Cubase for Linux

Steinberg Lounge
#1

I’ve thought long and hard before posting this as a feature request, but these are my reasons:

  1. There is now a competitor in the Linux arena which is taking the XP refugees
  2. Cubase is already cross-platform
  3. Windows turning into a mobile phone
  4. The high price of Cubase is more attractive if there is no cost for the OS
  5. More and more soundcards have solid Linux drivers
  6. Live distros means Cubase could boot from a USB stick

… the list could go on. I could even conceive of a USB device that would incorporate soundcard, eLicenser and storage with an optimized Linux, all in single device, that would eliminate a lot of the variables people encounter with general purpose computers.

#2

What vst/au are there for linux?

#3

It’s possible to run certain VST’s using a Windows emulation layer called WINE, but there’s also a Linux-specific plugin format. The way I would look at it, if you have a huge dependence on Windows VST’s then stay on Windows; similarly, if your favourite plugin is AU only, stay on Mac. I’m just asking for the option to run Cubase (not other manufacturer’s products) on Linux.

#4

Why not use bitwig?

#5

Because I want to use Cubase. That’s the first point I was making, that with Bitwig, there’s now at least one other player who can see a commercial advantage in offering professional-quality audio software on Linux as well as on the other two major platforms. At the moment, there are many people who are ditching Windows XP … and not all of them are going Microsoft. There are also cases where an XP computer is being “kept alive” only because of Cubase. If there was a Cubase for Linux, at least these customers would be retained, but I’m sure that at the moment many are looking to Bitwig as the alternative.

But back to your question … why don’t I use Bitwig? I don’t necessarily want to start comparisons, but I’ve been using Cubase for a long time and I don’t see any alternative out there that works as well as Cubase for me and my specific workflow. There’s also a way to use Reaper on Linux via WINE, and there are many audio applications already native to Linux such as Rosegarden and Ardour, but as I say, I just would like the option to run Cubase on Linux as well.

#6

why not use windows…?

Linux must have an extremely small potential userbase for SB to be interested in it

#7

I see that you are a die hard cubase user;) and, are using win7x64

For me, Win7x64 is working pretty well… It can take more ram than ever and can utilize the fastest cpus…

I think that you (personal opinion) have an awesome OS for making music on. Maybe those XP peeps should look into it as well…- its very similar to XP… In any case, if it works for YOU, then all is good, right?:wink:

#8

The reason I thought long and hard before posting this as a feature request was that I knew it would not take long before people would begin passionately defending whatever OS they currently use, thereby completely missing the point. Yes, I use Win7x64, but does that preclude me from asking for the option to use Linux as well? If Cubase was Windows-only, and someone requested a Mac version, would the response then be to praise Windows more?

I’m not asking that Cubase be made available on Linux instead of Windows, just that it be offered as an additional option. No need to feel threatened. This is not an “OS wars” discussion!

As for Windows 7 as an upgrade for XP users, yes, I agree! That’s what I did. But think about this: if you don’t want to go to Windows 8,9,“X”, or whatever, and you don’t want to end up in years to come having to buy each separate feature as an “app”, or having to be online to use the product you paid for, or having to sign up to some social networking site in order to log in, then you might want to give some thought to where personal computing is going.

The user base for Linux is no longer as small as some may think, and there are certainly not many on this forum, seeing as there isn’t yet a Linux version of any Steinberg product, but I believe there are plenty of people who would like to retain control over their own computers and as far as I can see, the only way to do that in years to come will be via open source operating systems.

To put this another way: if the next version of Cubase drops support for Windows 7 and forces me to use Windows 8, then I will certainly be looking at Bitwig. That’s just me … but maybe, just maybe, it’s not just me?

#9

I dont see anybody defending anything in this thread…

Count me out if this happens…

I really don care what os i use, as my DAW is only for music… As long as i see the cubase or whatever screen, i dont care about what is in the background…:wink:
Steiny could bring back MROS:p

:stuck_out_tongue:

#10

Aloha and +100000000000000000000000000000000000000000
{’-’}

#11

Couldn’t have said it better… :wink:

#12

So am I hearing 3 “yes” votes for Linux then? :stuck_out_tongue: I still have an Atari ST as well, by the way …

But seriously, I can see only advantages for Steinberg to offer as an option a version of Cubase on Linux. It opens up the possibility of incorporating Cubase into hardware. Imagine Cubase running on the audio interface itself – just plug in your monitor, keyboard and mouse. Could this be done? Could Cubasis on iPAD be done?

Granted, there’s always the danger that it would divert development resources away from the primary product, but modern software development techniques are such that this is not the problem it used to be. I would also accept that some features might not be portable, and of course many VSTs wouldn’t run, but that didn’t stop them bringing an iPAD version to market.

Linux can boot from a USB device. Imagine a “next-gen” USB eLicenser with an ADAT port and a bootable Cubase for Linux … add pres of choice and go on location.

#13

For me, a NO.
The more systems they have to support the longer the development time and more generalized and inefficient the routines become.
The previous disregard for the OS is simply that.
If I buy a washing machine, I don’t care if it’s programming is done in Step or Lisp or Forth or C++, much less what processor it has inside. I only care how well it washes. :wink:

#14

Last time I tried WINE, it did not work well. Cubase for Linux would be a support nightmare for Steinberg.

Cubase is working great for me now. I vote NO!

#15

Note that I’m not talking about using WINE, but a proper “native” version for Linux. OSX is not so different from Linux so performance and stability should be comparable.

But why, and how could you know this already? Was Cubase for Mac or Windows a nightmare when they moved off Atari ST? Is Cubasis for iPAD a nightmare now?

And for me, too, but see my earlier point concerning the direction the two big commercial OS’s are taking. Again, all I’m asking for is the option of using Linux.

#16

LInux causes too many driver issues, then they will blame Steinberg. I’ve installed it 5 times and not one time did everything work . It’s really bad for hardware that you don’t have good drivers for or any drivers at all! Of course it works on phones. That is not the same thing because all the hardware is controlled.

#17

Strictly speaking, lack of Linux support from some hardware vendors causes issues, a bit like when flaky Windows or Mac drivers cause Cubase issues.

The fact that you, specifically, have not yet had a good experience (presumably trying Linux for the first time) does not mean others should not have the option to run Cubase on their very stable systems, with which they’ve had years of experience.

Hopefully Cubase will also work on Windows Phone and IOS … because that’s where Windows and OSX are headed. Cubasis on iPAD is proof that Steinberg have acknowledged this.

#18

As a business decision it seems highly unlikely Steinberg would support Linux because it has such a tiny share of the OS market.

http://hacksandstuff.com/news/xp-windows7-windows8-mac-stats-report_1234166.html

#19

WORD!
{’-’}

#20

Without wanting to get into arguing about how these statistics are calculated (and the one above is from January 2014, before Microsoft ended XP support ), I would however ask how anyone could know what OS is running on a computer used only for audio and not connected to the internet?

Such statistics – apart from the fact that nobody is sure how they’re calculated – might not be all that relevant in this case anyway, because I think the primary market for this lies with those who are looking to move off 32-bit XP and find the only option is a new computer with (probably) Windows 8, or an even more expensive and disruptive move to OSX.

Imagine for example you were on Cubase 5 on XP 32-bit using capable hardware, and you wanted to get off XP, move to 64-bit and upgrade to Cubase 7.5; now, imagine you could download an ISO with an optimized version of Linux, with Cubase 7.5 pre-installed, that you could pop into your existing PC and install, all for only the cost of upgrading the license?