Linux Dual-boot and music.

[Vaylos]

Okay, I'm planning on taking a bit of a plunge here, after constant cajoling from our IT Admin. Comments like "You know, you're just too smart to be using XP" come to mind. Anydangway, I plan on using Rosegarden extensively, but I may play around with other audio apps as well.

So, my question is this: What would be a good Linux "flavor" for audio/midi/etc. work?

The two I'm looking at right now are SUSE 10.2, and Ubuntu 7.04 "fiesty" I'm leaning more towards Ubuntu because they seem to be releasing a distro called UbuntuStudio that will be geared towards multimedia editing/creation.

I just wanted to gather up some opinions before I took the "plunge"

Thanks!

[sonicbhoc]

The following apps are great (well, from what I've used):

Rosegarden CVS version (bleeding edge lol)

LMMS 0.2.1: Mix fruityloops and cubase and that's what you get...

Hydrogen: Make sure you get the extra drumkits package if your repositories have it. Great program, it's a drum machine.

ardour2: a DAW. Haven't used it much though.

Audacity: waveform editor. One of the best free ones out there.

Rezound: try it if you don't like Audacity. I don't know which one I like more but I'm leaning toward Rezound.

and, of course:

multimedia-kernels (or anything that says low-latency on it)

qjackctl: make sure you don't get any xruns and you'll be set.

EDIT: Oh, and I didn't read the first post clearly. You asked for a good linux flavor. Well... Gentoo Linux. And I'm not saying that because I'm a ricer. I'm definitely not a ricer. I'm training to be a code monkey, but not a ricer.

I say Gentoo because it gives you more control over your system then most other distros. But it has a HUGE learning curve. If you aren't interested in a huge learning curve and compiling source code for almost every program you install, try xubuntu because it is a little more light than regular ubuntu. However, Gentoo has a ridiculous amount of packages and never gets into dependency issues; even though portage (the package manager) is quite slow sometimes, it gets the job done VERY well. Also, if you like configuring your own kernel, gentoo makes that easy tool And it has an overlay called "pro-audio" that has hundreds of packages for audio development (like lmms and the realtime kernel sources) and things like that. To get it , emerge subversion and then emerge layman, and then add the pro-audio overlay in layman. (layman -a pro-audio).

Another thing I like about Gentoo is that it's a learning experience. You'll definitely learn a lot about Linux by using it. And the Gentoo Linux forums are a great help, and will try to answer your questions.

[PriZm]

Why would you want to be using Linux if you own XP ? What are the benefits ?

[OverCoat]

Why would you want to be using Linux if you own XP ? What are the benefits ?

I've tried Ubuntu before. It's a fantastic OS that anyone can pick up in a matter of minutes. I'm surprised something so professional and complete is 100% free. If I wasn't such a PC gamer, I would switch to it right now.The other problem is Linux doesn't have Sonar, Cubase, FL, Reason, or even Cool Edit/Audition. It does have some free DAW software out there, but it's practically brand new, I wouldn't hold it to Cubase's standard.

But let's not make this a linux vs. windows thread, this is about music apps for linux. I thought I replied in a thread like this a day or two ago, but someone already pointed out Ubuntu Studio so I have nothing to add

[Vaylos]

EDIT: Just read your post OC. I was writing this before I read yours hehe. I'm pretty much strictly looking at rosegarden for its notation editor, but I'd like to take a look at the other programs as well. Call it curiosity.

Edit2: I just found this link: http://www.ubustu.com/globe/2007/04/17/ubuntu-studio-release-date-update/

So now i'm very heavily leaning towards Ubuntu, if not just about decided on it.

Forgive me if the following is a little jumbled, I really am trying to be as clear in my text as possible.

Well, to be honest, from what I've seen and read about it, Rosegarden has a really nicely featured music notation editor. And it's open source. Granted, FL-Studio is my main sequencer, but there isn't any score editor.

I do have an old version of Finale Notepad Plus, but it is severely limited, and has limited staves. I don't want to pay hundreds of dollars for a decent scoring/notation program like finale or sibelius or etc. since i'm not getting paid for any of my music, or anything. I mostly write just for myself, or occasionally do things for friends if they ask. I also have cakewalk homestudio 9, and yeah, it's very easy to use, but the music scoring is even more limited than notepad in some ways.

