Getting started with a DAW in Linux

Support & discussion regarding DAWs and MIDI sequencers.

Moderators: MattKingUSA, khz

IllustratorPascal
Established Member
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2018 8:51 am

Getting started with a DAW in Linux

Post by IllustratorPascal »

Hello everybody,
I use synthesizers and electronic instruments for 28 years and used many platforms (MSX - Amiga - Mac OS - Windows), but recently I made a switch to Linux.
I would like to bring my DAW to Linux too. Currently I use Reaper on Windows 10 on a dual boot PC.
I think Qtracktor looks interesting, but the problem is that I have so much difficulties to make the DAW work in Linux.
The problem is that I don't can get my external audio (Behringer audio interface) and midi (Motu midi express 128) work in Linux.
I read words like 'Jack', 'Alsa', 'Kernel', but they are very confusing for a Linux rookie. I have no experience with the terminal or programming.
Is there a step-by-step instruction manual or something like that how to setup a DAW in Linux and let it work?
How can I get started to make a working music-setup in Linux?

I use Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon 64-bit
User avatar
lilith
Established Member
Posts: 1698
Joined: Fri May 27, 2016 11:41 pm
Location: bLACK fOREST
Has thanked: 117 times
Been thanked: 57 times
Contact:

Re: Getting started with a DAW in Linux

Post by lilith »

Hi and welcome,

why don't you just use REAPER for Linux? https://www.reaper.fm/download.php#linux_download

ALSA is a sound server for linux (similar to ASIO for Windows). AFAIK Jack bases on ALSA and with this it's possible to route the audio / midi signal between different applications. In order to do so you need a routing application like Catia from the KX repositories or NON SESSION MANAGER. If you don't need to do this ALSA is just fine.

Here's a description of Jack:
http://www.jackaudio.org/faq/

Best thing to start is to install the KXStudio repositories to receive many audio and music applications.

1. Open Terminal
2. go to https://kxstudio.linuxaudio.org/Repositories and follow the instructions under Debian / Ubuntu.

Beside of that you have to optimize your PC for audio. A good starting point is to execute this script: https://github.com/raboof/realtimeconfigquickscan

1. Open terminal
2. make a folder somewhere in your /home directory e.g.

Code: Select all

mkdir realtimescript
3.

Code: Select all

cd realtimescript
4.

Code: Select all

git clone git://github.com/raboof/realtimeconfigquickscan.git
5.

Code: Select all

cd realtimeconfigquickscan
6.

Code: Select all

perl -I ./ ./QuickScan.pl
And post results here. In case of problems, ask :).

A good starting point is also the AVLinux manual from page 78: https://bandshed.net/pdf/AVL2018UserManual.pdf
User avatar
khz
Established Member
Posts: 1648
Joined: Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:29 am
Location: German
Has thanked: 42 times
Been thanked: 92 times

Re: Getting started with a DAW in Linux

Post by khz »

. . . FZ - Does humor belongs in Music?
. . GNU/LINUX@AUDIO ~ /Wiki $ Howto.Info && GNU/Linux Debian installing >> Linux Audio Workstation LAW
  • I don't care about the freedom of speech because I have nothing to say.
IllustratorPascal
Established Member
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2018 8:51 am

Re: Getting started with a DAW in Linux

Post by IllustratorPascal »

I tried to install reaper, but don't know how to. According instructions I have to click on a file reaper, but after that nothing happens. I can't find reaper.
In Mac OS and windows you always had an installer where you could set a path for the destination, but I can't figure it out how it works in Linux.
It has something to do with the terminal, but I don't know how this works. That's why I prefer the automatic installer built in in Mint.

I installed KX studio.
I don't understand the codes.
Where do I need a folder for?
User avatar
khz
Established Member
Posts: 1648
Joined: Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:29 am
Location: German
Has thanked: 42 times
Been thanked: 92 times

Re: Getting started with a DAW in Linux

Post by khz »

A) Start directly:
In the terminal/console (user) go to the reaper directory:

Code: Select all

cd /path/to/reaper_version number/REAPER/
and then

Code: Select all

./reaper
Or

B) install:
In the terminal/console (<EDIT>Not needed! root == "su" or ""sudo" Not needed!</EDIT>):

Code: Select all

/path/to/reaper_version number/install-reaper.sh
Threads in Forum : REAPER for Linux >> https://forum.cockos.com/forumdisplay.p ... 4a653&f=52

Code: Select all

~ $ cat Musik/reaper/reaper_596+dev1012/readme-linux.txt 
REAPER/linux - this is an unsupported experimental version. 

Requirements:
 + libc6, libstdc++ for gcc 4.x or later
 + libgdk-3 (you can also target headless or libgdk-2 if you build your own 
   libSwell from WDL, see below)
 + ALSA

Supported architectures:
 + x86_64
 + i686 (with SSE2)
 + ARM with Thumb2+ and VFP (Raspberry Pi 2 or later, Chromebooks)

Installation:

1) You can run REAPER directly from the extracted .tar.xz -- simply navigate to 
   REAPER/ and run "reaper".

