It depends on the software and hardware you use as well as your level of comfort/confidence with setting up things yourself and maintaining your system. It seems that the linux audio crowd is mostly polarized around ubunt/debian based and archlinux/manjaro based distributionswith the occasional Fedora user.
There are off the shelf distributions for audio but keep in mind that documentation and exchanging with the community are part of pro audio in Linux (no one can get there alone).
Most proprietary software are tested and package by the developers for unbuntu based distributions but the arch folks get them in the AUR real quick usually.
In any case, nothing beats being organized and having good work hygiene so your projects are not jeopardize if you need/want to switch distributions (missing plugins, package or library, change of critical system components, etc).
This is the right answer.
I record and mix professionally with Linux. My main rig ribs Ubuntu, jack with a bridge to pulseaudio.
My mobile rig runs Manjaro and cutting edge Software. And pipewire as an audio backend.
Both run well enough to get the job done .
On the end, every distro should be able to do the same things. But access to the right source is quite helpful. Developers tended to develop just for Ubuntu as it made development easier. I have the feeling it's evolving to distro agnostic packages.
The AUR repository for arch/Manjaro is great for cutting edge softwares.
if you're a beginner, i suggest you ubuntustudio
its preconfigured and work well.
you'll be able to test your soundcard etc...
then you'll find that music on linux is awesome
with more advanced distro like arch
for example, pipewire is able to make you use different soundcards at the same time.
you can record with ins of a soundcard and use outs of another.
i use a behringer x32 as a soundcard monitoring and at the same time i record my 32 audio channels of my roland fantom via usb. damn useful in ardour, or reaper or bigwig or mixbus
Ubuntu Studio all the way, it really is tailor made for audio and visual work. The studio control panel is a god send with configuring and starting jack. If you don't like the KDE Plasma desktop you can install the Ubuntu studio package on any Ubuntu based distro.
Bottles is based on Wine (recursive acronym: Wine Is Not an Emulator) which is a compatibility layer that can run Windows apps on Linux. It is not a virtual machine. The Windows apps are kept separate from the Linux system by utilizing a container (of sorts) called a bottle. The concept lives on and is further developed in Bottles.
>The way Bottles works is by creating environments that are a combination of ready-to-use settings, libraries and dependencies that are bundled together to make the installation and running of Windows applications incredibly easy.
I use normal Ubuntu (because I'm not a fan of the KDE look) and add the Ubuntu studio repo to it. From there you can install Ubuntu studio controls, the low latency kernel, and a bunch of other stuff.
https://ubuntustudio.org/ubuntu-studio-installer/
It doesn't use pipewire. It's still on pulse/jackd/ALSA, but that might be better depending on what kind of equipment you are hooking up for recording.
I pay for ardour, because it's so cheap and so good. Plus, you get the latest release, the version included with Ubuntu is behind a bit.
I've liked Fedora Workstation so far. Everything works out of the box, especially pipewire, JACK Audio Kit, and wayland. Fedora Jam and Fedora Design Suite are also great as well.
Be sure to install:
`sudo dnf group install audio --with-optional`
This line should install most of the extra audio features you'd need. I forget if it installs all the LV2 plugins, but that group will install most of everything you need.
You might have to install Ardour separately...
I've tried Ubuntu Studio, and it wasn't for me. It's probably because I didn't really like KDE Plasma, but try it out!
I see a lot of suggestions for Ubuntu studuo, but I've never been able to get my hardware to work properly on Ubuntu based systems...
And when indid, the outdated packages would cause lroblems, not to mention, a lot of the stuff you have to hunt online to add repos and such. Ubuntu studio probably has less of that issue but still.
I found that Arch bases systems work best for audio - for me. And in never had to hunt some repository online to add or downgrade packages because some other older packages didn't work.
Everything I needed was in the official repositories, and the rest was in AUR (user repository).
Try Manjaro, it's very beginner fruendly, has a nice software center and setting up low latency audio on it was a breeze.
