Ubuntu has a specific Linux for music production.
1 Like
I’m also staying with windows 10. Windows 11 is not midi friendly.
Microsoft is working on a refresh/rewrite.
Hopefully conflicts between rptMidi and Defender are being fixed.
If you want to give Windows 11 another shot in the future I’ve read that you need to not install Defender.
I don’t want Windows 11 for many reasons.
Topic is very relevant to me right now. I have a desktop computer running Windows 11. When I bought it, it was possible to set it up without a Microsoft account, which I did. My data is backed up on my own drives, not on OneDrive. My local drives are not encrypted. Cubase 14 runs really well on this machine.
My previous machine is a powerful laptop running Windows 10, which I bought 7 years ago. My whole last album was produced on this machine, including the full Spitfire BBC Pro orchestra library, but Microsoft made it ineligible for upgrade, due to it having an Intel 7th gen processor.
So on the surface of it, not a problem. I already have an even more powerful desktop machine running Windows 11, which can easily handle Spitfire BBC Pro, and more.
But I am concerned where Microsoft is going, and whether I can continue to use Windows.
Right now, the company is forcing people to use Microsoft accounts, forcing people to back up their data on OneDrive, and forcing encryption. So I expect they will come back with system updates that will force me to do the same, even though I’ve worked around these so far. So looking forward, there will come a time very soon where I won’t be allowed to use Windows on my own computer for my own purposes without sharing my data with Microsoft, and it will be out of my control. If you carefully read Microsoft’s terms and conditions, they are getting the rights to all of your data for whatever uses they have for it, which amounts to training AI, creating advertising profiles, and who knows what else. And coming next is agentic AI, in which the computer can do things on your computer without you knowing, or understanding. I’d really like to stay away from this experiment.
Microsoft is putting itself in position to shutting down the operating system that runs your computer unless you comply. I don’t think this is hyperbole. We’re all in deep trouble. The operating system is no longer just an operating system. It is a Microsoft asset to use as is best for Microsoft, with the power to shut your computer down, when we’re all dependent on it for everything from banking, to health care, to shopping, and information sources.
So, the obvious way out is to move to Linux. Or maybe Apple. That might be an option, but it isn’t clear to me yet that Apple isn’t doing pretty much the same things as Microsoft is doing. I will get there when I have to.
So I’ve installed Linux Mint on my older high-powered laptop, and it works great. Not having any problems at all. A lot of what I do on computers is through a browser, and Firefox seems to work even better on Linux.
The issue is Windows specific software, such as Cubase. I use Cubase every single day. I compose music and create scores in Cubase. I record bands and mix and master them in Cubase (plus Ozone and other plugins). I get hired to record classical recordings, which I mix and master in Cubase. I practice my guitar using amp sims that run in Cubase. I am pretty much always in Cubase.
So obviously, Cubase on Linux would be a dream come true for me. Short of that, I am reading that Reaper is an equally capable DAW that runs natively on Linux, but I will have to jump through hoops to get the plugins that I love to work on Linux, if I ever can. And forget about using Ozone or RX.
So summing up, I am sharing the concern that Ben Martin has about the future viability of Windows as a platform for Cubase or any other DAW.
Sorry, I spilled my guts about all my concerns about using computers right now.
6 Likes
Thanks for sharing your point of view. I completely relate to all of it.
I’m already exploring music production in “Linux Mint” using Reaper as my main DAW. It is possible to salvage many VSTi/libraries but unfortunately many need to be ditched.
I found a small guide that can help the ones that are considering music production on Linux: How to Install and Use VST Plugins on Linux - Linux Musician
Granted that not all VSTi/libraries are going to work but many will. Also, there are some fantastic VSTi synths that offer a Linux installer, like “Surge XT”.
Steinberg, if any of you ever reads this, please do something about it if you really are about music.
Stay safe.
1 Like
Thanks to all the posters in this thread, especially @Early21 and @Ben_Martin for the more sobering view! If we buy computers, we should be the ones owning and controlling them (“‘free’ as in ‘freedom’”).
If it weren’t for certain software (e.g. Dorico, Adobe’s Premiere Pro, games), I’d be back on Linux full-time. (I do really hope for a time when Wine and other tools in Linux let you run all Windows/Mac applications without a hitch!)
1 Like
Update on my Linux exploration. I added another drive to my main desktop PC, and installed Linux Mint on it in a dual boot configuration. It’s completely isolated from Windows (I think). Everything works well for most of the ways I kill time on my PC. And it looks a lot like Windows, and is intuitive. I can browse the internet, with an ad blocker that works, watch videos, connect to streaming services, do banking, etc. I can create an encrypted vault of my tax returns and such, same as I do on Windows. The File Manager looks a lot like Windows too. There are apps included for creating documents and spreadsheets that are just as good as what I use on Windows. Even Zoom works.
