Should I go Linux?

[corazon]

Originally Posted by Sower

Hi. I have set up a new windows 8 install. Unlike the others I don't hate the interface, but I'm getting quite annoyed by recurring bugs. I have done almost 10 restorations from image files in the past week, which I have learned to make frequently. I'm longing to go back to linux, which I left 3 years ago when dwelling in to DAW stuff. Now is it even more hassle to get Reaper working in linux? I want my Native instruments VST's and RME babyface to work also. What experiences do you have? I'm not looking more troubleshooting that I have now, just stability I'm used to with linux - I left only for the support for commercial stuff being poor at least in 2010.

http://alsa.opensrc.org/Alsa_Preferred_Soundcards

mAudio pci cards are likely the most trouble free,
having a simple kernel module (snd_ice1712) that is read by qjackctl,
and probably has the most public forum support, to google out details.

this commercial linux has wine preconfigured for vsts, so use its filemanger, rox, to drag/drop the reaper folder.
Click the 'eye' icon in rox, to show hidden .files
Add a Steinberg/VstPlugins path to /root/.wine/drive_C/Program Files.

www.getstudio1337.com

run winecfg command, and choose alsa in
the wine audio prefs, then select your soundcard using the
the qjackctl Setup page, Input Device Device/Output Device each
have icons, v >
click these to see what your system sees, and choose.

There is a free version for a while, to test:
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=82725

link in the first post, use unetbooting, or burn the iso to cd.
etc

[richie43]

Originally Posted by corazon

http://alsa.opensrc.org/Alsa_Preferred_Soundcards

mAudio pci cards are likely the most trouble free,
having a simple kernel module (snd_ice1712) that is read by qjackctl,
and probably has the most public forum support, to google out details.

this commercial linux has wine preconfigured for vsts, so use its filemanger, rox, to drag/drop the reaper folder.
Click the 'eye' icon in rox, to show hidden .files
Add a Steinberg/VstPlugins path to /root/.wine/drive_C/Program Files.

www.getstudio1337.com

run winecfg command, and choose alsa in
the wine audio prefs, then select your soundcard using the
the qjackctl Setup page, Input Device Device/Output Device each
have icons, v >
click these to see what your system sees, and choose.

There is a free version for a while, to test:
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=82725

link in the first post, use unetbooting, or burn the iso to cd.
etc

I tried this one (and every other preconfigured linux-multimedia OS, as well as many customized OS's) and while better than some, is still not even close to being what my Windows 7/8 rig is. Sorry, I am still not on board for this......

[corazon]

@ richie43: You get an A for effort, and I agree with your assertion
that a Reaper linux port, is not needed, and the effort should go
to improving what exists, without diluting resources. Wine coders
make slow, but steady headway, to meld with reaper improvements.
Keep the status-quo rolling! If the devs want to port to xyz,
it's their business, and they seem to have a nack for success.

I don't have linux/reaper problems myself, fortunately,
but windows 8 is giving some people fits.
The silent majority are elusive at times,
and don't usually bother posting, "Yes, it works" stories,
so a grain of salt is handy, even when reading epic rants.

Studio 1337 works great for me, I wouldn't expect, or want it
to be another gigabytic monster. I'm pleased with what 400 meg
allows to be accomplished, on a pretty old, weak, computer,
by current standards.

[richie43]

Originally Posted by corazon

@ richie43: You get an A for effort, and I agree with your assertion
that a Reaper linux port, is not needed, and the effort should go
to improving what exists, without diluting resources. Wine coders
make slow, but steady headway, to meld with reaper improvements.
Keep the status-quo rolling! If the devs want to port to xyz,
it's their business, and they seem to have a nack for success.

I don't have linux/reaper problems myself, fortunately,
but windows 8 is giving some people fits.
The silent majority are elusive at times,
and don't usually bother posting, "Yes, it works" stories,
so a grain of salt is handy, even when reading epic rants.

Studio 1337 works great for me, I wouldn't expect, or want it
to be another gigabytic monster. I'm pleased with what 400 meg
allows to be accomplished, on a pretty old, weak, computer,
by current standards.

More power to ya then! But count me as one of the"silent" ones (not)..... Windows 8 has been the most stable audio OS I have ever used. There, I said it. I just "outed" myself, right here on the Reaper forum!

[corazon]

Whats your motherboard, video, and audio interface?
Working hardware combos should be outed too!.

[mad demon]

Originally Posted by richie43

To bring in the extra people ("everyone who would like to contribute") does not seem to be in their plan, so I am merely supporting that.

