Just noticed interesting releases on lando:



So it appears we'll be getting not only native linux build of REAPER, but also one for ARMv7l (and maybe ARMv8l), making REAPER one of the first to cross into linux territory, and probably the first to get to ARM platform.

 

Last edited: Sep 4, 2017

Great news,always happy for top quality software coming to linux

 

I trust Justin Frankel. He is serious about Reaper and it is getting popular rapidly. I think Reaper is perfect for new generation which can handle more and more options and customizability.

 

Myself using REAPER for over 6 years now - never really needed to switch to anything else.
By having native REAPER on linux, one could plan to abandon the whole Windows platform (by the end of extended support for Win7) and not lose their favourite software.
That's my plan at least

 

That's my "escape plan", too, Andrew. I'm so happy they continued working on the Linux version, and ARM yes!

However, as things are now, I'll be using XP and W7 as side operating systems for audio for a long time to come. Well, I don't see that as a problem. I know people who still use Atari STs due to it's rock solid MIDI and quietness [it's a really great "hardware sequencer" ] and W98 with older PCs because they love some audio software that stopped being developed. In the end, the end result is what counts, not how new your PC and OS is! A PC is just an instrument and instruments don't get obsolete.

But it makes me really happy to know that there will be an alternative to all these terrible proprietary OSes we are forced to use now, so we can use all these nice new AMD and Intel processors with and use new programs, too!

 

Last edited: Sep 4, 2017

u-he has been running Linux betas of most of their software for a while too (almost 3 years). This now includes Zebra2, Diva, Bazille, Hive, and more. You'll need to know your way around Linux a bit to get and keep it all working with your Linux DAW (of which there are several out there), but there are forums to help us out. I'm a Reaper user too, and run a couple of Linux rigs, but I'm not ready to spend enough time with it to build it all up. I barely have enough time to make music as it is. I'll get there someday soon...

Here's the link to the u-he beta page:
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=424953

 

@SineWave What's even more, is the inclusion of an ARM build. With Odroid XU5 at the door and Samsung Exynos 8895 (and Snapdragon 835) basically matching modern Intel i7 quad in terms of performance with their A72 cores while being 20 times more power efficient, Audio Workstation may look totally different in next few years.

 

I guess I can stay with MacOS and RME interfaces for few more years, luckily Windows burden is gone for me for good :D

 

i'm running reaper on linux mint at the moment, just testing it . it's nice to have it running on linux but what about 3rd party plugins?

 

Exactly what I was going to ask.

 

There are quite a few plugins available natively for Linux, but nothing like what is available on Win/Mac. Most of the Linux DAWS all come with various effects and synths, like Bitwig and Tracktion do (Tracktion sells theirs separately too). Plus the aforementioned u-he synths (and Satin and Presswerk too). There is plenty out there to make really good music on Linux, but we're spoiled here on the other side with an abundance of riches. Kontakt is the "killer app" for me, and I don't expect to see that one ported.

 

Last edited: Sep 4, 2017

Without demand, it won't happen.

 

Linux version should come with VST and VSTi support, so in theory all that's needed is to point to your estabilished VST folder.
For all other plugins that need to be installed, those might work through WINE.

 

There is actually loads of plugins you can use in Linux. LV2 plugins. The quality of these vary in the same way as VST plugins, but there are really loads of them to choose from. However, as Andrew said, when they implement VST support in Reaper we will be able to run Windows VST plugins in Reaper through WINE emulation layer. WINE is quite efficient, when it works properly. I'd rather see more great native LV2 plugins, but it's what we have right now. It used to be much worse, though.

 

It can be solved by using Wine, however, may cause few compatibility issues, but it will be improved with the continues development of Wine.
And don't forget VST itself is a cross-platform protocol, I'd like to see more native Linux VST plugins in the future!

 

Can they handle zero latency convolution? :P [Edited: this is a joke about the new ARM processors, sorry for the confussion lol]

I agree with these users. First, don't get me wrong. It's a great thing and it's a start. But...

VST is a standard but a lot more work than simply compiling for another OS is needed.

Even so, at the moment (Steinberg VST SDK site):

Devs port VSTs to MacOS VSTs because they make money with Cubase and S1 Mac users. Most devs won't port to Linux because they won't make enough money. Large minor user base and not used to pay.

If you look at the JUCE platform, the better cross-platform audio plugin framework (I think Tracktion uses JUCE but not sure), you see Linux plugin devs struggling twice than Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, even Android developers.

Well, at the end of the day it's quite similar to gaming. Nvidia tries to make a free but closed source Linux DirectX driver and they divide the Linux community, closed soft free forks created, etc...

 

Last edited: Sep 6, 2017

maybe it's time for "another" plugin standard?
Reaper is already making use of JS plugins, and let's be honest, if DAW is supposed to be lightweight, then the plugin format needs to be efficient as well,
talking about JUCE, for ex. ROLI Equator (bundled with Seaboard) is built on JUCE, is crossplatform and pretty sexy UI

 

Yes, we shouldn't forget that Reaper comes with a ton of great plugins itself!
JS is brilliant! Not as efficient as it could be, but you can do incredible things with it.

@Xupito Why couldn't they be able to process convolution with zero latency? It's mainly about the OS, not the CPU and you can make Linux very lean, with very low OS overhead. Look at the Windows and OSX with all those masses of unnecessary processes in the background... that's bad for low latency performance.

 

Yes that is Linux Lean and mean.

 

you simply cannot mix with the bundled plugins. i know, they can sound good, but i need an easy gui for those lovely compressors and eq etc.

but it's a good start. hopefully i can switch to Linux os for making music before the thermonuclear holocaust our lovely world leader monkeys are working on atm.