maitake Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Who among us still clings to the linux operating system for our creative needs? There used to be a linux thread, but I thought it would be appropriate to start anew since it's been quite some time and things have gotten nicer over the years! Maybe some of you are brave enough to venture into the other nixes, but the sake of simplicity i'll assume most people stick to linux. What linux distribution do you use? What is your setup like (DAW, plugins, tools, routing, MIDI, etc)? How do you think linux compares to Windows and OSX these days? What are the good bits, and which make your head hurt? Please share any tips or helpful ideas you may have for being creative using linux! As of today i'm fully established knee-deep in a Xubuntu core install running Bitwig Studio. I'm using JACK for routing audio around, and KXStudio tools for patching audio/MIDI connections. KXStudio is very very nice. It's very modular-like and flexible and so far plays well with my controller and external devices. Latency is very low and the graphical patching tools are very easy to use and visualize. KXStudio repository is also filled to the brim with LADSPA, LV2, and VST plugins. There's a lot of great ones in there like Dexed, Calf plugins, pizmidi, mda plugins, TAL plugins, oxbd, meters, scopes, and a lot more I haven't tried yet. There's a working win32 and win64 bridge that can run most Windows VSTs just fine, and KXStudio Carla even supports audio units plugins. I'm pretty shocked at how flexible this thing is. Oh, and recently U-he ported all of their plugins to native linux VSTs. Currently there's several major player DAWs working 100%. Renoise ofcourse, Bitwig Studio, and I also read that Reaper is fully working through Wine thanks to help from Cockos devs. They are also planning to release a native Reaper linux client soon. Looks like things are going well on the linux front. There's still a lot of clunky stuff with poorly designed UIs, but if you can get past the eye sore interfaces a lot of the tools and plugins are really fun to play with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maitake Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 Oops, need to retract my comment about Audio Units. KXStudio Carla supports them when it runs on OSX, not on linux. Fuck off Apple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychotronic Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I switched my pre and post production workspace in january. Will not switch back, i basically have everything even without any kind of win emulation apis. Current software list that runs on my very fast and highly tuned arch linux. some u-he synths, fx and comp calf pack disthro pack zynaddsubfx renoise carla claudia cadence discoDSP synths(NL2 clone) overtoneDSP FX and EQ (love the pultec emus) I have some things on my wishlist currently, but i might replace them with modular hardware: madronalabs Aalto (basic buchla clone as a soft synth. Somebody needs to tell the feakin dev that he should compile his code down to linux native, he already uses a linux compatible wrapper api afaik... ) NI skrewel (cause skrewel) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KovalainenFanBoy Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I heard Exai was produced entirely in Emacs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Sensi Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Linux needs a good sampler. Kontakt would be nice. Something with a crazy amount of modulation, lots of great filters, and tons of sound libraries. Until then, I can't go back to Linux. Shame we'll never get the source code for Shortcircuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TubularCorporation Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 I would love to, but my three most used programs are Reaper, Wavelab an Usine so I'm kind of stuck with Windows/MacOS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maitake Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 I switched my pre and post production workspace in january. Will not switch back, i basically have everything even without any kind of win emulation apis. Current software list that runs on my very fast and highly tuned arch linux. some u-he synths, fx and comp calf pack disthro pack zynaddsubfx renoise carla claudia cadence discoDSP synths(NL2 clone) overtoneDSP FX and EQ (love the pultec emus) I have some things on my wishlist currently, but i might replace them with modular hardware: madronalabs Aalto (basic buchla clone as a soft synth. Somebody needs to tell the feakin dev that he should compile his code down to linux native, he already uses a linux compatible wrapper api afaik... ) NI skrewel (cause skrewel) awesome! kxstudio tools are so helpful. i think you told me about the DISTHRO pack, but i wasn't aware of the others. i'll have to check them out. i agree that the madrona labs guy should just port his already. he barely has to do anything since they're JUCE plugins. :( apparently he's concerned about supporting the plugins since he doesn't use linux, but that's the beauty of JUCE.. when it works it works. have you tried the win32/win64 bridges in the kxstudio repo? i read that it works well for most windows VSTs. they can run in a carla rack inside of a DAW. i tinkered with it briefly and managed to load synth1 in carla standalone but it was acting a little strange running the rack plugin inside bitwig. if all else fails i don't mind routing midi to it. I heard Exai was produced entirely in Emacs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maitake Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 i'm investigating some solutions for running windows VSTs. kxstudio carla