I realize linux's multimedia side of things is still up and coming, but, I guess I can see the potential in it. Rosegarden, Muse, and Ardour all look like very good programs and i've always wanted to give them a try.

I plan on keeping XP around, and put linux on a seperate HDD. Why keep XP? Well, to be honest, I'm pretty much a gamer on my other side, and will definitely not be using linux for games. Why linux? well, I covered that in the first two paragraphs above I think.

For the record, I don't exactly relish the thought of building linux up and compiling everything from scratch. I am not a coder or an OS-lover by any means.

I did grow up with DOS, so i'm not entirely command-line shy. (I also play on MUDs) and I did take a course in computer micro-architecture, so, I almost know enough to be A+ certified, just never spent the money to take the test.

However, I don't think i'm ready for something on the scope of Gentoo, despite the control. I mean, I don't mind getting my hands a little dirty, and with linux I realize you kinda have to, but I'm hoping to get things set up so I can get to the production side of things relatively quickly.

I guess I could just try out different flavors until I find something that meshes well with me, but I'd like to find out what flavors work well with audio, and I guess multimedia in general, before I do that.

Here's my system specs if this helps

Mobo: Chaintech 7NJL4

Processor: AMD Duron Applebred 1.8Ghz OC'd to 1.95Ghz

512MB DDR RAM

40GB HDD

generic NEC CDR/W (7700A I think?)

old LG DVD drive (no burner)

SB Live! Platinum 5.1

ATI All-in-wonder 9600

Midi-controller is an Xboard-61

nothing fancy, and at some point I will be upgrading the sound card to an echo gina3g. probably towards end of summer, or possibly next month for my b-day if I can save up enough by then.

I'm planning on getting a new 40GB HDD and setting linux up on that hard drive, and keeping XP on the old hard drive.

[Fray]

Gentoo is awesome but definately not the best if you're at all concerned about time. It's definately the most time-consuming distro

Tell us how it works out for you, I'm really curious to know the state of the art for Linux sound. Last I looked (couple years ago) it wasn't very good

[richter]

"You know, you're just too smart to be using XP"

That's really just an ignorant remark. I hope that guy was kidding. People that think Linux is OMGBESTEVAR are just obnoxious.

I use a PC at home, an Ununtu (6.10) laptop at work, and Macs (OSX) at school/in lab. All are great, and get their respective jobs done easily, but honestly Linux has the worst driver support and doesn't support any of the common, most powerful apps like Cubase and (shudder) Pro-Tools.

Don't switch if you don't have a specific reason to switch.

[zylance]

That's really just an ignorant remark. I hope that guy was kidding. People that think Linux is OMGBESTEVAR are just obnoxious.

I use a PC at home, an Ununtu (6.10) laptop at work, and Macs (OSX) at school/in lab. All are great, and get their respective jobs done easily, but honestly Linux has the worst driver support and doesn't support any of the common, most powerful apps like Cubase and (shudder) Pro-Tools.

Don't switch if you don't have a specific reason to switch.

This is very true. However, at things that they all three do (ie internet, office stuff, mail etc.) it makes sense to prefer one over the other. For example, I enjoy doing those things on Ubuntu 7.04 (upgrade, man) more then on windows because of things like beryl and speed issues.

[Vaylos]

That's really just an ignorant remark. I hope that guy was kidding. People that think Linux is OMGBESTEVAR are just obnoxious.

First off, yeah he was kidding. He's not a linux elitist or anything. He also uses XP in his office alongside linux. I'm not trying to turn this into a linux vs. XP thread, so please refrain from flames.

