12-16-2020, 07:38 PM | #1 |
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What is the future of Reaper for Linux?
Hi all. Long time Linux user/musician, new to Reaper.
I'd been meaning to check out Reaper for a long time, but as soon as I dove in I became addicted. It's so easy to use and deep with features at the same time, and it runs so light. I'm blown away. I'm already deep into a couple projects on it and after a week I got a license. Just curious if anyone here knows if Linux-native Reaper is going to be around for awhile? Is the idea that "experimental" will become a regular version along with Windows and Mac at some point? Or is it in some kind of limbo? Just not sure what experimental means in this context. It seems to work perfectly. Cheers. |
12-16-2020, 08:24 PM | #2 |
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I don't have a crystal ball or an inside track with the devs, but I'll tell you this: I passed up Reaper for... another commercial DAW 4 or 5 years ago because the Linux build was "experimental".
I wish I had ignored that label. I bought a license probably 2 years ago and I've never looked back. My guess is Reaper native on Linux is here to stay, regardless of the "experimental" label. There's even an Arm architecture Reaper build (for hardware like the Raspberry PI). There are lots of Linux-native plugins: https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=244854 and Behringer hardware/software supports Linux... https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0AWN It's a great time to do Linux... |
12-16-2020, 09:16 PM | #3 |
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Six out of seven machines know what the future of Linux is in my house!
I switched my main DAW machine to Linux two years ago, and haven't looked back. Since then, I've switched all but one Windows machine over to Linux, and I have no plan of ever going back. |
12-16-2020, 11:26 PM | #4 |
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Linux really should be the default OS for creative work.. there are many distributions now that are user friendly enough, it just needs a handful of the larger companies to buy in and the snowball effect would start.. A big one would be Pro Tools, that would at least start the conversation with other companies..
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12-17-2020, 05:47 AM | #5 | |
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- There already is Reaper for ARM based macs. - We will see ARM enabled MAC plugins from companies like Native instruments. - We can run Windows Plunins in Reaper on Linux. Any chance to run ARM enabled MAC plugins in Reaper on a RasPi some day soon ? -Michael |
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12-17-2020, 07:49 AM | #6 |
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do you mean any window VST plugins or just cockos plugins ? if you can run any windows ones, whats the process involved with installing them ? I have been thinking about trying Reaper for Linux, if it could run any windows VSTs that would make it very appealing.. |
12-17-2020, 07:56 AM | #7 |
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You can install Windows plugins in WINE, and once they are installed, you can use LinVST to bridge between the native Linux version of REAPER to the Windows plugins running in WINE.
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12-17-2020, 08:33 AM | #8 |
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cool.. id heard of the WINE method but wasn't sure if mschnell was referring to something else.. does WINE mostly work for all plugins or is it hit and miss ?
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12-17-2020, 08:57 AM | #9 |
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Native Linux-Reaper is quite stable for most, but not for all. On my machine, the buttons all miss texts and I don't know if I just messed up installation of the distro I'm using or Reaper has a bug.
On the other hand, many users, including Justin himself to my knowledge, use Reaper on Linux successfully. So the easiest is to try it out. If it works, it probably works very stable. And if it doesn't, the Wine-option is also possible, as mentioned in the thread. The latter was the goto-choice of many Reaper users before any native Linux-version was available at all.
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12-17-2020, 09:26 AM | #10 |
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That sounds like a resolution issue. Are you using some other DPI scaling than 100% or using a 4k monitor? I used to work for a company that implemented live picture capturing in their software, and if a user had Windows set for something like 125% DPI scaling it would throw UI elements off their targets.
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12-17-2020, 12:12 PM | #11 | |
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These are all great responses, thanks. I've already been making music on Linux since ~2006 (it's gotten waaaay easier since then) so I'm all stocked with my regular plugins etc. Native LV2 support would be nice but everything works fine with Carla. I don't use Wine or any Windows stuff. I haven't had any Reaper crashes at all, although it's disconnected from JACK a few times. Quitting Reaper, restarting JACK then Reaper has fixed it. If it keeps happening I'll be back with a new post. |
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12-17-2020, 03:19 PM | #12 |
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My only issue with Reaper on Linux is the tiny font size in menus on my 4k screen. You can increase the font size, but then the text overflows and becomes unreadable. I hope that gets fixed soon.
