What Linux dist could i use?¿

[MindXhao]

Hello there! I'm new to Linux.

I would like to know what distribution of GNU/Linux i could use for musical production.

I read some people use Debian, if you could send me more information about this i'd be very glad.

Thanks for your time in advance!

[Lèyon di li Neûris′]

Salute to you,
As entirely free distributions for music, there's:

• Dynebolic (but the last release is really old, you can keep an eye on it but I don't recommand you to use it),

• Musix (almost as old and not maintained anymore, so, I highly recommand you not to use it, I talk nostalgicly about it as my previous attempt to make music with computer was with that distribution that I liked a lot)

There's also:

• Ubuntu studio

• and certainly a few others

But you can use any distribution and install the needed programs. Here is a very good tutorial on that topic (for Majaro, but you can adapt it to any distribution by taking in consideration other packaging system if needed — that's what I did this time indeed): https://tube.netzspielplatz.de/videos/w ... f2ddc170f1
Here is the list of the entirely free distributions.
And of course, this forum is full of informations (I only scratched the surface).
God bless you.

[d.healey]

I use Debian

[LAM]

Hi @MindXhao,

I use Debian too, but if you are new i suggest you to try an already configured distro like:

Ubuntu Studio - Based on Ubuntu
or
AVLinux MX - Based on MX Linux which is based on Debian

[Lèyon di li Neûris′]

AVLinux MX - Based on MX Linux which is based on Debian

That's funy that I use MX Linux and certainly did something from it that I should have directly with AVLinux MX that I didn't know about (I know it's talked on the forum but I didn't took the time to see what it is, anyway, my installation is prior to the inscription to this forum).

[Lèyon di li Neûris′]

There's also: LibraZik (LibraZik, website in english)

[Death]

You could use loads of different ones. The main thing will just be setting up Jack, Realtime privilages and the audio group. Installing Cadence will make your life a lot easier when it comes to setting up Jack so I definitely recommend doing that whatever distro you use.

I use Manjaro KDE and only had to do a few things to make it suitable. I prefer Manjaro over Debian/Ubuntu and their derivatives as it's a rolling release instead of a point release (Makes life a lot easier when you update). Although, Debian Testing is a rolling release I believe.

Here's some notes on setting up audio on Linux (It looks like a lot of stuff but it's actually pretty simple to do!):

* Make sure there is an audio group (Should already exist on Manjaro and most distros) and that your user account is in it (I think I did this very simply via the GUI on Manjaro KDE. Otherwise, it's easy enough via the terminal).

----------
* Realtime stuff:

* For most ditros (Not Arch & derivatives such as Manjaro), in /etc/security/limits.conf add these lines:
# audio group
@audio - rtprio 95
@audio - memlock unlimited

* For Arch Linux & derivatives such as Manjaro (More info: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Re ... management), install the realtime-privileges package which creates a file in /etc/security/limits.d/ called ‘99-realtime-privilegs.conf’ whose content is much like what’s listed above for ‘limits.conf’. This should create and add the user to the ‘realtime’ group. You can check this by running the command: groups

You may need to add the user to the realtime group manually, but doing this may uninstall realtime-privileges & remove 99-realtime-privilegs.conf so it may then be necessary to then reinstall realtime-privileges which should in turn recreate the config file.

* When using Arch & derivatives such as Manjaro, config files in /etc/security/limits.d/ will override settings in /etc/security/limits.conf (See link above for info).

* realtimeconfigquickscan is useful for checking your audio setup and if the above has worked.
----------
* Help with jack: https://jackaudio.org/faq/
* Setting up jack - Make sure these are installed:
jackd2
pulseaudio-module-jack
aj2mid
* When using jack, cadence or qjackctl can make things a lot easier (cadence is simpler).
* Bridge Pulseaudio through Jack: Install pulseaudio-module-jack, then add this as a command to run after startup in qjackctl (Not necessary with cadence as it can be set via the GUI): pactl set-default-sink jack_out
* Jack’s realtime priority should be lower than the soundcard’s. 80 is a suggested value. This can be set via Cadence.
* To install WineASIO (Useful for lower latency if you run a Windows DAW): Install wineasio then run these commands to register it 'regsvr32 wineasio' and 'wine64 regsvr32 wineasio'.


That's it really! Manjaro also has a realtime kernel available (Which can be easily switched to via the GUI) but I don't bother using it as it would eat up more CPU power which isn't worth it to me as I prefer to have that power free for gaming (Manjaro is also great if you're a gamer!).

