Music Prod On Linux Thread

Got to a point where 90% of what I do can be done on Linux, but music will always suffer, when it comes to music the first thing that comes to mind is never Linux and that's why I feel like such big names Protools, Fl-Studio, Ableton will never be native for Linux cause the profit and market share of users is to small. I've used FL for over 12 years, I saw FL-Studio runs pretty well under wine looking back at posts over the years its pretty much at 90% but not enough to ditch windows once and for all (at least for music) So let me ask you lain, what is your music work flow like on Linux, What DAW do you use? Is it native to Linux or does it require Wine? how about native Linux VST'S vs wine layer VST's. Show me your DAW setup, maybe even some music you've made. Keygen, Electro, Rock, Metal, Rap, Beats, Instrumentals lemme hear it all just want some hope that it can be done.

Im not really a musician but i used to play with lmms, it is pretty ok to use. Havent really produced anything yet, learning to use the software is one thing, doing music a whole other. Also lmms allows you to use your computer like a piano, idk if other daw have that feature.

LMMS isn't that bad, and it's also probably the most like FL. Renoise is good too and it has tracker interface but it's not free. VSTs are a pain so I've personally never tried to set up any that require wine.

I've experimented with various options since I switched to Linux and have found a workflow that works for me. Everything goes through Ardour at some point, it really is the best FOSS DAW and the ideal place for mixing and such. Whether I track in Ardour or something else depends on my mood. I find restricting myself more conducive to composition so I may use Muse Sequencer to write with General MIDI or make chip versions in Milkytracker. This is helpful because I can worry about fiddling with knobs later, rather than losing the flow trying to dial in something. Linux has a number of plugin formats with different capabilities, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ulks8T6z6BU for an explanation, LV2 is pretty much the standard (though most FOSS plugins will build LV2, VST & LADSPA versions). As for specific plugins there are plenty of good ones: amsynth (2 oscillator subtractive synth, based on old Moogs and able to create good sounds very quickly) ZynAddSubFX (multi engine synth, a real powerhouse that can do basically anything) Vitalium (a FOSS rebrand of a synth developed by the creator of Helm, the most interesting feature to me is the comb filters for physical modelling) Surge (popular synth that used to be proprietary, very powerful also) Linux Studio Plugins (suite of plugins including all of the standards as well as an impulse response builder) x42 Plugins (another suite that's easier on weaker hardware, lots of useful meters in this one) Dragonfly Reverb (a collection of different reverbs that has a lot of features and sounds great) sfizz (SFZ loader, nice UI and supports more opcodes with each release) DrumGizmo (drum kit simulator, realistic drums plugin with a number of sample libraries available) I thought I would also mention some sample libraries I use: Salamander Piano (SFZ grand piano with 16 velocity layers, very good sound) Versilian Community Orchestra (SFZ orchestra, useful when you need some classical elements) DrumGizmo libraries (since these are just WAV files you can load the samples you need in something like LSP Sampler, you might need to reduce the number of channels in something like Tenacity though) This isn't an exhaustive list and there's many more useful tools out there, if you're running a Debian/Ubuntu derivative distro you can add the KX Studio repos to your system to access lots of software through your package manager (see instructions at https://kx.studio/Repositories). If you want to hear examples of what people make with FOSS you can check out Unfa's livestreams, at the end of the show (the last half hour or so) he plays viewer submissions which have to be made with all or mostly FOSS, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_pBDCg6o-I is the latest stream. Some tracks are better than others as you'd expect from a community showcase but you can get an idea of what's possible.

the best traditional DAWs on linux are reaper (if you want something vaguely protools-like) and renoise (if you want something vaguely ableton-like, but with a tracker interface). neither are FOSS but both are cheap, have very limited DRM and a generous trial version. the best traditional FOSS DAW is ardour. it is kind of like reaper but buggier and with better support for JACK. i specify "traditional" because i am of the opinion that linux music production is at its best when you dont use a DAW. JACK is the best audio backend on any platform IMO, because it lets you effortlessly pipe audio and midi data between any software that supports it (which is to say, all linux audio production software). this is particularly nice if you are interested in experimental composition, live coding, or DSP because you can mix and match sequencers, synths, samplers, plugin hosts, hardware gear, etc.

>>8717 oh, also >how about native Linux VST'S vs wine layer VST's. i have always found the lv2/ladspa plugins in my distro's repository to be adequate. sometimes i'll use puredata or faust to create my own "plugins". however, i also tend to prefer basic clean effects rather than complex hardware emulation plugins and such. if i were doing less digital experimentation and more traditional recording, i might have more issues with the available offering.