Next, I started to explore how music production works in Linux, and now I think I have insight into why Cubase porting to Linux is not going to free us from Windows or MacOS. I installed Ardour as a test, and was pleasantly surprised. My interface (Steinberg UR242) works perfectly. My midi controller works perfectly too. I plugged in my guitar and was able to record and play back. So far so good. Ardour doesn’t come with many plugins, but there are free plugins in the Linux world such as LSP plugins, which I installed, providing all sorts of basic plugins like compressors, delays, reverbs, and on and on. Hundreds of them.
Then, I wanted to find some VSTis that could be played with my midi controller (keyboard). As far as I can figure it out, there isn’t really an equivalent in Linux. In Linux, there are some sample libraries that people made, and there are sample engines that are able to play them. And they can be used within a DAW like Ardour. And there are synths that don’t require any samples, and they can play in Ardour. And there are loopers that can play audio loops. So in a lot of videos that I watched, you can learn how to make loop based music with synths.
The main sample engines I found are called SFIZZ and LinuxSampler. Neither of those is easily installed. You have to download source code and compile it. This is over my head, but not permanently. I could probably work this out. But in the end, you can only run with sample sets that work with these protocols. These are files with type .sfz or .gig., and they were probably made by an intrepid enthusiast recording every note on his or her own piano, guitar, oboe, etc. They are not professional sample libraries.
By contrast, in the Windows/MacOs world, the standard sampler engine is Kontakt. There are lots of others too, but if you have Kontakt, you can play an enormous number of professional sample libraries. Cubase itself comes with a lot of sample libraries that can run within Cubase without using Kontakt. Spitfire, which I use a lot, uses its own sampler engine.
So that was a long report, but here’s my point: Cubase doesn’t stand alone. Cubase is a major player in an ecosystem that consists of a bunch of other companies. In my personal situation, I can’t do what I’m doing without Kontakt, Spitfire, Ozone, and many more. You are probably in the same boat.
So to conclude, Linux can do a lot. You can move your grandma over to it; she’ll be fine. But it can’t do music production as you’re used to with Cubase, Kontakt, Isotope, and sample libraries, and it’s not even close. You have to stay on Windows.
So in my case, I’m switching back and forth between Linux and Windows. Windows for music production, and Linux for everything else. (Although I read that TurboTax is now requiring Windows 11! Gotta file your tax returns!)
If anybody is coming to different conclusions, I would love to hear. I hope I am missing something.
5 Likes
The fact that many important libraries don’t work on Linux is the reason this type of topic exists. The idea is that we (musicians) can raise awareness among developers about the issue.
Here you have a site with a list of VST /instruments that can be installed and used in Linux, so, there’s hope.
About samplers, I use this for my own made instruments. https://www.tx16wx.com/ it is free but you can have a Pro (paid) version for even more features.
1 Like
I’ve experimented with Linux, and in my opinion, this environment is technically comparable, but in practice, you need to be patient. With Windows or Mac, using a VST is incredibly simple, even manually. On Linux, good luck. Personally, I abandoned VSTs to focus on CLAP plugins.
Ardour is an unappealing application, in my opinion. Reaper is a good compromise, but the most user-friendly application is definitely Bitwig, and there you can really compete with the big players, even without a VST.
Honestly, Linux is a musical environment that can be interesting if you enjoy tinkering with code in a Konsole to get things working and if music isn’t your livelihood.
I completely understand Steinberg’s reluctance to embark on this adventure, even for a lightweight version of Cubase. Some users already have difficulty installing and configuring Cubase on Windows or Mac. Imagine it under Linux…
It’s a tinkerer’s environment, but a really pleasant one to use when everything works.
2 Likes
I checked out the link today, and found a pretty reasonable piano VSTi. Thanks, Ben!
1 Like
Agree, Rene. “Tinkerer” is just the word for it. I will take a look at CLAP plugins.
These are VST and Clap (native Linux) plugins and they sound really great :
https://www.dawesomemusic.com/plugins/zyklop
https://www.audiopluginsforfree.com/dexed/
and all the u-he free plugins :
If you already own one of these synthesizers, you probably have access to the ROMs on the manufacturers’ websites:
If you know of any others, let me know…
1 Like
Very nice!
Thanks for sharing.
I already knew most of these synths but it is never too much to share this kind of info.
Taking all of it into consideration, for musicians that “only” need synths to compose music, these options (virtual synths) are very adequate to composed music in Linux. Even if most of these tools are free, they do offer high quality sound solutions.
One of my main task right now is to test what VSTi(s) (windows version) can be salvaged to work in Linux via WINE.
This “Windows 11” issue is so dramatic to me that I’m considering to ditch any synth /library that does not work in Linux for ever, even if they already gave me numerous hours of productivity and I become to love and depend on them.
Other option is to go back to hardware synths. It sure comes to an huge investments but if well analyzed and buy only the necessary complementary hardware, it could become one of the best moves.
When “times” change, then we need also to change and adapt so we do not “suffer the most” with such imposed changes.
By the way… happy new year to all of you!
1 Like
Thanks, Rene!