What's your view on Windows VST to Linux "bridges"? Hacks or viable?

[audiojunkie]

Trying to figure out what to use between yabridge, airwave, linVST, etc.

Use yabridge.

[dellboy]

Trying to figure out what to use between yabridge, airwave, linVST, etc.

Use yabridge.

You make it sound so easy to use yabridge, as if its like installing an "exe" on windows. Truth is its very hard to do for the average joe like myself. I speak from experience as I have just logged into Linux Mint to try to install it to give it a go, but have decided to give in and go back to windows. The reason being that the readme instructions are virtually incomprehensible to non Linux trained people like myself. When will Linux get the equivalent of "download - click - install"?

[mystran]

Trying to figure out what to use between yabridge, airwave, linVST, etc.

Use yabridge.

You make it sound so easy to use yabridge, as if its like installing an "exe" on windows. Truth is its very hard to do for the average joe like myself. I speak from experience as I have just logged into Linux Mint to try to install it to give it a go, but have decided to give in and go back to windows. The reason being that the readme instructions are virtually incomprehensible to non Linux trained people like myself. When will Linux get the equivalent of "download - click - install"?

This is kinda interesting, because the Linux equivalent is generally something along the lines of 'apt install foobar' yet that method only works when the distribution packages the program and this generally only ever works for open source (or at least sufficiently high-profile freeware).

[imrae]

When will Linux get the equivalent of "download - click - install"?

It exists, in various forms. Package-manager files (.deb, .rpm etc.), FlatPak, ...

Some programs ship as a binary so it's more like download - click - run. (REAPER works that way.)

Steam does an interesting compromise where the installer is available in package managers, which can verify your dependencies are ok before installing its own mysterious binary.

[FrettedSynth]

Very Viable! Just finished setting up Ubuntu Studio 20.04 with LinVst for Windows plugins and Reaper.
All my old WinVST's are working perfect.
Backed the system up as both an image and a couple cloned drives.
Have 8-i7's, 8-i5's and 4-i3's that I got from work when we upgraded last year.
Have tested the image on one of each of the machines and it runs perfect.

Might not be a solution for new software that is released but a great way to keep all the old alive.
And TBH when I say old that includes things like Valhalla Delay v2 bought last week (at this point if it ain't sounding good\great its not the tools).
Half an hours work and I can have any of the machine listed above up and playing\recording.
No more days of work to setup a windows box when a machine dies.

So yeah! Linux has came a long way.

[audiojunkie]

Trying to figure out what to use between yabridge, airwave, linVST, etc.

Use yabridge.

You make it sound so easy to use yabridge, as if its like installing an "exe" on windows. Truth is its very hard to do for the average joe like myself. I speak from experience as I have just logged into Linux Mint to try to install it to give it a go, but have decided to give in and go back to windows. The reason being that the readme instructions are virtually incomprehensible to non Linux trained people like myself. When will Linux get the equivalent of "download - click - install"?

You asked “what” to use, not how to use it. Yabridge is the best of all of the Linux VST bridges. It works better and supports more than the others. It is also actively developed, and I am not sure that this is the case with the other alternatives.

You asked a question, and I simply answered you with the correct answer.

[MusicMayor]

FYI there is a concise guide (which I followed to the letter and it works!) for setting up Reaper on Linux...

https://github.com/chrismhampson/ManjaroProAudio
(Steps 11 and 12 explain Wine-staging and yabridge)

Originally posted at:
https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=255313

[dellboy]

When will Linux get the equivalent of "download - click - install"?

It exists, in various forms. Package-manager files (.deb, .rpm etc.), FlatPak, ...

Some programs ship as a binary so it's more like download - click - run. (REAPER works that way.)

Steam does an interesting compromise where the installer is available in package managers, which can verify your dependencies are ok before installing its own mysterious binary.

I did find a package but still find the instructions to install it baffling. Its not just a matter of click and install, it involves command lines and pointing to directories and that sort of stuff.

[audiojunkie]

When will Linux get the equivalent of "download - click - install"?

It exists, in various forms. Package-manager files (.deb, .rpm etc.), FlatPak, ...

Some programs ship as a binary so it's more like download - click - run. (REAPER works that way.)

Steam does an interesting compromise where the installer is available in package managers, which can verify your dependencies are ok before installing its own mysterious binary.

