The AVLinux distribution based on MXLinux is easy to install but the version of supercollider is not the latest. And so far I have not been able to compile correctly from source. I have to say that it’s not my cup of tea, and I’m not very motivated to get my hands dirty.
I saw that Arch Linux has the latest version of Supercollider, but the installation of Arch Linux is a bit complex. Are there any versions of Arch Linux that you would recommend to use Supercollider that would be easier to install, and would already have a real time kernel and everything needed to properly use jackd in a simplified way?
It’s a pity that AVLinux doesn’t have the latest version of Supercollider, because otherwise everything works perfectly well, real-time kernel, integration of other software like Renoise, and simplified maintenance based on the MX Linux philosophy.
I see that AVLinux is based on debian, so compilation should be easier than on some other distributions. I’m using Ubuntu Studio and I’m generally happy with it (though it doesn’t have a more up to date SC package, so it isn’t any better for you I think). I do have to build from source, but at this point that’s largely a matter of installing the packages listed in the readme, cmake-configuring, and go. Building gets nasty if packages aren’t available, but this shouldn’t be a large problem in a debian distro.
I understand that you don’t want to, but you’re already in an ecosystem where building SC is likely to be easier than in other environments. It’s painful once; after that, you have more independence. Do feel free to ask specific questions on the forum (i.e. “I haven’t been able to build successfully” is not something anyone can help with, but “I ran the cmake command and it barfed with ‘…’” is likely to be an answerable question).
I’ll second what jamshark said!
Building from source is a good idea on Linux. Once you have a (very basic) basic grasp of cmake and the terminal it’s quite easy.
However, stay away from arch - way too much effort. I’d recommend manjaro, it’s a nice compromise of having access to the latest packages and the aur and an incredibly easy modern install. I actually think manjaro is easier than most Debian based distros.
One thing more to add, you will want to compile SC with system boost to use flucoma. It’s all listed on the github.
As I have been using MX Linux for several years now on my laptop, my son’s laptop and my daughter’s laptop, it is true that I would prefer to stay with AVLinux, because I felt at home right away when I installed it since it is based on MX Linux.
I have a friend in IT who is a fan of Manjaro, but I am so used to using MX Linux that I am hesitant to take the plunge. I’m more often on OSX than linux now so I’m a little short on time and desire.
However, I will still try to install supercollider from source on AVLinux, and I will follow your advice Jamshark70 in the way of asking my questions to finally succeed in going through with it.
It’s true that with AVLinux, for 350 euros, you can have a very good used laptop powerful enough to do a lot of things with music. A macbook air already requires more money, it’s more like 1000 euros. That’s the main reason why I stay with my current laptop. It’s a thinkpad L540, and it works great with AVLinux. On the other hand, compared to a macbook air, it is much heavier and has much less battery life. But for the few times I use it, it’s more than enough for now.
perhaps this documented process of compiling and installing sc from source on an ubuntu might comes handy? since MX Linux is based on debian it might be easier to end up with a deb file at the end of compilation process (it uses checkinstall script to create a deb file).
Just a quick note in case anyone is still interested. Ubuntu now has the most recent version of supercollider as a package. That is Ubuntu Studio 24.04.1 has supercollider 3.13.0, so all I had to do was
I’ve been an Arch user for many years. I don’t recommend it for beginners, but my experience is this: the installation is a way to introduce you to the sysadmin world. After that, everything works perfectly 99% of the time. Every now and then, you have to intervene in the system, and then you’ll have to deepen your sysadmin knowledge. Sometimes, it shows up on the website with instructions; sometimes, it’s an ad hoc adjustment.
All software is always very up-to-date and works very well. One extra benefit is that when you use AUR or compile packages yourself, you can just add optimization flags with almost no effort at all.
When I needed to optimize my time, I switched from Arch to Fedora. Fedora is the closest to Arch in terms of system updates compared to upstream. In addition, there is a layer of protection by default. (Inexperienced arch users can have problems with things like security etc)
If you want it the most for audio, you also need to check the availability of real-time ke rnels. To do so, you need to check third-party repos. In the case of Arch, that’s in the AUR (when I was a user, no idea now). Fedora has some binary repos, but you can do it yourself (depending on your skills).
happy archlinux user here. my main reason to move to arch:
updated supercollider and tidalcycles packages from pacman
moved from i3 to hyprland sometime ago, really enjoying –
still has some wayland bugs, MouseX doesnt work…
there`s a script on iso [archinstall] that really makes easy to install arch, already including with some desktop managers.
On fedora, there is a mate-xmonad package for easy configuration (Mate desktop tools + xmonad as window manager). It will use X11, of course. That’s what I’m using now, it just works.
Minimal desktops are a good idea for an audio setup for performance. You never know what daemons are running on a full-blown desktop install.
I recently re-installed Arch on a ThinkPad after trying to switch to Ubuntu. While i agree with smoge that it might not be the most beginner friendly distro, the guided installation works pretty well now. The only thing needed to be done before typing archinstall in the terminal is to set up a wifi connection (unless you have a wired connection, that is).
Currently, i’m running Arch with Gnome, Wayland and Pipewire and it works very well so far. One issue i had (which i guess is more Pipewire related than distro related) is that SuperCollider needs jack and there is a conflict with pipewire-jack. I solved it as explained in the last post (#12) in this thread.
I’ve seen that they are supporting an official real-time kernel. It seems it’s targeted at enterprises, but it has a free version, too.
Users should always prefer binary packages. Building SC from the source should be done only if necessary.
But since releases are not often, there is a culture of always using the latest develop branch state to build the stuff you will bring to the stage. This is not ideal.
I have seen crashes on stage with my own eyes because of that! On a SC Symposium, BTW!