It seems what you seem to think it seems seems not to be reality because it seems they already invited everyone who would like to contribute to do so:
http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=114881
http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=82910
http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=83324
...
but yet people don't get it and threads like "REAPER for Linux" keep poping up. PEOPLE ITS ALREADY THERE!

Originally Posted by richie43

Ardour has been around for a long time, and they actually have competent people developing it.

If that would be the truth Jack (developed by the same guy, not no s after guy, that develops Ardour) would run smooth. But it doesn't. Hence not competent.

Originally Posted by richie43

I want my VST's, thank you.

Then port them. VSTs can be used on Linux, e.g. by EnergyXT, but just like Mac VST don't run on Windows and Windows VSTs not on Mac, does it take native Linux VST.
For more information go to http://www.linux-vst.com/ or consult you Internet search engine with the terms "linux vst".

[robo]

Saddest of all is the opinion that Cockos spending time on finalizing the Linux port would be dilution of resources.

They are incredibly gifted devs and what they chose to work on at a given time is never without benefit to most every other aspect of Reaper on whatever OS.

This is exactly why they have WDL and SWELL, LICE, IPLUG etc. A common, portable code base that at the moment needs a few tweaks for Linux.

I hope they add IOS and Android to it as well.

[gkurtenbach]

Originally Posted by robo

Saddest of all is the opinion that Cockos spending time on finalizing the Linux port would be dilution of resources.

They are incredibly gifted devs and what they chose to work on at a given time is never without benefit to most every other aspect of Reaper on whatever OS.

This is exactly why they have WDL and SWELL, LICE, IPLUG etc. A common, portable code base that at the moment needs a few tweaks for Linux.

I hope they add IOS and Android to it as well.

Common portable code makes a huge difference but lets not forget there is a ton of work in supporting another platform: quality assurance testing, installation, support...

A long time ago I did product that only ran on windows. Years later that same product runs on windows, mac, iOS, Android... Its a ton of work for the product team and new features get added very rarely and slowly...

I was raised on unix but I happy to have reaper only on windows and mac.

[motormind]

I am using Bodhi Linux for music production together with an Alesis Multimix 6 USB interface and I have encountered few problems, really. It just .... works. I mostly use it for fairly straightforward stuff though,like recording audio from my MPC and adding some some bass and vocals, and for that I found that Ardour works just fine. I'd love to see Reaper on Linux though, so I don't have to switch to my Windoze machine whenever I try to do something more fancy.

[rmm]

Originally Posted by Snap

Wish one day Linux gets ready for full flegged pro audio.

Test this one for me please http://www.tracktion.com/linux
and this one http://ardour.org
and maybe this one too http://www.hydrogen-music.org/hcms/

I was going to setup a second machine running Linux this Autum and it would be great to know about the possibilties right now, for the task of getting the right harware for this project.

greetings
Rouven

[chip mcdonald]

Originally Posted by CrankyChris

there's some driver I need that's not supported...so I can't print...

This.

[CanadaJimmy]

The issue is that to run REAPER on Linux, you are emulating the Windows API on not only the software itself, but also all the plugins and interactions. Wine to be translating all that data on the fly properly is bound to hurt performance. Right now I'm on a Windows 7 32-bit Embedded Standard system, with the PAE hack enabled to use 8GB RAM. Boots lightning fast and works great for REAPER. It would be nice to use Linux, but when you consider VST instruments and effects it just doesn't seem practical.

[rmm]

What about that?:
The Windows API on Linux is like the Linux API on Linux, they are both sub-systems of the Operating System. The Windows API runs not slower or faster by default it runs as quick as the implementet functionality permints. The same rules apply to the Linux API. The API is not the NATIVE Code. It is a subset of functions you can use to write a program.

[DjMilktoast]

a rock-solid Windows 7....is this a joke?
I've been suffering from multiple BSOD's after this last miserable Windows update.NO it is not a Memory or hardware problem so let me stop you now.
I have uninstalled the update,applied Fixes and did several system restores but it is WINDOWS....I WISH Reaper and LINUX would get it together .I have Ubuntu on dual boot any enjoy the GUI and stability.If I was'nt so dam poor I would get a MAC and say goodbye to Microcrap forever.

[Boray]

Originally Posted by DjMilktoast

so let me stop you now.

Stop me? Stop me from bumping up months old threads or what?

