Do VSTs not work on Linux? I'm not being obtuse, I am in a situation where I'm about to build a new PC for writing / recording music and I saw that Reaper is supported in Linux, but was not sure about VST plugin support.
Conceptually the idea of a "VST" works on either platform, because VST is an API. However, VSTs are distributed as executables targeting a specific platform, and almost no VSTs are compiled natively for Linux.
If you're already content with Reaper as a DAW, use "yabridge" which runs VSTs in WINE. It's virtually perfect for most purposes. Getting Linux audio set up for low latency is another Linux rabbit hole, though.
Check out LMMS [0], I just found it yesterday to run VSTs, I normally stay away from them and just needed a minimal VST host for one I couldn't resist, and I was blown away at what it could do for free. Between that and the synth Surge XT [1] (another free and open source project), you can make any sound you would want to, and use either the sequencer on LMMS or an external hardware sequencer (yes, USB MIDI works, even Bluetooth MIDI).
Thanks for the recommendation. Unfortunately I do mostly prog / metal stuff these days and while the occasional synth sound can be had for free, a lot of my sounds come from either Helix Native / Neural DSP for guitar / Kontakt for drums. I'll take a look at LMMS.
bri3d|2 years ago
If you're already content with Reaper as a DAW, use "yabridge" which runs VSTs in WINE. It's virtually perfect for most purposes. Getting Linux audio set up for low latency is another Linux rabbit hole, though.
lyjia|2 years ago
ceroxylon|2 years ago
[0] https://lmms.io/ [1] https://surge-synthesizer.github.io/
sleepingthom|2 years ago
qwertox|2 years ago
The issue with most professional VST plug-ins is mainly the UI which is not compatible with Linux.