Hi everyone,
I’m getting fed up windows and want to switch my laptop to linux. My laptop also doesn’t meet windows 11 standards so I figured nows a good time to switch. I don’t do a whole lot on my laptop, but there are some programs that I do need to use. I have an E drum kit and right now I use reaper and Steven slate audio center to play and record my drums through my laptop. I looked at reaper, and I see linux options for download. But for Steven slate , I only see windows and Mac. This is pretty disappointing and so I figured I ask to see what would work for me.
I was going to go with Ubuntu, because it seems to be the most user friendly and has good support. I also use mullvad VPN on my laptop very frequently, which was another reason I chose Ubuntu.
Any help is appreciated. I’m willing to look at other distros too if there is one that better fits my needs.
EDIT: I have successfully migrated to linux mint and have reaper working with yabridge. Thanks, everyone, for your help and suggestions!
I work in music and audio post, and everyone I work with would love to be able to use Reaper (or Logic, or Nuendo) instead of Pro Tools, if Pro Tools didn’t have the post industry completely captured in the US.
Reaper is a world-class product, and the team could easily charge 10x as much for the pro licenses, and get it. Stick with Reaper.
There are alternative drum triggers for Linux, I’m sure. Even SPL makes a drum exchanger. There’s got to be one out there.
VMR shouldn’t be a problem to run, I just don’t know what the install process would look like.
I’m pretty sure Airwindows plugs are Linux compatible, probably Audio Obsession too.
In any case, Reaper’s stock plugins are awesome. My only real complaint about them is the EQ cramping in the hi-end, which is typical for stock plugins.
I would prefer to stick with reaper since I’m familiar with it and going off other comments, it seems that I can still use windows vsts in linux so I think that is the route I’m going to go
Yup - vst is OS-agnostic.
Hi, I ran into a problem with reaper taking over my audio driver and I’m not able to play YouTube, or any other music, while reaper is open. I didn’t have this problem in windows because I had the aiso4all driver. But doing some searching, I’m not sure that driver will work on linux. Do you have any insight as to how to fix this?
While I don’t have personal experience with this, I did find this from the bad website:
Install pipewire-jack and use JACK audio device in Reaper. Also, yes make sure that wireplumber is installed.
Not sure about Reaper, but most Windows-only VSTs work fine on Linux using yabridge in my experience. Some DRM can have issues, though, and sometimes you need to install dependencies using winetricks.
Also, I noticed you mentioned using Ubuntu since Mullvad is supported. I have a feeling that you’re attempting to download software through websites instead of using your distro’s repo or by using flathub. Downloading software “the Windows way” by using websites isn’t recommended unless it is not available on repos. Mullvad works on every distro, for example, and is available on most repos.
Oh ok, that’s good to know that I can use vsts on linux. And I’m just overall being more privacy conscientious lately.
Mullvad (and every other decent VPN) supports WireGuard and OpenVPN configurations that will be supported on any distro through the network settings without the need for additional software. It’s also pretty likely the mullvad client will be in the software center of whatever distro you’re using
Oh I see what you’re saying. I’m still getting used to linux. I have a steam deck and have been using the desktop mode quite a bit, so I’m familiar with the app store in there. But I’m still not used to it thinking about going there to install what I need. Thanks for the tip
SteamOS is unique in that it’s an immutable OS (which means basically everything out of the /home folder is not modifiable by the user). This limits you to package management that works within the /home folder, which is basically just flatpak and AppImages by default. You can also use things like nix, but that’s a bit more complex.
Modifying the SteamOS system still is possible with utilities like rwfus, but that’s a bit more complex (OverlayFS is the keyword to look up if you’re curious).
With normal, mutable distros, you are able to modify the entire root of the filesystem, which means there are no restrictions on how you can modify your OS, and you can use regular package managers that do so for you.
Also FYI, flatpaks work on every distro, so anything that’s available on the SteamOS Discover store will also be available on every other distro. It uses flathub.org
Oh wow, I didn’t realize steam os was that different compared to other distros. Last night I was trying to install wine on ubuntu, and it wasn’t listed in the app store. I thought this was weird, cuz it’s in the discover store. So I had to manually install it. Not sure if it’s because I’m still using the “try ubuntu” instead of the full installation. But that helps knowing that all flatpaks work with every distro.
I was able to get reaper working with yabridge and I’m using Steven slate free sampler. Thanks for the help
Right now I’d say the best open-source DAW for Linux is LMMS if you want to do everything just on your laptop, or Ardour if you want to use external instruments.
