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Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2026 22:03:40 +0200
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From: Denys Nykula <nykula@ukr.net>
To: ~alpine/users@lists.alpinelinux.org
Subject: USB MIDI controllers don't work before loading snd-seq manually
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I have two USB MIDI controllers: 15e4:003c Numark DJ2GO2 Touch and 
09e8:0045 AKAI MPK Mini Mk II - that I use for making beats with free 
software such as Mixxx, LMMS and OpenMPT.

When using Windows or Debian, in order to play, I just plug both 
controllers in and select them in the UI of the software. On Alpine 
without additional configuration, the software doesn't list them.

Earlier I thought Alpine didn't build support for USB MIDI controllers, 
but after installing Alpine again yesterday and reading more about Linux 
MIDI, in particular the article 
https://mclarenlabs.com/blog/2018/07/03/linux-midi-cheatsheet/ and the 
error messages from the commands it mentions, I tried `doas modprobe 
snd-seq`, and my controller started working in Mixxx.

How do I automate loading of snd-seq (it's ALSA Sequencer, right?) when 
I connect any MIDI controller or when the netbook boots with a 
controller already connected? Can Alpine load snd-seq by default, or 
make it work the way other distributions do it if they do it differently?

If it matters, this Alpine installation currently has sway, seatd, eudev 
and pipewire-pulse.