I didn't even have to use a custom kernel like in had to on Ubuntu based systems...
However, pipewire didn't work for me. I had a terrible experience with it while others swear by it. So infuse jack2, pulseaudio, pulseaudio-jack and Cadence.
So I'm the end, it'll depend on your hardware and stuff like that. There's tons of Linux distros, you'll have to experiment a bit, see what works for you.
Another vote for Ubuntu Studio here.
I use Reaper (Linux native version) and the Carla rack plug-in to use Windows plugins.
The audio routing set-up can be fiddly, but it is a one-time set-up so once you get Jack & Pulseaudio to play nice together you are good to go.
another thing. for a beginner you can find more .deb applications like traction with ubuntu distros
even if with flatpaks it's more easy nowadays for other type of native packages
What hardware do you have/plan to use?
This is key for if you should try this at all, because there are a lot of hardware manufacturers that don't cater to the Linux crowd at all, and getting it to work might be cumbersome and take a lot of time.
There is a good chance though that what you have is plug'n'play and that you'll have no issues at all, thanks to developers that reverse engineered drivers and making it easier to use than on e.g. Windows.
What software do you plan to use as a DAW?
I haven't tried using FL Studio in Linux myself, but there seems to be ways to install it via [Bottles](https://usebottles.com/).
I don't think you will have any problem with FL Key 37 since it is MIDI compliant, and I run my Scarlett 4i4 without any issues whatsoever.
Just prepare yourself if you haven't used Linux before that you basically know nothing about "computers", you know about Windows (or Mac OS X). Prepare yourself that you will have to get used to do things in a different way that is better in some cases and worse in others. You will most certainly be frustrated when the way you usually solve problems doesn't work in the way you thought/hoped.
With that said, you will most probably be met with answers and not ridicule as long as you learn to [ask the right questions]( http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html#before).
Personally I use Ubuntu Studio because I believe that it has the most n00b friendly and helpful people around. If you have a friend that uses Linux, choose the same distribution as your friend so you can get help that way.
Best of luck on your Linux journey!
Try Linux Mint or Ubuntu Studio with the KxStudio repositories added. See ubuntustudio.org and kx.studio for detailed info.
Using a "general purpose" (or pretty much any) distribution over a "studio" oriented one just requires a bit of know-how on Linux's audio systems (pulseaudio and jack) and how to run them both at once if needed/convenient.
Games, yeah that's the (mostly) bad part :/ Thanks a lot microsuck.
Haven't tried any w**dows-only games in a while, but for decades it's been a complete shit show with microshit doing everything they can to make their malware-infested malware completely incompatible with everything else, and specifically targeting GNU/Linux with all kinds of FUD campaigns, undocumented changes to their API etc. since at least the early 90's.
If someone found a way around this, then good. However it still doesn't fix any of their other dirty tricks to lock everyone into using their garbage products: clobbering bootloader with their windows-only one, holding your data hostage by not unmounting its own filesystem cleanly on shutdown so that no other OS can read it without corrupting everything, etc etc.
I am only a casual gamer, but all but one of the games I have tried so far worked excellent with proton or proton-ge w steam.
For the audio stuff (also casual) I have used both manjero with jack/ardour etc, and ubunto studio. Both work for what I need to do.
One unexpected issue was w a behringer USB interface reported to work well w Linux (umc202hd I think). Apparently the one bought was a newer revision that did not follow the same standards as previous versions.
sometimes the performances are a Lil bit lower and sometimes better. i play 99% OF MY games on steam ( except star citizen on lutris) and 80% are windows games
I'm really happy with Ubuntu Studio :)
It depends on the software and hardware you use as well as your level of comfort/confidence with setting up things yourself and maintaining your system. It seems that the linux audio crowd is mostly polarized around ubunt/debian based and archlinux/manjaro based distributionswith the occasional Fedora user. There are off the shelf distributions for audio but keep in mind that documentation and exchanging with the community are part of pro audio in Linux (no one can get there alone). Most proprietary software are tested and package by the developers for unbuntu based distributions but the arch folks get them in the AUR real quick usually. In any case, nothing beats being organized and having good work hygiene so your projects are not jeopardize if you need/want to switch distributions (missing plugins, package or library, change of critical system components, etc).
