On MX Linux but, aside from the fact it uses a Debian-base, it’s one of the more awkward distros IMO in some cases - pure Debian or Ubuntu may be a bit better, but YMMV. VSTs are possible (with the help of yabridge), but also figuring out the right DAW for your use case can be its own challenge if you’re used to Ableton, Cubase or Logic Pro; you’ll need to shop around.
For software I can recommend, Elektroid is great for Elektron (and certain non-Elektron devices). I’d also getting any hardware audio interface (preferably one with MIDI if you want to be able to sequence and not have to meddle with USB so much) if you want to better work with your hardware on Linux
I agree with all of this! Ive been using Linux for a decade or so - I started on lubuntu 14.04 because I had a laptop so old it barely worked, I didn’t have any money, and I read read somewhere that lubuntu could make old computers work again. And it did!
I don’t stress much about distros, ive used a bunch of them and I’m not really a power user so I’m kind of like whatever. I do want to mention AV Linux though as an alternative to Ubuntu studio. You have to replace the terrible enlightenment desktop environment, but after that it’s great.
I also want to encourage people not to be intimidated by yabridge, it makes it super easy to run windows vsts.
Also finally the big Linux native DAWs are Ardour (serviceable), reaper (reaper) and bitwig (hell yeah).
big fan of linux, been running it with bitwig for years now.
however i cant in good conscience recommend it for less tech-savvy people that hate troubleshooting pc problems and just want something that “just works” - for those people a mac (puke) is unfortunately a better option… at the cost of being forced into apples Orwellian ecosystem…
but once you get past the initial hurdle and things are set up, its a great experience.
depending on your hardware, you might have to do some tinkering to get optimal audio performance, heres a good guide: System configuration [Linux-Sound]
yabridge runs pretty much all your windows vsts, requires an old version of wine-staging.
bitwig runs flawlessly, no experience with other daws.
pipewire has gotten pretty good for pro audio use, but if you run into issues you can always go back to the tried and true JACK+pulseaudio combo.
both pipewire and jack have a great patchbay where you can create and route virtual (and non-virtual) audio and midi devices.
distros dont really matter too much, you have the choice between “blank slate” distros where you start with a barebones system and only install what you need (arch, gentoo, opensuse tumbleweed for example) - or you can go with the more userfriendly full-fledged distros with all the bells and whistles preinstalled (fedora, ubuntu and the like), might feel too bloated for some.
It turns out Nobara works great with my laptop so far. The main task I can’t use the mac for is playing path of exile 2 but it turns out that it’s is smooth. Most of what I needed was included with the distro and I’m a happy camper.
I haven’t had time to install and explore if Bitwig works 100% but Nobara lists 16 audio channels for my Focusrite 16i16 which is promising since Focusrite don’t hand out linux drivers.
I just installed EasyEffects and it’s really comprehensive. The controls are numerical which requires a few extra brain cells but it’s perfectly fine.
