switching from apple to linux

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joaommeirelles
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switching from apple to linux

Post by joaommeirelles »

hi,
I'm leaving my apple life behind and I'm searching a lot about pc laptops, distros, interfaces etc...
until now I'm considering buying the Dell G7 gamer leptop, and use dual boot with windows and linux. I was looking into Ubuntu Studio as my linux distro (I've used for sometime in the past) but now I'm liking the manjaro KDE distro (only tested with the bootable usb). So I'm considering to use it installing a low latency kernel and and the KXstudio repository. Also I'm using an Motu Ultralite MK4 as interface... with the bootable pendrive it was recognized but the audio was really crazy, like the sample rate was really low...
1 - Do you guys feel this is a good hardware setup for live and studio setup?
2 - and about the interface, anyone used ultralite MK4 with linux? any issues like this?
3 - about the Distro, what do you feel?

thanks
Musicteacher
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Re: switching from apple to linux

Post by Musicteacher »

I can say about point (3):
Manjaro is arch-based, I use antergos, which is Arch-based, too. I think that arch is very well suited for audio, and the documentation (in the arch wiki) is very good. It depends a bit on your knowledge, Arch linux (and, to a lesser degree, the derivatives) are known not to be suited for beginners. The dedicated audio-distros are easier to set up, I guess.

As for the motu: I don't know, but if your life-distro has qjackctrl, it would be terribly easy to try to change the sampling-rate and see if that works, too.
CrocoDuck
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Re: switching from apple to linux

Post by CrocoDuck »

Hi there!

I have been using Linux exclusively for the past 10 years. I am now so used to it and comfortable with it that I cannot get productive on Windows or Mac no matter what, not only for music but also for anything else. I use a Mac everyday at work, and almost everyday I want to smash it on the ground. There are few good things about it, even though I am not very fond of it, but that's for another thread.
joaommeirelles wrote:3 - about the Distro, what do you feel?
I really like Arch. The standard kernel of Arch nowadays is pretty much the same thing as an Ubuntu Lowlatency. Things have been working real good on Arch lately, so well I ditched my RT kernel.

However, for a beginner, I think that Ubuntu Studio is a good choice. This because it will give you a system that has all the most relevant software, and good configuration, so you can start explore it and understand how to use, and whether it is a good environment for you.

At the end of the day what I think works best is to use a regular mainstream distro, such as Debian or Arch, and just configure it and install what you need. However, to understand what you need you first have to understand the ecosystem. This why I would go with Ubuntu Studio first.

If you want to use KXStudio repos, I think it would be best to use them on regular Ubuntu rather then Ubuntu Studio. By the way, that would be a good choice for a beginner too. There might be a couple of conf things to iron out, but we are here to help!
joaommeirelles wrote:2 - and about the interface, anyone used ultralite MK4 with linux? any issues like this?
No experience with it. However, if you seen something weird, you might want to boot up live again and try to do some troubleshooting. We can help. This is the good thing of Linux: you can try before you install. If your hardware cannot be made to work properly, then there might not be too much of a point. So, my advice would be that you find out as much as possible of how your hardware works on Linux before you commit to the switch.
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Re: switching from apple to linux

Post by stanlea »

kxstudio repositories upon Ubuntu 18.04 LTS or AVlinux
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Re: switching from apple to linux

Post by rghvdberg »

The KX apps like cadence, carla etc are in the repos for Manjaro.
You can't install the KX repos on Manjaro, but there's no real need either afaik.
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Linuxmusician01
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Re: switching from apple to linux

Post by Linuxmusician01 »

I wouldn't use Ubuntu Studio. In other topic hare it has been said that there is a big chance that the maintainers/developers will stop in the near future. I think it's a project that is run by a single person who has other things on his mind too. As a matter of fact: I've argued the last few weeks in multiple topics that I'd never use a non-mainstream distro. Here's why:
  • The standard kernel is already pretty low latency.
  • Non-mainstream distro's have no software that cannot be installed on, say, Ubuntu. Those distro's have no added value.
  • If they do have software that's not available anywhere else then that exotic software might not be stable or supported by the community.
  • Those exotic distro's are bound to give you troubles when you ask for community support.
  • Support may stop any time.
Just use Ubuntu w/ the KXStudio repository: you cant go wrong.
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Re: switching from apple to linux

Post by tramp »

