The best thing in life is free and that is why Linux is great as the operating system of your DAW. Being not able to spend even a single dime for your recording software and operating system is one of the biggest benefits of Linux home recording studio.
However bear in mind that for every benefits, there is always a some disadvantages.
Ubuntu latest version
Other benefits of using Linux as your OS
1.) All software that runs on Linux needs to be licensed in open source. Open source means that you can use the software for free. Now the good thing is that not only the OS is free but the ENTIRE software that runs on Linux as well.
This means to say that you do not need to spend a thousand dollars to buy audio recording plugins and accessory software in Linux because they are also free.
2.) Want something to be upgraded for your favourite plugin or software? You simply need to ask the authors and if it’s commonly requested it will be updated in the future. Of course, showing a little love of their work by making a kind donation can be a strong contributing factor to the long term success of the open source project.
3.) Commonly available hardware can run Linux without any issues. If you have a Windows machine you can simply re-use the hardware for installing Linux. This means to say that you do not need to spend a single dime on the hardware if you would like to change your operating system to Linux.
4.) Linux is a super-secure operating system, so no need for an antivirus or to freak out every time you insert your client USB flash drive to your PC.
5.) An increasing user community for Linux musicians. You can meet them in most Linux or Ubuntu forums. They are willing to help for free.
6.) Some complex hardware including Firewire audio interface which is crucial for quality recording can run in Linux. You can read this tutorial for details.
7.) You won’t fear about software becoming obsolete. In Linux, software are continually updated even the main Linux kernel and distribution (such as Ubuntu). When an update is released, you can upgrade for free. And you will never feel that you have an obsolete setup because you can always upgrade it without paying anything.
This is different with Windows. If you have a Windows XP recording system and DAW, the software and drivers could become obsolete as Windows would release more modern OS such as Windows 7 and Windows 8. You cannot take advantage of these new releases unless you pay for a software license.
Problems when using Linux as your home recording studio
You have learned a lot of benefits in the previous section regarding the use of Linux as your DAW operating system. Now below are the problems you might encounter when using Linux in your music recording studio:
1.) Lack of support for most USB and Firewire audio interface available. If you have checked the specs of reputable USB and Firewire audio interfaces, it only supports Windows and Mac machines. There are no drivers available for Linux for these audio interfaces. There are still some USB and Firewire audio interface that can work with Linux but it experiences a lot of issues and incompatibilities.
Of course with an exception to Focusrite and other leading Firewire audio interfaces thoroughly tested by FFADO. You can find the complete list here.
2.) Most recording software and plugins are written with compatibility to ASIO. However in Linux, its equivalent is JACK which is different from ASIO although it accomplishes the same purpose of lowering the latency. JACK is not supported by most Windows compatible software that you are planning to run on Linux. The only solution is to write compatible plugins that can work with Linux.
3.) Not all DAW are supported in Linux. Popular DAW such as Protools, Cubase, FL Studio are not known to work with Linux. Although Reaper is known to work in Wine, another challenge is finding a compatible audio interface with it as most of this hardware is written for PC and Mac.
ardour mixing
The only official DAW in Linux is Ardour which can difficult to use and configure especially for beginners. Ardour offers a completely unique music production environment as compared to the common Windows based DAW. Any digital audio workstation in Linux like Ardour depends on JACK for low latency; if you do not in-depth knowledge of configuring JACK then you will find it hard to use them.
Final Recommendations
If you have very limited knowledge or even does not use Linux at all, then stick to Windows based home recording studio. Shifting to Linux can introduce a lot issues and you will be wasting a lot of time in the troubleshooting process because things can be very problematic at first.
Even if you are a Linux guru, you still have issues dealing with drivers for some common audio interface (USB and Firewire) that you would like to use but it cannot run properly in Linux. Things can be fixed in Linux if resources and support are available. However it can take a lot of time in some cases even you are already very good with this operating system.
I recommend sticking to your Windows based home recording studio whenever possible.
Content last updated on July 24, 2012