By default configuration state will be stored in ~/.config/REAPER. If you want 
to keep all configuration with the "reaper" executable, you can create a file 
named "reaper.ini" alongside it, which will cause REAPER to use that directory.

2) If you would like to install REAPER to your system (either globally in /opt, 
or in ~/opt) and/or integrate with the desktop environment, you can run the 
included "install-reaper.sh" script from the terminal. It will offer you 
choices on how to proceed. If you choose to install REAPER, the script will 
also generate an uninstall script in order to remove it at a later date.

Upgrading old versions of REAPER:

You can always install a new version over the old version, there is no need to 
remove the old version first.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Building libSwell.so, if needed:

This version of REAPER uses libSwell.so, which by default targets libgdk-3. You 
can build your own version if you wish to make a headless REAPER install, or if 
you would like to target libgdk-2, or if you want to customize and/or improve 
libSwell!

To build libSwell:

# apt-get install build-essentials libgtk-3-dev git

git clone http://www-dev.cockos.com/wdl/WDL.git WDL/
cd WDL/WDL/swell
make

Options for make:
  NOGDK=1             -- for a headless build

  GDK2=1              -- to build targetting gdk2

  ALLOW_WARNINGS=1    -- ignore warnings (probably needed for some versions 
                         of gcc)

  PRELOAD_GDK=1       -- not necessary for custom libSwell builds (used for 
                         the stock libSwell, allowing compatibility with 
                         various minor GDK versions), causes reaper to 
                         preload GDK before loading libSwell. 
                         This (unrelated to design) seems to fix GDK issues 
                         with some incorrectly-linked plug-ins.

  SWELL_SUPPORT_GTK=1 -- Load and initialize full GTK+ rather than just GDK. 
                         This fixes compatibility issues with some plug-ins 
                         that use GTK+3, but prevents using GTK+2 plug-ins.

  NOFONTCONFIG=1      -- Use internal fontmapper rather than libfontconfig


Once your make succeeds, you can do:

ln -sf `pwd`/libSwell.so /path/to/reaper/libSwell.so

In order to make /path/to/reaper/reaper work.

Code: Select all

~ $  Musik/reaper/reaper_596+dev1012/install-reaper.sh 
REAPER installation script

PLEASE NOTE -- REAPER for Linux is an unsupported experimental version.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
which: no sudo in (/usr/lib/llvm/7/bin:/usr/lib/llvm/6/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/opt/bin)
Available commands:
  [V]iew readme-linux.txt and REAPER license agreement

  [R]un REAPER from /home/daw/Musik/reaper/reaper_596+dev1012/REAPER/reaper

     You can run REAPER without installing it.
     Your ~/.config/REAPER/ directory will be used

  [I]nstall REAPER (you will be prompted for various options)

     This install script can put the REAPER program into /opt
     or ~/opt, or a path of your choice, and optionally set
     up desktop integration (menu items, file associations).

  [A]dd desktop integration for /home/daw/Musik/reaper/reaper_596+dev1012/REAPER/reaper

     If you've extracted REAPER into the path you would like
     it to live in (/home/daw/Musik/reaper/reaper_596+dev1012/REAPER), you can set
     up desktop integration (menu items, file associations, 
     etc) via this action.

Command [V,R,I,A]: 
. . . FZ - Does humor belongs in Music?
. . GNU/LINUX@AUDIO ~ /Wiki $ Howto.Info && GNU/Linux Debian installing >> Linux Audio Workstation LAW
  • I don't care about the freedom of speech because I have nothing to say.
User avatar
lilith
Established Member
Posts: 1698
Joined: Fri May 27, 2016 11:41 pm
Location: bLACK fOREST
Has thanked: 117 times
Been thanked: 57 times
Contact:

Re: Getting started with a DAW in Linux

Post by lilith »

Installing reaper:

1. Download from https://www.reaper.fm/files/5.x/reaper5 ... _64.tar.xz
2. Go to your download folder and extract file by right mouse click. You need to install a zip program for this.
3. Go into the new folder with

Code: Select all

cd reaper_linux_x86_64
(you need to open a terminal for this)
or better

Code: Select all

cd ~/home/yourusername/Downloads/reaper_linux_x86_64
4. type in terminal while you are in that folder:

Code: Select all

sh install-reaper.sh
5. The script is executed
6. Choose "I" for install
7. Choose option "2" to install it into you home directory
8. Choose twice "Y"

Start Reaper via your menu. -> see also khz post (sorry... saw it too late)


You even don't need to install Reaper. You just can extract the tarball into any directory and run reaper by simply executing

Code: Select all

~/yourdirectory/reaper_linux_x86_64/REAPER$ ./reaper 
from a terminal.
Last edited by lilith on Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:40 pm, edited 5 times in total.
User avatar
lilith
Established Member
Posts: 1698
Joined: Fri May 27, 2016 11:41 pm
Location: bLACK fOREST
Has thanked: 117 times
Been thanked: 57 times
Contact:

Re: Getting started with a DAW in Linux

Post by lilith »

@khz: sudo / su -c is not needed when installing reaper
User avatar
lilith
Established Member
Posts: 1698
Joined: Fri May 27, 2016 11:41 pm
Location: bLACK fOREST
Has thanked: 117 times
Been thanked: 57 times
Contact:

Re: Getting started with a DAW in Linux

Post by lilith »

I installed KX studio.
I don't understand the codes.
Do you see Ardour and other programs from KXstudio in your starter menu?