I did find a package but still find the instructions to install it baffling. Its not just a matter of click and install, it involves command lines and pointing to directories and that sort of stuff.

Be patient with yourself. Linux comes with a learning curve. The benefits are worth it.

[dellboy]

Be patient with yourself. Linux comes with a learning curve. The benefits are worth it.

I am not a total newbie. I have managed to get Mint Linux up and running on an external SSD hardrive and plug in and boot. I also have VSTs working including some VST3's. I could follow the instructions and eventually get yabridge to work, I always get there in the end. Its just the amount of time it takes. And then I always forget how I did it and have to start all over each time.

It would seem that the easy solution is to ditch Mint Linux and install Manjaro to the external SSD drive. But I like Mint. The alternative would mean partitioning my windows C: drive which is not something I want to do. I do not think there is a half way house. Either stay with Windows or OSX , or move totally to Linux.

[umd]

Perhaps when enough people realize that re-using what you have is as important as innovation it can have more expression...

But from what I have tried everything made in the last 10 years and older works great now.

The last time I tried it, more than 10 years ago the audio engine worked great, but the software/plugins I was using did not.

Recently I gave it a try again and those same plugins work great now. Cool!

I just don't update too often ( but I am talking about my DAW, I am not managing a bank database ).

[dellboy]

Be patient with yourself. Linux comes with a learning curve. The benefits are worth it.

I have installed it and got it working. I now have Ephonic Invader VST3 and others working in Mint Linux. Now Reaper is complaining about memory and real-time privileges !

[audiojunkie]

Be patient with yourself. Linux comes with a learning curve. The benefits are worth it.

I have installed it and got it working. I now have Ephonic Invader VST3 and others working in Mint Linux. Now Reaper is complaining about memory and real-time privileges !

I am going to guess that you are running a a vanilla linux setup. In other words, I suspect your Linux distro has not yet been tuned for audio. This means your good experience now will get a lot better once you get your system tuned.

In general, you’ll want to consider making the following adjustments (as they relate to your particular distro:

* Setting the CPU frequency scaling governor to performance.
* Configuring pam_limits (e.g. by setting up realtime-privileges and adding your user to the realtime group).
* Using the threadirqs kernel parameter
* Using the realtime kernel patchset.
* Add noatime to fstab
* Increasing the highest requested RTC interrupt frequency (default is 64 Hz)
* Reducing swappiness (aka swap frequency, set to 60 by default) to e.g. 10 will make the system wait much longer before trying to swap to disk
* Increasing the maximum watches on files (defaults to 524288) to e.g. 600000, that inotify keeps track of for your user, can help with applications, that require many file handles (such as DAWs).
* You may also want to maximize the PCI latency timer of the PCI sound card and raise the latency timer of all other PCI peripherals (default is 64).

Source:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Professional_audio

[dellboy]

I am going to guess that you are running a a vanilla linux setup. In other words, I suspect your Linux distro has not yet been tuned for audio. This means your good experience now will get a lot better once you get your system tuned.

In general, you’ll want to consider making the following adjustments (as they relate to your particular distro:

* Setting the CPU frequency scaling governor to performance.
* Configuring pam_limits (e.g. by setting up realtime-privileges and adding your user to the realtime group).
* Using the threadirqs kernel parameter
* Using the realtime kernel patchset.
* Add noatime to fstab
* Increasing the highest requested RTC interrupt frequency (default is 64 Hz)
* Reducing swappiness (aka swap frequency, set to 60 by default) to e.g. 10 will make the system wait much longer before trying to swap to disk
* Increasing the maximum watches on files (defaults to 524288) to e.g. 600000, that inotify keeps track of for your user, can help with applications, that require many file handles (such as DAWs).
* You may also want to maximize the PCI latency timer of the PCI sound card and raise the latency timer of all other PCI peripherals (default is 64).

Source:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Professional_audio

Thanks for the link, but it is for Arch Linux and I am on Mint Linux. I have solved the problem now by upgrading Mint to Ubuntu Studio using just the bits I need without enabling all the bloat. The memory and privileges warning has gone away now. I am starting to get the hang of yabridge now and have even installed my UNOSynth VST editor and got it working which was a surprise.

[audiojunkie]

Cool!