Linux DAWs and Audio Based Distros

[vertx]

Within the next few weeks I have an assessment which requires me to download a distro of Linux intended for a specific application and use it for a type project it was made for, naturally I wanted to do something audio orientated.

Has anyone had any experience with Linux audio production/recording?

From what I've read the largest problem is writing the drivers for stuff, the companies won't release what parts they are using for fear of rivals reverse engineering their things but won't write drivers for Linux themselves because it doesn't have a large enough userbase because no one can use their shit on it cause there aren't drivers and so on

Nevertheless a few distros + DAWs I've been looking at are:

http://ubuntustudio.org/

http://www.musix.org.ar/en/index.html

http://www.remix-os.org/

So far I am leaning towards Musix, I've heard good things about it, I can run it live off a dvd or flash drive, and it is optimised for Ardour (DAW)

[blinx]

A portable daw on a dvd sounds very interesting keep this updated mate.

[jrisreal]

Lmms is pretty nice. Really time consuming though

[Heartless]

I prefer Linux for programming and general use but it is terrible when it comes to audio.

[Mammoth]

I have a laptop with ubuntustudio running on it. It's like a pretty big step up from audacity but it's still not as powerful as a full DAW IMO.

[vertx]

A portable daw on a dvd sounds very interesting keep this updated mate.

Yeah for sure, I'll post back when I get something running.

Lmms is pretty nice. Really time consuming though

Just had a quick search and it looks pretty good, can you run it live? It needs to run a live so I can move my project between classes and home.

[jrisreal]

When I get home, I am setting up a new Ubuntu installation on my desktop...then I am going to try and get on LMMS/Ardour. Anybody know if ardour is capable of midi and synthesis and whatnot? Or is it like Audacity?

and vert, I don't think you can run LMMS live, but I am not sure...haven't used it much.

[vertx]

yeah ok... looks like I'll be using Musix and Ardour Live.

Ardour from what I can tell it's a big step above audacity.

[symmetricalsounds]

i actually started making music on linux with lmms. not sure if there are any live distros which have it, but you can always make your own live distro with whatever apps you want on it.

according to the guys in the #opensourcemusicans irc room the best live distro is http://www.bandshed.net/AVLinux.html

ardour is only audio atm, but using jack you can hook it upto stuff which uses midi and record it off into ardour, but ver3 of ardour is going to change that.

making music on linux is a ballache, only certain interfaces work with linux and some may only have limited functionality once you actually get them working. that's part of the reason why i flipped over to ableton so i could use all the functions of my tascam desk.

best thing is to pick a distro and install it to a usb key, then you can install whatever applications you want on it, so you can give a few of them a go even if they're not preinstalled as part of the live release.

[Teknicyde]

I run Linux full time...

And FL in WINE.

Why?

Because the only portion of linux audio worth mentioning is JACK, and its worthless for production, only point is if you DJ and want to use your pc for effects.

[psychedelicatessen]

I currently use Ardour, but as soon as I can update my production computer I'm going to run soundforge and reaper through wine.
Ardour 3.0, which is only an alpha, has midi, piano roll, etc, but Ardour 2 is decent enough.
LADSPA plugins are a bit hit and miss, some work great with some programs and cause others to crash, sometimes the GUI's will be faulty with certain programs, meaning you can't use them to their full use.
But other than that, JACK is a nice tool if you're doing some crazy connection stuff, hydrogen is a nice sample-based drum programmer, lmms is nice and all, but it has its limits, which when you reach them are more than just slightly annoying. I do recommend ZynAddSubFX or Yoshima (same program really) because it is a very capable synth, and one of the only ones I use. I haven't had much luck finding a sampler that'll work, but then again it's hard for me to do updates and get new programs because I have to transfer things to and from my production computer via flash drive.
Vertx, I've been using linux for audio production for a while now, so if you have any questions I might be able to help out.

[vertx]

Thanks psychedelicatessen, I don't doubt I'll have many questions before this is over


So it looks like any recording into Linux is out of the question if I've only got my Saffire 6 for recording...... which isn't too bad but I'll just have to do more sample based stuff and try ZynAddSubFX for any extra sounds.

[wormcode]

We have had some threads on this if you want to do a search. I'll still recommend http://linux-sound.org and http://linuxaudio.org as good starting places for links and information.

I used to do it, but it became too limiting in some aspects and I found myself just booting back into Windows to get stuff done quicker, so I just stopped. It was more of a geek hobby than anything. I'd recommend against ubuntu too, but only because I find it to be like Lindows 2 which I think is pretty pointless. Mint is based off Ubuntu/Debian but done a lot better, so check that one out if you want.

[vertx]

Yeah, Linux doesn't seem to be at the level just yet in terms of audio but I really don't see myself using it past this project when I've got Logic and all my plugins running clean as a whistle right now.

Great links, thanks.

[wormcode]

No prob. That reminds me, this is all linux+LMMS
http://soundcloud.com/macrowave

So yeah definitely possible with some work.

[vertx]

Just had a first play around, couldn't get it to boot live from USB so I burnt it to DVD which ran smoothly.

Couldn't get any audio working on either my macbook pro, my brothers MSI notebook, or my home build PC so I had to use my brothers guitar link usb soundcard that is supported in most linux OS.

So far tons of promise from Musix but not a lot of actual results, I'm sure the more I use it the more I'll be able to get of out it.

[jaGi]

Hi,
I'm new to the forum and to music production in general, i allways used linux for general use, music and graphics, now i use a distro named tango studio that is well done: http://tangostudio.tuxfamily.org/

It as a good range of apps and an utility named gladish that can store yours jack connection (otherwise you have to do by hand every time or by some script).
I can run also VST (not all) but Massive for example works for me.

Here a track that i made: http://soundcloud.com/jagi/first-dubstep-track-2
Note that i'm noob and at the begin, so listen with this in mind, but here i use sequencer, drum machine, synths...record to Ardour and i try to mix and master it, i think that a more experienced people can do what he want whit Linux and a bit of ideas.

have good time.

[psychedelicatessen]

Thanks psychedelicatessen, I don't doubt I'll have many questions before this is over


So it looks like any recording into Linux is out of the question if I've only got my Saffire 6 for recording...... which isn't too bad but I'll just have to do more sample based stuff and try ZynAddSubFX for any extra sounds.

Just drop me a PM whenever, I'm happy to help.

[Echomaker]

I'm contemplating ditching Vista on my laptop and switching over to 64Studio on my laptop. (http://www.64studio.com/)
It's basically a distro just for media production, namely audio.

My main reason is wanting to get the most out of my hardware, seeing as the laptop is 3+ years old.

This is something I'm waiting on doing as I know there will be a ridiculous amount of incompatibility issues I'll have to fix, but at the same time I think it would be interesting and could yield great results.

Just wondering how Linux is working out for some of you guys.

[psychedelicatessen]

I'm contemplating ditching Vista on my laptop and switching over to 64Studio on my laptop. (http://www.64studio.com/)
It's basically a distro just for media production, namely audio.

My main reason is wanting to get the most out of my hardware, seeing as the laptop is 3+ years old.

This is something I'm waiting on doing as I know there will be a ridiculous amount of incompatibility issues I'll have to fix, but at the same time I think it would be interesting and could yield great results.

Just wondering how Linux is working out for some of you guys.

How have I not heard of 64studio?? It looks promising, and a lot better than ubuntu studio. I'm sick of ubuntu, especially with music production.
Have you tried it out yet before, or are you waiting on it still?