isn't playing nice for me, though i think there's a solution in sight. i'm talking to the kxstudio devs to find out. someone else linked me to this: https://github.com/phantom-code/airwave i hear it runs the win plugins well and supports automation. they have a impressible list of plugins that are stable on the git page, including native instruments kontakt! EDIT: Synth1 and Oatmeal are working. Oatmeal tries to hide my cursor until I do a little cursor kung fu on it, but otherwise is smooth sailing. Kontakt 5 i'll have to install on a windows VM and transfer it because .exe installers are lame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychotronic Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 apparently he's concerned about supporting the plugins since he doesn't use linux, but that's the beauty of JUCE.. when it works it works. I think i gonna try to convince the dev to talk to abique. Maybe abique could do the porting and the support via the kvr forums as he does for u-he. What u-he did is extremly interessting and could possibly be implemented on industry level. It is the first really working solution to shut down the arguments about supporting another plattform. We just tell these companies to not do any support for Linux as a plattform, but instead they should hire people under NDAs from the community to port and support these products. This is so far the only thing i see, that could really launch pro audio on linux. The community itself is perfectly able to help and support themselfs, because most linux users are IT pros anyway, so there is not much support needed. That thinking needs to be implanted into the heads of the manufacturers. have you tried the win32/win64 bridges in the kxstudio repo? i read that it works well for most windows VSTs. they can run in a carla rack inside of a DAW. i tinkered with it briefly and managed to load synth1 in carla standalone but it was acting a little strange running the rack plugin inside bitwig. if all else fails i don't mind routing midi to it. Nope, i didnt try anything in that direction. I might try if there is really no other way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychotronic Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 just found this: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=439619 https://sites.google.com/site/skeiaudio/vst The UI is kinda simplistic, but it should be looked into as soon as he releases more of these plugs. Kudos to skei! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maitake Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 That is awesome! I'm having good success with the airwave vst bridge for loading Windows plugs. Might drop his zipped plugins into it tonight and try them. Good find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KovalainenFanBoy Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 protip: put ls -R / | aplay on your terminal and get a noise EP. Repeat with different inputs, make up some bullshit about how you made those sounds and a fake mysterious persona and you're already an experimental artist! congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychotronic Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 protip: put ls -R / | aplay on your terminal and get a noise EP. Repeat with different inputs, make up some bullshit about how you made those sounds and a fake mysterious persona and you're already an experimental artist! congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weakmassive Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I recently bought a $60 netbook on Ebay (a Dell E4200) and (mostly out of curiosity) decided to try Linux on it.Running Xubuntu as well after trying a few distros out. I first tried Ubuntu Studio but was kind of turned off by all the crap that was preinstalled that I would never use. So far I've only messed with Renoise, Sunvox, Supercollider and Puredata and they seem to run well. I'm still on Renoise 2.8, but all the demo tracks run fine. Pretty sweet for a $60 machine. I need to sit down and really figure out Jack and PulseAudio and all that stuff. My other music production machine is an iPad, so this opens up a lot of possibilities for me, even though it's limited compared to everything available on OSX/Win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
entropi Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Inspiring! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maitake Posted July 10, 2015 Author Share Posted July 10, 2015 I recently bought a $60 netbook on Ebay (a Dell E4200) and (mostly out of curiosity) decided to try Linux on it. Running Xubuntu as well after trying a few distros out. I first tried Ubuntu Studio but was kind of turned off by all the crap that was preinstalled that I would never use. So far I've only messed with Renoise, Sunvox, Supercollider and Puredata and they seem to run well. I'm still on Renoise 2.8, but all the demo tracks run fine. Pretty sweet for a $60 machine. I need to sit down and really figure out Jack and PulseAudio and all that stuff. My other music production machine is an iPad, so this opens up a lot of possibilities for me, even though it's limited compared to everything available on OSX/Win. I think the KX Studio tools are absolutely essential for integrating ALSA, PulseAudio, and JACK. Try adding the KXStudio repo and installing the tools. You can ignore the plugin and distro crap. I think it installs the ALSA and PulseAudio JACK bridges but if not find the packages for them and install too. It has four main tools called Cadence, Claudia, Caita, and Carla. When you get it installed open Cadence. It's a seperate front-end for configuring JACK. It will let you activate the ALSA and Pulse Audio bridges with a couple options. Once these are activated all three sound servers should play together much better. From what I understand this utility serves to integrate ALSA, PA, and JACK by layering them together. Caita is a really nice patchbay for routing audio and midi around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weakmassive Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Nice - thanks for all the info. I'm going to try it out. Is it worth it to use a low-latency kernel, like the one installed by Ubuntu Studio? