Any chance for native Linux VST?

[unholyeyebrows]

Hi Martin - thanks for the tip but I'm really only interested in native Linux plugins. I've made a choice to move to Linux to simplify my setup and reduce distractions, so adding any kind of Windows emulation layer will take me in the opposite direction. Plus Linux as a workstation OS for audio really is a great option and I'd love to see more mainstream plugins compiled to work natively.

[honki-bobo]

Hey Nick,

if a (virtual) Windows machine is no option, then I guess your best bets would be Carla, yabridge or LinVST. Here is a small article that may get you started. Remember that all these solutions require Wine to run the Windows dll and vst3 files.

Best regards,
Martin

[unholyeyebrows]

Thanks again, and yes, I have used wine in the past to run Windows plugins on Linux, but that's not what this thread is asking for. The ask here is for native plugins which can just be installed and run to their full potential, and with simplicity, on Linux.

Personally I do not want to rely on emulation layers which are tricky to set-up and potentially unreliable. I just want solid VSTs (from Cherry Audio in this case) on a solid DAW (Reaper) on a solid OS (Debian). Set it all up, and then just enjoy a simple but powerful audio workstation.

That's the dream at least!

[ColinP]

It might not be commercially viable to port VM to Linux.

Even if it was extremely easy to port (which I doubt) there's also the issue of providing a professional level of user support on an additional platform.

I suspect those companies that do support Linux are at best only just covering their costs and their decision to do so may have been for altruistic or personal reasons rather than commercial ones.

[unholyeyebrows]

Perhaps or perhaps not. These days plugins can be compiled for multiple platforms automatically via the development tooling.

A good example is www.audiothing.net who have just updated their MiniBit synth with Linux support, which I have just purchased.

It would be great if any of the Cherry Audio devs can update us on whether Linux support might be possible especially as they are a well established mainstream VST developer.

[ColinP]

I don't have access to other people's sales data so take my opinions with a pince of salt. But as a developer I have some feel for how difficult it is to make money from music software. AFAIK AudioThing is basically just Carlo Castellano although I think he subs out some work to freelancers. His overheads will be minimum and my guess is that he has to rely on other income streams to stay afloat. He'll likely be doing all his own support as well as just about everything else.

That's a different business model to CA who have I think about 14 or more full-time employees, including dedicated support. Their overheads will be larger and their decisions will be more driven by sales projections. What percentage of sales would be in Linux versus PC and Mac? I don't know but my guess is maybe about 1%. So is it worth spending time to achieve a 1% growth when focusing on other things might produce much more? The effort might not be much but neither is the return.

As you can tell I'm making lots of guesses here. I'm not trying to put any dampeners on anything and I used UNIX (Solaris) for a good while and loved it so understand the appeal of Linux. I'm just trying to offer a personal opinion on why CA might not go down that road.

Maybe you should contact CA directly as their opinion may have changed in the past few years and it's rare that they say much on this forum.

[unholyeyebrows]

Thanks again and I appreciate your thoughts. Agreed the economics have to work for commercial plugins. I do remain optimistic especially with the recent news of Presonus releasing Studio One for Ubuntu. They must see a market on the platform so here’s hoping the trend continues.

[utdgrant]

Plus Linux as a workstation OS for audio really is a great option.

I'm not trying to be confrontational, and I certainly don't want to dissuade you from your course of action.

I'm genuinely intrigued as to why you would rate Linux as a better host OS for audio purposes than the big two proprietary workstation OSs - Windows and Mac OS. (I don't consider iOS or Android as workstation OSs).

I would personally love to switch to Linux full-time on my home desktop machine (for my own set of reasons). However, for music-making purposes, it's a non-starter. I love all the CA products I own, particularly VM (and VMD). I love Reason. I love the Arturia V-Collection. I love the many free VSTs available, some of which require JBridge and are exclusive to an Intel Windows environment (some were abandoned even at 32-bit).

So, I'm basically stuck with running a Windows environment in order to continue using the software applications in which I have invested a lot of money and (more importantly) a LOT of time.

Making a complete switch to Linux would involve a mountain of pain for me in regard to continuing my music-making as I have known it.

[unholyeyebrows]

Hi. Thanks for your thoughts and I appreciate the conversation.

I’m just a hobbiest so dabble generally with music production. As such my needs are likely different to pros. I’m actually a fan of Windows 11 and run that on my main desktop. This is a general purpose PC which I use for everything including music production. As such I find it difficult to concentrate on one task and Windows is very good at grabbing one’s attention with notifications. Or perhaps I iust have a poor attention span!

Anyway, I have also used Linux on and off for decades so enjoy the technical challenge of applying it to solve problems. Long story short I want a very stripped down desktop on a dedicated laptop for just music work. I don’t even have my email setup - just a browser, DAWs and plugins. This gives me a distraction free environment I feel I can concentrate on. I guess it may have been easier to just strip down a Windows 11 installation but I just want to use Linux.

I’m certainly not alone and there are plenty of other compelling advantages of Linux but I’d also concede there are many drawbacks. However I am keen if any developers who are able to spin out Linux versions of their software economically then it will only help develop Linux overall as a viable platform. U-he, TAL, Bitwig, Reaper, and now Presonus all have Linux products and these would not exist without some kind of demand (I think!).