Currently looking for a good DAW to run on Linux. I used Ableton Live 11 Standard back on Windows, got it running decently on Fedora with Wine, but kind of want to explore some other options.
Before I used Live, LMMS was actually what I used first while I was learning. I never did anything too real with it so I’m not honestly too sure what it’s capable of, but it also seems to be abandonware? Hasn’t been updated since 2020, what’s that about?
I’m not 100% dead set on using FOSS btw, for this anyways. It would definitely be a plus, but i’ll use proprietary if it runs well on Linux and is good at what it does. Are there any other options I should check out or look into? I’ve heard pretty good things about ardour and bitwig but don’t know too much about them.
Bitwig works nicely and has been winning over some Ableton users. Reaper has a Linux version and Ardour is a pretty popular Linux DAW
Reaper is definitely the way to go. While it is not FOSS I feel it has the spirit of Linux. It is extremely customisable and flexible and it has all the features you expect from a good DAW.
The real issue is finding instrument and effect plugins that work on Linux. The popular ones are all windows or Mac only because they depend on DRM control software that doesn’t work on Linux.
Yabridge exist for windows plugins. Surprisingly works pretty good. My arturia pack works w/o any major issues. There is some virtual monitor thingy I do on sway to workaround weird performance bug. But I don’t think it should surface on kde for example.
As for Reaper, DAWs and Linux: Make sure to have low latency setup for pipewire. I had to configure some stuff on arch and add pipewire latency variable with lowest values that my interface can handle to launch option for reaper. I prefer playing and practicing on Linux over the windows in terms of latency now. For how messy pipewire can be, when it’s setup correctly, it’s magnitudes better than windows for low latency audio not just because of latency, but because of current windows audio drivers limitations. I no longer record or edit for quiet some time, so can’t say how it compares to other DAWs. Also why I’m personally using reaper: it’s intuitive, fast, fair price, good terms (perpetual license with updates, there is eol for updates, but it’s focused on specific version release, and for how release cycle goes it can last almost a decade, and you can still use the older versions after update eol, but better read terms yourself), and It has trial period over which I decided that it’s best suited for me.
I would be interested in any resources you have on improving latency with pipework. Windows has the ASIO driver which gives direct access to the Audi interface. I didn’t think pipewire was able to match it, but I’ll be glad to be wrong.
I took a brief looked at yabridge a while ago, but struggled. Sounds like I should revisit it.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Professional_audio https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PipeWire I had some stuff on arch not working from the box, and interface selecting wrong type, which added latency as well. I managed to debug most of my stuff using those 2 pages and pipewire documentation. You may not need most of it on another distro. But it’s a good read either way. I changed way too much and long time ago to remember everything though. If everything setup correctly, setting lowest interface supported values for pipewire latency should do the trick (point 3.1.3 on pipewire arch wiki page), without it pipewire will default to the default config option, hence why you probably felt the delay.
Reaper is the GOAT
I like Ardour. It’s got everything you need. It’s what I’ve been using for the past couple years now. It even supports VST2/VST3 plugins through WINE
I also recommend using yabridge to set up Windows plugins to work on Linux, but be warned there is risk of compatibility issues with plugins on Linux when buying new ones!
EDIT - Resources:
- Ardour website - https://ardour.org/
- Recommend installing from your package manager tho
- Yabridge tool - https://github.com/robbert-vdh/yabridge
- A few plugins that work:
- Drum kit plugin I like (free) - https://www.powerdrumkit.com/
- Voxengo SPAN (Frequency Analyzer, also free) - https://www.voxengo.com/product/span/
- Luciano Dato’s Noise-Repellant (free) - https://github.com/lucianodato/noise-repellent
- Typically use the built in LPF/HPF, Graph Eq, Reverb, and Compressor plugins. They work great
Wait a little while and low key Audacity 4 might release a fully capable DAW as well now that it’s adding better clip support, plugin support, non-destructive editing for some effects like compression, reverb, etc. Of course, it will be mainly for if you do a lot of recording. For electronic, Ardour would probably be better even after Audacity 4 releases.
