Will Reason support linux in the future.

[ltbrunt00]

It's been almost ten years since the last time I asked this question, my memory is fuzzy. Since this is the only way to possibly get an answer from the Props here it goes..............

Any chance Reason will run natively in Linux?

A simple yes or no from the Props will be suffice.

If the answer is no I will then ask this same question again lets say 2026. By then Microsoft will have built the windows GUI on top of Debian and then the answer would be yes.

[kitekrazy]

I doubt it. It's about devoting developer resources to an OS that is a small minority.

[retreed]

One day in an unknown distant future Reason will most likely just run through your browser, which could mean that the OS does not matter (that much?) anymore.
(There was this video spread here a few weeks ago about that showcase.)

[antic604]

I doubt it. It's about devoting developer resources to an OS that is a small minority.

Well, it's a vicious circle - small user base, because there's no software.

I actually made a poll about that once for Bitwig and - surprisingly - the split was 47% / 26% / 27% for Windows, OSX and Linux respectively!

https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopi ... 3#p7271553

[anko]

I doubt it. It's about devoting developer resources to an OS that is a small minority.

that's an old trope, it's far from that simple though. since microsoft and apple sell products it's much easier for them to guestimate user numbers compared to something like ubuntu and it's variants that are freely available.

in fact many estimates of user percentage based on other metrics (like browser platform reaching websites, which is still inaccurate as lots of linux browsers report themselves as running on windows) put the percentage of linux users higher than osx users, and propheads supports osx, but that's not really the point either. the point is the amount of folks making music on a platform.

there are plenty of musicians using linux and it has a lot of audio software available, including an increasing amount of commercial software. quite a few makers of quality commercial vsts now make linux versions. some, like loomer, have done so for years. there are also a number of commercial daws already available on liunx, including renoise (a tracker based daw) bitwig and tracktion waveform. reaper also has a native linux version in beta.

i've used linux for many years and now do the majority of music work on linux using renoise, waveform and some commercial vsts as well as a lot of the excellent open source audio software available (like the pro level open daw ardour, which is the basis for the commercial harrison mixbus). the times when i boot back to windows to use something there, like reason, and then export stems to take back for processing under linux, are increasingly a bore.

these kinds of discussions are pretty pointless though. people will rightly use whatever they're comfortable with and that's as it should be. it's the making of music that the audio community has in common not the computing platform used.

i love reason, it has a unique feel with it's rack paradigm and it's great fun to experiment in. i'd be ecstatic if they decided to make a linux version, but it doubt they will. you'll notice that most of the big commercial daws that support linux (like bitwig, waveform) have done so from the start; only reaper, that i'm aware of, added native linux support later.

anyway i digress:

tldr; there are more people in the linux pro audio community than most non linux users realise. i doubt propheads will support linux, but i'd absolutely love it if they did!

[kitekrazy]

I doubt it. It's about devoting developer resources to an OS that is a small minority.

that's an old trope, it's far from that simple though. since microsoft and apple sell products it's much easier for them to guestimate user numbers compared to something like ubuntu and it's variants that are freely available.

in fact many estimates of user percentage based on other metrics (like browser platform reaching websites, which is still inaccurate as lots of linux browsers report themselves as running on windows) put the percentage of linux users higher than osx users, and propheads supports osx, but that's not really the point either. the point is the amount of folks making music on a platform.

there are plenty of musicians using linux and it has a lot of audio software available, including an increasing amount of commercial software. quite a few makers of quality commercial vsts now make linux versions. some, like loomer, have done so for years. there are also a number of commercial daws already available on liunx, including renoise (a tracker based daw) bitwig and tracktion waveform. reaper also has a native linux version in beta.

i've used linux for many years and now do the majority of music work on linux using renoise, waveform and some commercial vsts as well as a lot of the excellent open source audio software available (like the pro level open daw ardour, which is the basis for the commercial harrison mixbus). the times when i boot back to windows to use something there, like reason, and then export stems to take back for processing under linux, are increasingly a bore.

these kinds of discussions are pretty pointless though. people will rightly use whatever they're comfortable with and that's as it should be. it's the making of music that the audio community has in common not the computing platform used.

i love reason, it has a unique feel with it's rack paradigm and it's great fun to experiment in. i'd be ecstatic if they decided to make a linux version, but it doubt they will. you'll notice that most of the big commercial daws that support linux (like bitwig, waveform) have done so from the start; only reaper, that i'm aware of, added native linux support later.

anyway i digress:

tldr; there are more people in the linux pro audio community than most non linux users realise. i doubt propheads will support linux, but i'd absolutely love it if they did!

