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Agh that's one of my biggest Linux regrets! Logic Pro is probably my favorite DAW, it feels so smooth to use, and that's likely connected to me using GarageBand
by Melonai 16d ago
Agh that's one of my biggest Linux regrets! Logic Pro is probably my favorite DAW, it feels so smooth to use, and that's likely connected to me using GarageBand extensively when I was a child. (I still remember "composing" multiple memorial songs in honor of Steve Jobs, as weird as that sounds!)
The strategy Apple has figured out with GarageBand pre-installed (or at least very low friction to install) seems really really smart in hindsight, give complete beginners a highly simplified but functional version of your professional utility, and provide an on-ramp to your professional programs. I imagine if Microsoft had some professional version of Windows Movie Maker it would've taken over a big chunk of the video editing market via the same method.
Anyway, regarding Linux DAWs, I am trying to get used to Ableton in Wine, but it's just not the same, and making it work in Wine is troublesome enough that I end up giving up before finishing anything of interest. Is there any DAW that feels like it actually belongs on Linux and doesn't either feel like you're maintaining a package by yourself, or has an awfully bad UI/UX like all FOSS DAWs I tried so far? I think in 2026 there's really a good opportunity here, with user interest genuinely rising for Linux on desktop.
- 999900000999 16d agoWINE doesn’t work well with DAWs. Most DAWs barely work on the platforms they support. I can’t see Linux as being a viable market since most Linux users except software to generally be free. Vs OSX which lets you enter a credit card number and buy stuff right from the built in store. If I recall Ubuntu might of once attempted paid applications on its built in store and it didn’t really work. Logic is probably made at below cost, but it keeps you in the OSX ecosystem. Need a 32GB OSX box with a 2TB drive, only one place to get it.
- LtWorf 16d agoYou an ask ai to port it to linux no?
- bigyabai 15d agoWine works fine with many DAWs. Not sure where you're getting this information from. Ableton Live has worked on Wine for close to 2 decades now. WineHQ has positive run reports dating back to 2006: https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=3537&iTestingId=3845 https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iI...
- 999900000999 15d agoThey work with tons of stability issues. You can’t both praise native Linux daws like Bitwig and then claim WINE is fine. Don’t get me wrong, I actually prefer Linux when I can use native applications and build frameworks.
- bigyabai 16d agoBitwig natively supports Linux. I bought a license a while ago and while the cost is steep, I don't regret it at all. The downsides are going to be the bland cross-platform UI and the general lack of plugin support on Linux. But the upside is native PipeWire support for application-specific channel audio and complex output routing options. The pack-in plugins are pretty good too, The Grid can replace a lot of your subtractive synths: https://www.bitwig.com/the-grid/ https://www.bitwig.com/the-grid/
- vunderba 16d ago+1 for Bitwig - written by a bunch of former Ableton devs and its external plugin/module sandbox means that a badly behaving VST won't take down the entire DAW.
- nnevatie 16d agoReaper is available on Linux.
- Bluestein 16d ago> "composing" multiple memorial songs in honor of Steve Jobs, as weird as that sounds! Very strangely fitting: using Jobs "bicycle for the mind" to compose this in his honor :)
- negura 16d agohttps://www.bespokesynth.com/ https://www.bespokesynth.com/