- Ardour website - https://ardour.org/
Look at my reply here, where I explained the FOSS apps, their pros and cons: https://lemmy.ml/post/36874236/21366132
I found bitwig to be really easy to use coming from Ableton. I am also keeping an eye out and supporting the ZRythm development and I hope it can become a decent FOSS alternative.
I use reaper.
Edit: i will add, I do some music stuff for income so I have to make sure my system is rock solid and works with all aftermarket plugins from big names.
To that end, I have a mac mini (soon to be mac studio) that is solely for music. Linux for everything else. In my experience nothing is more solid than osx with music production and recording (~15 years experience).
An m1 mac mini can be had for under 300 dollars now and will perform very well with all but the craziest power hungry plugins. Id recommend a mac studio though, im outgrowing my mini with some more involved productions.
Bespoke is a synthesizer first but “like a DAW in some ways, but with less of a focus on a global timeline. Instead, it has a design more optimized for jamming and exploration.” (youtube trailer, wiki, wikipedia)
bitwig is great, it is my favorite DAW that I’ve used (Logic and Ableton were previously used by me).
I really enjoy the flexibility and creativity I get with the grid.
Eh… not sure where you get your information but https://github.com/lmms/lmms last update was yesterday.
The github repo has activity, but the last stable release (1.2.2) released 5 years ago. I’m not really interested in using the nightly build
FWIW from https://lmms.io/download#linux one can get as AppImage (so nothing to build, no repository to modify) either
- 1.3.0-alpha.1.102 alpha
- 1.3.0-alpha.1.894 nightly
so from what I understood you could consider alpha, not nightly.
102 -> 894
Come on now. I know that asking for 1.3.1 is pure madness… But can’t we get a beta version of 1.3.0 maybe?
If the nightly version is good, just put out a new release after 5 years. Are they shooting for some milestone or something?
(Really tho I’m glad this project is still active and I’ll check out the nightly version.)
FWIW not only is the project alive (last commit 17 hours ago) but distribution too (cf links above) and project management too (cf e.g. https://github.com/orgs/LMMS/projects/1 as example of complex set of tasks mostly done toward a major release).
So… I’m not going to give people working on LMMS any advice, but of course I hear you, and OP, when it shows for people who aren’t deep into it a project that seems abandoned.
I do not know no why the project is in that state but what I hope I have shown is that for sure it’s very much active.
Nightly (alpha) build is pretty good (infinitely better than the “stable” build), but I’m not a professional, so I cannot say how good it works with serious projects.
this is where ngl, the opensource community doesn’t win. I prefer Ableton hands down.
Bigwig Studio is made by some of the original Devs of Ableton i believe and from what I’ve messed around with it in a trial. It’s way better (stylish too). If I was less of an occasional dabbler in music production I’d absolutely pay for this. Linux is not a second class citizen to them which is great, any VSTs they release themselves always work on Linux natively too.
Theres also reaper, but I feel like the barrier to entry on that one can feel a bit daunting. It never feels just ready to go for a newcomer.
Theres also a bunch of different trackers that are Linux compatible some with VST support too, but that’s a very different way of making music from the traditional DAW.
Renoise is sweet as far as trackers go.
Ardour was always my go-to although it’s been crashing on me a lot.
Shout out to BespokeSynth for being amazing, I forgive the crashes because it’s so cool and strongly foss.
I use LMMS although I’m planning on switching to reaper once I find out how to properly configure it and bring my LMMS presets in.
To use the latest version of LMMS, you have to click on the alpha or latest release version on the downloads page instead of whatever the main release is. If you ever want help figuring out LMMS, feel free to reach out.
I’d recommend traktion waveform. There’s a free version. Likely has most if not everything you need. Pretty sure the underlying engine has been open sourced.
I got used to the Workflow of Ableton so I understand the struggle. I got an 8-Track license for Bitwig from a friend which works like a charm. Other than that there´s Ardour, it´s FOSS and ugly - can´t say more since i haven´t played around with it yet but apparently it´s good? idk.