LMMS has some shockingly versatile built in synths, including a port of ZynAddSubFX, supports LADSPA/LV2 plugins, and supports using Wine to run 32-bit Windows VSTs. I’m unsure of Ardour’s VST support, but it at least supports LV2 plugins. Either of those, if you install them through your distro, will likely include Calf Studio Gear, an extensive collection of LV2 effects and a couple synths. As for ones that run natively on Linux, there’s synthv1, samplv1, drumkv1, and padthv1, though I’ve had trouble getting them working myself.
I’ve found some good stuff on the Linux Audio Wiki but IDK how up to date most of it is.
That’s really helpful. Thanks for the info. I will look into Ardour since I exclusively use my e kit. And thanks for the wiki page.
As for Windows plugins with no native Linux version, there are ways to use VSTs over Wine. Check out Yabridge project. There’s no guarantee that 100% of plugins will work, but many do pretty well. It requires some additional setup, but once it’s done, you don’t have to think about it much, just call yabridgectl when you add new plugins to sync them (it creates stub library that is seen as Linux native, but it wraps Windows plugin using Wine)
Reaper is perfectly fine choice if you’re already familiar with it, but here are some other you may want to look at:
FOSS Options:
- Ardour - it’s pretty old, UX is not perfectly intuitive, basically GIMP of the audio world, but it can do everything you’d expect a professional DAW to do, while being incredibly lightweight. It’s straightforward to install on any Linux system.
- Zrhythm - it’s a new DAW that didn’t have a stable release yet, but it’s on 1.0 RC1 so I guess it’s pretty close. It has some promising user interface and feature set, also easy to get installed, but might not be super solid just yet.
Commercial options:
- Bitwig Studio - probably the best audio workstation for Linux, but also the most expensive.
- Waveform Tracktion - I personally had mixed experience with it. On one hand the UX and flow is quite good (not as flexible as ardour, way more opinionated, but still fully functional and easier to use), but I had bad time dealing with a large project as the editor becomes extremely sluggish as your project grows.
So as someone who tried Ubuntu first because it seemed like the easiest place to start, don’t. First off, I never could get Ardour to run right on it. Try Linux Mint. I switched this weekend and everything seems to work better and there appears to be a lot more available software when you aren’t stuck with Snaps.
I was able to get reaper working on ubuntu and everything else seems to be working well. I will check out mint though and see if I like it better
I tried linux mint and fairly quickly I had more issues than with Ubuntu. I tried to install reaper through the app store and it wouldn’t launch. I had to get it from the website. I also tried to get wine through the app store and that didn’t work either. I couldn’t even get it to install properly through the terminal. I’m not too sure about switching now.
Distro only matters if you know nothing about the OS, don’t want to figure it out and fully rely on defaults. Pro Audio is not always straightforward.
What you need for DAWs to work properly is an audio server with JACK API support and low latency. There are two options for that at the moment:
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Actual JACK daemon that takes full control over chosen sound card/audio interface. It’s the old solution that is also well tested and some will argue that it’s more reliable.
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PipeWire + pw-jack, the modern sound server that already runs by default on most modern Linux distros (including recent versions of Ubuntu), that is way more flexible, while also being impressively performant. It allows using any amount of sound hardware at the same time and route audio freely, mix regular audio clients with pro-audio/low latency ones and generally is far more flexible. This should be the goto for most people as it’s the easiest to setup (if you already use PW as your sound server) and only requires installing pw-jack.
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I was able to get reaper working with yabridge and using Steven slate free sampler, thanks for the help!
I checked out ardour and I was able to get it to register my drum kit, but they kept pestering me to pay for the program every 10 min which was frustrating. Bitwig is a little more than I need at the moment. I’m not creating music, I just need drum triggers and basic drum recording. I was able to get reaper to work and pick up my kit, but I still need to try yabridge to get vsts to trigger.
Wow, what OS you used and where did you take your binaries from? It’s free and open source, but their official builds (distributed through their official website) are paid. I’m using Arch official repo package and it asked me for a donation on first boot, but I could just select to never bother me with it again. You can build Ardour freely on any OS from source, but Linux distros are also free to provide their own packages and most of em do. There’s also Flatpak Ardour build, but your plugins then also must be installed from Flatpak, Wine must be from Flatpak etc., doable but not the most convenient
I was using ubuntu and I got the program from their main site. I saw they offered monthly subscriptions but I just chose the demo. On their site, it says the demo goes silent after 10 min… I searched the app store in ubuntu and didn’t see it so that’s why I went to the website. That’s cool you can build it from source though. I think I’ll just stick with reaper now however.
