LPC: The past, present, and future of Linux audio

LPC: The past, present, and future of Linux audio

Quote:
I gave Linux a shot for music production but left it behind and began using Windows for that purpose alone. It's actually the first use for Windows I've found in years. I don't blame this on sound in Linux; rather, the stability and quality of some of the open-source tools isn't quite what I might wish it to be, and although there are ways to use VSTs under Wine, there is nothing dependable and functional enough for serious, heavy and everyday use. So for the first time in years, I dual-boot so that I can use a big heap of proprietary software to compose music.

Another user's perspective:
I've used Ardour on Linux for music recording for a few years now. I suspect I'm one of a relatively small number who use it for paid work, but I've found it to be very solid and reliable for multi track recording and editing. The current lack of "pretty" plugin GUIs is a positive advantage to me (few things are more disruptive to work flow than having to turn a picture of a knob with a mouse). Those who need good MIDI support might still be better off with Mac or Windows, but I don't require this. I would say stability of my system is noticeably better (for straightforward recording and editing) than that experienced by many of my Mac- and Windows-using colleagues.

One area that still needs improving is using multiple sound cards to boost channel count. In my mobile system I use an RME MADI card (up to 64 channels of simultaneous in/out at 48kHz) with external AD/DA converters, but that is probably too expensive an option for most semi-pro and hobby users. Combining a few eight channel cards for a cheaper setup still requires jumping through difficult configuration hoops (so difficult that AFAIK none of the dedicated media distros come with configurations for doing this).