[richie43]

Originally Posted by DjMilktoast

a rock-solid Windows 7....is this a joke?
I've been suffering from multiple BSOD's after this last miserable Windows update.NO it is not a Memory or hardware problem so let me stop you now.
I have uninstalled the update,applied Fixes and did several system restores but it is WINDOWS....I WISH Reaper and LINUX would get it together .I have Ubuntu on dual boot any enjoy the GUI and stability.If I was'nt so dam poor I would get a MAC and say goodbye to Microcrap forever.

There is never a universal smooth combo between an OS and a DAW software. I have had my best and most consistently stable DAW with Windows 7 64bit(now 8, actually) and Reaper. Totally rock-solid, in fact. Don't be fooled by the mystique of Mac's: their no better-no worse than a Windows PC. Mac users have their own list of issues, just different from the PC equivalents. I have had terrible times with Linux and "pro level" audio- anything besides maybe playing back and already tracked session has been nearly a disaster every time. And if I am to be totally selfish, since my Windows-Reaper experience has been nothing short of liberating, I would rather the Cockos team not spending a second of development time on porting to Linux. The problems with less cumbersome low-latency audio in linux are far broader than just having Cockos re-code for linux. I have had the same issues with native linux DAW software. Good luck, I hope that you find some kind of stable and usable DAW- everyone deserves a less complicated way to make music.

[lowellben]

Originally Posted by DjMilktoast

a rock-solid Windows 7....is this a joke?
I've been suffering from multiple BSOD's after this last miserable Windows update.NO it is not a Memory or hardware problem so let me stop you now.
I have uninstalled the update,applied Fixes and did several system restores but it is WINDOWS....I WISH Reaper and LINUX would get it together .I have Ubuntu on dual boot any enjoy the GUI and stability.If I was'nt so dam poor I would get a MAC and say goodbye to Microcrap forever.

No joke. I've used Windows 7 for years in a studio environment and it's indeed rock solid. Best OS that MS has ever put out. Ever.
(Yes I'm including Win95 lol)

[dub tree]

windows is a giant SUV. mac is a sleek sedan. linux is a pick-up truck modified to run on canola oil.

reaper is your hot date.

do you pick up your date in the SUV, hoping to impress her with its utility and size, indicating your ability to be prepared for anything?

do you pick her up in your sporty little sedan and impress her with its beautiful curves and fancy features, showing you are a modern man?

or do you pick her up in your big ugly truck and impress her with your ability to rebel against the societal norm, and the capacity to haul a bunch of esoteric shit around that you might only use once or twice in your life, but you like to have the option? or with the coffee maker you installed into the dash? or with the horn that makes monty python references instead of typical horn noises? or with the gas pedal you modified so that it cradles the exact shape and size of your foot, adjustable based on the shoes you are wearing that day? or with the XKCD bumper stickers? or the upholstery patches you repurposed from old paisley shirts from your dead uncle's closet?

no, reaper is a classy broad. she wants a good martini at a nice, respectable bar.

if you want your car to be compatible with pretty much every gas station in the world, you can't go rigging it to run on canola oil. i mean, those kinds of modifications aren't all that complicated to do, and they might change the way you look at the whole world around you. hell, you could very well be making the world a better place to live in! but they aren't convenient unless you haul around a bunch of canola oil with you wherever you go.

audio can be great fun on linux. but it doesn't work the way it does on windows or mac os. you have to change the way you approach it, for the whole paradigm is different. if you expect a boat to handle like a plane, you will be disappointed when you take it out on the ski slopes.

[serr]

Originally Posted by DjMilktoast

If I was'nt so dam poor I would get a MAC and say goodbye to Microcrap forever.

Get yourself on ebay then. You can get a used Mac for a very fair price. Much cheaper in the long run than a Windows system after you factor in all the DIY needed to run with Windows. (Or the people who buy multiple computers to use each for only one app. How the heck is that cost efficient?)

If you're not tech savvy, find one where someone put Applecare on it that's still active (it stays with the computer). Pretty risk free.


While I'm impressed with what Reaper has to offer for the Windows OS and I share a lot of the DIY attitude, my eye catches a Windows thread every now and again around here. I've got to say that if I wasn't convinced before, after reading some of the DIY required to make it work I'd absolutely never consider even evaluating Windows as an option for anything anymore!

But Linux? I hear all the same comments... If you think the Windows DIY setup work is a nightmare, you'll have even more building from the ground up with Linux for audio.

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by dub tree

linux is a pick-up truck modified to run on canola oil.

