new as new could be

[new2linux]

I just bought a new System76 Kudu and absolutely love it. I was hesitant as I was only a windows user. I almost bought a Mac but I stumbled on system76. I have not looked back yet. My 16 yr old son is very musically talented. He wants to get into music production. He plays guitar, drums and keyboard. I have a pair of good quality monitors, a large diaphragm mic and audio interface. We are are shopping for what desk top to get... PC, Mac, or Hackentosh. Obviously desk top will determine what software we get. The 5 basic components to a simple home recording setup. I want to do the kid right. Price is not an issue. My question is which way do we go? I swear by Linux but I do know and understand that there are some things you have to use Mac or Windows for. Linux is limited in the music industry. Most of the recording artist record using Mac desk tops and software. Can he get a great quality recording using any Linux based software. At this time we are looking at either Logic Pro or Presonus Studio One. I just want to send him in the right direction with as little headache as possible so he will stick with it. Any help or suggestions are welcome.

Thank You
Shawn WA

[DepreTux]

In my view, choosing free software for any given task is an ethic decision. Unless you stick to some default, you will find difficulties, things that aren't as easy as with other software packages or even features that are lacking.

Nonetheless, this often turns out as a chance to learn the innards of music arrangement and mastering, which you may very well choose not to.

I have zero experience with propetary packages, but I've seen friends working with ableton, and the polish shows. Hence I don't see the point in choosing linux if you are not concerned about freedom, and consider your self something of a DIYer.

Of course, with our different shades of gray, many of us here took that way, and bear with our decision.

This all sounds very pessimistic, but there is a bright side too. Free software is meant to run anywere, from little computers, to huge mainframes, it lets you do crazy things, or things unthought by the original developer, it doesn't block you from sharing, the formats are open. You can connect anything with anything, and this and other capabilities improve over time thanks to dedicated developers.
And, if you or your kid need something that isn't already out there, they can take the vast amount of free code on the internet, and turn it into the tool to fulfill that need.

I think both the limitations and the possibilities (in sum, the horizons) of using free software show in the final work. There is obviously a big gap, but I see an analogy with the african slaves making music with cigar boxes.

I hope this is not too abstract or misleading in any way. You will still have to do you own research, I guess.

Cheers,


Fede

[Veerstryngh Thynner]

Hello there and welcome!

If I may contribute tot this thread: what counts first and foremostly is what your son feels most comfortable with. And that, in my view, will show only over time.

My own modest home studio is a mixture of analogue (one piece some 40 years old and still going strong!) and digital. Moreover, it took a fair decade, cascades of sweat and heaps of frustration to get it operational. The more computer-savvy, in this forum and other online communities frequented, may split their sides should they ever clap their eyes upon it. Besides, a few of my recording methods have already been raising eyebrows (if not outright mockery), in the same quarters.

Main thing, however, is that system setup and recording methods are working for me. And - more importantly! - that they are getting me the results I'm after. Which they do, I'm glad to report: and without a hitch! But ultimately arriving there took a lot of experimenting beforehand.

One thing more, to conclude.

There's not a single operational system on the face of this earth that's wholly faultless. Linux, in my personal experience, has been unsurpassed in terms of reliability and security - but its audio environment leaves much to desire. MS Windows, on the other hand, has been an incessant pain in the backside, for a great many years. And yet a very small selection of applications has emerged, over time, for which Linux doesn't yet have suitable equivalents on offer. Those have been "feeding" into Linux to this present day. In other words: I'm currently using best of both systems.

Don't stare yourself blind on one single solution. Thinking outside the box and finding out what this may lead to might give you some pleasant surprises.

Hope this helps.

tnob

[briandc]

There are many ways to look at this. For example, while it's true that there is a large myriad of VST synths available for Windows, this isn't because Windows is more "synth-friendly." On the contrary! Windows is made as a "general" OS that can work ok for everyone, from the kids to the grandparents.

Linux, on the other hand, is (as already mentioned here) HIGHLY configureable. IF you care about that. What's more, although there are fewer synths made "for linux," one synth in particular, Zynaddsubfx, which many consider to be one of the best synths available (free or non-free) is part-and-parcel to most linux repositories. Whysynth is another amazing instrument, the reason it's not talked about a lot is only because most computer users who are focused on music production have only used or have only heard of Windows. It's an advertising thing. You won't see linux advertised on TV, and you don't have "linux professionals" on hand at your local computer store. But linux actually gives the user more tools (and therefore more power) all the way around.

So I think personally, that it's not just what you want your child to learn about music. It's also what you want your child to learn about computers.


brian