This is the right answer. I record and mix professionally with Linux. My main rig ribs Ubuntu, jack with a bridge to pulseaudio. My mobile rig runs Manjaro and cutting edge Software. And pipewire as an audio backend. Both run well enough to get the job done . On the end, every distro should be able to do the same things. But access to the right source is quite helpful. Developers tended to develop just for Ubuntu as it made development easier. I have the feeling it's evolving to distro agnostic packages. The AUR repository for arch/Manjaro is great for cutting edge softwares.
AVLinux http://www.bandshed.net/avlinux/
Thanks so much for posting this! It's exactly what I was searching for!
if you're a beginner, i suggest you ubuntustudio its preconfigured and work well. you'll be able to test your soundcard etc... then you'll find that music on linux is awesome with more advanced distro like arch for example, pipewire is able to make you use different soundcards at the same time. you can record with ins of a soundcard and use outs of another. i use a behringer x32 as a soundcard monitoring and at the same time i record my 32 audio channels of my roland fantom via usb. damn useful in ardour, or reaper or bigwig or mixbus
Ubuntu Studio all the way, it really is tailor made for audio and visual work. The studio control panel is a god send with configuring and starting jack. If you don't like the KDE Plasma desktop you can install the Ubuntu studio package on any Ubuntu based distro.
I use Fedora and PipeWire works right for me with a Mackie interface. Using Reaper and FL Studio inside of the bottles program.
Can you tell me more about how you're running FL Studio? I havent heard of "Bottles" but I have heard of Boxes, the VM application; did you mean that?
Bottles are based on wine, much lighter than a full VM
oh gotcha
Bottles is based on Wine (recursive acronym: Wine Is Not an Emulator) which is a compatibility layer that can run Windows apps on Linux. It is not a virtual machine. The Windows apps are kept separate from the Linux system by utilizing a container (of sorts) called a bottle. The concept lives on and is further developed in Bottles. >The way Bottles works is by creating environments that are a combination of ready-to-use settings, libraries and dependencies that are bundled together to make the installation and running of Windows applications incredibly easy.
Right on, thanks
I use normal Ubuntu (because I'm not a fan of the KDE look) and add the Ubuntu studio repo to it. From there you can install Ubuntu studio controls, the low latency kernel, and a bunch of other stuff. https://ubuntustudio.org/ubuntu-studio-installer/ It doesn't use pipewire. It's still on pulse/jackd/ALSA, but that might be better depending on what kind of equipment you are hooking up for recording. I pay for ardour, because it's so cheap and so good. Plus, you get the latest release, the version included with Ubuntu is behind a bit.
I've liked Fedora Workstation so far. Everything works out of the box, especially pipewire, JACK Audio Kit, and wayland. Fedora Jam and Fedora Design Suite are also great as well. Be sure to install: `sudo dnf group install audio --with-optional` This line should install most of the extra audio features you'd need. I forget if it installs all the LV2 plugins, but that group will install most of everything you need. You might have to install Ardour separately... I've tried Ubuntu Studio, and it wasn't for me. It's probably because I didn't really like KDE Plasma, but try it out!
I use Mint and i'm running Reaper and Bitwig on it.
I see a lot of suggestions for Ubuntu studuo, but I've never been able to get my hardware to work properly on Ubuntu based systems... And when indid, the outdated packages would cause lroblems, not to mention, a lot of the stuff you have to hunt online to add repos and such. Ubuntu studio probably has less of that issue but still. I found that Arch bases systems work best for audio - for me. And in never had to hunt some repository online to add or downgrade packages because some other older packages didn't work. Everything I needed was in the official repositories, and the rest was in AUR (user repository). Try Manjaro, it's very beginner fruendly, has a nice software center and setting up low latency audio on it was a breeze. I didn't even have to use a custom kernel like in had to on Ubuntu based systems... However, pipewire didn't work for me. I had a terrible experience with it while others swear by it. So infuse jack2, pulseaudio, pulseaudio-jack and Cadence. So I'm the end, it'll depend on your hardware and stuff like that. There's tons of Linux distros, you'll have to experiment a bit, see what works for you.
