Hello my friends!
I'm looking into the possibility of migrating from Windows 10 to some Linux-based OS. But first, I would love to know what would be a more suitable linux distro to work/use Pianoteq.
Thank you all.
I see the Reaper forums have multiple threads on Linux. Those seem logical bedfellows anyway (sensible cost, high efficiency - things to appeal to Pianoteq mindset I suggest).
Mint gets mentioned a few times all over the place for DAW work. It's on my radar, I might go the Linux way myself for another machine perhaps.
Another Linux musician forum:
https://linuxmusicians.com/
I'm experimenting with a dual boot of Windows and Linux on a laptop which is a few years old. After a bit of research I opted for Ubuntu Studio, because it has a low-latency kernel and comes with quite a lot of useful software pre-installed. Some of it I have already used and enjoyed in Windows (MuseScore, Inkscape, GIMP, OBS Studio, Libre Office). In the near future I plan to post my experiences of setting it up, as I think there are quite a few other Windows Pianoteq users who are interested in Linux.
One thing I discovered, much to my relief: it's now a heck of a lot easier to set up a dual boot than it was when I tried it a few years ago!
I've had good results with AVL-MXE: http://www.bandshed.net/. You can run from USB stick to try it out before installing it. I have another laptop with Mint which is rather terrible for audio, x-runs galore.
.. I have another laptop with Mint which is rather terrible for audio, x-runs galore.
Hi varpa,
I had no idea what x-runs were so I googled it:
https://unix.stackexchange.com/question...-are-xruns
So it is buffer issues for the sound interface. ALSA instead of ASIO.
I would love to know what would be a more suitable linux distro to work/use Pianoteq.
I don't think it matters much. Pianoteq on Linux seems to be very reliable, so any major distribution should be OK. Personally I chose Ubuntu and it's been working fine for me.
Also, I've been ignoring the sites with complicated advice about real-time/low latency kernels. I think this was a big deal a few years ago, but isn't always necessary on modern hardware. I did have some issues with latency before I installed the Jack audio drivers, but setting up Jack was pretty easy too, and now I actually get better performance out of Pianoteq on Linux than I do when I reboot into Windows on the same hardware.
I've used plain Ubuntu on some ten-year-old hardware I had lying around and had no latency problems with the default kernel, even using Alsa /pulseaudio. I don't think a special distro for audio is necessary any longer.
There are others here with a lot more Linux knowledge than me, but if you're using an external audio interface I think you might not need a low latency kernel (so any distro might do as some have said). But if you're plugging straight into your computer you might need lower latency. You should be able to add a low latency kernel to any Linux distro (it will take a little time/work if you're new to Linux). I managed to add it to Mint successfully with only a little terminal experience. Otherwise, getting a distro with a low latency kernel built in, like Ubuntu Studio or AV Linux, is likely a good idea if you don't want to get your hands dirty.
Does anyone know if it's possible to use an ASIO interface (such as Audient iD4) in Linux? So far I haven't attempted it. I think there is such a thing as WineASIO, but I get the impression that it's rather hit-and-miss.
Does anyone know if it's possible to use an ASIO interface (such as Audient iD4) in Linux? So far I haven't attempted it. I think there is such a thing as WineASIO, but I get the impression that it's rather hit-and-miss.
LinuxMusicians.com and the LinuxAudio reddit at Reddit.com can be good resources.
https://linuxmusicians.com/viewtopic.php?t=16166
https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxaudio/com..._on_linux/
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Regarding a good Linux distro (distribution or "flavor") for audio use, recording and editing, in addition to AVlinux and UbuntuStudio, just about any distribution that includes or offers a more lightweight desktop will work fine, with either the generic linux kernel or the lowlatency variant of the kernel installed. By "lightweight," I mean a desktop window manager environment that doesn't have too many other processes running in the background automatically and at various or unexpected times, that might interfere with an audio task having nearly full use of the CPU cores while it is running.
I am currently using Pop! OS with both (either) the generic or the lowlatency kernel, with the CPUpower-gui app installed to control the frequencies and governors of the CPU cores so that they always operate near the fastest speeds the CPU specifications allow without overclocking, and without too large fluctuations or jumps between frequencies. I use a Mackie Onyx 2*2 Producer external audio/MIDI interface, and a MIDIhub from Blokas.io, and operate Pianoteq with settings of 256 voices polyphony, 48,000 Hz sample rate, and 64 samples per buffer, "Multicore rendering: Max," when I am using the Pianoteq standalone app. Sometimes I increase a DAW's audio buffer to 128 or 256 samples when it has a lot of different processes occurring at the same time all of which demand some of the CPU-cores' time. My current computer is a System76 Thelio with an AMD Ryzen 7 5700G, 8-core CPU operating at a non-overclocked rated spec. of 4672 MHz per core, with a GPU on the CPU (integrated graphics, no need for a separate NVidia or other graphics card, which doesn't bother me because I'm not a gamer who needs or wants highest-spec graphic performance; prefer good audio performance instead).
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Thanks Stephen! It looks as if iD4 mk1 (which I have) should work in Linux, at least for playback (which is what I want) so I'll give it a try...
I successfully used Kubuntu and Reaper for many years. Kubuntu is basically Ubuntu but running KDE Plasma rather than Gnome, as I prefer Plasma. I'm not sure if the DE makes a huge difference; you mainly need to get JACK and ALSA and Pulseaudio etc set up correctly.
