What do you think "work in progress" means in this context?

It’s not entirely without problems:
_https://github.com/chimera-linux/turnstile/issues

Let’s assume it’s always worth reading the documentation, even if you presumably know everything. Have you had a go at reading up on ALSA over on the Devuan forum?

Music production - Gentoo Wiki
_https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Music_production

MIDI - Gentoo Wiki
_https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/MIDI

MIDI controller guide - Gentoo Wiki
_https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/MIDI_controller_guide

AlsaMidi - Debian Wiki
_https://wiki.debian.org/AlsaMidi

The issue is, the Devuan community isn’t really focused on MIDI and audio production.

He’d probably be better off with Gentoo.

@brocashelm

Are you an expert in MIDI?

systemd isn't a problem  —  it's easy to remove. Gentoo's exactly what you need.

How to remove systemd from Gentoo and switch to OpenRC:

1. Ensure OpenRC is ready: Confirm your kernel supports OpenRC and set USE="-systemd openrc" in /etc/portage/make.conf.

2. Switch profile: Use eselect profile set to select a non-systemd (OpenRC) profile.

3. Rebuild system: Run emerge --ask --update --deep --newuse @world to rebuild packages without systemd.

4. Install eudev: Emerge sys-fs/eudev as a replacement for udev.

5. Remove systemd: Run emerge --deselect sys-apps/systemd and emerge --depclean to remove systemd and unused dependencies.

6. Reconfigure services: Use rc-update to enable necessary services under OpenRC.

7. Update bootloader: Ensure the kernel command line does not include init=/usr/lib/systemd/systemd.

8. Reboot: Test the new configuration.

NOTE: "Confirm your kernel supports OpenRC" means ensuring that your Linux kernel is configured with the necessary options to work correctly with the OpenRC init system, particularly when using gentoo-sources. 
When using sys-kernel/gentoo-sources, you should enable the following in your kernel configuration (make menuconfig):

Gentoo Linux --->
    [*] Gentoo Linux support
    [*]   Linux dynamic and persistent device naming (userspace devfs) support
    [*]   Select options required by Portage features
        Support for init systems, system and service managers  --->
          [*] OpenRC, runit and other script based systems and managers

This ensures essential Gentoo-specific features and OpenRC compatibility are built into the kernel. While OpenRC itself does not require special kernel features beyond standard POSIX compliance, enabling these options guarantees proper integration with Gentoo’s system layout and service management.

If "HiFi" means 192kHz 32-bit audio, then fftrate is a viable option. It supports high-resolution formats, including DXD (24-bit 352.8kHz), and provides high-quality real-time resampling via FFT, making it suitable for bit-perfect playback on compatible hardware like Intel HDA codecs.

Are you able to copy and paste half a dozen commands into the terminal in the correct order without missing any?

Are you using an equaliser as a hearing aid, or do you believe it can improve sound quality?

alsaucm is a command-line configuration tool for managing ALSA Use Case Manager (UCM) settings. It is still broken. This is how it works for you:

$ alsaucm -c U192k list _cards
ALSA lib main.c:1554:(snd_use_case_mgr_open) error: failed to import U192k use case configuration -2
alsaucm: error failed to open sound card U192k: No such file or directory

However, some mixer controls are available.

It’s usually easier to roll your own compile than to prod the official Debian packages into shape — assuming you don’t mind a bit of tinkering while the maintainers are otherwise engaged.

You can clone the latest version directly from the repository:

git clone https://github.com/alsa-project/alsa-ucm-conf.git

UCM (ALSA Use Case Manager) is not inherently "broken," but its functionality depends on the availability of proper configuration files and hardware support. When UCM is not working or unsupported for a specific audio device, ALSA falls back to using generic drivers, which provide basic audio functionality but lack advanced features like audio profile switching (e.g., speaker, headphone, microphone routing).

UCM is not so much broken as it is… lacking a bit of attention. One might say the situation is not entirely ideal — though that rather understates the case. Most users manage to muddle through, patching things themselves, since raising a ticket tends to result in what one could politely call enthusiastic disregard.   

The system functions adequately, assuming one doesn’t mind rolling their own fixes while the maintainers appear to be on a long tea break.

SUMMARY

UCM (ALSA Use Case Manager) isn't broken per se — more neglected. The configurations lag behind modern hardware, and while maintainers aren’t exactly ignoring reports, responses are… glacial. Users often find themselves patching things locally or sourcing updated configs from Git, as distributions take their time catching up.

Bug reports exist, some with patches attached, but progress is slow. Debian and SUSE have accepted updates, and new versions like alsa-ucm-conf 1.2.15.3 are available upstream — but getting them into stable releases takes time. In the meantime, users roll their own fixes, which works, provided one doesn’t mind a bit of DIY.

So yes, it functions — just not without a little persuasion.

When the developers can't quite sort out the existing issues, the natural course is to introduce something altogether more ambitious — like PulseAudio or PipeWire — leaving the rest of us to carry on as best we can.

Ah, yes — removing PulseAudio can feel rather like the rabbi’s remedy: when life’s unbearable, bring in a goat. Things get worse, certainly — noisy, smelly, chaotic — but then, at last, you’re allowed to remove it. And suddenly, everything’s wonderful. No goat. Just the usual family fuss. Bliss.

So it is with PulseAudio. Install it, and the system groans under latency, glitches, and needless complexity. Remove it, and lo — sound works again. Not because it was magic, but because the goat’s gone.

A spot of perspective, really.

As noted in the GitHub issue
_https://github.com/alsa-project/alsa-ucm-conf/issues/564#issuecomment-3016922013
when ALSA is broken, PipeWire users are affected — and AlsaTune may not resolve the underlying issue.

see above _https://dev1galaxy.org/viewtopic.php?pid=61493#p61493

ALSA UCM2 expects the configuration to be in /usr/share/alsa/ucm2/conf.d/USB-Audio/UMC404HD.conf when using the modern conf.d scheme.

From the official ucm.conf and documentation:

UCM2 uses conf.d/${CardDriver}/${CardLongName}.conf as the primary lookup path.
Your card’s driver is USB-Audio, so UCM searches in conf.d/USB-Audio/.
Even though you have UMC404HD.conf in /usr/share/alsa/ucm2/USB-Audio/Behringer/, it won’t be found unless symlinked into conf.d/USB-Audio/.

On Deadalus, the folder /usr/share/alsa/ucm2/conf.d/USB-Audio already exists, but it has only one file inside

$ ls /usr/share/alsa/ucm2/conf.d/USB-Audio 
USB-Audio.conf

$ file /usr/share/alsa/ucm2/conf.d/USB-Audio/USB-Audio.conf
/usr/share/alsa/ucm2/conf.d/USB-Audio/USB-Audio.conf: symbolic link to ../../USB-Audio/USB-Audio.conf

Try to create symlinks so UCM finds the config:

sudo ln -s /usr/share/alsa/ucm2/USB-Audio/Behringer/UMC404HD.conf \
  /usr/share/alsa/ucm2/conf.d/USB-Audio/UMC404HD.conf
sudo ln -s /usr/share/alsa/ucm2/USB-Audio/Behringer/UMC404HD-HiFi.conf \
  /usr/share/alsa/ucm2/conf.d/USB-Audio/UMC404HD-HiFi.conf

Then reload ALSA

sudo /etc/init.d/alsa-utils force-reload

Now alsaucm -c U192k list _cards may work.

Do you want to enable HiFi profile?

alsaucm reload

alsaucm -c U192k list _verbs

alsaucm -c U192k set _verb HiFi