I use wine with linvst and it works for most plugins, although there are sometimes issues with the GUI. The only plugins that I couldn't get to run so far are using iLok, so if you have a lot of plugins which use that, there might be some problems. Some people have been successful, though. I mainly use MeldaProduction plugins with linvst and they are quite stable and usable. |
12-17-2020, 08:28 PM | #13 |
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12-17-2020, 08:31 PM | #14 | |
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01-05-2021, 10:56 AM | #15 |
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In my setup there are two things that still justify the "experimental" label:
1. Not rock solid for low latency playing. RME AIO @ 32 samples, no xruns running Bitwig even under high CPU load and tinkering with its UI. There is something going on with CPU usage that makes REAPER throw lots of xruns when manipulating the UI under low latencies. For example when scrolling the tracks view. It is perfectly reproducible, also happens when popping some dialogs. This also does not happen on Ardour, nor on macOS and Windows versions of REAPER, exactly same hardware (triple boot box...) 2. JACK MIDI ports mapping keep shuffling in the MIDI Devices configuration. If you own several USB controllers and swap their ports often or by accident, the port-to-ID mappings are useless. These bugs might be minor for general use cases like recording but for live performance setups both are very annoying. I paid for a license knowing REAPER is officially unsupported on Linux but still love it and would pay extra for these bugs to get fixed . Bitwig is stupidly flawless on all platforms but it costs 200 euro and comes packed with stuff I don't need. LV2 support would be neat as well. Besides these observations REAPER on Linux feels ready for production and absolutely rocks. Last edited by lucianoiam; 01-13-2021 at 04:02 AM. |
01-05-2021, 01:50 PM | #16 | |
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This is on Manjaro, but I think it should be the same on most distros Get the pid & vid of your usb devices: $lsusb Bus 002 Device 003: ID 046d:c33a Logitech, Inc. G413 Gaming Keyboard Bus 002 Device 007: ID 046d:c539 Logitech, Inc. USB Receiver Bus 002 Device 006: ID 31e9:0002 Solid State Logic SSL 2+ Bus 002 Device 005: ID 1235:0135 Focusrite-Novation Launchkey MK3 37 ... Create a new file with the following content (replace the pid&vid values with your own). /etc/modprobe.d/usb_order.conf options snd_usb_audio index=2,3,4,5 vid=0x31e9,0x046d,0x1235,0x09e8 pid=0x0002,0x0843,0x0135,0x0028 When you reboot now, the order won't be random anymore.
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01-07-2021, 03:08 PM | #17 | |
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Device A @ ID n Device B @ ID n+1 Physically disconnect both, then turn on B, then A, result: Device B @ ID n Device A @ ID n+1 Have you tried this? Running Ubuntu here but can confirm usb_order.conf is picked up correctly. |
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01-07-2021, 03:50 PM | #18 | |
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10-21-2021, 05:37 AM | #19 |
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Reaper is an excellent DAW, and it is definitely worth every penny. When I decided to try myself in audio recording, I was a student and didn't have money. I remember I started working to afford to buy the necessary software and devices (fortunately, guys from https://writinguniverse.com/research-topics/ agreed to help me). At first, I only use Linux to make music. The set-up is more difficult than Windows/Mac but is much customizable too and you can "mod" your system from inside for better audio performance than other closed OSs. I heard from many people that it's so much easier to do it on Windows and you will spend half of your time figuring out how to make stuff work instead of actually making music. As people prefer simplicity, I'm not sure, Reaper on Linux has a big future.
Last edited by Leo777; 10-21-2021 at 07:29 AM. |
10-21-2021, 07:03 AM | #20 |
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To me it's hard to understand why most "primary" plugin suppliers don't do Linux versions, but just Windows and Mac.