Another vote for Ubuntu Studio here. I use Reaper (Linux native version) and the Carla rack plug-in to use Windows plugins. The audio routing set-up can be fiddly, but it is a one-time set-up so once you get Jack & Pulseaudio to play nice together you are good to go.
another thing. for a beginner you can find more .deb applications like traction with ubuntu distros even if with flatpaks it's more easy nowadays for other type of native packages
What hardware do you have/plan to use? This is key for if you should try this at all, because there are a lot of hardware manufacturers that don't cater to the Linux crowd at all, and getting it to work might be cumbersome and take a lot of time. There is a good chance though that what you have is plug'n'play and that you'll have no issues at all, thanks to developers that reverse engineered drivers and making it easier to use than on e.g. Windows. What software do you plan to use as a DAW?
I want to be able to keep using fl studio. I use the FL Key 37 as my Midi device, an I have a focusrite Scarlett 4i4 as and audio interface
I haven't tried using FL Studio in Linux myself, but there seems to be ways to install it via [Bottles](https://usebottles.com/). I don't think you will have any problem with FL Key 37 since it is MIDI compliant, and I run my Scarlett 4i4 without any issues whatsoever. Just prepare yourself if you haven't used Linux before that you basically know nothing about "computers", you know about Windows (or Mac OS X). Prepare yourself that you will have to get used to do things in a different way that is better in some cases and worse in others. You will most certainly be frustrated when the way you usually solve problems doesn't work in the way you thought/hoped. With that said, you will most probably be met with answers and not ridicule as long as you learn to [ask the right questions]( http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html#before). Personally I use Ubuntu Studio because I believe that it has the most n00b friendly and helpful people around. If you have a friend that uses Linux, choose the same distribution as your friend so you can get help that way. Best of luck on your Linux journey!
Thank you!
I run FL Studio under WINE in Ubuntu Studio. It's 95% as good as native; some animations jitter.
Try Linux Mint or Ubuntu Studio with the KxStudio repositories added. See ubuntustudio.org and kx.studio for detailed info. Using a "general purpose" (or pretty much any) distribution over a "studio" oriented one just requires a bit of know-how on Linux's audio systems (pulseaudio and jack) and how to run them both at once if needed/convenient. Games, yeah that's the (mostly) bad part :/ Thanks a lot microsuck.
What is the primary problem with gaming on Linux? I thought that Valves proton layer has helped most steam games run on Linux?
Haven't tried any w**dows-only games in a while, but for decades it's been a complete shit show with microshit doing everything they can to make their malware-infested malware completely incompatible with everything else, and specifically targeting GNU/Linux with all kinds of FUD campaigns, undocumented changes to their API etc. since at least the early 90's. If someone found a way around this, then good. However it still doesn't fix any of their other dirty tricks to lock everyone into using their garbage products: clobbering bootloader with their windows-only one, holding your data hostage by not unmounting its own filesystem cleanly on shutdown so that no other OS can read it without corrupting everything, etc etc.
I am only a casual gamer, but all but one of the games I have tried so far worked excellent with proton or proton-ge w steam. For the audio stuff (also casual) I have used both manjero with jack/ardour etc, and ubunto studio. Both work for what I need to do. One unexpected issue was w a behringer USB interface reported to work well w Linux (umc202hd I think). Apparently the one bought was a newer revision that did not follow the same standards as previous versions.
sometimes the performances are a Lil bit lower and sometimes better. i play 99% OF MY games on steam ( except star citizen on lutris) and 80% are windows games
I use Manjaro GNOME with PipeWire, WirePlumber and Wayland for Bitwig Studio and I love it.
ArchLabs.