That's 'your' Linux then... mine is more like an American muscle car... a bit bulky on the outside (I agree, it's an acquired taste), but nothing can touch that 6 liter Hemi V8 under the hood

Try to beat my quarter-mile time with your Mac-sedan

[Boray]

Originally Posted by dub tree

reaper is your hot date.

What to do on a date with the reaper:

[dub tree]

Originally Posted by technogremlin

That's 'your' Linux then... mine is more like an American muscle car... a bit bulky on the outside (I agree, it's an acquired taste), but nothing can touch that 6 liter Hemi V8 under the hood

Try to beat my quarter-mile time with your Mac-sedan

[dub tree]

whoops double post

[technogremlin]

Originally Posted by dub tree

[Cosmic]

I've got Mint running on all my computers except my DAW now.I love it.5 mins to install and it works instantly!NO searching for drivers!

I'm gonna attempt to get a workable Reaper set up going on my studio box.
My soundcard is supported out of the box so I reckon I could be on to a winner.

I'm salivating at the thought of running a Linux daw with my fancy high powered computer.Although,it'll only be a hobby ntil I can get it stable and the latency down to 1ms.

[foxanthony]

Originally Posted by Cosmic

I've got Mint running on all my computers except my DAW now.I love it.5 mins to install and it works instantly!NO searching for drivers!

Are you familiar with the KxStudio repos http://kxstudio.sourceforge.net/Repositories ?

They make pro-audio on Linux much simpler. Cadence is a great tool for setting up and configuring Jack. There is also Wine-rt, a low-latency kernel and even an installer, probably based on LinReaper, for Reaper.

I haven't tried it with Mint, but according to this post http://www.linuxmusicians.com/viewto...p?f=47&t=11862 it should be working.

[Cosmic]

Originally Posted by foxanthony

Are you familiar with the KxStudio repos http://kxstudio.sourceforge.net/Repositories ?

They make pro-audio on Linux much simpler. Cadence is a great tool for setting up and configuring Jack. There is also Wine-rt, a low-latency kernel and even an installer, probably based on LinReaper, for Reaper.

I haven't tried it with Mint, but according to this post http://www.linuxmusicians.com/viewto...p?f=47&t=11862 it should be working.

Wow..very nice.

I'll investigate!

[foxanthony]

Originally Posted by Cosmic

Wow..very nice.

I'll investigate!

Sure. And, if you don't mind switching distros, KxStudio has its own distro with all that already set up and with a Reaper installer included. Very easy!

[Cosmic]

Originally Posted by foxanthony

Sure. And, if you don't mind switching distros, KxStudio has its own distro with all that already set up and with a Reaper installer included. Very easy!

I have the iso for that here the last few days!

I've yet to try it out...mikght give it a spin now!

[oneindelijk]

Originally Posted by technogremlin

That's 'your' Linux then... mine is more like an American muscle car... a bit bulky on the outside (I agree, it's an acquired taste), but nothing can touch that 6 liter Hemi V8 under the hood

Try to beat my quarter-mile time with your Mac-sedan

This thread might be a little old to reply, but it was a great read and I can't resist.
I've tried audio/linux in the past. I thought it was great, but I never managed to do anything productive with it.
Run Reaper in Wine, that sounds like crap to me (that's like using Tec7 to turn your car into a submarine).

But be it Windows 7/8, linux, OSX they all can be rocksolid,but they can also all get sluggisch, crash, give BSOD's and kernel panic !

Long live BeOS !
(That's a joke, I haven't even seen one in real life)

[wildschwein]

I've always just been a dual booter. I do everything but audio on Linux Ubuntu Studio (where I actually first cut my teeth on a DAW [Jack+Ardour]). I only ever boot into Windows 7 when I work on audio. I have an extra drive installed in my PC just for recording the audio files to. Windows is a necessary evil and maintaining it so it is always in good health takes time. I have a Mac too which works well for audio but there aren't as many free VST plugins available as there is on Windows systems and I have to use alternative, compression delay and reverb plugins to the ones I always use on Windows, although the Rea and JS plugs are cool -- especially Reatune and ReaEQ.

[Cosmic]

To the OP.



NO!!!!!!!

LINUX FUCKING SUCKS FOR AUDIO!!!!!!

Leave it alone.

Win 7 FTW

I wasted weeks trying to get a workable setup going.

WASTED..WEEKS

[brainwreck]

Originally Posted by Sower

I'm not looking more troubleshooting that I have now, just stability I'm used to with linux - I left only for the support for commercial stuff being poor at least in 2010.

