Great question, Dave. I've been running a semi-professional studio used for recording client's songs (whatever they may be) for 3 years now, and I've decided to use Linux. I'll list the issues I've experienced.
- Lack of good synth / voice plugins. Admittedly, I've never tried to get VST working in Ardour (and Mixbus), but if that really is as stable as people seem to profess, I'll have to give it a shot. I need something like EastWest Brass and Strings and such. Something *really* high-quality that works as a plugin.
- I need something akin to Beat Detective. More often than not, horrible drummers come in, and it would be helpful if I could use a software-based rhythm detection and correction software instead of quantizing it by hand. I understand that Rhythm Ferret will eventually be able to do this, but I haven't seen it working yet.
- MIDI integration in the DAW. Ardour 3 will have this, and thank heavens for that. Using Muse->Jack->Ardour works, but it's a bit cumbersome.
After thinking for a bit, I believe that's all of it. I've thoroughly enjoyed using Linux, and my clients don't seem to care what I use (especially when the resultant quality of their masters exceeds their expectations by a long shot). I plan on using Linux for as long as I'm able, but the lack of good pro-quality synth / voice plugins is hurting. That said, I simply must say how awesome the FX plugins for Linux are. Reverbs / delays / compressors / limiters / gates / EQs are all just as good, if not better than, any other on any other platform. Kudos to those at LinuxDSP, as well as everyone else developing these awesome plugins. I can't wait to try out the Calf plugins, either! Those look like they're really well done.
--Jason
On Tue, Feb 5, 2013 at 7:58 AM, Dave Phillips <dlphillips@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Greetings,
I've been reading a lot of negative (read: vitriolic) commentary about the world of Linux audio development and applications. I won't bother to say where, just "the usual places" will have to suffice. Of greater interest to me is the commentary itself - it seems to boil down to the following plaints and lamentations (in no particular order) :
Too many distros.
Too many audio-optimized distros.
Not enough native plugins, esp. instruments.
Inconsistent support for VST/VSTi plugins.
Too many unstable/unfinished applications.
Too many "standards" (esp. wrt plugins).
Poor external/internal session management.
Poor support for certain modes of composition (think Ableton Live).
Lack of support for contemporary hardware.
Confusion re: desktops, and GUI toolkits.
Too difficult to set up audio system.
JACK is a pain.
Too much conflict/fragmentation within the development community.
I'm not so interested in comments on the commentary, I have my own, but say what you will about the list. I figure that most denizens of these lists already have ready replies and responses to these and other criticisms, many of which have been voiced here previously. What I'm more interested in is what *you* think is missing most or just plain wrong about the situation. Please, try to speak your piece without flames or dissing other developers and/or their work. Frankly speaking, I've had enough of that crap, and I'm most thankful these days for such forum amenities as "mute user" and autodiscard, along with the standard filters found in mail clients.
<aside>
I'm reminded of John Cage's comments regarding the behavior of the NY Philharmonic when they destroyed his equipment during the premire of Atlas Eclipticalis, something to the effect that his concerns had ceased to be musical and had become social, i.e. that he had to figure a way to allow people to be free yet behave themselves with respect towards the common goal (e.g. Cage's music and property). I'm going to guess that he was still working on that up to his death.
</aside>
So, in your honest and bold opinion as user and/or developer, what do we lack most and what can we do without that we already have ? Please feel free to expand your remarks as you like. I'm planning an article on the topic and will likely use selected comments, subject to approval of course.
Best,
dp
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