„Everything is possible“ - TUXEDOs as music stations - TUXEDO Computers

On the Mastodon social media network, we noticed Robert (@Herbstfreud@social.tchncs.de) who, among other things, owns a TUXEDO Core One that he uses as a music station. Because this is an unusual hobby, we asked him how he got into it and why a TUXEDO was the device of choice for him. He also tells us in the interview what other peripherals he uses with it.

How did you find TUXEDO Computer? What convinced you?

I was already aware of the TUXEDO brand for a few years, since I saw it mentioned on various sites (for example, Heise, Golem, LinuxNews, etc.). So far, I have built up my entire IT household (10 computers including Nextcloud server) almost exclusively on used, older ThinkPads devices, since I know these computers best, also in terms of repairs, long-term availability of spare parts, etc. For the music station, however, I needed something new and more powerful. So I looked around at TUXEDO Computers and found what I was looking for.

What was particularly important to you?

There were a few points: First, 100% native Linux support was important to me, since the machine should run Ubuntu Studio and it does.Then the PC should have space to expand with more SSDs and enough USB ports. That was also included in the TUXEDO Core One. Furthermore, it was important to me to use an AMD processor, since Intel was mainly built up by security gaps in the last few years. In addition, the device also had to be quiet and it should generate as few vibrations as possible. Furthermore, the hardware should be sufficient for a few years in terms of performance - I can't complain here either so far.

Furthermore, three monitor outputs were important and I focused on a German company to somehow support our IT development.

Device for music station - what is it exactly, how is it built?

The TUXEDO Core One is primarily used for streaming online radio. That means the whole station consists of the computer itself, three screens (one with touchpanel for Ardour, butt and OBS, one for the playlist via Strawberry, one for the messengers like IRC and Telegram), an external soundcard (Behringer U-Phoria UMC202HD) and a microphone (T-Bone SC 440 USB) on a Pietvoss rack. In addition there are speakers, so that one does not have to wear headphones all the time when a show is set up (Teufel Concept B20 MK2), headphones (Beyerdynamics DT 770 Pro), the keyboard (Logitech Illuminated Keyboard K740) and mouse (Logitech M500s). I do not use a cam and ring light, because the focus is on the music and not on the radio host. ;-)

What do you do with it?

The main user is my wife (@Lady_Amalthea@social.tchncs.de at Mastodon) - she uses the TUXEDO Core One for her radio broadcasts. I myself mostly manage it, keep the software up to date and type emails - but every now and then I get to use it too ;-)

How did you integrate your TUXEDO Core One?

On the network, the device runs on a 400Mbit fiber optic line, is connected with a CAT8 cable and all traffic runs via a Pi-Hole on an Odroid XU4. The machine runs an Ubuntu Studio with real-time kernel and KDE Plasma interface. Most of the software is free. The music for the radio comes either from the private collection (vast amount of CD rips) or from Qobuz.

What other equipment was necessary for this?

A large SSD so that you can get to the data volumes quickly and without vibrations and the programs can run properly. At least 16 GB of RAM is necessary because you can't afford to have lags during a program. It sounds old-school, but we needed an optical drive to be able to read CDs.As mentioned, the aforementioned AMD processor instead of an Intel was also important to us. We also wanted a graphics card with three outputs.

Online radio - how did that start?

We were a long time at https://ggrn.de. The station has been around since the 90's, as the owner of the site (absolute nerd) started streaming radio back then - he still manages the associated server infrastructure. His main concern is to stream music with as little latency as possible and to use 100% open source tools as much as possible. My wife started her hobby there many years ago before moving on to other stations like Metal-Only, RockyouFM, Radio Exodus. After a long break to raise children, so after seven years, she started again with her hobby last April and just like back then again on ggrn. By the way, April 10, 2022 was her anniversary broadcast with the theme "Music about Music."

Her show always ran on Sunday evenings at 9pm for about 2 hours. In almost all cases, these were concept shows, meaning that there is a common theme and the shows are structured like a storyboard. Music genres are story-related, and can range from a cappella to classical to singer/songwriter to art/prog rock to relatively hard metal. Focus is in most cases on rather unknown artists or on rather unknown songs by well-known artists. Exceptions prove the rule, but typical "radio music" never is. Only electronics never really came up.

We also record our broadcasts: Link to myTUXEDO Cloud with examples.

Very rarely she was not available, then I stepped in. However, my broadcasts are not thematically structured, but mainly trimmed to mood. It goes from Neofolk to Post Rock and Progressive Rock/Metal to varieties of Metal, where I put my audience to quite a test ... :-D But that happened only 4-5 times.

Currently we are looking for a new radio station, where we can let off steam. We will keep you and the readers up to date!

Do you want to record your own music - what are your plans?

Yes, that is still on our to-do list. My older daughter plays guitar, I play bass guitar and ukulele, and we all love to sing. Music recording will be the next step, which should actually be realized via the TUXEDO Core One. How we will do that, I don't know exactly yet ... But everything is possible. :-) In addition, of course, we want to further expand the radio listener base.

On a personal note, would you like to tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am 36 years old, married and father of two daughters. I am a development engineer (mechanical engineering) in the automotive and wind power supply industry. My interests are in IT stuff. I also devote my free time to my instruments, a Repair Café and run a private development project on sustainability.

Many thanks for the detailed interview and we wish you all the best with the music station with the TUXEDO Core One!