If not and if you installed the repository correctly you need to do an update:
In a terminal:

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get update
type in you password

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get upgrade
type in you password
User avatar
khz
Established Member
Posts: 1648
Joined: Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:29 am
Location: German
Has thanked: 42 times
Been thanked: 92 times

Re: Getting started with a DAW in Linux

Post by khz »

lilith wrote:@khz: sudo / su -c is not needed when installing reaper
Ah OK THX 4 --info
. . . FZ - Does humor belongs in Music?
. . GNU/LINUX@AUDIO ~ /Wiki $ Howto.Info && GNU/Linux Debian installing >> Linux Audio Workstation LAW
  • I don't care about the freedom of speech because I have nothing to say.
IllustratorPascal
Established Member
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2018 8:51 am

Re: Getting started with a DAW in Linux

Post by IllustratorPascal »

I copy / pasted the reaper install code in the terminal and it ended with the message:
*** Installation complete

Then I searched on my computer for the reaper software but only found:
module-cache-reaper.so
and
reaper596_linux_x86_64.tar.xz

But no reaper software.

I have Ardour4 in my menu and can start it, but I still have to learn that software.
Maybe then I should continue with Ardour then?
User avatar
lilith
Established Member
Posts: 1698
Joined: Fri May 27, 2016 11:41 pm
Location: bLACK fOREST
Has thanked: 117 times
Been thanked: 57 times
Contact:

Re: Getting started with a DAW in Linux

Post by lilith »

Can you please explain how exactly you tried to install reaper? Did you manage to unpack the zipped file reaper596_linux_x86_64.tar.xz ?This is the first thing you have to do.

Ardour 4 is outdated, the newest version is 5.12 and comes with KX studio.
IllustratorPascal
Established Member
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2018 8:51 am

Re: Getting started with a DAW in Linux

Post by IllustratorPascal »

lilith wrote:Can you please explain how exactly you tried to install reaper? Did you manage to unpack the zipped file reaper596_linux_x86_64.tar.xz ?This is the first thing you have to do.
Yes and if I click on the 'install-reaper.sh' file I get a text document with all kinds of code.

Is this the code that I have to copy-paste in the terminal or do I have to do something else?
User avatar
lilith
Established Member
Posts: 1698
Joined: Fri May 27, 2016 11:41 pm
Location: bLACK fOREST
Has thanked: 117 times
Been thanked: 57 times
Contact:

Re: Getting started with a DAW in Linux

Post by lilith »

IllustratorPascal wrote:
lilith wrote:Can you please explain how exactly you tried to install reaper? Did you manage to unpack the zipped file reaper596_linux_x86_64.tar.xz ?This is the first thing you have to do.
Yes and if I click on the 'install-reaper.sh' file I get a text document with all kinds of code.

Is this the code that I have to copy-paste in the terminal or do I have to do something else?
No, you don't have to click on the install-reaper.sh file at all.
First you have to open a terminal. Form there you change into the folder where the install-reaper.sh file is located. The command is

Code: Select all

cd
. (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UsingTheTerminal)

Then you have to execute the command

Code: Select all

sh install-reaper.sh
in the same terminal. Then continue with step 6. Got it?

It should look like this (except of the folder names of course ...):

Image

The ~ symbol points to your home directory. ll lists the files.
IllustratorPascal
Established Member
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2018 8:51 am

Re: Getting started with a DAW in Linux

Post by IllustratorPascal »

First I wrote:
cd
then I wrote:
sh install-reaper.sh
and the result I have says:
sh: 0: Can't open install-reaper.sh
User avatar
khz
Established Member
Posts: 1648
Joined: Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:29 am
Location: German
Has thanked: 42 times
Been thanked: 92 times

Re: Getting started with a DAW in Linux

Post by khz »

Code: Select all

cd /path/to/reaper_version number/
(Console: Use the tab key - press 2 times in a row - to complete the path or program name.)

Code: Select all

sh install-reaper.sh
. . . FZ - Does humor belongs in Music?
. . GNU/LINUX@AUDIO ~ /Wiki $ Howto.Info && GNU/Linux Debian installing >> Linux Audio Workstation LAW
  • I don't care about the freedom of speech because I have nothing to say.
Locked