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weakmassive Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Just out of curiosity, what are some of your favorite non-audio Linux apps? I'm new to this world. So far have messed with Sublime Text to play around with Python coding, Virtualbox, WINE, and I made a geeky Conky info display for my desktop ala Crunchbang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychotronic Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Nice - thanks for all the info. I'm going to try it out. Is it worth it to use a low-latency kernel, like the one installed by Ubuntu Studio? Not really, current vanilla kernels are already set in an ok manner for these kind of purposes. This thing is just able to go really nuts. A realtime kernel is able to block all processes except one that demands RT prio. I dont think that this is really necessary for audio production in todays setups. But it is for sure nice that its possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychotronic Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Just out of curiosity, what are some of your favorite non-audio Linux apps? I'm new to this world. So far have messed with Sublime Text to play around with Python coding, Virtualbox, WINE, and I made a geeky Conky info display for my desktop ala Crunchbang. There are a lot of applications on linux. Most stuff is quite stable, vlc, thunderbird, firefox and chromium just to name a few. But that stuff you might already know. Besides the audio stuff i have some apps that i use very often: SimpleScreenRecorder (Name says it, it does screen recording... you can directly record webm full hd videos, that can be uploaded without the need of an extra processing) OBS (Streaming endpoint with lots of features, still alpha but already very stable and working) Openshot (Basic video editor, does its job even with HD material, has some basic FX but nothing fancy) Transmageddon (Video converter, very simple UI) MyPaint (Pro level painting software) Gimp (Image processing a bit like photoshop but different in handling and UX) KeepNote (Kind of a structured notebook / text editor thingy...) Quake (Quake console style commandline client) Docky (Mac style dock) Xfce (Desktop environment, not fancy enough to kill your performance, fancy enough to be usable) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maitake Posted July 12, 2015 Author Share Posted July 12, 2015 Nice - thanks for all the info. I'm going to try it out. Is it worth it to use a low-latency kernel, like the one installed by Ubuntu Studio? Not really, current vanilla kernels are already set in an ok manner for these kind of purposes. This thing is just able to go really nuts. A realtime kernel is able to block all processes except one that demands RT prio. I dont think that this is really necessary for audio production in todays setups. But it is for sure nice that its possible. I'll agree with this. However, I prefer just to run LL/RT kernels anyway. They're easy to install, so why not? I'll second Psycho on SimpleScreenRecorder, Guake drop-down terminal, XFCE, Docky/Plank (Plank is newer fork), GIMP.. I also use: KeepassX for super secure password management Clementine is my favorite audio player. Has a pretty GUI and plenty of features VLC player for videos Gnome Sound Converter for re-encoding audio files Tombs for creating .tomb files that are encrypted chunks of data. Has cool stenography feature. Handbrake for video encoding Deluge for torrents xfce4-screenshooter which provides a sweet dialog to upload screencaps to imgur and such. AcetoneISO for burning and mounting disk images Synaptic for debian/ubuntu package management with GUI (i often find it easier to install stuff via terminal though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weakmassive Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Thanks guys, this is great. Guake is kind of a game changer as I learn to work more in the terminal. I'm up and running with the Kxstudio tools too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychotronic Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Just noticed that i forgot one very essential tool i use. The midnight commander is my central file browser and manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modey Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Is it difficult to get low latency audio happening in linux? I was thinking maybe I could see if it's possible to put it on my old powerpc imac g3 just for a laugh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Sensi Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Is it difficult to get low latency audio happening in linux? I was thinking maybe I could see if it's possible to put it on my old powerpc imac g3 just for a laugh Depending on the distro, it should be as simple as getting an rt patched kernel through its package manager and running a script (rtirq) that gives priority to your audio stuff, which I think is in whatever Ubuntu's package manager is. Should be as simple as click a button on one of the Ubuntu distros. Same probably goes for Debian based distros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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