Once again it's a user base few developers would waste their time. Let me know when Avid, Ableton, Image-Line, Steinberg, Magix start to support Linux. Let me know when MOTU, RME, Apollo, M-Audio, I could go on and on.

It's a fantasy to hold on to that probably won't happen in my lifetime. Linux arguments are a broken record.

[QVprod]

I think the issue with Linux is all the different distributions. Windows and Mac OS don't have that issue which probably makes them easier to support. Plus the typical computer sold will not have Linux on it, and the majority of computer users, believe it or not, are not savvy enough to bother with installing a different OS on their machine let alone one that's heavily reliant on command line.

[bxbrkrz]

https://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7024

[sleep1979]

https://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7024

Isnt that reason 5 ?
and even then he doesnt say how he did it .
and if its not officially supported it would be buggy as hell

[craven]

and yet, Bitwig supports Linux! A friend of mine switched from Live to Bitwig just because of that. https://www.bitwig.com/en/support/faq.html

[antic604]

and yet, Bitwig supports Linux! A friend of mine switched from Live to Bitwig just because of that. https://www.bitwig.com/en/support/faq.html

And if you bothered to read the thread, you'd also find out that 27% of KvR Bitwig's forum members are on that platform!

What was that old saying from the Bibile? "Build it and they'll come"

[sleep1979]

and yet, Bitwig supports Linux! A friend of mine switched from Live to Bitwig just because of that. https://www.bitwig.com/en/support/faq.html

And if you bothered to read the thread, you'd also find out that 27% of KvR Bitwig's forum members are on that platform!

What was that old saying from the Bibile? "Build it and they'll come"

You know i love that saying and its so true i use it all the time .
Heres the confusion
The movie field of dreamsi cant remember exactly what the saying is in that movie but someone argued with me recently its
“build it and he will come “ everyone references that as
“Build it and they will come “ well i did
I have never even read a page of the bible
Is that saying actually from the bible ?
Im keeping it such a good saying

[sleep1979]

But i also think like the field of dreams u have to take a chance on something that could not pay off , seems props aint willing to do that .

[antic604]

I have never even read a page of the bible

I'm actually not sure. I always thought it had something to do with Noah and his Arc, but apparently not

[bxbrkrz]

https://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7024

Isnt that reason 5 ?
and even then he doesnt say how he did it .
and if its not officially supported it would be buggy as hell

For PH the future of Reason is to be Platform Agnostic, proven in the video.
What I want is a box that would look like Balance (I love its design), but with Reason (14?) inside, a couple of USB-C ports (OK more than a couple) and multiple high def video outs. And an internet connection or Wifi for cloud back up, updates and license sync, etc.
Always ON. Zero fan noise, just like my faithful 1040 ST.
The same dream I have for the past 10+ years.
We should think beyond Linux, Windows and OSX.

The DeLorean DMC-12 here is telling you that looking into developing for multiple platforms is the way of the past. IMHO.

One more thing: Have you seen Google's Project Stadia? Does it have to be a video game? Reason could be on Stadia. Yes, unproven and I am sure Stadia will require a big internet pipe. But just like downloading one GIF in the 90's was like thinking of a future Netflix was science fiction I think PH is right to do what they are trying to do and move away from developing for Linux as an OS, but great maybe if it is the back end to push out future Reason_Service.

[jlgrimes]

It's been almost ten years since the last time I asked this question, my memory is fuzzy. Since this is the only way to possibly get an answer from the Props here it goes..............

Any chance Reason will run natively in Linux?

A simple yes or no from the Props will be suffice.

If the answer is no I will then ask this same question again lets say 2026. By then Microsoft will have built the windows GUI on top of Debian and then the answer would be yes.

I doubt it. Windows/Mac probably gives the developers enough headaches and Linux still has a small userbase.

Windows/OSX are stable OSs for studio/live use so I'm not sure if there is a need.

[QVprod]

What was that old saying from the Bibile? "Build it and they'll come"

Definitely not in the Bible. Field of Dreams only.

As far as Wine though, I' wouldn't trust that for audio. Wine is basically running an OS inside of your OS.

[sublunar]

What I find surprising about this thread is nobody has mentioned the drivers for the various audio interfaces. That, my friends, is probably the biggest issue here. Software alone I'm sure could be done fairly easily but interfacing with the hardware, that's a whole 'nother can of worms.

I don't think I've ever seen an interface whose drivers are supported on a linux box. I just searched and confirmed, of the handful of brands I searched, none list Linux as supported.