Update: Still waiting on my friend to respond with that spare HDD. So, I got impatient and dug out my old 10GB (making sure it was still functional) and installed Ubuntu 7.04 on it. No problems so far, sound works fine, video card works fine, and I have to say Rosegarden4 is a joy to work with as far as writing notation goes. It's nice to have a decent notation/scoring program, and not have to worry about spending $300+. (was using Finale Notepad before or the simple note editor in cakewalk homestudio)

My only current issue (and it's more of a preference than an issue), is that I'm -still- using the old SB Live Plat 5.1 (I will have an echo gina3g by end of summer without fail. Hurray for extra pay!) In XP, I use the KX Audio drivers, which swap front/rear channels by default. Creative cards are known to use I2S on the rear channel, and AC97 for the front channel. I don't know if that changed with the audigy or not. Anyways, I'm still figuring out how to do the front/rear channel swap under Ubuntu and ALSA >_< (mebbe I should take a look at Jack)

I think i'm going to stick with Ubuntu. I like the interface, and it's working well for me. I don't mind diving into the terminal on the odd occasion. I can save the midi files from rosegarden to my USB drive, and port them over to XP for more detailed work in FL Studio, which was my original intent.

Anyways, I don't want any flamewars started on my account, and XP vs. linux is a hot topic to say the least. So, if this thread needs locking later, feel free!

[richter]

YOU CAN EAT MY SHIjust kidding.

No flame intended

I love XP, Ubuntu AND OSX!

[sonicbhoc]

I love XP, Ubuntu AND OSX!

zomg! it's unpossible!

Anyway, I need to do more experimenting with chords and stuff. My keyboard parts are sounding kinda bland. Which is bad when all you've got right now is a keyboard part...

I also need to see if I've got a reasonable string synth on this thing, or something that sounds a little mellow at least.

[SSB]

The only bad things in open source are the terrible GUIs on EVERYTHING

[zylance]

The only bad things in open source are the terrible GUIs on EVERYTHING

I dunno man, Ubuntu is freaking beautiful, and using beryl with it is amazing.

[SSB]

I dunno man, Ubuntu is freaking beautiful, and using beryl with it is amazing.

I don't mean the OS stuff. Beryl is amazing. I mean most of the free software you get. I for one think Rosegarden LOOKS terrible, and Ardour is just painful to see.

[zylance]

This is true.

[sonicbhoc]

I don't mean the OS stuff. Beryl is amazing. I mean most of the free software you get. I for one think Rosegarden LOOKS terrible, and Ardour is just painful to see.

Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Oh, and both of those programs depend on what style you're using or GTK+ theme you've got. With the right styles and themes the programs look pretty good in my opinion.

[Vaylos]

Well, I don't mind Rosegarden so much, but I'm pretty much using it strictly for notation/midi. Kinda reminds me a lot of the old Cakewalk Homestudio 9. I'm liking the notation/scoring interface a lot better than when I was using Finale. I'm porting the midi over to XP and working in FL Studio, though.

Haven't tried Ardour yet, since I'm nowhere near ready to start doing audio recording yet. Sweep looks interesting though.

Wired is another up and coming program that looks like it might be a step in the right direction. Looks like it sports some kinda browser at least.

But I do agree, the interfaces are a little klunky.

[sonicbhoc]

Well, I don't mind Rosegarden so much, but I'm pretty much using it strictly for notation/midi. Kinda reminds me a lot of the old Cakewalk Homestudio 9. I'm liking the notation/scoring interface a lot better than when I was using Finale. I'm porting the midi over to XP and working in FL Studio, though.

Haven't tried Ardour yet, since I'm nowhere near ready to start doing audio recording yet. Sweep looks interesting though.

Wired is another up and coming program that looks like it might be a step in the right direction. Looks like it sports some kinda browser at least.

But I do agree, the interfaces are a little klunky.

A little, yes, but not NEARLY as as bad as they could be.

LMMS, for example, is very confusing the first time you use it but it makes sense after a while.

Also, a word of warning: not all Linux audio programs work perfectly under x86_64 yet...

[Vaylos]

I suppose it's a good thing I don't use a 64bit processor then eh? Hehe. I'm still running an Athlon Duron Applebred 1.8Ghz. So I'm in the 32bit world still, with no plans to upgrade anytime soon. Unless I somehow come into some good money. Only money i'll be spending soon, is on an Echo Gina3G for my birthday ^^ And possibly a RAM upgrade if I have enough left over. 512MB just isn't cutting it anymore -sigh-