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Old 04-22-2019, 11:20 AM   #4
JamesPeters
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Near a big lake
Posts: 3,943
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Quote:
Originally Posted by B.Howard View Post
I was definitely expecting more!
... some geek experiment for guys more into computer programming than recording and producing music
It seems as though you were the one doing the "geek experiment", if you dove in expecting to be able to run all Windows software/hardware in Linux without doing some Google searches first. My "geek experiment" on the other hand yielded a DAW system that's at least 30% more CPU efficient than Windows (using the same hardware), is more stable, runs at significantly lower latency with all the DAW software I need, and took no longer to set up than Windows (possibly less time overall).

As Glen says, it can take some work to get things set up in Linux. Or you can do as I did: choose an interface in advance which is known to work in Linux with no issues. The same can be said for all your computer's hardware. It's best to check in advance if it'll work in Linux and what its limitations are. Then you'll know if you need to do some work to get it running, or if you'd rather choose some other hardware. Linux, in a way, is like any operating system. It works with what it works with. It's up to you to figure that out. Some people run a "live" USB distro to help check if the hardware works, before doing an install to their HDD/SSD. (That's a good last step once you've done your homework, in my opinion.)

Focusrite Saffire will work in Linux. I did a Google search and immediately found a thread on Linuxmusicians forums with people talking about how to configure and make it work. (It seems it's the same thread that Glen found.) Tip: Google for "(hardware) Linux" and chances are you'll find some results of people discussing it.

There are lots of built-in drivers in the Linux kernel. Not everything is covered though. I find it impressive that so much is actually capable of running "right out of the gate" after a fresh install of a Linux distro.

When I switched to Linux I was fine with the software selection that is available for Linux. I'm not trying to run Windows software at all. But if you're an entrenched user of some Windows-only software (or also Mac software), you're going to have to deal with the fact you've just switched to a different OS with different software. Software companies can be reluctant to write software for Linux since maybe a few percent of worldwide computer users run Linux. You can make some Windows-based software work in Linux just fine (lots of it, actually), but this is a different OS so your expecations need adjusting.

You decide what's "necessary" for plugins, for you. I have more than enough software necessary to have a professional DAW, for my needs. For that matter I could use strictly freeware/open-source software and have a DAW that people 20 years ago would've been jealous of.

I have no idea what you mean when you said "no drivers again" when referring to VSTi. VSTi are just plugins, not drivers.

If you want to give Linux a proper evaluation, you'll need to get your interface working and then see if you can make whatever Windows-based software (I assume just some plugins) work in Linux. You can get help on this forum if you ask.
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