I use linux.. sometimes. And if you've ever dealt with driver issues on linux, you know how much of a pain in the ass it is. Then there's all the various flavors of linux distros to add confusion/complexity on top of that..

TLDR; I wouldn't hold my breath.

[ScuzzyEye]

I don't think I've ever seen an interface whose drivers are supported on a linux box. I just searched and confirmed, of the handful of brands I searched, none list Linux as supported.

Linux has excellent support for USB Audio Class-Compliant devices. The Linux kernel scheduler is better than both Windows and Mac OS, and you can easily run with smaller buffers without glitches. You won't get the manufacturer's control panel interface, but quite a few parameters are exposed in the default desktop mixer software.

I actually helped the ALSA team add support for multi-channel RME, TerraTec, and MOTU devices back in the early 2000s. We had to contact chip makers and get low-level interface documentation, and write custom drivers for each card back then. The current pro USB interfaces are so much easier to get working.

[bxbrkrz]

I don't think I've ever seen an interface whose drivers are supported on a linux box. I just searched and confirmed, of the handful of brands I searched, none list Linux as supported.

Linux has excellent support for USB Audio Class-Compliant devices. The Linux kernel scheduler is better than both Windows and Mac OS, and you can easily run with smaller buffers without glitches. You won't get the manufacturer's control panel interface, but quite a few parameters are exposed in the default desktop mixer software.

I actually helped the ALSA team add support for multi-channel RME, TerraTec, and MOTU devices back in the early 2000s. We had to contact chip makers and get low-level interface documentation, and write custom drivers for each card back then. The current pro USB interfaces are so much easier to get working.

I guess I have to say thank you for helping me choosing my RME Multiface in 2003.

[kitekrazy]

What I find surprising about this thread is nobody has mentioned the drivers for the various audio interfaces. That, my friends, is probably the biggest issue here. Software alone I'm sure could be done fairly easily but interfacing with the hardware, that's a whole 'nother can of worms.

I don't think I've ever seen an interface whose drivers are supported on a linux box. I just searched and confirmed, of the handful of brands I searched, none list Linux as supported.

I use linux.. sometimes. And if you've ever dealt with driver issues on linux, you know how much of a pain in the ass it is. Then there's all the various flavors of linux distros to add confusion/complexity on top of that..

TLDR; I wouldn't hold my breath.

That's where the delusion sets in. I still rum my M-Audio PCI cards using W7 drivers. I use to run a Terratec EWX 2496 in W10 using Vista 64 beta drivers. The last time I tried Linux I had to type in a bunch of command line crap just to get a USB Wifi adapter to run and sometimes it worked. It's really for those who like to tinker. It will never be a prime OS. The Linux PC has failed more than once in the retail market. Linux people are often in their own little world and don't realize how clueless the average person is setting up a computer. Apple's marketing approach was that way when iTunes came out. Linux developer web pages are annoying and it shows how much they are in their own little world. Bitwig and Tracktion do nothing to persuade me since I have both and don't care for them. I also have Mixbus which has all of these odd terms that smells Linux developer. Linux counter arguments are like reading a script.

Unfortunately with MS and Apple having the evolving OS, that takes a great deal of time for development resources.

[aeox]

What I find surprising about this thread is nobody has mentioned the drivers for the various audio interfaces. That, my friends, is probably the biggest issue here. Software alone I'm sure could be done fairly easily but interfacing with the hardware, that's a whole 'nother can of worms.

I don't think I've ever seen an interface whose drivers are supported on a linux box. I just searched and confirmed, of the handful of brands I searched, none list Linux as supported.

I use linux.. sometimes. And if you've ever dealt with driver issues on linux, you know how much of a pain in the ass it is. Then there's all the various flavors of linux distros to add confusion/complexity on top of that..

TLDR; I wouldn't hold my breath.

Both of my interface just worked on linux, with no fuss.

[anko]

Once again it's a user base few developers would waste their time. Let me know when Avid, Ableton, Image-Line, Steinberg, Magix start to support Linux. Let me know when MOTU, RME, Apollo, M-Audio, I could go on and on.

It's a fantasy to hold on to that probably won't happen in my lifetime. Linux arguments are a broken record.

well if you read what i said that's probably exactly what you said in different words if perhaps a little less angry.

it won't happen, no need to worry about it though. no skin off anyone's noses. no dramas. *shrug*

[ltbrunt00]

Once again, I will bring up the linux question in 2026. Unless I am dead I will probably be using Reason in 2026.

[PeterP]

My prediction is that it will run on Linux in about 5 years. Inside a browser.