Solving the biggest impediment to use Linux

[jsr]

I'll start by quoting Paul Davis.

https://artmusictech.libsyn.com/podcast ... vis-ardour 00:47:19:

- Plugin developers not making their plugins available on Linux is now, I would say, the biggest impediment to people who would like to use Linux as the platform.

What should we do about this? Can we gather our forces and show that we exist? Can we do it in this thread?

[jsr]

I depend on virtual instruments from Orchestral Tools (Metropolis Ark 1, etc.) and I use LinVst and Kontakt Player. Orchestral Tools will switch from Kontakt to their own SINE Player that does not work with LinVst (https://github.com/osxmidi/LinVst/issues/137). It's a shame that they develop a new plugin and leave us outside. Can we do something? Is it just me who is interested in this? Could Orchestral Tools be able to sell instruments for Linux on Kickstarter? Or would it just reveal that we are embarrassingly few?

If Orchestral Tools shows interest in Linux with SINE Player, I will undoubtedly buy instruments for about EUR 1 000 this year.

I also use Pianoteq from Modartt (native Linux plugin, not FOSS, but it allows me to use Linux)

[d.healey]

A lot of developers rely on DRM from third parties such as PACE and they are unwilling to support GNU/Linux (doesn't affect me as I won't use a DRM'd plugin anyway).

For smaller developers the issue is usually that they see GNU/Linux as a small market, and as they aren't GNU/Linux users themselves it will be more hassle to support it and not worthwhile.

[Basslint]

The problem is that there isn't an open standard for plugins which is popular outside of *NIX - from what I hear, we are the only ones using LV2. Although, with VST3 being GPL'd, I think we are close to it.

I think that one obstacle is DRM, which is common for plugins, I understand, and developed by third parties such as iLok.

[VANDEEN]

I think the FREE Spitfire labs sounds are fabulous and would love to get them running in native Linux rather than having to instal Wine & bridges.
I'm so happy that they work, even if it has taken me a day fiddling.

If I was in the market for something like Albion One, I couldn't see myself paying £399.00 & having to jump through the same hoops though.

[tavasti]

I think the FREE Spitfire labs sounds are fabulous and would love to get them running in native Linux rather than having to instal Wine & bridges.
I'm so happy that they work, even if it has taken me a day fiddling.

I did not actually get them running at all. I have pretty many windows plugins running, but for Spitfire, no luck on installing.

[VANDEEN]

I think the FREE Spitfire labs sounds are fabulous and would love to get them running in native Linux rather than having to instal Wine & bridges.
I'm so happy that they work, even if it has taken me a day fiddling.

I did not actually get them running at all. I have pretty many windows plugins running, but for Spitfire, no luck on installing.

Neither had I until Wednesday, when I noticed falkTX had made some changes to the code & I updated to a new version of Carla, "2.1.0", even now I can only access the Labs plugins as VST2 .dll directly in their folder.
They don't show in the "add new plugins window" but by clicking onto either the LABS 32 or 64bit .DLL VST2's in the file manager at the left hand side of Carla it installs them into the rack perfectly & when you click the settings cog it brings up the Spitfire interface for you to adjust the sounds.

I think your tracks like "The Harvester" & "Dark Days" would really benefit from using it, or something similar, certainly for the strings samples as they are far more natural sounding & dynamic.

I don't want to de-rail this thread but can send you some screen pictures or video via FB Messenger if you're struggling to get them to work still if you think that would help? Just send me a message on here & let me know.

[tavasti]

I did not actually get them running at all. I have pretty many windows plugins running, but for Spitfire, no luck on installing.

Neither had I until Wednesday, when I noticed falkTX had made some changes to the code & I updated to a new version of Carla, "2.1.0", even now I can only access the Labs plugins as VST2 .dll directly in their folder.

My problem was pretty much earlier, Spitfire installer did not work for me, it fails to download stuff, viewtopic.php?f=50&t=19776

But I could try again if something has changed meanwhile.

Edit: tested, same problem. Googled with error messages, did dll overrides/winetricks for rasapi32 and secur32, and as a result, no error messages but does not progress.

[VANDEEN]

My problem was pretty much earlier, Spitfire installer did not work for me, it fails to download stuff, viewtopic.php?f=50&t=19776

But I could try again if something has changed meanwhile.

Edit: tested, same problem. Googled with error messages, did dll overrides/winetricks for rasapi32 and secur32, and as a result, no error messages but does not progress.

Ah, OK, couple more things to try.
Are you on the latest version of the Spitfire Labs Installer Version 3.1.18 ?
I start this by using winefile in terminal & browsing to it on the "C" drive & double clicking, once running I close the terminal.
Then once running (& logged in with account & password) I open up a firefox window & go to the labs download site https://www.spitfireaudio.com/labs/
Click on "GET" for the sample I want, & popup appears saying " Do you have the Spitfire Audio App installed on your computer? You'll need it to install this product." I click "YES"
Next popup has button marked "download", click this, then you get a website error saying the address wasn't understood.
NB THIS BIT IS FROM MEMORY AS I ALREADY HAVE ALL SAMPLES INSTALLED SO CAN'T REPLICATE
Now go back to your Spitfire Audio Labs installer program window click on "My Products" & "settings cog" & "refresh"
Then click on "not installed" & "settings cog" & "refresh"
Hopefully the sample you want should now appear with a "download" button, click that & it jumps to the downloading screen.

Let me know if this solves it for you.