Unless you're recording all physical instruments, and mixing with hardware, hell no. I wish that we could all be running free software for everything we do, including music making, but Linux will have you throwing up your guts for daw use. Windows can be a crashy p-o-s at times, but it's still tons better, imo, than trying to patch together and operate a Linux based music making machine.

[Nystagmus]

Edit: puppy studio 4 was slightly buggy with an updated reaper, but it was a good proof of concept. Now i run ubuntu studio v14.04 Lts with reaper v462 via the included wine v162. I use pulseaudio and the wasapi setting thus far. I just got wineasio installed too. It requires editing the buffering, playback, and rendering prefs in reaper but it works enough for me to ditch windows 7 which corrupted itself on my computer.

[efflux]

I have used Linux in the past for audio. Now I use Arch Linux for graphics stuff. A lot of high end graphics apps run on Linux like Modo, Nuke, 3D Coat etc and you also have Blender and Wings 3D which are cool. Linux is the best operating system for more specialised professional tasks. I use Modo and the Modo version of Linux is much better than the Windows or OSX version. Linux doesn't have to have all the bloat that you don't need on systems for these kinds of tasks.

Linux totally beats Windows and OSX for audio performance as well. It is rock solid reliable and fast provided your hardware is supported. I used an AMT8 and an Echo Audio sound interface on Linux. I never had a problem. I currently use a Mytek but not on Linux. I think it would probably work. It's just standard Firewire interface but I'm back on a Mac for audio. Why? because although the underlying system on Linux is good for audio, the DAWs are seriously lacking and so are plugins. Plugins are not a huge deal for me but there are a few I use. I had to go back to use Logic on Mac but since the Logic Pro X upgrade, well I'm now investigating other DAWs and that's why I'm here and it's looking like I'll be crossing to Reaper. We have Tracktion and Bitwig on Linux now but those have some limitations. A DAW like Reaper on Linux would be a big step up from those but I can see how graphics apps cross over much more easily than audio stuff. They rely on open GL video cards made by two companies which is no problem on Linux. With audio on the other hand, you have masses of various interfaces and thousands of plugins.

[Nystagmus]

it's worth saying that recently i installed ubuntu studio v1404 and it's better than puppy studio 4 in some important ways. Using wasapi and pulse and adjusted buffer settings (968 samples) it's very useable with plug n play alesis audio and midi hardware. FL studio 11 works after careful installation of corefonts and the regedit key. It has some latency but it does not have the midi bugs i had in puppy studio. Ubuntu is supported and popular and reaper v462 works on it. It takes good computer skills to set up, but i think in 5 years it will be easier for newbs. I am happy though that i got good results. Vember surge and synthone vst and image-line vsts seem to work if installed correctly and reconfigured for wine's spots. I am curious to see how far i can go.

[efflux]

I've played with wine in the past. For a while I did use one graphics app under wine and it worked quite well but after going to full 64 bit system, I ditched using wine. Maybe the situation is slightly different now but wine on 64 bit Arch system seemed almost impossible to get working. I think it's easier to just use apps natively even if you're stuck with an OS you don't really want to use.

[Nystagmus]

yeah maybe. I didnt install the 64-bit version of ubuntu... just the 32-bit version. I read that wine is only 32-bit so far, right? But 4 gb of ram is enough for me. My hardware is class compliant usb except for the zoom r8, which has drivers that wine accepts... So i didnt have soundcard woes. I think with future updates it will only get better.

[jakkeeye]

Originally Posted by Sower

Hi. I have set up a new windows 8 install. Unlike the others I don't hate the interface, but I'm getting quite annoyed by recurring bugs. I have done almost 10 restorations from image files in the past week, which I have learned to make frequently. I'm longing to go back to linux, which I left 3 years ago when dwelling in to DAW stuff. Now is it even more hassle to get Reaper working in linux? I want my Native instruments VST's and RME babyface to work also. What experiences do you have? I'm not looking more troubleshooting that I have now, just stability I'm used to with linux - I left only for the support for commercial stuff being poor at least in 2010.

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[Nystagmus]

Wow, I was reading the Wikipedia pages about Arch Linux and Slackware Linux.
As sophisticated as those sound, I think those would be tough to learn for anybody who didn't grow up using console commands (I didn't).

I did learn a little bit about Linux in college, thank Loki, but I'm still much a beginner. I really like the user-friendliness of the graphical user interfaces/desktops/window managers/automated updates/etc.

You guys that use the tougher versions of Linux... while they might be potentially more powerful... I think they'd be difficult to use compared to some of the other distros. Props to you though.