I’m making the linux jump soon. Any suggestions on where to get started? I am thinking about installing the unbuntu version to start with. I understand there are a lot of limitations on what software i can use. But i like the idea of limitations in this case because i am trying to (re)build an old computer for offline use in the studio. To much facebook and porn have ruined my windows. Plus i’m just tired of the winXP look and i hear linux is much more customizable. To anyone using linux. What are some of the technical issues i should know of in producing music in linux.
Hi there,
“Unbuntu” - I like that.
No, but seriously, I would probably take a lighter ditro, like for instance Lubuntu (if you insist on a Ubuntu base). In general, you will need to familiarize yourself with a technology called Jack (an audio server with realtime capabilities), in order to get nice low latencies. Also, be aware that not all audio interfaces are supported in Linux (mainly, because all drivers are written by the community, and NOT the companies of the product).
There are also some distros that are specialized for audio production, which will come with optimized kernels and preinstalled with a bunch of software you might want to use. Ubuntu Studio comes to mind, or maybe AVLinux.
Hope this helps!
Tough question. Depends on your workflow. If you use a lot of vsti’s then it might be difficult to you.
I would recommend Ubuntu LTS with KXStudio installed (kxstudio.sourceforge.net) and lowlatency kernel (not the RT). From my experience Linux has steeper learning curve than Windows and requires more patience but it is very good once you are comfortable with it. Some Windows plugins and programs do work with wine (or carla plugin rack) but there is a lot to discover in the world of linux native software… and a lot to do 
/>/>/> I’m past the stage where I was desperate to run NI plugins (with partial success) and now I’m open to new ideas and solutions i.e. Qtractor looks promising.
In the end, it depends on your attitude and habits.
Regarding audio interfaces - check ALSA project page. It’s worse than in Windows but not that bad.
you could have a look at this: LinuxBBQ Rocks!
although it is currently still in development. at any rate, the base it is, uhh, based on, linuxbbq, is by default light and bloat-free, and should work on most systems because of the non-free drivers included by default. read more here: http://www.linuxbbq.org/
this should be especially good for old systems like yours.
as an aside, when it comes to Linux in general, it is important to realize the community is an integral part of the distro. this might be one reason to not go with Ubuntu, as its community, however large, is not a very friendly one (in my experience, the larger the community the less friendly it seems to get). in this case you might again want to check out linuxbbq, or try something like Crunchbang Linux which is light too and has a good community behind it as well: http://crunchbang.org/
if you got more questions, please ask. good luck!
(aside from that, everything fladd and carmazine said here is very good advise as well)
I use vanilla Ubuntu 12.10. I have a recent, fairly powerful computer. I have no complaints. Customizable it is not. Well, that’s not true, more like the remaining users of Ubuntu don’t care about this. I know Ubuntu is tweakable, I have the skills to tweak it, but I’m running this distro because I need to get shit done.
If you aren’t familiar with Linux then I have to ask why, but for me I work on this OS eight plus hours a day. It’s not all Renoise. The benefit of using Ubuntu, for me, is that all the software I need to do my job are available and I don’t have to fuck around too much.
The “bonus” is Renoise.
I have a thread about my transition here.
conner is spot-on with Ubuntu being the distro to look for if you do not want to worry about the right apps and such too much.
on the other hand, if it is customization you want, Ubuntu might prove to be too much like Windows (that was my experience, and the reason i stopped using Ubuntu after a single day - i figured if i was gonna use this i might as well keep using Windows). yes, sure, you can customize it, but it isn’t really that inviting to customization. if you want something that is inviting to customization, i’ve already given you the suggestions you need in my previous post.
Could you give me one example of a thing you couldn’t adjust?
@carmazine: it’s not so much that it is impossible to adjust stuff within Ubuntu. i’m sure that with enough technical prowess you can change the entire thing to your liking (the only question left in that method would be what you’d gain from doing that… vanilla Debian + PPA support?). and i have never used the Unity versions, but from what i’ve heard attempts to remove that will land you in a sort of its own dependency hell.
it is more that Ubuntu doesn’t invite to do much customization, imo. everything is set up in such a way that a regular user doesn’t have to ‘meddle with config files or the terminal’, and the latter are exactly how much of the customization in Linux is done. of course there are GUI options, but they are nearly always crippled when compared to the options provided by config files.
to give an example of what i see as ‘more inviting to customization’: Crunchbang Linux runs the Openbox Window Manager, plus Conky, plus Tint2. for those three main components, there are links to all the relevant configfiles inside the Openbox menu, in addition to GUI tools like obconf. all are just a couple of clicks away. in other words, the user gets more of a clear choice of the method he/she wants to use for customizing the interface.
in contrast, Ubuntu will just provide you with the GUI tool, and leave you to find the config files for yourself if you want to edit those. so it is more a matter of how things are set up.
