Linux. The BSDs. Haiku. ReactOS… Long-running non-commercial projects for establishing a more transparent, more fair, and ultimately just more sensible computing base. One that works in the interests of the end user. Powering the Internet and vast numbers of mobile devices – and yet often overlooked by the vendors of some primary media production packages.
Linux audio has been one of these IYKYK topics for the longest time. By goodness, the “war stories” – from getting audio to work at all, to breathing new life into perfectly functional FireWire devices that were left behind by Apple! And gradually, thanks to the efforts of contributors all over the world, modern Linux has grown into a viable platform for making music.
Thanks to projects such as JACK and PipeWire, Linux is the primary environment which lets you actualy plug individual sound-making programs into each other – same as a modular synth or a chain of effects pedals; while comparative upstarts such as FOSS Ardour or proprietary Reaper and Bitwig are now providing first-class support for comprehensive DAW workflows on Linux. Projects such as Dynebolic, Ubuntu Studio and KXStudio are a good starting point for seeing what the free software audio ecosystem has to offer. And a special shout out goes to Felipe Coelho a.k.a. falkTX (GitHub) for his development and maintenance work across some of the best projects in the space.
Seize the means of (music) production! Whether you’re a newcomer or a veteran in the free audio space, this is the topic for discussing your experiences making music by means of liberated computers!
Hi! I have been using Debian and Ubuntu for my work and hobbies for many years. I use Ubuntu (with the Studio performance optimizations, but not full Ubuntu Studio) and Bitwig for music production. At times I have been using Windows plugins via yabridge but a few months ago I decided to get rid of them and rely on Linux native software only. If my music sucks, I can’t blame the software.
Happy to help music makers trying out Linux! Here is a quick overview:
The internet is filled with obsolete advice.
Nowadays any Linux distribution equipped with Pipewire will do the music production job. Most Linux audio developers target Ubuntu for testing, so there is that.
You still need to ensure that your audio interface is really USB compliant.
Great! Yeah I’ve just installed a dual boot with Ubuntu and the Ubuntu Studio customisations. All looks great so far, it’s nice to work on problems that actually have solutions for once lol!
My main sticking point for moving my audio production is: I use a lot of analog modelling plugins that I would need to replace. And I’ve no money…
Would you? Can you share your top three plugins, out of curiosity? I’m happy to help finding out whether they work on Linux via yabridge. Except for iLok stuff (which I don’t wish for anyone regardless of OS) and some deep hardware integrations, in general there is hope.
yeah, plugin bridging can be hit and miss. it’s why i started writing that whole static relinker thingy. haven’t made progress on it in a while though. gotta rectify that!
anyone tried GitHub - DISTRHO/Ildaeil: mini-plugin host as plugin yet? seems like a cool plugin manager. i haven’t, so i’m not sure if it actually does anything for cross-os compatibility. but seems like a nice workflow for figuring out working plugin combinations.
@Mel Curious…how do you like Ubuntu Studio so far? I’ve spent the last month setting up a shoutcast stream for my music library and getting owncast up and running on the same machine after I refurbed it (liquid spill). It’s definitely a learning curve, but I’m really enjoying the ability to take charge of my content.
Do you have a long history with Linux installs or is this new-ish for you as well?
I really love it! A bit stressy at the minute cause I jumped in at the deep and and am gone be using it for live gigs this week
Not a very long history of Linux installs: been using WSL for dev stuff for a while, and command line stuff for VPS admin. Installed Debian on an old laptop a while ago to make a home server. But that’s it!