The only issue I have is getting WineASIO to work. I can never select it as the audio driver with my Windows DAW and I've just given up on it now. The latency isn't bad without it but I hope to get it working someday.

If I could find a rolling release music distro that has more up to date software and drivers like Manjaro instead of the typical outdated LTS setups, then I may switch to it. Music distros are usually Ubuntu LTS based point releases which means outdated drivers/software and having to do a fresh install everytime there's a major update (Because upgrades rarely work properly - Never actually, in my experience).

[Philotomy]

Properly configured, many Linux distros would be suitable.

Personally, I use Arch, and am very happy with that. I like the rolling release model, I like the "configure exactly what you need -- no more and no less" aspect, and I like the excellent documentation and the availability of third party packages through the AUR.

[Death]

Properly configured, many Linux distros would be suitable.

Personally, I use Arch, and am very happy with that. I like the rolling release model, I like the "configure exactly what you need -- no more and no less" aspect, and I like the excellent documentation and the availability of third party packages through the AUR.

I agree. Arch is very well documented and has a great userbase. I much prefer the AUR to the absolute mess that happens with PPAs on Ubuntu, ugh..

And just to remind the OP, Manjaro is based on Arch so documentation for Arch is generally relevant to Manjaro, plus you can use the AUR on Manjaro.

[lilith]

How stable is Manjaro compared to Debian / Ubuntu? I read quite often in the past days that you break your system much more easily with Manjaro.

You could use loads of different ones. The main thing will just be setting up Jack, Realtime privilages and the audio group. Installing Cadence will make your life a lot easier when it comes to setting up Jack so I definitely recommend doing that whatever distro you use.

I use Manjaro KDE and only had to do a few things to make it suitable. I prefer Manjaro over Debian/Ubuntu and their derivatives as it's a rolling release instead of a point release (Makes life a lot easier when you update). Although, Debian Testing is a rolling release I believe.

Here's some notes on setting up audio on Linux (It looks like a lot of stuff but it's actually pretty simple to do!):

* Make sure there is an audio group (Should already exist on Manjaro and most distros) and that your user account is in it (I think I did this very simply via the GUI on Manjaro KDE. Otherwise, it's easy enough via the terminal).

----------
* Realtime stuff:

* For most ditros (Not Arch & derivatives such as Manjaro), in /etc/security/limits.conf add these lines:
# audio group
@audio - rtprio 95
@audio - memlock unlimited

* For Arch Linux & derivatives such as Manjaro (More info: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Re ... management), install the realtime-privileges package which creates a file in /etc/security/limits.d/ called ‘99-realtime-privilegs.conf’ whose content is much like what’s listed above for ‘limits.conf’. This should create and add the user to the ‘realtime’ group. You can check this by running the command: groups

You may need to add the user to the realtime group manually, but doing this may uninstall realtime-privileges & remove 99-realtime-privilegs.conf so it may then be necessary to then reinstall realtime-privileges which should in turn recreate the config file.

* When using Arch & derivatives such as Manjaro, config files in /etc/security/limits.d/ will override settings in /etc/security/limits.conf (See link above for info).

* realtimeconfigquickscan is useful for checking your audio setup and if the above has worked.
----------
* Help with jack: https://jackaudio.org/faq/
* Setting up jack - Make sure these are installed:
jackd2
pulseaudio-module-jack
aj2mid
* When using jack, cadence or qjackctl can make things a lot easier (cadence is simpler).
* Bridge Pulseaudio through Jack: Install pulseaudio-module-jack, then add this as a command to run after startup in qjackctl (Not necessary with cadence as it can be set via the GUI): pactl set-default-sink jack_out
* Jack’s realtime priority should be lower than the soundcard’s. 80 is a suggested value. This can be set via Cadence.
* To install WineASIO (Useful for lower latency if you run a Windows DAW): Install wineasio then run these commands to register it 'regsvr32 wineasio' and 'wine64 regsvr32 wineasio'.


That's it really! Manjaro also has a realtime kernel available (Which can be easily switched to via the GUI) but I don't bother using it as it would eat up more CPU power which isn't worth it to me as I prefer to have that power free for gaming (Manjaro is also great if you're a gamer!).

The only issue I have is getting WineASIO to work. I can never select it as the audio driver with my Windows DAW and I've just given up on it now. The latency isn't bad without it but I hope to get it working someday.