There is Ubuntu package it seems, so it’s a matter of
sudo apt install ardour
You should use Ardour, it’s a DAW with native linux version. It’s free for Linux users and it’s a free software.
LMMS isn’t really a DAW, as it can’t really manipulate audio easily, only midi. Reaper and Bitweeg have native Linux version but aren’t free softwares.
Windows Vst are running fine on linux these days, but on Linux there are a lot of audio plugins on Lv2 format you should try as well… Lastly, native vst for Linux do exist and work flawlessly.
Edit: as a general rule, audio in Linux is fairly different than on windows/macos, because it allows more flexible workflows, with the use of multiple softwares in sync to get the best of their abilities. For instance I make professional audio mainly with Ardour but I also use rosegarden, guitarix, luppp, non-daw, open stage control or pure data for some specific functions.
Thanks for the info. I checked out ardour and it seems like a good product. Looks like I’ll have to branch out more and see what my options for vsts are.
I like Ardour. Unfa on YouTube made a great tutorial on how to use it.
Thanks for the tip!
If you don’t mind paying for it, Bitwig is probably the best that officially supports Linux. There are also ways to run windows VSTs in wine on Linux. I’m no pro, but I love Bitwig, it has boatloads of cool stuff. Reaper also supports Linux. Ubuntu is fine IMO, I think there is a spin that’s specific to audio workloads that might be nice for a beginner. I use Arch at home but I use Ubuntu for work, it’s pretty nice these days.
I wouldn’t mind paying for a program. But I’m wary of paying for programs because companies these days change their policies and make their services subscription based, and when that happens they gradually increase the price. But I will check it out. Thanks for the recommendation.
Does that program come with drum samples? Or would I have to get that separately?
bitwig studio comes with tons of samples. it’s a fantastic daw.
there’s a reason a lot of ableton users switch over to bitwig.
reaper is also very good, but a bit clunky for edm/techno/etc.
Bitwig is pretty sweet, but definitely more than I need right now. I was able to get my kit to register in reaper so I’ll probably stick with that for now.
Bitwig comes with so much that I can’t remember if they have drum samples or just machines or both. I highly recommend you try the free trial to see if you like it before you buy.
I checked it out and it is a more than I’m needing right now. I’m not an audio guy and bitwig is a little over whelming.
Totally understandable, it has a lot going on and if you already know reaper it might be good to stick with it. Good luck!
not exactly a DAW/VST but VCV Rack is a open source (though with a pro version , the pro version can work as a VST though I never used it in that way) eurorack modular synthesizer symulator if you want to experiment a bit
there is also Cardinal, based on VCV Rack but with only open source modules
That sounds pretty awesome. But it’s probably more than I’m needing right now. I will keep it in mind in case I want to do more later on
my favorite daw is renoise. The sample management is excellent (it’s a tracker) and it manages VST perfectly well.
SunVox is also pretty cool, as far as trackers go
you’ll be fine.
do a dual boot install and play around with reaper. setup wine and see how it does with steven slate.
people are saying use ardour. i don’t like it, but you might. my computer music needs are limited to midi and recording inputs, not performing actual synthesis and sampling “in the box”.
I have been using the “try ubuntu” option from my Bootable USB, I downloaded ardour but was disappointed that their demo was only 10 min… while I was setting up my e kit to make sure it worked, it kept bugging me every 10 min to pay for the software. That was pretty off-putting. I think I will keep using reaper.
it really reaps the llamas ass.
were you able to get the steven slate vsts running in some host?
Not yet unfortunately, I’m still new to linux so it’s still taking me longer to figure things out. I got reaper up and running really easy, but wine took a while to figure out. But I eventually got that working and was able to install Steven slate audio center and I git my drum kit to register in reaper. But I wasn’t able to get Steven slate working, I think I’ll have to use yabridge, which several other comments brought up. But I’m making progress!
Good luck. If Steven slate keeps fucking up your christmas it might be possible to duplicate what you use it for using a native effects package.
Ardour is the most complete and professional DAW in my experience, Zrythm looks promising.
I don’t do professional stuff but I used reaper in wine with no issues with reaper itself. some vst’s spontaneously crashed. this was probably about 8 years ago though.
edit: looks like they have native linux now which I will probably play around with after I move and clean the moth cocoons out of my midi devices.
