SamDi wrote: Thu Jul 23, 2026 4:08 pmaudiojunkie wrote: Thu Jul 23, 2026 1:23 pm Linux uses the same Class Compliant hardware that Apple uses. I see no problem with basic hardware support.
Well, indeed there is truth to that. But that is a normal thing for all OSes and all computers. To have things work, you have to use compatible hardware. If you have something that goes beyond class compliant, then it logically isn't compatible. I buy hardware and equipment that is compatible. I avoid hardware that isn't compatible.Often you have drivers, which go beyond class compliant.
This is true. You are correct. Anything that is not class compliant or doesn't have a Linux driver won't work with Linux. So, in this case, you won't get "full DAW support". However, you can install a class compliant USB MIDI 5-pin DIN and connect your Roland Fantom to your computer that way. You would connect the Roland Fantom audio outs to your sound card's audio ins. You would send midi commands to the Fantom and be able to record its output into your DAW. You could use a compatible librarian and change patches and such that way.So e.g. for Roland Fantom you have a driver to get full DAW support. Anyway, no DAW running on Linux is supported. Furthermore I think (I‘m not 100% sure), that only MIDI is supported class compliant For audio you would need the dedicated driver.
Class compliant supports much more than MIDI. Synth keyboards, Midi Controllers, Audio interfaces, and just about any other "Plug-n-play" hardware that doesn't require a special driver for Windows or MacOS will simply work--just like Windows or MacOS.
If it is class compliant, then you can run as many channels as are available. There are some ADAT devices for Pro Audio that can run many more channels than that. The key thing to note, however, is that if the hardware has an internal software mixer that is OS specific, then that probably won't work. The same with DSP. For Linux, you need to look for a class compliant device that has all of its controls physically on the interface. As long as you do that, then you are good. There are also some new high end devices that come with a built in server that you can connect to through WiFi and configure things internally that way. The key is to know what you need, and then buy what works. I admit, not everything will work. But there is enough great high-end hardware available that this really isn't a problem.The same is with my Behringer X32. Also there I am not really sure, if the 32 channels would run via class compliant standard. At least I did install a driver for Windows.
Admittedly, this is still a problem. I only buy hardware that allows me to configure and use everything from the device itself. Things like the overbridge won't work, of course, but standard controls like sending MIDI and sending/receiving audio work with no problem. So, for Elektron devices, for example, I would have to load samples through the SD card, rather than uploading/downloading them through a software interface. I would then connect the MIDI and audio outs to my DAW and record the output. I've been drooling over Tonverk, which would work this way fine with Linux. You just have to go a bit "Old School" instead of using things like overbridge.But beyond that, you have today for almost all HW some Software (and drivers) to collaborate with the computer. So for a ROLI Seaboard you have a special SW to configure it. For the KORG Raspberry Synths you have a SW for remote control and to deal with presets. For Elektron devices you have the Overbridge stuff to load them with samples. For Behringer Synths you have also mostly software to extend the functionality or access features more easily. The list could go on and on.
No, if I really, really had to, I could use a virtual machine and run Windows for that for upgrading firmware, making configuration changes, and such. But I simply avoid buying equipment that doesn't have the control from the hardware interface, and that mostly resolves the problem.Each of these SW doesn‘t run on Linux, so you need a second Windows' PC anyway or you accept losing some at least some comfort and at most some functionality.
It all comes down to personal preference, and what you are willing to do or not do to meet that preference. I prefer the freedom of Linux. I use hardware the way I mentioned above, and avoid things like software controlled mixers, or software controlled DAW integrations, or equipment that requires software configurations, and tools like overbridge. I use a full-blown hardware mixer, rather than a digital mixer. Things like that.....I understand that Apple and Microsoft are suckers and their business models are partly intrusive and offensive. But I can not understand the calculation, where you have the advantages and disadvantages of Windows and Linux on each side and how Linux can win.
If you are careful about what hardware you use, there aren't really any problems. Once bought and integrated into your set up, it all simply just works. You simply must put your square pegs into the square holes, and your round pegs into the round holes. It's when you start trying to put square pegs into round holes that you run into problems. Use compatible hardware, and there are no problems.Trying to make music on Linux is a nice nerdy part-time project to find out, where the border between masochism and self-sabotage is going, but for sure it isn’t well suited for making music in a productive way, because half of the time you need to find workarounds for not supported HW and SW.
Probably true. In my case, I work in IT and support Windows and MacOS for a living, and I have been using and working with Linux for about 26 years, so it's all second nature to me, and with each year that passes, it gets easier and easier for me.And what I don‘t get: If you consider all the effort to learn and tweak and handle Linux - you could strip down Windows with this amount of effort also in a relatively nice and reliable basis for making music.
So, for a musician that is just wanting to do the creative thing and be done with it, it probably makes more sense to use MacOS or Windows. For someone like me, it's like combining my two hobbies into one, and it is great, productive fun.