Thinking of trying a jump into Linux again. Have had sporadic plays with it and my rarely used netbook is actually running on Fedora ok. Originally tried Ubuntu as everybody had said it is one of the easiest to learn from, then moved to Fedora as most servers I came across through work ran RedHat and there is a relationship between them. Since I have been finding more Ubuntu in my current employ…
Going to attempt to rebuild my ageing desktop (P4 3GHz) which is in a rackmounted case and use it for recording gigs, maybe a bit of VJing (probably LiVES) and DJing (Mixxx with vinyl control.)
Thinking I will go dual Linux boot to see how I get on with both this time. Currently thinking Ubuntu Studio 10.04 (stay with LTS version) and hope Fedora Music spin is released early next year, as promised…
Not sure I can really add a huge amount constructive. I personally found myself too often using Windows on my main computer, often for simple reasons like not being able to watch videos in fullscreen without image tearing and rebooting from one to the other all the time being a PITA. Still I would like to break away from Doze one day.
Well… so you have heard that removing unity versions causes the dependency hell. I changed window manager a few times and never had a problem with dependencies. I had serious problem once when I tried to use unofficial backport of Unity from Quantal in Precise. It worked but when I wanted to switch back I didn’t know what packages exactly I have to install and it took me quite a while to get things working again. But it was my fault. Messing with system packages requires some knowledge.
Let’s make it clear - you just like Crunchbang more and accuse Ubuntu of being “untweakable” to make Crunchbang look more appealing. It’s unfair and stupid, you didn’t even tried yourself if something works or not, you just “heard” which means nothing. Does putting config files in menu makes WM more configurable? I doubt it. If you want to customize you need to understand what to change in files (which means lurking at the manual) so what kind of issue finding a file is? Also, if you don’t want to mess with it you use GUI tool. And of course you can have Openbox with Tilt2 and Conky in vanilla Ubuntu if you like.
I have to disagree with this.
Ubuntu makes, pays for, and develops Unity.
Cannonical is a company trying to make Unity work. It’s not optional in their roadmap as the funding organization behind their Linux Destkop.
You can of course remove it. It’s Linux after all, but the whole point of Ubuntu is the control of the user experience, something akin to OS X.
Users fighting against this, especially in recent versions, should look at other distros. Many choose Mint. Or, they use Lubuntu or Xubuntu.
What I mean is that, yes, Ubuntu is just a tweakable as Crunchbang. I agree with you there. There’s no difference to me (as a developer).
But, the vision of these OS are completely different.
Good times.
Yes, of course you are right. I wasn’t implying that ease of customization is the goal of the project. What I meant is that technically it is the same as in Crunchbang. Rhowaldt’s post suggested that one can’t customize Ubuntu which is not true. I wanted to make that clear.
@carmazine: in fact, i like LinuxBBQ even more. but to suggest a Sid-based distro to a new Linux user is potentially dangerous. it can work out fine of course, so that’s why i did mention it but spoke more of Crunchbang because i think it would fit his wishes better. that is, IF he wants to do customization (which he said he wanted). in other words, i think you’re reading too much in to my words (namely, Ubuntu-bashing). i don’t think my post really suggested you can’t customize Ubuntu, in fact, i actually said that you can. read again:
all i am saying is that if he wants to do customization, Crunchbang is more inviting in that field than Ubuntu is. Ubuntu has everything ready-made for you, in a perfect package that looks smooth and thought-out and determined and polished and so on and so forth. there is nothing wrong with Ubuntu. but if you want to customize, it is nicer to start out with Crunchbang, because it looks like a system to tinker with. please also bear in mind that this is my opinion, not an absolute fact. if you’re the type of guy who enjoys stripping apart shiny polished objects like your iPad, you might really love to tear down Ubuntu and customize the living hell out of it. i just feel it is really nice when somebody has already come along and removed the iPad’s glossy casing for me, so i can dig right in.
Ok, I misunderstood you then. I think I was a bit too harsh so please accept my apology. I think we can end this OT,
I switched to Linux when Windows 95 was released. Back then it was very unstable and required me to upgrade my machine whereas Linux was able to use the hardware. And it was freee, much more customizable and so on. I have not looked back since and it has been 17 years of happy, virus free, unclogged computing.
Ubuntu is an excellent choice. To be precise, any debian based distribution is from my perspective a good choice since the packet management is excellent and just works. There are lots of ubuntu flavours, many of them have been mentioned above. Personally I use Kubuntu because I like KDE.
When it comes to exotic hardware please be aware that despite decades of development (and I hate to say that) Linux in times has its limitations regarding hardware support. But in 99% of all cases stuff works quite out of the box. Midi and Usb are supported out of the box.
Renoise is natively available for Linux and integrates well into the existing landscape of interfaces (LADSPA, DSSI, Jack, …). There are significant differences if you rely on VST and integration with other applications. Still you can even install many Windows applications by leveraging the Wine emulation layer.
@carmazine: no problem man!
@Moxon: instead of Wine, i find it often even nicer to run something like WinXP (Performance Edition) in Virtualbox if i really need to run a Windows-app.