Win VS. Linux

[Manne]

I would like to piggyback on your question...

Does a Linux distro with the realtime or low latency work better than Windows or Mac when it comes to round trip monitoring and plugins?

You may know, tell me?

I run win 10 and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.  Using ALSA as the sound backend, it seems on my system I can see a 1% to 5% decrease, meaning better,  in CPU usage when using in Linux.  

Windows tends to 'interrupt' more than it should, by causing CPU spikes. I have set several settings in windows to specifically optimize it for audio use, only to find that a Microsoft 'Update' reverts them to what Microsoft thinks they should be after some time passes.  There are interruptions by the Windows Defender and 'Telemetry' that can also cause CPU Spikes.  Linux has none of those issues.

The benefit to using Windows is the availability of VST plug ins.  There are some very good Windows only VST's.

On my system, Mixbus has some bugs on Windows that are not preset in Linux.  It has been my experience that Mixbus on Linux using ALSA  ( a standard sound server in linux) as a backend is AMAZINGLY STABLE.  On Windows, I feel like I am pressing my luck if I don't save.  I have lost some progress because of random Windows Mixbus crashes using Windows.  To be fair, MOST of the Win Problems are VST3 based.   There are also issues in Linux with plugins that have some sort of online registration built into the plug-ins.  You cannot register them in Mixbus.   I have to use another linux DAW to register them.  It can be a pain.  Maybe there is a workaround  to get it to work in Mixbus ? 

The XT plugins are excellent and may suite your needs.  They are free to try and definitely worth a go.  They do not create noise when they are not registered.   They are installed with Mixbus.

Overall, I still dual boot Win10 and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.  I do like recording with Mixbus in Linux because of its stability and no interruptions.   If you want even less CPU usage, you can download Ardour.  The Ardour projects are compatible with Mixbus to a degree.    The availability of plugins in Windows is what makes me boot into Win.  I know that doesn't help decide which is best, but, they have pros and cons of each system.

Linux can be a little difficult to set up, but once it is, it works very well.  You may need to do a little google research and find out if there are issues with your audio / midi hardware before attempting linux.

Many thanks for informative good knowledge / knowhow!

[Manne]

I'm a Linux user and around 30% of my income comes from mixing in Linux. Linux has been my main OS for more than 25 years now.  Despite that,  I believe the answer to your question is: -It depends on your needs, knowledge, and why you consider Linux as a Windows user.


Do you need Adobe products, do you play games? Do you need programs like Melodyne or maybe a mastering suite that can't run on Linux? Then I suggest you continue to use Windows.

That said, I run Superior Drummer 3 and occasionally run the wonderful PG8X (a JX8P VST plugin for Windows) flawlessly on my Linux machine (via Wine) and I'm so lucky that I work with good musicians. So the need for programs like Melodyne is small, and when I need it, I fire up my laptop and select WIndows during the boot. I also need Windows to edit my Line 6 products and, for example, upgrade firmware in my Faderport2.

You really must know what you are doing if you want to use Linux professionally for music, but there's an increasing number of vendors that make DAWs, plugins, and other stuff for Linux. I'm a Linux fanatic, or should I say a pragmatic one, and I never recommend Linux to anyone unless they know how to handle it.

Program-wise, applications disappear or get the abandonware status on Linux too, but I find Linux to be much more future-predictable than both Windows and macOS. But all these operating systems are good, so you should choose the one that best covers your needs and realities.

If I can speak for myself, it's Linux all the time, but for music, Linux is still not for everyone.

Many thanks for informative good knowledge/knowhow.  What an incredibly good forum for a mixbus newbie like me :-)

[Manne]

This is a great informative answer for a novice like me. Extremely grateful. I was thinking of dedicating a new computer to work only with Mixbus so no problems with other software. Want to do Mixbus totallt fully in a new setup. Which platform is best for the future with a dedicated computer/server?

