alsamixer

Select the soundcard to use

$ alsamixer -c [soundcard_number]

$ alsamixer -D [device_name]

$ alsamixer -V playback

$ alsamixer -B

alsamixer [-c card] [-D device] [-V mode]

alsamixer is an ncurses mixer program for use with the ALSA soundcard drivers. It supports multiple soundcards with multiple devices and provides a graphical interface for adjusting audio levels.

-c, --card number

Select soundcard (numbered from 0)

Select mixer device to control

Set starting view (playback, capture, or all)

Use black background color

Disable colors

Navigation:

Left/Right arrows or n/p: select channels

Up/Down arrows or +/-: adjust volume

PageUp/PageDown: increase/decrease by 5%

End: set to 0%

0-9: set to 0-90% volume

Q/W/E: raise left/both/right

Z/X/C: lower left/both/right

M: toggle mute (both channels)

Space: enable recording for current channel

F3/F4/F5: playback/capture/all modes

Tab: toggle views circularly

F6 or S: select sound card

B or =: balance left/right channels

L: redraw screen

Esc or Alt+Q: quit

Requires ALSA drivers to be installed and configured. Some options may not be available depending on the soundcard capabilities.

Part of the ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture) utilities package, which replaced OSS as the standard Linux sound system.

amixer(1), aplay(1), arecord(1)