但我自己的感觉他们的努力使得这件乐器真正好听并感应灵敏。感受最好的办法就是自己去尝试一下试用版，倾听它的声音。我会更多的关注这件乐器，它现在已经成为我自己Linux音乐工作站的核心组成部分。如果你对开发者有什么问题而我把它们遗漏的话，请告知。
[ 本帖最后由 vanferry 于 10-6-30 08:25 编辑 ]
观众反应
回复 vanferry 在 #1 的 pid=2667854 的贴子
目前没有破解，只有在官网主页（http://pianoteq.com/）左下角的试用版。
Qt这个界面库容易使用，Qt被诺基亚收购后，一直处于良性发展中。不过它是C++的，个人以为底层用C，界面用C++完全无问题。
Linux下的音频开发，我目前还没有入门。我主要关心音乐教育类需求方向，做过midi类的东西，比如OvePlayer这样的小工具，还有就是参与研究开源的打谱软件，如MuseScore之类，有midi就得有配套的乐器，linux下的midi实在烂，所以这类软乐器也是我关注的重点。
搞合成器的算是DSP算法了，这个我不懂～
JUCE我也没用开始上手，看界面还成，内部就有好多旋钮什么的控件。
[ 本帖最后由 vanferry 于 10-7-9 02:18 编辑 ]
Linux下的音频开发，我目前还没有入门。我主要关心音乐教育类需求方向，做过midi类的东西，比如OvePlayer这样的小工具，还有就是参与研究开源的打谱软件，如MuseScore之类，有midi就得有配套的乐器，linux下的midi实在烂，所以这类软乐器也是我关注的重点。
搞合成器的算是DSP算法了，这个我不懂～
JUCE我也没用开始上手，看界面还成，内部就有好多旋钮什么的控件。
[ 本帖最后由 vanferry 于 10-7-9 02:18 编辑 ]
摘自百度百科JUCE JUCE (Jules' Utility Class Extensions)是由Raw MaterialSoftware发布的一套基于c++的跨平台应用程序框架类库（Windows, Mac,Linux）。JUCE的特殊之处在于其友好的用户界面以及强大的音频、图像处理能力。JUCE适合那些想使用干净、快捷、高层的API，而不想把时间浪费在使用不同类库，面向不同平台上的开发者。JUCE能够胜任大型、复杂的应用程序（C++）的开发。
与其他应用程序框架类似，JUCE有众多覆盖音频、图像、XML分析、网络等方面的类。JUCE的开发者就是被JAVA的JDK所启发，然后想做出基于C++的对等物。
JUCE最突出的特点是其对音频的特殊支持。JUCE原本是作为Tracktion audiosequencer的一部分而开发的，但后来脱离出来成为了一个独立的工程。JUCE支持音频和MIDI回放，复音合成器，对多种音频格式文件的读取。同时，JUCE还封装了诸如VST、RTAS、AU等技术的代码，能够开发各种音源、效果插件。众多音频厂商如Imageline、M-AUDIO、cycling74、KORG、Presonus、TC Group等等都是JUCE的使用者。
与其他应用程序框架类似，JUCE有众多覆盖音频、图像、XML分析、网络等方面的类。JUCE的开发者就是被JAVA的JDK所启发，然后想做出基于C++的对等物。
JUCE最突出的特点是其对音频的特殊支持。JUCE原本是作为Tracktion audiosequencer的一部分而开发的，但后来脱离出来成为了一个独立的工程。JUCE支持音频和MIDI回放，复音合成器，对多种音频格式文件的读取。同时，JUCE还封装了诸如VST、RTAS、AU等技术的代码，能够开发各种音源、效果插件。众多音频厂商如Imageline、M-AUDIO、cycling74、KORG、Presonus、TC Group等等都是JUCE的使用者。