I’m an ex-Windows user and have been using Linux for about 7-ish years now.
If you can handle some downtime, the possibility of some plugins breaking and some time getting used to your new system, you can give it a shot. Otherwise, what I’d more or less recommend is getting a spare computer and just trying Linux out on that. That way you can keep your work computer for critical work while you mess around on the spare.
I checked Cubase on WineHQ, and sadly it won’t run via WINE from what I see, so you will either have to look for a different DAW (which will require extra time re-learning everything) or just going with a spare).
If you do plan on biting the bullet and going full Linux on your work machine, here’s a couple observations:
The only Windows DAW i’ve tried on Linux is FL Studio running through WINE. I do have REAPER for aligning audio tracks (it’s very good at that) but I haven’t really used that enough to become proficient with it. There’s also Bitwig, which I haven’t used (I checked the price on that when i was kinda on the fence about getting it and oh boy is it expensive! around $800 with the annual upgrade or smth lol).
From my experience, VSTs via WINE (in my case, running through FL Studio 24.2.1), is quite good, although there are is a good bit of jank that comes with it (a few 32-bit VSTs don’t work, it’s a bit of a gamble honestly) and there are bound to be a couple potential breakages with WINE updates (like what happened today as I’m writing this, I updated WINE and idk if it’s just a residual thing but the GUIs on GVST plugins don’t render anymore, I can still access the parameters via hovering and looking at the hints panel in FL Studio, but it is a bit cumbersome trying to operate VSTs blindly, especially when they contain things such as waveforms/levels).
Other than that FL Studio’s been running like a charm, very very close to (if not native), except for stuff like the Diagnostic thingy not working at all (told you there’s jank).
As for replacements, you will need to learn new programs, one which may not contain all the features that you would want (muscle memory can also be a bit of a pain). I’d start out with maybe trying out Audacity and GiMP/Krita on Windows and try learning and getting used to the workflow of each on your existing Windows installation before swapping over. I was using FOSS programs like GiMP/Audacity beforehand so the transition was easy once I swapped over. FL in WINE back then was a little more finnicky but most of it still worked so it kept me going.
If you’re still thinking about wiping Windows off of there and going full Linux, good luck, my friend.
I’m an ex-Windows user and have been using Linux for about 7-ish years now.
If you can handle some downtime, the possibility of some plugins breaking and some time getting used to your new system, you can give it a shot. Otherwise, what I’d more or less recommend is getting a spare computer and just trying Linux out on that. That way you can keep your work computer for critical work while you mess around on the spare.
I checked Cubase on WineHQ, and sadly it won’t run via WINE from what I see, so you will either have to look for a different DAW (which will require extra time re-learning everything) or just going with a spare).
If you do plan on biting the bullet and going full Linux on your work machine, here’s a couple observations:
The only Windows DAW i’ve tried on Linux is FL Studio running through WINE. I do have REAPER for aligning audio tracks (it’s very good at that) but I haven’t really used that enough to become proficient with it. There’s also Bitwig, which I haven’t used (I checked the price on that when i was kinda on the fence about getting it and oh boy is it expensive! around $800 with the annual upgrade or smth lol).
From my experience, VSTs via WINE (in my case, running through FL Studio 24.2.1), is quite good, although there are is a good bit of jank that comes with it (a few 32-bit VSTs don’t work, it’s a bit of a gamble honestly) and there are bound to be a couple potential breakages with WINE updates (like what happened today as I’m writing this, I updated WINE and idk if it’s just a residual thing but the GUIs on GVST plugins don’t render anymore, I can still access the parameters via hovering and looking at the hints panel in FL Studio, but it is a bit cumbersome trying to operate VSTs blindly, especially when they contain things such as waveforms/levels).
Other than that FL Studio’s been running like a charm, very very close to (if not native), except for stuff like the Diagnostic thingy not working at all (told you there’s jank).
As for replacements, you will need to learn new programs, one which may not contain all the features that you would want (muscle memory can also be a bit of a pain). I’d start out with maybe trying out Audacity and GiMP/Krita on Windows and try learning and getting used to the workflow of each on your existing Windows installation before swapping over. I was using FOSS programs like GiMP/Audacity beforehand so the transition was easy once I swapped over. FL in WINE back then was a little more finnicky but most of it still worked so it kept me going.
If you’re still thinking about wiping Windows off of there and going full Linux, good luck, my friend.