This goes to everyone reading, for context the main genre I make is Synthwave but if I had to be specific its way more on the "dreamy" chillwave almost vaporwave without the samples feel. >>8714 I tried to use LMMS but it just seems like its well, the free version of FL Studio and I feel like I'd be down grading myself if I used it, but for work flow was I was able to get soykaf going the most fast but for some reason it seems like getting vocals into LMMS isn't as simple as just recording a mic into the DAW, every single tutorial showed you recording in audacity first and that turned me off fast. >>8715 Woah dude, first of thank you for such an in-depth the comments about "Milkytracker" are interesting to me cause I've always wanted to try to make keygen music I think that stuff sounds fuarrrking awesome but once again that's a new DAW to get used to, getting a new charger and I'm gonna try it out. I just really worry I wont be able to make the music I used to make without FL-Studio and the plugins and VST's I used on my windows machine but I do wanna try to get a linux machine up and running for some creative stuff..... When it comes to FOSS I could care less when it comes to music making software and VST's if I need to pay or visit my local pirate ship I will. >>8717 >neither are FOSS I feel like a lot of companies aren't willing to port things over to linux for this reason, a lot of people who use linux like FOSS software and it makes sense Linux is a FOSS software but I'm a very casual user of linux and the fact something is open source is as useful as selling porno to a nun, i might think about looking at it but I'll never look at the code cause I just dont care for coding in anyway. The main reason why I want to use Linux is for the ricing of the desktop and for privacy that's about it and its the full on truth. >Reaper I looked into reaper and I might try to give it a shot but all the tutorials seem to be more based about "mixing" then actual music prod but I still am going to give it a shot. >Hardware Okay so PHSYICAL hardware like actual synths lets say a Juno 60 or a Jupiter-6 real staple names would there be issues with trying to hook one of those up though Linux on a Linux daw? or would it just be the same loops as windows. TLDR Honestly sometimes I think about what it would be like to be dawless, but then I remember I'd need to take out a house loan to be able to afford that and then I cry.

>>8719 >>8715 here, >getting vocals into LMMS isn't as simple as just recording a mic LMMS has very weak audio support, it's a bad choice for anything involving recorded sound. >I've always wanted to try to make keygen music I think that stuff sounds fuarrrking awesome but once again that's a new DAW to get used to Trackers are a very efficient way to make music when you learn the workflow, dragging notes in a piano roll feels sluggish by comparison. There's various tutorials online but a great way to learn once you know the basics is to download modules from https://modarchive.org and pick them apart to figure out various tricks (modules are akin to project files but very compact and don't require external plugins to load & play). There's a tracker component in development for Ardour which I'm looking forward to, I doubt I'll want other sequencers when that's merged. >I just really worry I wont be able to make the music I used to make without FL-Studio and the plugins and VST's I used on my windows machine Those various plugins you like effectively perform certain functions (synthesis, EQ, compression etc), to replace them you really just need to ask yourself what function they perform and what Linux plugins exist that can fit that role. Then you learn the interface and how to dial in the result you want. In essence the question is 'how to achieve result X with tool Y'. >Okay so PHSYICAL hardware like actual synths lets say a Juno 60 or a Jupiter-6 real staple names would there be issues with trying to hook one of those up though Linux If the hardware is passing audio or MIDI signals then there shouldn't be an issue, if there's some special software or something for interfacing with it that might be an issue. You should check if your DAC works on Linux, drivers usually aren't provided by the manufacturers so the community develops their own which means that not all hardware is supported. >Honestly sometimes I think about what it would be like to be dawless JACk is like a patchbay on your computer, the modular workflow was quite popular in the earlier days of Linux audio (before DAWs had matured sufficiently), you might be interested in the Carla plugin host.

FOSS DAWs are bad, there are no plugins, JACK is a pain in the ass. If you go Wine route, then you have to fight endless bugs and latency issues Linux is suffering for a musician

>>8731 >there are no plugins There's literally various plugin recommendations ITT, try harder next time.

Music is my job, and as much as it pains me to say this, music production on linux is just not up to standard for anything other than messing around for fun, or more experimental out there music. Neither of those are bad things, In fact I use lmms and sunvox on linux from time to time for myself, but unfortunately I still have to have a computer with a proprietary OS for a DAW that's good enough.

>>8733 Not to dismiss your credentials but I think you're misinterpreting your own personal experience as some kind of grander truth. If it hasn't worked for you then so be it but there are those doing payed work with FOSS tools (such as Unfa or myself for instance) and it would be naive to be broadly dismissive (in the same way that there isn't just one popular DAW or plugin for X task but many options all with their own fans). There's always room for improvement of course (improvement which is happening over time) but you can say that about anything.