Just to comment: you don't want to use ASIO in linux. It would be running in some emulation mode and work horribly. The main problem/feature in linux is that NO hardware vendor provides native linux drivers. That said, there are are many audio interfaces which use the USB audio standard which works well in linux (since the protocol is public information and linux coders have provided drivers). But there is a lot of hardware that uses proprietary drivers and which likely won't work well in linux. As others have said, there is no single linux distro that is the best. The main advantage of the audio oriented ones like MXE-AVL and Ubuntu Studio is that some optimizations are already done so you don't have to figure that out. But more-or-less any linux distro can be made to work well for audio.
No, I really don't want to try messing around with ASIO in Linux. I had a feeling it would be dodgy. If I can just get the iD4 to work as a simple output device in Linux I'll be very happy. I'll report back when I've had a chance to try it.
I've been using Pianoteq on various Linux distros for over a decade. Pianoteq is distro agnostic--you can unpack it and just run it standalone without issue. It's really remarkable in this way! Details are in the Pianoteq readme file.
People seem to be answering a different question in this thread, about the best distro to use for music production in general.
Really, any distro can be used with a little googling and some basic set-up for audio. The default kernel has reasonable latency these days. If you only work inside of a DAW, Reaper, Bitwig, Ardour and Mixbus don't even require JACK anymore. Way easier than it used to be.
If you want a preconfigured, optimized set-up, start with Ubuntu Studio. Can't go wrong. If you need something ready to run your Windows software (be warned not all of it will work, and it's amazing that any of it does too begin with!), a bunch of preinstalled audio tools and a realtime kernel, AV Linux will have you covered.
Linux is truly awesome for audio production. Really, the only problem people seem to have is giving up Windows/Mac software that they are accustomed to. If you are not afraid of using new tools you'll have a blast.
As others have said, Pianoteq should run fine on any Linux distro. I use AV-Linux MXE - works great with most Windows plugins too.
I'm using Pianoteq with Linux Mint Cinnamon 20.1 & kernel 5.11 and it's working fine.
There are a couple of settings to apply detailed in the README file that is in the Linux version of Pianoteq.
Regarding a USB interface for Linux.
I don't get good audio quality on either Linux or Windows, but I think that is due to the sound device on the motherboard and I need a USB DAC.
I tried a Scarlett 6i6 but I sent it back. I think it was faulty.
I am waiting for a Motu M2 soundcard that is on order and has a good DAC.
Here is an article by someone who uses the M4 on Linux which is an extended version of the M2.
https://panther.kapsi.fi/posts/2020-02-02_motu_m4
Focusrite Scarlett will work on Linux. Tascam would probably be OK.
Note that USB class compliant devices will work on Linux but that doesn't mean that everything will work and all the channels and connections will be available. You won't necessarily get loopback or DSP effects that are accessed by the Windows driver.
Thanks to everyone for the excellent opinions.
I decided to install Ubuntu Studio. I am really impressed with the performance achieved.
I just wondered if it's normal to open Pianoteq without using an installer.
I just downloaded the Pianoteq for Linux folder, opened the x86 folder and clicked on an executable icon and pianoteq opened immediately, no installation.
Yes, there's a few different methods of installing software on Linux, but "just unzip it" works for quite a few things. It's great not having to reboot or mess about when you install something!
I decided to install Ubuntu Studio. I am really impressed with the performance achieved.
I just wondered if it's normal to open Pianoteq without using an installer. I just downloaded the Pianoteq for Linux folder, opened the x86 folder and clicked on an executable icon and pianoteq opened immediately, no installation.
That's normal. If a standalone app (such as the many available as AppImage files) is not already marked as executable, it's easy to do so (right-click-->properties-->permissions, "is executable" (or equivalent)).
If you installed the KDE Plasma desktop version of UbuntuStudio, you can add the Pianoteq standalone executable to the system menu (right-click system menu icon-->Edit Applications-->New Item (under any category). You can find a nice icon for Pianoteq by searching this forum for "icon," (or just download it from here https://www.modartt.com/images/logo/Pia...20icon.svg and add it to the menu item by clicking the blank square in the New Item window/dialog. After adding Pianoteq to the system menu, you can right-click the menu item and select "Pin to task manager" to add the icon to the main panel in KDE (usually or initially at the top of the desktop) for easy one-click launching of Pianoteq.
Sadly Linux Mint dropped the KDE support. Ubuntu and Mint are nice distros for audio.
I have good experience with Xubuntu (and Mint supports Xfce builds, as well).
Trying Pianoteq on Fedora recently. Works smoothly. Haven't done any special tweaking and my ear cannot sense any delay / latency.
I only had Pianoteq complain frequently about CPU usage being high so I disabled that warnings. Everything keep working nice and smooth.
Trying Pianoteq on Fedora recently. Works smoothly. Haven't done any special tweaking and my ear cannot sense any delay / latency.
I only had Pianoteq complain frequently about CPU usage being high so I disabled that warnings. Everything keep working nice and smooth.
If the issue is because of CPU-core frequency scaling (reported as "large fluctuations" in Pianoteq-->Options-->Performance), you might try installing the convenient graphical utility app cpupower-gui, and using it to set all the CPU cores at their maximum or near-maximum frequency and choosing the "Performance" governor to control them all, while you're using Pianoteq or another audio or CPU-intensive app.
For audio use I occasionally change/install between various Linux distributions. Right now I'm using Linux Mint, XFCE edition; works very well.
Linux Mint: https://linuxmint.com/
