Linux Audio

Out of all the open source programs, Ardour definitely is the most capable one currently. LMMS fills a niche of chiptune, but seemed inferior in every other way when I tried it.

If you are just concerned using linux but are open to closed source software, bitwig is the way to go probably. It's pretty much made by the old Ableton team.

If you want to make digital orchestral music specifically, Musescore 4 with musesounds is the best option, as they are the only program not limited by MIDI. And who knows, maybe Audacity will become more capable more quickly once they're done with their refactoring.

NB: You can absolutely develop a pipeline where you make certain things in one program and export what you did in another program.

Seems like it really depends what you mean by joining the professional world. If its just you making music and releasing it, then the world is your oyster. What you use doesn't matter as long as the result is great. If you need to work with other people's files and session, you're going to have a pretty hard time.

I think it is entirely possible with FOSS. this kinda reminds me of the situation 10-15 years ago when people were trying to make their windows laptop look like a mac... because mac was more "respected" in audio circles... FOSS will work for professional audio... how many sneers and eyerolls it solicits from others who paid $$$$, who knows.. prob a good bit depending on the circles you roll through.

So much depends on your workflow, hardware, and work requirements.

I personally think you should figure out those things first and then see if you can achieve that with OSS.

If the workflow of Ableton is what you need or prefer then I would say just switch now and use that. Some style of music appears easier to produce with Ableton. Clip launching, loops, that kind of live DJ type stuff.

If you're looking to stick with the Pro Tools style workflow then I think you should stick with Ardour. Their documentation used to say that if you didn't know how to do something and it wasn't in the manual then just look at the Pro Tools docs.

My background....

Back in 2008 I started off fresh. Only knowing how to use Audacity and switched to Ardour because it was too hard to get a decent mix when all you can do is destructive editing. I switched to Reaper for MIDI work two years ago but I still export from that and finish tracks off in Ardour because I prefer the mixing and mastering process in Ardour. It's just more familiar and I can get what I want faster.

Sorry if I assume you're less experienced than you are. It seems like you've got an insane amount of musical skill but you're new to the recording aspect.

If you're just getting started in audio production then I think the most important thing you can do is learn the general concepts. How you do implement these in various DAWs might be a little different but most likely you're going to be using the same concepts (compression, sends to reverbs, bussing, etc), plugins, the same hardware, and all in the same room. Basically, I don't think the software you use is the largest factor in the potential for your music. Composition > performance > sound treatment > recording quality > the other stuff.

One thing I can say for sure is that if you're going to be recording MIDI data in Ardour you'll probably not have a great time. I used to think it was fine until I tried Reaper. There probably have been some improvements to it since I've used it last and I know they added a clip launch feature to be more similar to Ableton but I just don't think that's where Ardour shines (which is tracking, mixing, and mastering).

Also, if you ever need help with Ardour you should stop by [email protected].

All the tools are here for professional audio. You often find more than suitable lv2 plugins, hardware compatibly is solid, and some amazing DAW to choose from. I don't see how you'd have any issue doing audio production with Linux.

I've been recording music for year with Linux.

I've been exploring studio work this year on a small budget, and I've been able to get some pretty good sounds using ardour as my DAW.

That said, I've been using windows (boo, I fuckin hate it, can't wait to run out my warranty and get back to Linux) and plenty of closed-sourc donationware or gratis-tier plugins. The plugin selection in particular is where I've felt the limitations of FOSS for music production.

Some examples: Analog Obsession has some great donationware (I'm partial to the Comper compressor), and for free-tier versions of proprietary plugins, I really like the way Tokyo Dawn's Nova EQ sounds.

For open source plugins, I think Airwindows has some very interesting options!

Now, take my experience with a grain of salt: I'm coming from the live audio production world, and that's the material I've been working with. Since you're more focused on creating your own music in the box, you may not need the kinds of tools for which I've been reaching while trying to mix and master multitracked, full band performances.

Good luck!!!