music creation studio setup in linux

[thinkpadx]

i worked extensively on windows 000 and mac osx on high end music production, sounddesign recording mixing and mastering.

after a decad hiatus i would like to gt someone with some experience to walk me through setting daws up and keyboards in linux via???? or pipewire??? or whatever is the best. bit confused from the little i readand need a few points here and there.

quicker than me wasting time struggling hitting road blocks,

thank you

norman

[thinkpadx]

i guess i should have inlcluded Jack too in the list. for pros and cons

[Nokkaelaein]

I think the most natural recommendation over here, on the MX forum, is to take a peek at AV Linux :) and see (and hear) whether it suits your use case. It's MX based these days. The choice of the actual DAW/host software is probably the most crucial decision in any case. What DAW were you doing projects on back when you were active? For someone with a professional background, assuming linear media and project topology, I'd recommend checking out Reaper, if you haven't already. On Linux, for someone with a solid background in the actual methods and workflows of production, with that sort of "traditional" vibe, but also with tremendous depth for the tech-oriented power user, that's a good place to start.

[AVLinux]

Hi,

Well if you weren't aware I've done an Audio/Video centred Distribution called AV Linux since 2008 and it has been based on MX Linux for a few years now. I've been using it for my own Audio and Video production for many years and is precisely set up with pretty much every tweak known in Linux Audio circles to a far greater detail than even Ubuntu Studio. As of version 23 it uses PipeWire which is a drop in replacement for JACK and PulseAudio both and AV Linux comes with extra utilities to get the most out of PipeWire. As of version 23 it uses the Enlightenment Desktop Environment which has gotten strongly mixed reviews but essentially under the hood all of the Audio performance tweaks and MANY extras are there if you're willing to have a good look.

The last full-blown everything and the kitchen sink release is 23.2 and a smaller parallel 23.5 release with all the same underlying performance but less applications was released a short time ago.

The website is here: https://www.bandshed.net/avlinux/

I pretty much insist on people watching the 23.1 release Video, the time spent watching it will save you tenfold time trying to figure out everything blindly:
https://youtu.be/Fl5TMM7cViI?si=Q2MNtCv2V1nK4s-g

*Note there are some minor changes and improvements in the 23.5 version that aren't reflected in the Video

[thinkpadx]

ok thanks. I will have a look-see and will ask more uestions at least to get started.


i used sonar bac when on win 2000 pro and when osx came out i went digital performer which was 100% better. I actually loved it at the time.i used reato and absynth and mx - from digital performers company and reason and a bunch of other stuff.that also was way back when.

[gimcrack]

Being award of all the software available is also nice. Here is a link to Source Music Editing Software.

https://www.tecmint.com/free-music-crea ... for-linux/

You always can go into their forums to see other setups and ask questions there after you find out what you like.

More....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_L ... o_software

Pointers

https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advi ... tion-music

Good Luck.

[Nokkaelaein]

Adding some seminal Linux-native tools to those lists that weren't included (i.e. be wary that some of the best, most professional software might still be missing from comprehensive looking lists and articles like that!) :

Given your history of modular and semi-modular tools, I recommend checking out VCV Rack ( https://vcvrack.com/ ) and/or alternatively its 100% open source counterpart, Cardinal ( https://cardinal.kx.studio/ ). In a nutshell, unlike the free and open source version of VCV, Cardinal also has full plugin functionality - which you need to pay for with VCV Rack - so you can use it hosted inside a DAW, but you will lose the proprietary modules available for VCV. Both of these are extremely versatile, and if you've ventured into the ambient/soundscape territory with Reaktor and Absynth back in the day, I think it's likely you'll love the 1:1 firmware ported Mutable Instruments modules, for example. They go by the name Audible Instruments in this context ( https://vcvrack.com/AudibleInstruments ), and there are also custom firmware hack versions available to run in these environments these days ( https://library.vcvrack.com/SanguineMutants ).

The above software follows the Eurorack paradigm, along with its quirks and limitations, instead of being a "computer interface first" kind of deal, at least most of the time - as you CAN load even Csound scripts into designated modules these days and explore stuff like that, heh. However, if the (traditional) Max/MSP / Reaktor vibe is something you'd like to dip into at least once in a while, these days there is also a hostable version of Pure Data, which is pretty crazy in itself: https://plugdata.org/

On the more readily instrument-like side, note that the whole u-he lineup ( https://u-he.com/products/ ) is available completely Linux native these days, and is of very high quaity, as heard in many film soundtracks and games. So for eample, if you're comfortable with a more self-contained semi-modular instrument vibe, check out Zebra. All in all, they are all extremely dependable, including the mixing plugins / creative effect plugins that are top notch, too.

Somehow Surge XT was missing from the lists as well, hmm, even though it's completely open source and of such notable quality ( https://surge-synthesizer.github.io/ ). Definitely one to test for someone with a background in advanced synth environments. The developers rock, and have also made a completely modular version of this synth as a module set for VCV and Cardinal ( https://library.vcvrack.com/SurgeXTRack ). It's really quite special.

The TAL lineup is also Linux native nowadays, with a great creative sampler and recreations of some key Roland synths ( https://tal-software.com/products )

For a (very good) Linux native take on modern wavetable synthesis methods, see Vital ( https://vital.audio/ )

[AVLinux]

For the record AV Linux comes with Audacity, the full developer supported version of Ardour, Reaper (demo) and Harrison Mixbus (demo). Surge XT is included as well as many other Synths (Odin2, Vaporizer, TAL Noizemaker, Helm, Yoshimi and others) and over 1000 other Audio Plugins including Auburn Sounds and ACMT demos. Built in ability to run Windows Audio Plugins is also included but this functionality has recently been broken by a Wine-Staging update but a workaround is available..

[thinkpadx]

wow - thanks for the info to digest. i am in my 70s and having all the music history behind me i was just figuring i'd give it a try to get back to do some stuff before i kick the bucket.
heh heh!!!!!

[Eadwine Rose]

Don't talk about kicking buckets too soon.. My dad is approaching the upper 80s mark, and still VERY much alive and busy doing stuff, like organizing dancing afternoons for the elderly where he plays the music. :)

You might still have 20 years to go.. you never know.