E.g. there is no Kontakt for Linux. But this said, there also is no Kontakt for the Mac M1. No native version at all and it's not specified for Rosetta in a native DAW and not even specified for running in an x86 DAW that runs in Rosetta "Reaper on Linux has a big future." IMHO only if plugin suppliers follow, In fact Apple is doing a good job against Linux with their new boxes such as Mac Mini M1, regarding their Price Performance ration being better than with most Windows boxes. (And AFAIU, Logic included ?!?!?) -Michael |
10-21-2021, 08:22 AM | #21 | ||
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Last edited by Glennbo; 10-21-2021 at 02:46 PM. |
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10-21-2021, 08:57 AM | #22 | |
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"The set-up is more difficult than Windows/Mac but is much customizable too and you can "mod" your system from inside for better audio performance than other closed OSs." This is the crux of Linux Audio. It's more difficult but more flexible too. It is very rewarding to those who are willing to put in the effort. To make an analogy using a different industry. I know many, many people who have a favorite sportscar in their garage that they work on and race. It's their favorite project, and you'll see them in their garage after hours working on it as their hobby. Some restore a classic model to make it look and work like the original. Some soup up their car and race it against others to see who can get the fastest vehicle. Some go the other way and try to get the most mileage out of a tank of gas. Some even go electric and power their systems using alternative fuel sources. But most commonly, they use the vehicle they've always wanted as their normal daily driver. They each have their own reasons why they choose the special vehicle they choose, but the tinkering to make the vehicle special is half the fun. I've been a member of KVRAudio since the very beginning. My 20th anniversary on that forum group comes up in April of 2022. I have followed the popularity of Linux since the early nineties. Linux is more popular now than it has ever been in the past. I've tried using Linux since the days when the entire program fit on two 3.5 inch floppies and had no GUI interface. About 10 years ago, I stopped using Windows at home and began using Linux as my daily driver. Back then, it Linux wasn't ready. It was beyond hard to get things set up, and there were not enough "real" tools to get any actual work done with audio. But times have changed. We now have several legitimate DAW choices. We now have lots of open source software. We now have companies like Uhe, Tal-Software, and DiscoDSP supporting Linux. Each year, more very respected synths and tools get released for Linux. We've got plugins like Zebra, Diva, Ubik, Tal-Sampler, Tal-U-No-LX, Tal-J-8, Discovery Pro and Bliss sampler.....and much much more available to run natively on Linux. It is now entirely possible to run a professional, fully fledged Pro Audio studio on Linux, using native Linux plugins, on pro-grade DAW software! We have never had it as good as we do now. Furthermore, I have never seen the amount of legitimate interest in Linux on KVRAudio as I have in the last couple of years. If you go and do a search on the forums for the term "Linux", you will find that it is in the conversations that take place there daily, and it increasingly legitimized. It is being taken seriously by more and more people, and more and more people are successfully trying it out. Many who have been trying it out have stayed. Personally, I think things are better than they ever used to be, and I think they are only going to continue to get better for Linux Pro Audio. Yes, there are some who fear technology and are only interested the easiest, least technical ways to get their music done, and are afraid of the technology they use--they're called Mac users. |
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10-21-2021, 09:07 AM | #23 | |
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10-21-2021, 12:08 PM | #24 | |
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Some users have migrated from ProTools to Reaper, and written JSFX scripts to add certain ProTools functionality to Reaper. That takes time effort. It is not simple. On the other hand, many people, probably the largest number of people, want to buy some stuff, put it together, and boom! music happens. There is a price for that ease - vendor lock-in, less functionality, loss of privacy, and high costs. My guess is that people don't know/don't care. My point is this; yes, the largest number of people "prefer simplicity". I don't know what the Reaper devs think, but my guess is that: 1 Reaper is not going away - the devs and the code are stable 2 Reaper for Linux is not going away - they recently *added* support for LV2 - they are actively supporting non-mainstream technologies At the end of the day, you should choose the platform that works for *you* - not what I use - not what you see in flashy youtube videos Native Reaper on Linux is not going away. That concern should not be factor in what you choose to use. *Peace* |
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10-21-2021, 03:15 PM | #25 | |
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But when talking "future" I fear it's more about user experience and not that much about technical aspects. And if not supported by the plugin vendors, the common user will see any multi-step installation procedure a nogo. (Great stuff, your Pi project ! Maybe we one day can do decent self-contained instruments based on that...) -Michael Last edited by mschnell; 10-21-2021 at 10:19 PM. |
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10-21-2021, 03:24 PM | #26 |
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Computer future
If Reaper has a future on Linux ?
Yes as long you have a computer running. I thinkk it's more a question of how long will computers be available for running Linux ? Computer components makers offers towards gaming industry, one day you won't be able to find a motherboard for Linux anymore, as Linux is not a money-making industry. Linux people use Ardur and tons of free Linux plugins, why should one put effort in developing Linux software for customers that don't want to pay ? |
10-21-2021, 04:24 PM | #27 |
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Extremely left field here, but I'd like to see a Linux system one can install to mobile devices - IE phones, tablets, iPads....to replace either Android or jail-broken iOS devices.
