(I realize that it’s not summer for everyone, so please insert your current season here)
Instead of doing another QAWM, I figured I’d play with a little more uncertainty and crank the difficulty level up by a few notches. They say limits breed creativity, so this ought to do it. Your creative rut is about to get ex-laxed.
The challenge idea? Make something using only Linux and software that runs natively on Linux. Far from the safety nets, VSTs, standard DAWs and tools you’re used to, embark on a journey onto the road less-traveled and see what you can accomplish in a completely different environment.
Make something? What the hell does that mean?
Here are some ideas to get you started:
A song
An EP
An album
A sample pack
A preset pack
Musical scripts
Music-oriented command line tools
A musical Arduino project
Musical SBC firmware
Something even more bizarre
If you’re up for this somewhat bizarre challenge, I’ve got some tips for you:
You can live-boot (from USB or other media) instead of erasing Windoze
Windows Subsystem for Linux and Virtualbox are great sandbox alternatives
Distros like Ubuntu and Mint are really nice for beginners
FOSS (free, open-source software) is your ally
There are free DAWs and other tools galore
CLI tools are a hell of a lot of fun
Some paid DAWs actually work under Linux
You can use any of my stuff as sample fodder (including tools)
If anyone is up for this shit, maybe we can cap it off at the end of summer / late September? That should give you enough time to grow a nice neckbeard
I hardly ever do, so this is going to be ‘hard mode’ for me as well!
I’m actually really curious about certain libraries and interesting things I’ve come across that I haven’t been desperate enough to use (or put together) because there’s always an easier way to accomplish tasks in a plugin or framework that can be opened within the DAW. I figured purposely being stuck with a seemingly minimal toolkit (with a lot of room for expansion) could allow for more exploration, probably even out of necessity!
I don’t know how many people will give it a try, but it definitely sounds like fun to me
Can’t wait to hear how you get on with it and what you come up with!
What audio interface are you using? I ask because there aren’t specific Linux drivers for mine and putting it in Class Compliant mode killed some of the features I use and drove up latency to unacceptable levels. The bit of reading around I’ve done suggests it really depends on the hardware, but I’d be interested to hear how it goes for you.
Worth mentioning, Ubunutu Studio is a thing and last I checked was a pretty turnkey distro for audio that skips a lot of the tedious setup and comes with a modern desktop interface and some DAW software. Might be a good option for people wanting to dip a toe.
Oh yeah, I completely forgot about Ubuntu Studio. That’s a great idea!
Which interface were you using? I get this vague feeling that my trusty rusty Scarlet Solo works fine on anything, but I might be in for a rude awakening. I might also just use the PC’s headphone jack and hope for the best
Wow, if VSTs are possible, that would be crazy. If it’s too cozy I might just end up with my usual setup (Bitwig and my usual plugins), but this could be a hell of a lot of fun regardless. I’m definitely going to look into that as well!
I’ve got an RME Fireface and a MOTU 828 I use in tandem, with the MOTU ADAT’d to the RME as an extra set of in/outs, mostly for external CV as the outputs are DC-coupled. Neither have native Linux drivers, but both work as USB Class Compliant (CC) devices. The way I normally have the MOTU set up is ‘stand alone mode’, meaning it can function without a PC connection, allowing it to pass data from the RME.
Setting the RME to CC kills TotalMix (RME’s very nice hardware-level mixer I regularly use). The MOTU’s stand alone configuration software doesn’t even exist for Linux, meaning booting to Windows and back if I want to make any changes.
Even when I got everything working, the latency was double what I was used to on Windows. I never figured out if it was a hardware issue, something with CC mode or something with Linux. There’s probably a setting in JACK I’m missing, which manages to be both an embarrassment of riches and a steaming pile of shit at the same time - standard Linux lol.
So I’ve got a lot of money tied up in interface hardware, very specifically because though the RME is expensive, you’re really buying the piece of mind that you’ll have perfectly functioning, best-in-class driver support for however long the device works. Having to go CC under Linux feels like chucking all that out the window along with the other headaches.
That’s not to discourage anyone from trying Linux for audio - most common USB interfaces are CC out of the box and will probably work fine, and all my extra bits (keyboards, control surfaces, etc) worked a treat. My guess is your Focusrite would ‘just work’ without any config under something like Ubuntu Studio.
Bummer, I am on RME as well with a UCX II. I’m surprised they don’t have great Linux drivers.
I’ve actually had other driver issues with windows recently that have seen me have to give up Accustica Sienna, which I have used exclusively as my mixing and listening environment for the last 3 years. It has been rough retraining my ears to uncorrected headphones, enough that I have actually been making music less because it’s just a pain to balance things in a mix now compared to what it was a month ago. If I had worse latency on top of that I’d probably just buy a tape machine and become a noise artist.
This type of stuff is always the biggest challenge. Right now I’m wrestling with a weird issue where PlugData standalone’s audio output isn’t working right, yet things like Bitwig, Renoise, VCV and even Sonic Pi seem to be running great. Since I have no idea how to actually use virtual loopbacks yet, hopefully while learning a bit about that I can better troubleshoot PD as well, try out other drivers and get better at troubleshooting on a Linux system.
Thankfully I don’t really have any ‘real’ instruments left to record so latency won’t fuck up my workflow as much as it did yours, but I’m sure there will be a lot of interesting curveballs and in the end, I’ll likely realize I can use weirder tools on Windoze and probably be better off
But god dammit, the challenge makes it interesting
Heh, when I started all this I went straight to RME’s site to grab Linux drivers under the assumption that of course they’d have them. I was sorely disappointed, but I sort of get it - Linux drivers are a completely different beast and RME has a reputation to protect as far as hardware drivers go. Better to nope out than put out something disappointing.
To be clear, it’s been several years since I tried any of this. If the latency issue was due to something on the OS, it’s very likely it’s been solved. Still likely to lose TotalMix, which would be a bummer.
It is, and probably why Linux doesn’t see more adoption in audio circles and thus why there’s limited audio development for it. It took Valve developing Proton to sell Steam Decks alongside a general public sentiment against Apple and Microsoft to push Linux gaming into a place where average people consider it and force Nvidia to get their driver act together.
I think it’d take RME or Focusrite or (ugh) Behringer putting in the work up front and saying “here’s the framework, here’s the open standard, now go forth and be awesome” to move the needle for other audio hardware companies to get on board and make it turnkey for the end user, and I just don’t think there’s the financial incentive right now for them to do it.
And here’s the problem writ large - are you using JACK or ASLA? Pulseaudio or pipewire? What distro? If you say “I’m on Windows”, you’re on Windows because the underlying audio API has been the same for like 25 years. Linux is a morass of options where you have to play 20 questions to even know where to start.
You should probably be using JACK and pipewire. If that’s the case, check out QjackCtl, a GUI frontend for JACK that lets you check and route everything visually. That might give some insight into why Plugdata is different than the others. Or switch to ALSA, which is way simpler at the cost of internal latency and see if that fixes anything.
In terms of audio interfaces, use class complient or buy focusrite. They have great support for their newest series.
In terms of class complient. The linux alsa sub system has a framework to deal with all sorts of class complient interfaces. A lot of interfaces are like 90% class complient, but have little specialities here and there. The sub system has a configuration matrix, so the kernels usb audio driver can be configured. The driver calls these cases “quirks”, you can find that term in the code and manual. Even if you can’t code, or read the details of code. The comments and names of variables/constants in the quirks file will give you a strong indication if your case as direct product or DAC chip in the product has been tackled by the kernel devs. For the DAC chips, i advice to find the pictures of the DAC boards inside of the audio inerface or even ask the manufacturer.
