A Good Linux Distro For Music Production?

[BBFG#]

One other thing I should have mentioned... I don't allow Windows to auto-update.

You realize this is an absolutely terrible idea now, right?

These days skipping Windows security updates on any machine connected to the internet... not a solid plan.

And that's the bait into a circular trap that many of us are trying to escape in the first place with Windows and Apple.

Air gap as much as possible, strip anything off of what's never used, and fine tune the system to run what is.

[BrokenTrance]

Don't know would love Ableton to go Linux, though. I maybe would leave Windows then.

[nusound mind]

One thing interesting about Presonus Studio One for Linux:

Certain features are currently unavailable in the Linux version:

CD burning
DDP import/export
Video support
Score printing
REX file support
International text input
Thunderbolt support for PreSonus hardware
Advanced PreSonus hardware integration (preamp control, etc.)
Melodyne integration
3rd-party plug-in GUIs
Linux-specific plug-in formats (lv2, dssi, vamp)

Could this mean that Melodyne will get a Linux version too? Or does this already work with something like Wine?

Oof. Well no StylusRMX for now then on S1. That is not nothing, although I'd probably separate out Windows projects from Linux ones anyways. Still that would be a loss, hopefully it comes in a future iteration at some point. Sounds like a good support request email inquiry to let them know at least one person cares about a timeframe estimation on REX support.

I'm overall quite curious how S1 runs on Linux, if it's a substantive cpu improvement then that's a big deal to me.

[THE INTRANCER]

[stoopicus]

And that's the bait into a circular trap that many of us are trying to escape in the first place with Windows and Apple.

Air gap as much as possible, strip anything off of what's never used, and fine tune the system to run what is.

Oh you don't have to explain. I've used linux for a long long time and understand the motivation. I've tried to use linux as a main desktop several times, more than once for multiyear stretches. I even did two years with Gentoo as my main distro. I've been developing software on unix since the early '90s. I am not a unix or linux hater.

And yet every time I tried it, I came away with the same feeling. While the OS is outstanding, this idea is a nonstarter because the apps and selection are absolute garbage. Especially for entertainment and audiovisual work.

I took pretty much every path here; trying the FOSS solutions, trying things like WINE and other xplat solutions, etc etc.

The problem is, the Linux community thinks the year of the Linux desktop is just around the corner, and in reality it's just getting farther and farther away, AFAICT. MacOS is really really good, despite the walled garden thing. It's easy at this point to boot in to Windows just for Steam, and the experience is not bad. In the end, there will be no path to Linux ever catching up to the others; at most, it can be made more tolerable.

At least that's the feeling I've had after trying this many times.

[BBFG#]

Linux isn't catching up, it's moving where people want to go rather than being put in a "walled garden" where they're just a company's stock.

Apple and Windows have created a comfort zone for the masses to live in. Progress is made outside their comfort zone.

[lotus2035]

I have an older laptop that almost bricked out with subsequent Windows 10 updates. Even the buttons on the mousepad became seriously laggy and while downloading further updates in the background the laptop would slow to a crawl and become completely unusable. I installed Linux Manjaro and it honestly feels like another machine it's so responsive. I would only use it for browsing, youtube and other light tasks though. I couldn't live without my plugin collection on Windows. Also, Linux is fine unless you have some issue then it'll be an hour or more online trying to find some code to fix the problem.

[jens]

Linux isn't catching up, it's moving where people want to go rather than being put in a "walled garden" where they're just a company's stock.

Apple and Windows have created a comfort zone for the masses to live in. Progress is made outside their comfort zone.

I think when it comes to OSes, people care more about productivity than "progress" (whatever you may refer to with that in regards to the given context) - starts with a p too, but that's it...

[stoopicus]

I think when it comes to OSes, people care more about productivity than "progress" (whatever you may refer to with that in regards to the given context) - starts with a p too, but that's it...

Yes absolutely. Every time I have tried it, the stark wasteland of necessary apps is what drove me back. Every time. It's never been an issue with the OS itself, that's fine.

Well, that and the laughable state of linux gaming.

It's especially magnified by the need to collaborate with others and the fact that the FOSS apps available cannot keep up with the equivalents on MacOS or Windows. It doesn't matter at all if you like OpenOffice; if it mangles the Excel and Word files you are collaborating on with others, it's garbage.

Meanwhile, here I am on MacOS, I am still using Unix, and everything just works nicely. All the apps i need are there. Gaming is still poor though. So, my other PC is now a glorified and much more powerful Steam version of an Xbox. Windows is effectively my Steam launcher shell.

[BBFG#]

Linux isn't catching up, it's moving where people want to go rather than being put in a "walled garden" where they're just a company's stock.

Apple and Windows have created a comfort zone for the masses to live in. Progress is made outside their comfort zone.

I think when it comes to OSes, people care more about productivity than "progress" (whatever you may refer to with that in regards to the given context) - starts with a p too, but that's it...

As if they're mutually exclusive...

Oh, and other non-musical apps are what many of us are stripping off with the other bloat and belief that everybody needs them installed because the corporation world believes you need them (along with the data tracking embedded with them).

This is a music production forum first and foremost. Seems the derailment for other programs is off topic IMO.

[stoopicus]

This is a music production forum first and foremost. Seems the derailment for other programs is off topic IMO.

Look, I don't mean to sound super negative about Linux here. I use it all the time and like I said, for years made it my main desktop OS. I love it for what it's good at. I just see it as being severely limiting for music production, as the software scarcity I was mentioning is real for music production too.

I honestly wish it weren't this way. Maybe someday I will be proven wrong.

[DRMR]

unless you have some issue then it'll be an hour or more online trying to find some code to fix the problem.

This has been exactly my issue with Windows and MacOS, except you have a hell of a lot more scams and mall-ware to wade through.

[ampetrosillo]

Honestly I feel that you can easily make music these days on Linux. Only issue: you don't get the plethora of software you get on Windows or MAC OS. That said, there are options. No Ableton Live, but you do get Bitwig, which tends to cover the same use cases. No ProTools, but you do get Reaper (and now, Studio One). Or Ardour, which, for all the hate it gets, is actually pretty capable. You don't get Fabfilter or Waves or Universal Audio plugins, but you do get U-He's plugins and lots of very good alternatives (usually by independent developers). And if you stick to certain OEMs for your hardware, everything works smoothly. Problems arise when you depend on a very specific workflow and/or hardware. So YMMV.

[funky lime]

...Problems arise when you depend on a very specific workflow and/or hardware. So YMMV.

That's kind of a major roadblock... to have to abandon your own prefered workflow/processes because the OS simply cannot handle them...

maybe we're ignorant inside the walled garden, but at least our gear works

[ampetrosillo]

Well, I tend to buy my gear with an eye to compatibility. Most audio interfaces should work, at least offering basic functionality, right out of the box. Focusrite has recently announced they are going to officially support Linux from now on, by the way. (Their gear already mostly works with third party applications, but official support is better). I also find myself not depending on specific plugins/having alternatives (which should be a basic skill for a sound engineer or producer, I think). I use Windows, anyway, for mixing and mastering, but I can use Linux (and sometimes do) for tracking and/or live purposes (eg. backing tracks for live bands). In fact, I have repurposed an ancient laptop for this role exactly.