>>8719 >I looked into reaper and I might try to give it a shot but all the tutorials seem to be more based about "mixing" then actual music prod but I still am going to give it a shot. This is what i was getting at with the protools/ableton distinction. Reaper is best for the traditional "recording studio" music production workflow. In other words: you put musicians in a room and record them, then add overdubs, mix, etc... repeat until you have an album. I used it a lot when I needed to record my friends' band or whatever. If the core of Reaper is a "virtual tape recorder", the core of Renoise is a sequencer. It's more like ableton in this aspect, and so is better for producing digital electronic music "in the box" (or controlling hardware gear via midi). The tracker interface takes some getting used to, especially if you're unfamiliar with how MIDI works as a protocol, but if you give it a chance you might actually end up preferring it to the piano roll that is common in other DAWs.

>>8733 If you don't mind me asking a few questions about your job. 1. Is it a business that you work for? like audio engineer for some sort of studio for music / movies / tv? 2. What software do you use and what OS? I feel like Linux for music production can work now that I've done more research on it but you need to have certain sacrifices, Slim pickings of DAWs, a decent chunk of plugins and virtual instruments will work and audio with Linux (specifically pulseaudio) will always be a pain in the ass to work with (IN MY EXPERINCE) I still think Mac > Windows when it comes to music production AU is extremely lightweight and takes a small ass CPU hit, my tiny i5 macbook air from 2012 can handle a lot of plugins on the go. Just wish Apple wasn't so greedy with their software, Logic pro X is a solid DAW and i'd honestly use it on Linux & Windows, I guess you could use a VM but I've never tried it and I feel like there would be CPU limitations

>>8756 >audio with Linux (specifically pulseaudio) will always be a pain in the ass to work with (IN MY EXPERINCE) The easiest way to simplify that is to uninstall Pulse. Obviously that has its downsides (for instance applications that only support Pulse though there is a wrapper program IIRC) but you can set it up so that starting JACK (through Qjackctl) swaps your ALSA configuration for one that plugs ALSA programs into JACK (so you can access those audio streams if needed).

>>8757 yeah, at the very least dont use pulse for music production stuff. i keep it installed because occasionally something will have it as a hard dep but its configured to be basically a dumb pipe to alsa. im convinced that the only reason linux audio has a bad reputation these days is because of pulse.

>>8758 The funny thing is Pulse was created to solve perceived deficiencies with ALSA. One of those being multiple applications playing audio at the same time, something ALSA is perfectly capable of doing with the dmix module, which is generally configured by default so it works OOTB.

>>8760 >One of those being multiple applications playing audio at the same time, something ALSA is perfectly capable of doing ... and has been capable of doing for a very long time. you wouldnt believe how many people have told me that alsa is bad because of this limitation which has not been the case for (iirc) over a decade.

>>8756 >Logic pro X is a solid DAW and i'd honestly use it on Linux & Windows ive always found logic to be a jack of all trades, master of none, with some annoying limitations if you dont fully buy into the mac way of doing things. also, last time i used it, it was severely neglected and felt dated (like most of apple's first party creative software). its been a while so maybe this changed. i could see using it of you make music that has a lot of midi sequencing and a lot of overdubs. if it was more one or the other id use ableton or reaper, respectively, instead.

>>8761 >this limitation which has not been the case for (iirc) over a decade. It seems that ALSA 1.0.9rc2 was the first version to use dmix by default, which was released in 2005! It's amazing how long this misconception has persisted.

>>8760 Can you do per-application volume control with dmix? I.e., can I lower the volume in one program while raising it in another, or is everything mixed at the same flat system volume?

>>8765 That's a good point, ALSA doesn't do that. Though I can't think of any application I've used that doesn't have its own volume slider.

I've been slowly making the move to Bitwig. I'll likely always have a Win10 partition for Ableton because I collab with a friend every so often and he's Ableton for life. I've dabbled with FOSS DAWs over the years and nothing has worked well for me, so Bitwig is the one. Most of my sound comes from hardware synths and the DAW is just a way for me to more visually chop and arrange everything. If my friend quits music or dies, I'll delete Windows.

>>8769 >Most of my sound comes from hardware synths and the DAW is just a way for me to more visually chop and arrange everything. Sounds cool lainon. Given your workflow I'm curious to know what you found lacking in say Ardour (which was for audio editing only until version 3)?

>>8770 It's hard to be specific. The best way I can describe it is it's just a matter of the workflow/ergonomics of a DAW clicking with me. Even after years of Ableton I still find myself fighting with it more than I'd like, and Bitwig was the first one I tried that felt "easy." At the end of the day I want to translate my ideas into sound without the instruments getting in my way. Kind of similarly, it's the reason why I no longer use Elektron gear like the Octatrack. An extremely capable box, but the workflow never fit with me even after years and I could never quite put my finger on why.

>>8712 I've been using LMMS to sequence drums and send MIDI to a standalone instance of Vital Synth, and then recording the output in Audacity.