The linux DAW thread

[Lump]

Linux Audio Recording is arrived! Something I've been waiting for for 10 years.
And it can only get better!
Awesome!

This is not "Linux Audio" - this is Windows Audio Recording on the back of Linux. Things like WineAsio are more a workaround and not a solution. And WineAsio is now 2 years on the wild (starting April, 1 2007 nothing new -perhaps for you.

[nostredummass]

Bollocks

[TVD]

Has anyone been successful in installing ASIO with Wine?!?

[fedexnman]

google wineasio installer, ..the link u need for wineasio installer. www.sandgreen.dk be prepared to do alot of reading if your gonna use linux for audio, its pretty deep. its got its pros n cons,.. another wine n wineinstaller is linreaper, it will install wine wineasio n reaper for you, look that up on the reaper forum, or you could just use xp, 7, or vista, or a mac.

[fedexnman]

on the sand green site go to 1.linux 2. wineasio n then click on wineasio script it will install it using your linux terminal for you,

[TVD]

google wineasio installer, ..the link u need for wineasio installer. www.sandgreen.dk be prepared to do alot of reading if your gonna use linux for audio, its pretty deep. its got its pros n cons,.. another wine n wineinstaller is linreaper, it will install wine wineasio n reaper for you, look that up on the reaper forum, or you could just use xp, 7, or vista, or a mac.

If things don't work out for me with linux, I will consider mac as a very last resort. But I have absolutely no plans of ever going back to the Microsoft Plantation! No Vista for me.

[Lost_Highway]

Wine runs every VSTi I have except: Kontakt3, USB Charlie Organ, GMedia String Machine

I managed to get VSM working eventually, by installing under Windows. Sadly I can't do that on my new machine as XP can't read the RAID that Ubuntustudio is on (I didn't have a RAID in my old dual-boot machine). I copied it over from my old machine and it still worked, fortunately.

The problem seems to be with a dialogue box that asks for the activation number. It didn't work installing under Wine either, but it's a while since I tried. It's also very temperamental about copying or moving a working instance of VSM to elsewhere on the hard-drive - I have to keep VSM in a separate folder to all my other VSTs as it's the only installation of it that will work.

GForce must have done something different with MTron Pro since although the engine is the same, I had no problems whatsoever installing and using it under Wine.

[Lump]

If things don't work out for me with linux, I will consider mac as a very last resort. But I have absolutely no plans of ever going back to the Microsoft Plantation! No Vista for me.

I decided one day to keep away from "audiolinux". At least I fixed more problems then make music, even with wineasio. It was an interesting experiment, it set free some creative power in a way...but not for music.

Then I installed Mac OS X on my DAW and I realized that all I've been looking for was a stable, user friendly and smart OS - without this Microsoft bloat and without the Linux chaos. But with the compatibility of a Windows DAW and the tradition of UNIX. I was really impressed, after a time I've deleted all my Windows and Linux partitions. I think it is too early to think about Linux as a productive platform for music.

But here are some words from Paul Davis, the founder of JACK and Ardour about the Linux anarchy

(It was from a thread from the Linux Audio User Mailinglist about Pulseaudio and its huge problems - http://lists.linuxaudio.org/pipermail/l ... 60324.html )

Its not politics. Its the lack of politics. There are no leaders with
any power to enforce any decisions. There is no police authority to
identify people who fail to comply with "joint decisions". There is no
justice system to punish or expel those who do. This is an anarchistic
meritocracy, and yes, its harder to get system infrastructure
developed in this environment than in a system like windows or OS X
where a single person can say "it shall be thus". thats good, and its
bad.

[mattvdh]

AUTO-ADMIN: Non-MP3, WAV, OGG, SoundCloud, YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter and Facebook links in this post have been protected automatically. Once the member reaches 5 posts the links will function as normal.

easiest to use / best distros for audio work

setup tips

things to avoid

general linux advice

relevant questions

etc



slainte rob

Hi, I've started a similar thread on gearslutz.com http://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-co ... -daws.html (http://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-computers/382566-anybody-running-linux-based-daws.html)

I've spent about a month searching for the perfect distribution for use as a DAW.

I've tried every studio based distro available and the all pretty much sucked.

In my experience the best distro(s) were Debian, FreeBSD and Puppy linux.
If I had to choose one out of them all I'd go with Debian because of how easy it is to install and uninstall applicatoins from the console up.

As far as desktop/window manager go I've tried them all...I'd recommend apt-get install kde-core...minimal install of kde. KDE is the most stable and relible. users say that enlightenment,fluxbox etc are 'so light and efficient' but they were buggy so I don't have any use for them... XFCE is in 2nd place but KDE is byfar the best.