If I could find a rolling release music distro that has more up to date software and drivers like Manjaro instead of the typical outdated LTS setups, then I may switch to it. Music distros are usually Ubuntu LTS based point releases which means outdated drivers/software and having to do a fresh install everytime there's a major update (Because upgrades rarely work properly - Never actually, in my experience).

[Death]

How stable is Manjaro compared to Debian / Ubuntu? I read quite often in the past days that you break your system much more easily with Manjaro.

Actually, more stable in my experience. I was a Mint (Based on Ubuntu/Debian) user before Manjaro and experienced more problems. My life is way easier on Manjaro. It's just easier to use and maintain, especially with the rolling release model. I use the KDE version and I can definitely recommend it. Arch is more likely to have instability issues as far as I'm aware because it's more of a bleeding edge distro where as Manjaro is cutting edge.

I couldn't go back to some LTS or point release distro now - Out of date kernels, drivers & software.. The upgrades that never work.. PPAs on Debian/Ubuntu.. I mean maybe if I had a machine with really old hardware in it or something, maybe that'd make more sense. But even then..

But one thing you really should do right after installing any distro is to setup Timeshift to do system backups. It's similar to System Restore on Windows if you've ever used that. It's the difference between your day being ruined or not when something goes wrong..

[lilith]

How stable is Manjaro compared to Debian / Ubuntu? I read quite often in the past days that you break your system much more easily with Manjaro.

Actually, more stable in my experience. I was a Mint (Based on Ubuntu/Debian) user before Manjaro and experienced more problems. My life is way easier on Manjaro. It's just easier to use and maintain, especially with the rolling release model. I use the KDE version and I can definitely recommend it. Arch is more likely to have instability issues as far as I'm aware because it's more of a bleeding edge distro where as Manjaro is cutting edge.

I couldn't go back to some LTS or point release distro now - Out of date kernels, drivers & software.. The upgrades that never work.. PPAs on Debian/Ubuntu.. I mean maybe if I had a machine with really old hardware in it or something, maybe that'd make more sense. But even then..

But one thing you really should do right after installing any distro is to setup Timeshift to do system backups. It's similar to System Restore on Windows if you've ever used that. It's the difference between your day being ruined or not when something goes wrong..

Thanks, that's interesting. Just saw that @unfa had some issues recently when I watched some videos. Maybe I give it a trial. but at the moment I'm happy with Ubuntustudio. I usually only backup my /home data by grsync. The system is quickly installed again.

[Death]

Thanks, that's interesting. Just saw that @unfa had some issues recently when I watched some videos. Maybe I give it a trial. but at the moment I'm happy with Ubuntustudio. I usually only backup my /home data by grsync. The system is quickly installed again.

Was it something to do with Nvidia drivers? I looked on the Manjaro forum earlier and there was a post about it pinned to the top of the page: https://forum.manjaro.org/ It's not a Manjaro specific problem by the sounds of it though. I use AMD so luckily it doesn't affect me.

Timeshift is really easy to use and has a nice GUI. I would definitely recommend it to newcomers and just anyone who wants an easy time of it really.. I used to use it on Mint too so it should work on most distros.

Another thing I forgot to mention about Manjaro earlier is that the repositories are amazing. There's so much damn stuff in there and it's kept up to date really well! I rarely need to use the AUR. On Ubuntu and derivatives, I was always messing about with PPAs and Flatpack/AppImage packages due to a lack of software/up to date software in the repos. I'm so glad those days are over.. The downside to Arch/Manjaro is that it apparently sometimes installs an entire program you don't want just for the sake of dependencies, rather than just installing those specific libraries it needs. Some people refer to the package management system as 'bloated' for this reason.

I used to use UbuntuStudio quite a few years back.. What's it like these days? Is it still based on Ubuntu LTS?

[Lèyon di li Neûris′]

Mint is not Ubuntu or Debian.
I tested all of them and I had more trouble with mint with it.
I also had a hard time with Debian, but that was a long time ago, no I prefer Debian then Ubuntu.
I only tried a but Manjaro, I just know that I didn't kept it, I don't remember why.
I also think that our mind is set with some habits that comes from the tools we use, so, the more the use a distribution, the more you might have trouble with different distributions. Personally, if I can't use .deb, I don't like it.

[Death]

Mint is not Ubuntu or Debian.

Last I checked, Mint is based on Ubuntu and they also have a version that's based on Debian.