SOUND ON SOUND

[dfira]

If anyone is curious, check out AV Linux (http://www.bandshed.net/avlinux/)

It is a super light, super fast debian (ubuntu) based OS that comes preconfigured with a realtime kernel (for ultra low latency), all the best/most important audio and visual applications, installing any new ones is as easy as doing so on Ubuntu (it uses the same application installing system) and is jam packed with a ton of linux DSP plugins, and even preconfigured to run Windows VSTs as native linux plugins.

The steps to try it are:

- Download the OS
- Make a live bootable USB (search for: Unetbootin)
- figure out how to enter the BIOS of your computer to allow it to start up from USB.
- plug the USB in and restart!

[BJG145]

Cheers dfira.

(Ignore me, I'm just having a bad day.)

;)

[OneWorld]

I use Arch BTW <= This is a meme the Linux users might get.

In a car analogy Arch Linux is a kit car :) I've been using Linux a while so Arch allowed me to build a system the way I want it.

I've found I can get a low latency with Linux because it lets you 'under the hood'. I also have two soundcards running -- one for desktop audio like Youtube videos and one for low latency production audio brought out to two stereo channels on my mixer. This takes a bit of setting up with the command line but it is possible.

For an introduction to Linux there are also fully set up, pre-configured systems like Ubuntu Studio that boot off of a live USB stick. Anyone interested can try this without risk -- live USB sticks don't install anything.

Highlights

JACK -- inter application routing
MuseScore -- notation software
Ardour -- multitrack recording with VCAs and anywhere to anywhere routing
Guitarix -- valve amp simulator
Yoshimi -- flexible synth
No Cortana -- (I mean millions of lines of code for a talking robot and no disk cloning utility? :))
Old hardware can often be kept going.
Over the time I've used Linux the audio stack has got more efficient.
More software is getting ported -- e.g. Reaper, Bitwig, Vital synth, Audio Assault plugins, Airwindows plugins and Audio Damage plugins.

The instant Cubase/Halion/GrooveAgent is ported to Linux that’s me kissing Windows goodbye and it is the enforced dominance of the US that prompts me, Trump even tried to ban TikTok and WeChat for goodness sake, though I can’t see Steinberg accommodating the Linux community any day soon :-(

[James Perrett]

The instant Cubase/Halion/GrooveAgent is ported to Linux that’s me kissing Windows goodbye and it is the forced dominance of the US that prompts me, though I can’t see Steinberg accommodating the Linux community any day soon :-(

Steinberg are always late to move to a platform. They were late moving to the PC and their early efforts were very flaky in my experience.

However it highlights a wider issue. The availability of professional standard software is one of the problems with Linux. While Reaper brings a professional standard DAW to Linux, none of the top restoration programs run on it. Sure, I could probably code my own in Matlab or some other package or compile something experimental but I can't just download RX and run it.

My son and some of his friends are using Raspberry Pi's to learn about coding and interfacing to the real world. They're great for this and I've not had any reliability issues. The standard downloadable image comes with a good selection of software that get you going straight away but there don't seem to be any easily installed professional music packages.

[Folderol]

There are three main problems for porting these across.

The first is demand. Currently there just isn't enough to justify the cost.

Second is the fact that each platform has very different user interfaces. This would require far more of a rewrite than the underlying code itself, and a company would want to be able to maintain a reasonable degree of identity and familiarity.

Third is security of the software from the point of view of reducing rip-offs. The very openness of Linux makes this extremely difficult without the hated dongles and suchlike. The only way to really make a dent in this is like Redhat have done. Don't charge for the basic system instead charge for added services and user support - but it's a risky strategy, and the main reason Redhat succeeded was that it was business customers that were paying up.

[BJG145]

...actually, I have to take it back about Linux. Since sorting out a hardware problem with the laptop, Ubuntu has been very stable, and I'm starting to get into it. Just installed Yoshimi.

At this rate, I might have another go with the Raspberry Pi, but I'll have to sort out an SSD drive (newly possible, see here). It might just have been a dud micro-SD card, but I still don't quite trust them yet.

(This thread should be in Apps & Other Computers/OS really.)