Applications that ran SOLID and EFFICIENTLY:Pidgin,open arena,jack,ardour,audacity,abiword....I still haven't found a solid browser for linux that plays flash movies (youtube) well. Back on a slimmed down bartpe version of XP because of video issues and not being able to properly stream videos.

[dover666]

i'm running #! on a 1ghz athlon with 256mb ram... 16mb video card.... a little slow, but i'm having fun... it's a system i've invested 0 dollars in, so i have no problem pushing it around and trying to get the most out of it....

so far, it's been pretty f'ing stable....
i'm having problems with jack right now, but it's my own fault, i have too many bleeding edge libraries installed right now, but whatever... i usually don't need jack for lmms.

and plus, after discovering that i can "roll" my beats into the drum sequencer on lmms, my beats are crack....

peace.

install #! on a 4gig jump and check it out.

openbox rules yr face. i wouldn't want any other environment at this point.
win and osx can suck it.

(ps... video issues? running envy? that usually gets it good for me on a modern machine, but i use the shockwave player from the adobe site... usually works pretty good, hulu, anime freak, south park... i watch whatever.. cheers.)

[mattvdh]

If things don't work out for me with linux, I will consider mac as a very last resort. But I have absolutely no plans of ever going back to the Microsoft Plantation! No Vista for me.

I decided one day to keep away from "audiolinux". At least I fixed more problems then make music, even with wineasio. It was an interesting experiment, it set free some creative power in a way...but not for music.

Then I installed Mac OS X on my DAW and I realized that all I've been looking for was a stable, user friendly and smart OS - without this Microsoft bloat and without the Linux chaos. But with the compatibility of a Windows DAW and the tradition of UNIX. I was really impressed, after a time I've deleted all my Windows and Linux partitions. I think it is too early to think about Linux as a productive platform for music.

so are you running OS X on your PC?

[kazakore]

Only read the first few pages of this thread so far but will read the whole lot as time permits.

I have just got myself a laptop (Clevo D901C with the Xeon X3360 processor installed) and want to make it dual boot, XP32 and a Linux distro. I am new to Linux but have lainly been looking at Ubuntu Studio as it gets a lot of recommendations. Would you guys agree it's the best choice to go for? Also would you suggest using the Hardy or Jaunty versions? Is it worth going for the x64 version? I can see myself wanting to use at least a couple of Windows VSTs which are 32bit so think the x86 version may be the better choice but not sure. Will the x86/32bit version still allow me to see all 4GB RAM?


Also can anybody recommend an external audio interface with at least 2 In, 4 Out and MIDI I/O that runs well under Linux. ExpressCard, USB or Firewire considered although I feel Firewire is on the way out so am kinda trying to look at alternatives (although the computer does have the TI chipset.) Really I want the RME Multiface II with the ExpressCard adapter but don't think I can warrant the expense...

[glokraw]

Only read the first few pages of this thread so far but will read the whole lot as time permits.

I have just got myself a laptop (Clevo D901C with the Xeon X3360 processor installed) and want to make it dual boot, XP32 and a Linux distro. I am new to Linux but have lainly been looking at Ubuntu Studio as it gets a lot of recommendations. Would you guys agree it's the best choice to go for? Also would you suggest using the Hardy or Jaunty versions? Is it worth going for the x64 version? I can see myself wanting to use at least a couple of Windows VSTs which are 32bit so think the x86 version may be the better choice but not sure. Will the x86/32bit version still allow me to see all 4GB RAM?


Also can anybody recommend an external audio interface with at least 2 In, 4 Out and MIDI I/O that runs well under Linux. ExpressCard, USB or Firewire considered although I feel Firewire is on the way out so am kinda trying to look at alternatives (although the computer does have the TI chipset.) Really I want the RME Multiface II with the ExpressCard adapter but don't think I can warrant the expense...

pclinuxos 2009, easy on new users, very polished and stable, can test it as a live distribution, the best partitioning gui on any linux, realtime kernel available, uses
synaptic for easy software management, extremely knowledgeable forum, but not tolerant
of poor netiguette. Minime is a very lite version of it, perfect to just install at around 300 megs of solid linux, then add your audio apps with synaptic
M-audio may be the best bet for a usb interface, but google is your friend, and verify
any return policy before purchase. An maudio 24/96 pci card in a desktop may be a better
route to go getting started, a 3 ghz p4 with 4 gig ram and a lean linux is a good cheap
setup. Reaper and Cantabile 1.2 work well for hosting vsts. Reaper renders vst midi files with excellent quality, On the native linux side, zynaddsubfx with rakarrack for
multifx is a pair that leaves little reason to reach for the plastic

