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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 8/15/2020 7:34 AM, Peter Reppert
wrote:<br>
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<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:CAK_4Avtcc79XRxnwSZTW6JGRnuC68OyODZ8mbOM9ih4weT5n8Q@mail.gmail.com">
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<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">TLDR: The
inability to run a wide spectrum of music software on Linux is
getting worse to the point many will throw in the towel. </div>
<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> I know this
is an old saw and may be the wrong forum to even mention it,
but here goes. I am a keyboard player and I like virtual
instruments (VST plugins). As nice as all the other
capabilities of a DAW are, the ability to use VST synths is
possibly the best feature. There are hundreds of free ones,
and while very few run natively, it's possible to use them via
Wine. I think you know where this is headed...</div>
<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> The latest
VSTs, both free and commercial ones from companies like
Spectrasonics and Arturia, do not run on the older versions of
Windows supported by Wine (Vista is the latest). I have
encountered other problems listed below, but the inability to
run up-to-date plugins is getting to be a show stopper for any
keyboard player who wants to move beyond vintage sounds and
outdated sample libraries. This isn't just gear lust - the
newer instruments are <i>demonstrably</i> better with richer
sounds, better interfaces, etc. Running Ubuntu Studio feels
like being walled off from a cornucopia of options, whether or
not one takes the plunge with this or that product or
freebie. </div>
<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><b>Other issues</b></div>
<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
<ul>
<li>Can't run the 64-bit version of (non-Linux) VST
plugins. </li>
<li>Using - even brushing against - the mod wheel or
anything other than volume on the controller crashes
Carla.That did not used to happen. Not to mention almost
always having to configure MIDI CC mapping for each new
VST (and I've never had any luck storing these, so add "on
every session") </li>
<li>GuitariX hums like a cheap tube amp the second you plug
in a guitar.</li>
<li>Numerous other annoyances, crashes, and general
clunkiness, some degree of which we can all put up with
(and can of course happen in Windows or MacOS). </li>
</ul>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Now I am looking to get an 88-key controller, and there
again, any bundled software won't run on my Ubuntu Studio
laptop. MIDI controllers often map onboard knobs, faders,
and transport controls to a handful of popular DAWs - never
Ardour (luckily Reaper is supported). </div>
<div> If I want to run any contemporary commercial music
software, they are recommending 8 GHz, which means it's time
for a hardware upgrade. I don't need to be on the cutting
edge of everything, and appreciate all the work that's gone
into Ubuntu Studio, not to mention the seemingly limitless
free/shareware out there. But I am going to hold my nose and
at least start out running Windows. I suspect the same chain
of reasoning is going to happen for a lot of other keyboard
players as they upgrade their systems. </div>
<div> Again my apologies if this is old news. I'm sure
musicians have been switching operating systems as long as
digital recording has been around. It just feels like Ubuntu
Studio is going obsolete vis-a-vis current
not-terribly-expensive yet mind-blowing software, especially
for keyboard players and music producers. </div>
<div> Hobbyists and non-musicians can do a lot on their
phones and you can even run a DAW on a tablet. Pro and
semi-pro musicians and engineers are going with ProTools or
similar without giving Linux a moment's consideration. If
you can afford a computer, you can almost certainly afford a
commercial DAW without the need to change OS. Who is Ubuntu
Studio for? </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Is there the remotest hope that more software will come
out in three flavors? </div>
</div>
<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"> My guess is
the software companies can't justify supporting Linux. Has
anyone approached them? Is there anything on the horizon to
solve the problem of running recent Windows/Mac applications,
maybe without a bridge?<br>
</div>
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</blockquote>
<p>Peter,</p>
<p>You of all people should know this: if you're having trouble with
software, such as your issues with Carla or Guitarix, report bugs.
This is stuff that the developers need to know. For Carla, for
instance, report your issues with the VST plugins and the mod
wheel issues to <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://github.com/falktx/Carla">https://github.com/falktx/Carla</a>. For guitarix,
report that to <a href="https://sourceforge.net/p/guitarix/bugs/">https://sourceforge.net/p/guitarix/bugs/</a>.</p>
<p>I understand your frustration, but you're seriously barking up
the wrong tree here. You need to go to the source of the software,
not the people who distribute it. Ubuntu Studio is a
*distribution* of software, not a *developer* of software. I don't
understand where the myth comes from that we, Ubuntu Studio,
develop the software we include. This couldn't be further from the
truth. The truth is, we develop two pieces of software: Ubuntu
Studio Installer and Studio Controls. That's it. Yes, Len helps
with developing Ardour, but he is far from the main developer.<br>
</p>
<p>My best suggestion to you is to try the Linux-native software.
For instance, for a DAW, I *highly* recommend Ardour, which is
cross-platform and mostly funded by Harrison Consoles. Harrison
has been the mixing consoles behind some of the top recording
artists of our time, so it's a quality product. If you want to go
a step further, Harrision derives Harrision Mixbus from Ardour as
a commercial product with a different DSP to simulate that of an
analog console.</p>
<p>Additionally, I am trying *desperately* to get more audio and
instrument plugins included, but I'm running up against a huge
wall: the Ubuntu archive review process. I had 8 packages recently
take a whole *month* to get through the process to be included in
Ubuntu Groovy Gorilla (future 20.10), the majority of which are
audio plugins. <br>
</p>
<p>Moreover, you do know that Ubuntu Studio is a 100%
volunteer-driven product. Nobody, not even myself, gets paid
anything for working on this distribution. None of us really have
the time or the clout to be going to software developers and
requesting Linux versions of software. Believe it or not, they
want to hear from the users, not distributors.</p>
<p>To summarize, you're telling us stuff we already know and have
zero control over. I guess I don't know what you expect us to do,
because there's nothing we can do beyond tell you how you can get
involved. You've done great stuff with the Audio Handbook, and it
would be nice to get an updated version. However, if your
frustration level is what it is and you're ready to throw-in the
towel, then use what works best for you. I'm not telling you that
Ubuntu Studio is the best out there, but we are trying hard to get
it that way.</p>
<p>Thanks,<br>
Erich<br>
</p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Erich Eickmeyer
Project Leader
Ubuntu Studio</pre>
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