Linuxmusician01 wrote:I wouldn't use Ubuntu Studio. In other topic hare it has been said that there is a big chance that the maintainers/developers will stop in the near future. I think it's a project that is run by a single person who has other things on his mind too. As a matter of fact: I've argued the last few weeks in multiple topics that I'd never use a non-mainstream distro.
Just to clear that up, Ubuntu Studio isn't a "non-mainstream distro" driven by a single person. I've no idea how you come to this conclusion.
Ubuntu Studio is in opposite the only Multimedia flavour which is official part of a mainstream distribution. :!:
https://ubuntustudio.org/

However, I'm myself didn't use ubuntu (studio or not), so I can't say a word about how nice it is (or not).
On the road again.
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Re: switching from apple to linux

Post by Michael Willis »

Careful with gaming laptops, often they have over-the-top video hardware that you don't really need, along with really noisy fans that can pollute your recordings. You don't even need a super powerful cpu; I'm using an i5 that's about a half decade old and it does ok now that I've switched to a lighter weight distro and tuned it for audio work.
joaommeirelles
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Re: switching from apple to linux

Post by joaommeirelles »

No experience with it. However, if you seen something weird, you might want to boot up live again and try to do some troubleshooting. We can help. This is the good thing of Linux: you can try before you install. If your hardware cannot be made to work properly, then there might not be too much of a point. So, my advice would be that you find out as much as possible of how your hardware works on Linux before you commit to the switch.
yes, this is a issue for me. so far, the all distro that I've tried, recognizes the interface but the audio comes out really weird, like a digital distotion, but the sample rate and other configurations are fine. I wonder if it is some sync issue. But can't find many things online... only that it should work. How can I do this trobleshooting?
joaommeirelles
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Re: switching from apple to linux

Post by joaommeirelles »

thank you very much, guys!
No experience with it. However, if you seen something weird, you might want to boot up live again and try to do some troubleshooting. We can help. This is the good thing of Linux: you can try before you install. If your hardware cannot be made to work properly, then there might not be too much of a point. So, my advice would be that you find out as much as possible of how your hardware works on Linux before you commit to the switch.
yes, this is a issue for me. so far, the all distro that I've tried, recognizes the interface but the audio comes out really weird, like a digital distotion, but the sample rate and other configurations are fine. I wonder if it is some sync issue. But can't find many things online... only that it should work. How can I do this trobleshooting?
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Re: switching from apple to linux

Post by CrocoDuck »

joaommeirelles wrote:I wonder if it is some sync issue. But can't find many things online... only that it should work. How can I do this trobleshooting?
I would recommend you open a new thread here: viewforum.php?f=6, and describe in a detailed way what do you do when you observe the problem, as if you were trying to explain us how we can reproduce the same issue. That way we could understand what to check.
joaommeirelles
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Re: switching from apple to linux

Post by joaommeirelles »

I would recommend you open a new thread here: viewforum.php?f=6, and describe in a detailed way what do you do when you observe the problem, as if you were trying to explain us how we can reproduce the same issue. That way we could understand what to check.
I'll do that as soon as I can. thank you very much.
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Re: switching from apple to linux

Post by GMaq »

Hi joaommeirelles

Another option that wasn't mentioned is AV Linux: http://www.bandshed.net/avlinux/

Yes it is an independent project maintained by a single developer (me) but it has been around for more than 10 years, it has the best potential performance by providing a default RT (realtime preempt) Kernel, it already contains the KXStudio repos as well as other custom packages not available in either Debian or Ubuntu and it passes all the criteria of the 'Realtime Config Quick Scan' which includes several benchmarks for improved Audio performance on a Linux system. On top of all that it also has a 130 page illustrated User Manual full of detailed information on installing, setting up your system and getting started with Ardour.

AV Linux is not always the best choice for brand new computers but depending on your hardware it may work just fine, you can download the ISO image and put it on a USB stick (I suggest using Unetbootin) to try it and see how it works for you.
joaommeirelles
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Re: switching from apple to linux

Post by joaommeirelles »

Yes it is an independent project maintained by a single developer (me)
that's why I love linux.
I'll try AvLinux for sure. how I can get more info to search if it will fit my future hardware?
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Re: switching from apple to linux

Post by CrocoDuck »

joaommeirelles wrote:how I can get more info to search if it will fit my future hardware?
The easiest thing you could do is make a live medium, and try AVLinux before you install it on your hardware.
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