TCMixer is a tiny software program designed to manage audio mixing on X11 operating systems. It offers a compact solution to control multiple sound sources in a modular way, delivering a user-friendly experience with reliable performance.
TCMixer is a compact X11 audio mixer that comes with a range of features aimed at making your soundcard experience smoother. The software has been optimized to provide very fast Xlib based UI routines and mixer code. The latest version, 2.0, comes with complete keyboard control that enables you to navigate the mixer with ease.
The software offers support for mixer callbacks, which means you can control it from the keyboard with the TAB, Mod-Tab, Up and Down arrow keys. The mixer also features buttons on the top, and if a button is yellow, the channel is on and not muted. If the button is off, the channel is muted. Pushing it once returns the channel to the last known volume setting, while moving the slider unmutes a channel that was previously muted. If a channel is red, it means the sound card doesn't support that particular channel.
The software provides all the basic controls needed for volume adjustment when playing your MP3s or CDs. The missing controls will be deleted from the mixer's face but will not be resized, so if your sound card is too lame, half of the controls will be red. The radio buttons under the sliders enable you to choose your recording source by clicking on them or using the z, x, or c keys for Line, Mic, or CD as the recording source.
The software allows you to quit by clicking anywhere in the words "TCMixer" or pressing the "q" button on the keyboard. In addition, it provides for customization by offering you the option to use -m with tcmixer to specify your mixer device. For instance, you can run the command "./mixer -m /dev/devices/sound/mixer" if you encounter issues with the default device.
It is important to note that TCMixer works well with ALSA and OSS drivers. However, some OSS drivers have volume steps from 0 to 64, whereas ALSA volumes range from 0 to 100. If your card does this, you can email the manufacturer and inform them about the issue. Unfortunately, TCMixer's software cannot fix this issue since the OSS API does not offer an API to check the min/max ranges for a particular channel. Therefore, use ALSA since it will fake the 0 to 64 card into a smooth 0 to 100 curve. Nevertheless, TCMixer remains an efficient and reliable solution for users seeking an optimized X11 audio mixer.
The software offers support for mixer callbacks, which means you can control it from the keyboard with the TAB, Mod-Tab, Up and Down arrow keys. The mixer also features buttons on the top, and if a button is yellow, the channel is on and not muted. If the button is off, the channel is muted. Pushing it once returns the channel to the last known volume setting, while moving the slider unmutes a channel that was previously muted. If a channel is red, it means the sound card doesn't support that particular channel.
The software provides all the basic controls needed for volume adjustment when playing your MP3s or CDs. The missing controls will be deleted from the mixer's face but will not be resized, so if your sound card is too lame, half of the controls will be red. The radio buttons under the sliders enable you to choose your recording source by clicking on them or using the z, x, or c keys for Line, Mic, or CD as the recording source.
The software allows you to quit by clicking anywhere in the words "TCMixer" or pressing the "q" button on the keyboard. In addition, it provides for customization by offering you the option to use -m with tcmixer to specify your mixer device. For instance, you can run the command "./mixer -m /dev/devices/sound/mixer" if you encounter issues with the default device.
It is important to note that TCMixer works well with ALSA and OSS drivers. However, some OSS drivers have volume steps from 0 to 64, whereas ALSA volumes range from 0 to 100. If your card does this, you can email the manufacturer and inform them about the issue. Unfortunately, TCMixer's software cannot fix this issue since the OSS API does not offer an API to check the min/max ranges for a particular channel. Therefore, use ALSA since it will fake the 0 to 64 card into a smooth 0 to 100 curve. Nevertheless, TCMixer remains an efficient and reliable solution for users seeking an optimized X11 audio mixer.
What's New
Version 2.0: N/A