Mepis 8 is like a debian pclinuxos, super dedicated team, Mepis is stable but powerful and enjoyable, without the pressure to rush out new versions that are borked from the start. 'Train-wreck' is a term that comes to mind pondering suse and fedora, and the ongoing saga of failed realtime kernels in the newest Ubuntu releases

I don't personally like ubuntu, but smarter folks than me use Ubuntu Studio 8.04, and Ubuntu Mint 5 and 6, and are very productive.
Cheers

[glokraw]

If things don't work out for me with linux, I will consider mac as a very last resort. But I have absolutely no plans of ever going back to the Microsoft Plantation! No Vista for me.

I decided one day to keep away from "audiolinux". At least I fixed more problems then make music, even with wineasio. It was an interesting experiment, it set free some creative power in a way...but not for music.

Then I installed Mac OS X on my DAW and I realized that all I've been looking for was a stable, user friendly and smart OS

snip

Glad to hear OSX is working well for you. After a long stint with linux,
one becomes fearless of bugs and glitches, but like you say, playing music is better
than perfecting sysadmin skills I have read where WINE is working well now on OSX,
if you have tried it, a short review would be very interesting!
Cheers

[kazakore]

Only read the first few pages of this thread so far but will read the whole lot as time permits.

I have just got myself a laptop (Clevo D901C with the Xeon X3360 processor installed) and want to make it dual boot, XP32 and a Linux distro. I am new to Linux but have lainly been looking at Ubuntu Studio as it gets a lot of recommendations. Would you guys agree it's the best choice to go for? Also would you suggest using the Hardy or Jaunty versions? Is it worth going for the x64 version? I can see myself wanting to use at least a couple of Windows VSTs which are 32bit so think the x86 version may be the better choice but not sure. Will the x86/32bit version still allow me to see all 4GB RAM?


Also can anybody recommend an external audio interface with at least 2 In, 4 Out and MIDI I/O that runs well under Linux. ExpressCard, USB or Firewire considered although I feel Firewire is on the way out so am kinda trying to look at alternatives (although the computer does have the TI chipset.) Really I want the RME Multiface II with the ExpressCard adapter but don't think I can warrant the expense...

pclinuxos 2009, easy on new users, very polished and stable, can test it as a live distribution, the best partitioning gui on any linux, realtime kernel available, uses
synaptic for easy software management, extremely knowledgeable forum, but not tolerant
of poor netiguette. Minime is a very lite version of it, perfect to just install at around 300 megs of solid linux, then add your audio apps with synaptic
M-audio may be the best bet for a usb interface, but google is your friend, and verify
any return policy before purchase. An maudio 24/96 pci card in a desktop may be a better
route to go getting started, a 3 ghz p4 with 4 gig ram and a lean linux is a good cheap
setup. Reaper and Cantabile 1.2 work well for hosting vsts. Reaper renders vst midi files with excellent quality, On the native linux side, zynaddsubfx with rakarrack for
multifx is a pair that leaves little reason to reach for the plastic

Mepis 8 is like a debian pclinuxos, super dedicated team, Mepis is stable but powerful and enjoyable, without the pressure to rush out new versions that are borked from the start. 'Train-wreck' is a term that comes to mind pondering suse and fedora, and the ongoing saga of failed realtime kernels in the newest Ubuntu releases

I don't personally like ubuntu, but smarter folks than me use Ubuntu Studio 8.04, and Ubuntu Mint 5 and 6, and are very productive.
Cheers

Cheers for the answers.

heard the older M-Audio stuff was all good but most of the more current ones I've search on (especially the Fast Track Ultra I would of been interested in) didn't seem to have working Linux drivers from what I could find. Also looked at the Edirol UA101 and considered the Native Instruments interfaces, which they say should be fine in Linux but have read of a few problems with them in Windows (and I am keeping a Windows partition for now.)

So you don't like Ubuntu Studio? Seems to come fairly recommended from my limited research. Feel it makes sense to go for something with the real-time kernal as standard for my first time with Linux. My main host is Renoise (which requires 32-bit x68-based Linux distro with GCC 4.X libs, X.org 7.1+, preferably real-time kernel, libasound2 (ALSA >= 1.0 for Audio + MIDI)), which has a Linux port, but I will be trying native programs as well. Soft-synths and plug-ins I haven't really started looking at much yet but sure they can't be that hard to find once I have a distro installed.