Ask Slashdot: Linux and the Home Recording Studio?

wjcofkc writes: Somewhere between IT jobs I found myself spending 2 1/2 years employed pretty deeply in the local music industry. It was a fantastic experience. Left and right I saw people using very expensive proprietary software. I never saw anything that a similar Linux counterpart, or a suite of Open Source counterparts could not do. Needless to say, I preached the good word. Unfortunately, I never exploited any opportunities to provide a demo. One thing concerned me. If you have a full DAW setup, it's not just software; there is always some sort of hardware interface of varying complexity involved and playing through an amp into a microphone connected to a computer is not an acceptable way to record. I recently purchased a Lexicon Alpha 2-Channel Desktop Recording Studio interface based on vague mentions that it might work with Linux. After plugging it in for the first time, I fired up Audacity and Ardour. The device was available to select as an interface with zero configuration and it works perfectly. My question to the music geeks among us: what is your take on the state of Open Source pro audio software? And what successes and failures have you had with studio hardware?

Comments

Why stick solely with Linux?

[ITRambo]

For what you trying to accomplish, there are more open source programs available for Windows than any other platform. If your computer is stand alone, you need not worry about phone home telemetry, or just use Windows 7. Auto Tune alternatives are widely available for Windows than Linux, if that matters to you. Otherwise, Linux is great if it meets all your projected needs.

Re:What you're really saying...

[wjcofkc]

To feed the troll or not to feed the troll...? Okay, here's some kibbles and bits. In fact I was most certainly employed in the music industry, however local. No less, I paid taxes and everything. Yes, I even got paid!!! It was decent too. I would rattle off everything I handed which was substantial, but that is not the point of my submission. Look, I am sorry your presumably tech resume didn't cut it during that time. Many of ours did not. I am also sorry you did not look outside the box like I did resulting in one of the most enriching and exciting employment stretches I will probably ever have. I have missed it so much, I am ditching tech outside of economic reasons to get back in.