Not sure it could ever happen with Apple, but as Android is supposed to be a bit more open, maybe on its devices perhaps?? |
10-21-2021, 05:11 PM | #28 | |
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https://www.pine64.org/pinephonepro/ still.. it is not the same as Android... it doesn't replace it... YET! heh.. but it is cool to have a solid Linux computer on your phone |
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10-21-2021, 06:40 PM | #29 |
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For years I wanted an all Linux setup. Gravitated to Ubuntu because it was easy. But getting my old M-Audio sound card working was a challenge.
And after a while it seemed like everything was experimental. Installing this, installing that, Sudo this and that, missing libraries. Installing things that I had no idea what they were because someone posted a list of things to put into terminal and hit enter no knowing what I was even installing. It was a hassle and confusing. I'm back here now trying to spread the message that those days are gone if you want them to be. Using Ubuntu Studio 64, both a USB interface (Line 6 HX stomp or a Behringer UCM202HD) a simple selection in Ubuntu Studio Controls to select the USB device and worked! Line 6 does not want to support Linux so got a Linux plugin that IMO sounds better than Helix anyway and offers more tools. And then a simple Reaper Install instruction from YouTube and was up and running! Heck easier than Windows or IOS!! Getting the theme of my choice was easy to do for Reaper too, just open the theme file and its installed! And now native drums and guitar that I have been harping on. I am in love with the new Linux studio here. Think things are looking up and am grateful that Reaper supports Linux (note: I am a registered user just did not register my install in case I ever get called out on the videos). Also grateful for the quick response and support that was provided here by the forum members. Thank you! |
10-21-2021, 07:43 PM | #30 | |
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10-21-2021, 10:23 PM | #31 | |
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Technically, it in fact is a Linux distribution in a similar way as Debian and many others. Just targeting a different usage range. In fact you can run non-android Linux programs on Android devices without installing another OS. Native Linux Apps even can use Open GL for rendering graphics without using the Android GUI API. -Michael Last edited by mschnell; 10-22-2021 at 07:18 AM. |
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10-22-2021, 01:44 AM | #32 | |
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Valve is very invested in making games available on Linux and their new portable console is running Arch Linux. If anything, more manufactures are willing to develop drivers for Linux whereas in the past, all the work was done by volunteers. Are you saying that none of the Linux users here paid for their REAPER license? Some people use Linux because it's actually better, not just because it's free. |
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10-22-2021, 07:22 AM | #33 |
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"Some people use Linux because it's actually better, not just because it's free."
Exactly - I paid for my Reaper license. |
10-22-2021, 08:43 AM | #34 | ||
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The best it can get is for more mainstream plugin developers to create native Linux versions of their products, and that is slowly happening. In the interim while waiting, it is possible to run Windows plugins in Linux today, but it is not as simple as installing them in Windows. If someone really wants to get off Windows and use Linux, they will learn how and do it. Quote:
You wanna talk about scarcity of plugins, try running Manjaro/ARM on a Raspberry Pi4. I can't find aarch64 versions of many ARM plugins I've had setup before running Raspbian as the OS. Still, Manjaro/ARM on a Pi4 is the most like running a real desktop that I've used so far, so I'll live with the limitations for plugins. Besides, the plugins don't make my music. I could still record music if I had zero plugins available relying only on getting good recordings, volume and pan. |
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10-22-2021, 09:03 AM | #35 | |
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I guess the point I am making is to be able to buy a totally independent tablet or phone hardware device and then install an open source OS, to get away from Google, Apple, MS. Or even be able to "jailbreak" a device and install an OS. I mean these devices are essentially PC's with storage, RAM, CPU and GPU. |
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10-22-2021, 10:30 AM | #36 | |
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10-22-2021, 02:38 PM | #37 |
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10-22-2021, 10:44 PM | #38 | |
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But we are slowly entering the age of ARM(64) Here Apple is more of a driving force then Microsoft was. Hence "Wine" seems a bit obsolete, and something allowing to use OSX M1 plugin in an ARM based Linux seems more desirable (especially considering that OSX is based on Unix, and Linux is based on Unix, as well). As in Physics, we need the grand unification . -Michael |
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10-22-2021, 10:48 PM | #39 | |
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-Michael |
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10-22-2021, 11:03 PM | #40 |
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Are you playing them live? How's the latency? What interface?
(Apologies if I've already asked you about this in another thread. :-) ) |
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