[tavasti]

My problem was pretty much earlier, Spitfire installer did not work for me, it fails to download stuff, viewtopic.php?f=50&t=19776

But I could try again if something has changed meanwhile.

Edit: tested, same problem. Googled with error messages, did dll overrides/winetricks for rasapi32 and secur32, and as a result, no error messages but does not progress.

Ah, OK, couple more things to try.
Are you on the latest version of the Spitfire Labs Installer Version 3.1.18 ?

Yes, dowloaded latest installer, and running it is the problem. It can't download vc_redist.x86.exe
(first thing it tries). So won't be getting to phase that would use that installer...

I started it in terminal, and running it from my Downloads-directory in terminal.

Tried now also with running from winefile and having that file in c:\users\tavasti\Downloads, no difference

[VANDEEN]

>>>> It can't download vc_redist.x86.exe
On my machine the exe is included in /home/garry/.wine/drive_c/ProgramData/Package Cache/{e2803110-78b3-4664-a479-3611a381656a}/
Which appears to be something to do with Microsoft Visual C++

Is that file not included as part of winetricks?, I've sent you a DM with the output of an
apt search wine
Showing all of my installed wine components & their versions.

>>>> did dll overrides/winetricks for rasapi32 and secur32, and as a result, no error messages but does not progress.
I certainly didn't have to do any manual dll overrides or anything.

I'm conscious of derailing this valuable thread (so valuable I made my first post in it after over 2 years of just viewing )
Is there somewhere better on the forum for this that we could be posting?

[tavasti]

I'm conscious of derailing this valuable thread (so valuable I made my first post in it after over 2 years of just viewing )
Is there somewhere better on the forum for this that we could be posting?

I think this thread: viewtopic.php?f=50&t=19776

[Basslint]

Big news for GNU/Linux: JUCE has finally merged VST3 support (commit). This is good because VST3 is under the GPLv3 and JUCE is used by many plugins...the big thing now would be to have VST3 support in at least in a couple of the major DAWs (like Paul Davis' own Ardour).

As for using Windows VST3s on GNU/Linux, I don't use them but I just found this: https://github.com/osxmidi/LinVst3-X

[fsciarra62]

Hi all,
I am a musician, a scarce keyboardist. I'm used to buying my musical instruments, I guess like many of you, and everybody knows that professional keyboards, but also guitars, sax, whatever, cost pretty a lot of money.
And keyboards have a very wide range of frequencies to be preserved during recording and playing: everybody knows you need high quality equipment and effects for keyboards.
When you go in the "effects" territory, there are some names who are renowned because of their undisputable high quality and you can find them on records of practically every star.
One of these names is Eventide.
I don't have so much money to afford their studio-level stuff like H3000 and just have two H9 pedals... They are typically for guitars but the quality is enough to let me say that I've never had that sound "fiber" under my fingers before. And to my ears comparison with other pedals just don't keep.
Recently they made an offer on some VST plugins.
Now I have Bitwig Studio and Harrison Mixbus32C on Linux and having had a good experience with Melodyne Studio, which works pretty well on wine for me, I asked for a demo version and I tried them.
I was using Ubuntustudio 19.04 and then 19.10 and, despite they were using iLok, it worked for me flawlessly. So I've bought some of them.
Now I stepped on ubuntu studio 20.04, which has wine 5 instead of wine 4, and the iLok License Manager doesn't work anymore.
For now, I just have a 19.10 version on an SSD I use to authorize my plugins: once authorized they stay on PC without the need of connecting to the internet again. But it's a dangerous situation.
So, in short, I think that these things are the biggest impediment to use Linux: I can't buy high-quality software because the DRM licensing is not supported. I've filed a bug on ubuntu studio and on wine but it looks like nobody is paying too much attention to that for now.
The same is for high-quality audio cards. I have a MOTU Ultralite AVB and I'm lucky to have the old version, so burning a "certain" firmware it works quite good. But my best friend has bought the newest version and it doesn't work at all: loss of money. Here is another pitfall: hardware support.
I hope this is going to change, because believe me or not, there are people who are willing to use Linux on music too: the sign is that high-quality plug-ins makers like U-He, discoDSP, and others, are providing Linux version for their software.
This is good for the whole global movement around Linux: the more people use it, the more people understand that free software is not a joke.
I prefer Bitwig Studio to Ardour because of its specific workflow, but I started with Ardour in my path to DAW.
And I've bought Mixbus32C because it finances Ardour and the mastering done with it has a different "color", let me say, that I like.
I think we should be more supportive of software companies who want to port their software on our preferred platform: I don't want to be forced to use "that os" just because I can't run my software in a robust way.
That's my humble opinion. I hope I didn't hurt anybody feelings.
Best regards,
Fabrizio

[tavasti]

I was using Ubuntustudio 19.04 and then 19.10 and, despite they were using iLok, it worked for me flawlessly. So I've bought some of them.
Now I stepped on ubuntu studio 20.04, which has wine 5 instead of wine 4, and the iLok License Manager doesn't work anymore.
For now, I just have a 19.10 version on an SSD I use to authorize my plugins: once authorized they stay on PC without the need of connecting to the internet again. But it's a dangerous situation.
So, in short, I think that these things are the biggest impediment to use Linux: I can't buy high-quality software because the DRM licensing is not supported. I've filed a bug on ubuntu studio and on wine but it looks like nobody is paying too much attention to that for now.

You should bug iLok, and also tell companies which use iLok that you would be interested to use their products, but because they use iLok, you can't. I have tried one plugin which uses iLok, and their installation will also make win10 virtual machine unbootable.