dubdisciple
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Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
I dig linux and try to always keep at least one computer running linux in my household. After purchasing Harrison Mixbus, which is basically Ardour re-skinned with better filters and saturation features, i figured i would play around with Ardour and perhaps transfer my harrison license to my linux box. i won't rehash the process of installing, but after adding the right repositories and adding the right packages it got installed. Not only could i not get it to work, but it killed all my sound on the computer. I realize this is probably fixable and a more skilled linux person could figure it out, but it should not take a guru to install and run a program. Do any of you run any Linux audio apps that may offer some insight?
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Splat 
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Re: Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
2014/10/27 19:33:12
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☄ Helpfulby dubdisciple 2014/10/27 20:24:11
I use the Ubuntu media distribution. Was a great toy for a couple of days. Got as far as getting it working, but had too many hurdles to overcome. Sadly it's not a particularly creative environment right now IMHO and not well baked.
The best thing to do is google for solutions and post in the relevant forums. Getting the audio interface working for instance can be a PITA. It can be a long hard ride, and I regard myself as reasonably proficient.
Sell by date at 9000 posts. Do not feed. @48/24 & 128 buffers latency is 367 with offset of 38. Sonar Platinum(64 bit),Win 8.1(64 bit),Saffire Pro 40(Firewire),Mix Control = 3.4,Firewire=VIA,Dell Studio XPS 8100(Intel Core i7 CPU 2.93 Ghz/16 Gb),4 x Seagate ST31500341AS (mirrored),GeForce GTX 460,Yamaha DGX-505 keyboard,Roland A-300PRO,Roland SPD-30 V2,FD-8,Triggera Krigg,Shure SM7B,Yamaha HS5.Maschine Studio+Komplete 9 Ultimate+Kontrol Z1.Addictive Keys,Izotope Nectar elements,Overloud Bundle,Geist.Acronis True Image 2014.
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Sycraft
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Re: Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
2014/10/27 19:42:21
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☄ Helpfulby dubdisciple 2014/10/27 20:38:52
Linux is not something you want to use for media use. It is good at being a Internet server, like web, SSH, etc. It is ok at being a web browser/e-mail desktop. It is awful at doing media. It is just a reality of the people who develop it, the design choices made, and the lack of central authority for making standards.
There is no reason to try it for media creation, other than if you just want to try it. None of the programs compare to what you have on Windows, and the experience will be a bit difficult at best and exceedingly frustrating and impossible at worst.
Maybe it'll change some day, but no time soon.
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dubdisciple
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Re: Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
2014/10/27 20:47:23
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S Sycraft
Linux is not something you want to use for media use. It is good at being a Internet server, like web, SSH, etc. It is ok at being a web browser/e-mail desktop. It is awful at doing media. It is just a reality of the people who develop it, the design choices made, and the lack of central authority for making standards.
There is no reason to try it for media creation, other than if you just want to try it. None of the programs compare to what you have on Windows, and the experience will be a bit difficult at best and exceedingly frustrating and impossible at worst.
Maybe it'll change some day, but no time soon.
There are plenty of high level professional creative applications done on linux. Much is high end and very customized. Linux is often used for render farms for animation as well. Not really suited for hobbyists or even small level professionals unless you are just curious and don't mind a lot of troubleshooting. The only applications i can think of offhand that works pretty much the same or better as it does on windows or Mac is that is easily available to hobbyists are Blender and da Vinci Resolve ( which i think was actually available on linux before mac).
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complexsimple
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Re: Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
2014/10/27 20:55:53
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There is a digital audio program on Linux (Ubuntu) called 'Ardour Digital Audio Workstation'. It's pretty decent considering it is free. I hate Windows and all the security flaws and vulnerabilities. Maybe it's time that cakewalk start developing for linux.
I had no problems running Ardour.
Jay -- A baker never reveals his secrets, although he may provide guidance to others.
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kitekrazy1
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Re: Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
2014/10/27 21:21:43
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CakeAlexS
I use the Ubuntu media distribution. Was a great toy for a couple of days. Got as far as getting it working, but had too many hurdles to overcome. Sadly it's not a particularly creative environment right now IMHO and not well baked.
The best thing to do is google for solutions and post in the relevant forums. Getting the audio interface working for instance can be a PITA. It can be a long hard ride, and I regard myself as reasonably proficient.
I think I tried Linux 8 times. That's enough. Only if more hardware vendors supported it. Linux is like the Great Pumpkin. It will arrive someday Charlie Brown. I've been hearing that for 3 decades.
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gswitz
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Re: Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
2014/10/27 21:26:27
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☄ Helpfulby mike_mccue 2014/10/27 21:35:58
I just install Ubuntu studio on a removable drive. Now I can plug my rme into any computer and make great recordings. I love it. I give out Ubuntu studio drives as presents.
StudioCat > I use Windows 10 and Sonar Platinum. I have a touch screen. I make some videos. This one shows how to do a physical loopback on the RME UCX to get many more equalizer nodes.
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dubdisciple
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Re: Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
2014/10/27 21:49:03
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I like linux for day to day computing like internet surfing and office type stuff. i was just curious about ardour. I keep having trouble getting "Jack" to work properly. Linux's strengths (versatility and deep control of every parameter) are also it's weaknesses. Every distro has it's own quirks. It also drives me crazy that neither of my audio interfaces have drivers for it.
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Splat
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Re: Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
2014/10/27 21:53:37
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Yup jack is a pain in the jacksie.