Oh, with this information: it's Linux all the way. It uses hardware resources, namely RAM, more efficiently and as Jostein mentioned, there's a great and growing number of native softwares for all kind of purposes, including audio production. For example, Bitwig is available for Linux, too.
Plus, you will appreciate that Linux only updates when you feel you need to and you initiate it yourself - as opposed to Windows/Mac which will nag you to death or even update without asking and you'll be occasionally left with a broken system because of that.
I personally use Linux exclusively (except for my day job haha) for around 25 years.
Some 18 months ago I helped a guy overseas with advice on components for his new audio computer and then he assembled it and then we installed Linux over the phone - he was and is over the moon with it and happy to have made the step. He was 70 at the time, will say it's never too late

Welcome to Mixbus btw!
Cheers, MMM

Great! you have convinced me to setup a dedicated Linux Mixbus computer.  Then the next question is what Linux OS?

[johne53]

A few posts ago, johndev mentioned AVLinux which often gets good reports from audio users. Ubuntu seems to be another firm favourite.

But back when I tried Linux, neither of them was available yet - so after A LOT of experimenting, I eventually settled on OpenSuse which (at that time) was the only distro which "just worked".

[madmaxmiller]

[Great! you have convinced me to setup a dedicated Linux Mixbus computer.  Then the next question is what Linux OS?

Haha thanks... I just read in this thread that some old myths about Linux being too complicated never die...

I can recommend AVLinux to start out with: the author, Glen Arthur, has everything preconfigured already and also provides an easy to understand manual as a PDF and an introduction video. The clou is: A version of Mixbus is already installed as a demo! That's how I discovered Mixbus all these years ago and it's the only Linux distribution which is confirmed and allowed to be a demo partner. Glen is also a muso himself and has developed free drumkits for download.
AVLinux

Another specialised version is Ubuntu Studio, which is also optimised for multimedia tasks and audio production, has a load of applications preinstalled as well and runs nicely out of the box. It has a huge user base and forums and all, so you find help quickly if needed. This one has a look and feel closer to Windows.
Ubuntu Studio

The good thing about both of them is, that you just put them on a USB stick and boot from it and they run as live system without installation on the hard drive. So you can check it all out and see which one you like better, before you pull the trigger and install one on the hard drive.

I'm not as frequent here atm as I used to be but happy to help - if interested I can pm you my email address.

Happy Linux discovery
MMM

[madmaxmiller]

A few posts ago, johndev mentioned AVLinux which often gets good reports from audio users. Ubuntu seems to be another firm favourite.

But back when I tried Linux, neither of them was available yet - so after A LOT of experimenting, I eventually settled on OpenSuse which (at that time) was the only distro which "just worked".

Oh that must have been a loooong time ago

[johne53]

Yep, it sure was! In fact if I remember correctly, the favoured distro for audio use (back then) was called Studio 64. Ubuntu was available to be fair 'cos I remember trying it - but Ubuntu Studio hadn't materialised yet...

[madmaxmiller]

Yep, it sure was! In fact if I remember correctly, the favoured distro for audio use (back then) was called Studio 64. Ubuntu was available to be fair 'cos I remember trying it - but Ubuntu Studio hadn't materialised yet...

And you've been very lucky. In 1995 when I tried Linux the first time, I indeed had to compile the kernel in order to include the correct graphics driver in order to have X. And there was nothing which you could call a GUI, like XFCE or so. I remember when StarOffice 5 for Linux came out, around 1998/99, it was able to serve as a desktop environment and I used it until KDE appeared (and Star Division was swallowed by Sun).
Cheers, it's bed time don't you think?
MMM

[ROG]

Whilst I generally agree with the Linux brigade, I think it's worth mentioning that Windows is a different beast if you dedicate the machine to audio and run it off-line with no anti-virus and no up-dates. I've been running like this for twenty years with great success. Mixbus 32C in particular is so stable that I can't remember a crash and this is with daily use.

[johne53]

Windows is a different beast [...] I've been running like this for twenty years with great success. Mixbus 32C in particular is so stable that I can't remember a crash and this is with daily use.

Me too... there's no denying Dingo's right about the WinNT days, We all remember those early DLL conflicts, the constant crashes and the infamous "blue screen of death". But that'd all changed in a big way by the time they launched Windows 7. And it's just gotten better and better since then.