Sell by date at 9000 posts. Do not feed. @48/24 & 128 buffers latency is 367 with offset of 38. Sonar Platinum(64 bit),Win 8.1(64 bit),Saffire Pro 40(Firewire),Mix Control = 3.4,Firewire=VIA,Dell Studio XPS 8100(Intel Core i7 CPU 2.93 Ghz/16 Gb),4 x Seagate ST31500341AS (mirrored),GeForce GTX 460,Yamaha DGX-505 keyboard,Roland A-300PRO,Roland SPD-30 V2,FD-8,Triggera Krigg,Shure SM7B,Yamaha HS5.Maschine Studio+Komplete 9 Ultimate+Kontrol Z1.Addictive Keys,Izotope Nectar elements,Overloud Bundle,Geist.Acronis True Image 2014.
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dubdisciple
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Re: Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
2014/10/27 22:07:27
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Funny thing is that we already know it is possible. Mac OS is pretty much a pretty interface on top of BSD which, like linux is a fork of unix. Perhaps it is the MAc dollars to develop a stable proprietary format like audio units on a single controlled platform that allows them to use unix for media.
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gswitz
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Re: Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
2014/10/27 22:22:41
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☄ Helpfulby dubdisciple 2014/10/27 23:13:18
Don't people use Jack on Mac? I don't find it too hard. First there is an os build just for daw users loaded with freebies.
My interface is class compliant so I don't need drivers. I would like DigiCheck and TotalMix. Other than that, I just love it.
I can boot Mac computers or Windows to my little drive. It is all encrypted. I plug in the ucx and I'm rolling.
When a new version comes out, I. Just format the partition and reinstall the latest. It comes with a pile of programs including notation software.
I do wish I had access to the rme midi ports on Linux. I am sure the day will come.
StudioCat > I use Windows 10 and Sonar Platinum. I have a touch screen. I make some videos. This one shows how to do a physical loopback on the RME UCX to get many more equalizer nodes.
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dubdisciple
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Re: Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
2014/10/27 23:24:42
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gswitz
Don't people use Jack on Mac? I don't find it too hard. First there is an os build just for daw users loaded with freebies.
My interface is class compliant so I don't need drivers. I would like DigiCheck and TotalMix. Other than that, I just love it.
I can boot Mac computers or Windows to my little drive. It is all encrypted. I plug in the ucx and I'm rolling.
When a new version comes out, I. Just format the partition and reinstall the latest. It comes with a pile of programs including notation software.
I do wish I had access to the rme midi ports on Linux. I am sure the day will come.
I guess the preinstalled route like Ubuntu studio may be an option . I wonder if it has Ardour 3.XX on it. I did get Ardour 2.xx to work because it is already part of repository for distro I am using (Linuxmint). Jack can be used on Mac and I think windows too, but why anyone would want to is beyond me.
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gswitz
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Re: Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
2014/10/28 07:21:50
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StudioCat > I use Windows 10 and Sonar Platinum. I have a touch screen. I make some videos. This one shows how to do a physical loopback on the RME UCX to get many more equalizer nodes.
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wst3
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Re: Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
2014/10/28 13:47:56
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☄ Helpfulby dubdisciple 2014/10/28 14:20:58
If you are really curious I've had a lot of fun with Planet CCRMA from Stanford. It's a very active community, so solutions usually come quite quickly. The distribution is based on Fedora (Red Hat) Linux, and includes more toys than most folks will ever have time to play with! Learn more here: http://ccrma.stanford.edu/planetccrma/software/ I've also used a few of the others, with varying levels of success, but they all worked... here's a list: http://linux-sound.org/distro.html It's fun - I wouldn't (yet) base my livelihood on a Linux based studio computer, but it probably can be done.
-- Bill Audio Enterprise KB3KJF
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dubdisciple
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Re: Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
2014/10/28 14:41:19
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dubdisciple
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Re: Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
2014/10/28 14:41:56
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wst3
If you are really curious I've had a lot of fun with Planet CCRMA from Stanford. It's a very active community, so solutions usually come quite quickly. The distribution is based on Fedora (Red Hat) Linux, and includes more toys than most folks will ever have time to play with!
Learn more here: http://ccrma.stanford.edu/planetccrma/software/
I've also used a few of the others, with varying levels of success, but they all worked... here's a list:
http://linux-sound.org/distro.html
It's fun - I wouldn't (yet) base my livelihood on a Linux based studio computer, but it probably can be done.
I will check this out. Certainly can't hurt. Thanks!!
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gswitz
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Re: Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
2014/10/28 20:29:45
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Just for fun, I booted my DAW to my linux drive and did some jamming. :-)
It aint Sonar.
But what fun! And for free!
I think learning how other Daws work is good for the soul.
I do tend to do hardware monitoring when using ubuntu studio. Even with the RME, Latency gets a little high for my taste when monitoring through Ardour.
StudioCat > I use Windows 10 and Sonar Platinum. I have a touch screen. I make some videos. This one shows how to do a physical loopback on the RME UCX to get many more equalizer nodes.
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dubdisciple
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Re: Reason Number 1 why Linux is a pain for audio
2014/10/29 10:32:02
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When Linux is used for multimedia by the big boys it is very stable and efficient. Again, I suppose it's the money that can be thrown to create custom drivers and additional code. Linux is a mainstay at the big animation houses amd Cinepaint, a program most have never heard of has been used on tons of films. I guess if Disney or Pixar decided to dob all their audio work with Linux, latency issues would disappear in no time.
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