alt Hacker NewsReaper is just as good as FL Studio or Logic Pro. VSTs are really your biggest hurdle. Depending on how they are compiled, they may rely on platform specific code. Most big plugin makers have VSTs for all platforms though and your license works on all.
The pathway is there should you choose, one day. Linux is quite good now. That being said, I know a lot of niche plugins that some guy wrote that only works on windows because that’s all he/she has access to. Some 8-bit synth bitcrushers come to mind.
Also Steinburg made VST 3 sdk open source so you have a path to a free music production studio.
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> VSTs are really your biggest hurdle.
And that is unfortunately the place where I spent my big bucks.
I do however use Linux for my work, and have for more than a decade. If all the plugins (plus FL Studio, I've tried Reaper but it might be not for me) worked, I'd switch my personal desktop in a heartbeat. It's honestly the only thing locking me to Win10. Maybe I'll try a Mac through work (we get to keep the machines).
And yes, I've tried running FL using Wine, and it works surprisingly well! Just not _well enough_, and some plugins do not work at all. Most do, and that's great, but not enough for me at least.
> Most big plugin makers have VSTs for all platforms though and your license works on all.
Most??? I can’t find Arturia, Korg, Reason Rack Plugin, FabFilter, Native Instruments, Softube and those are just from the top of my head.
"As good as" is highly debateable. Have you used Logic Pro 11 in the past two years?
It's not the apps, it's the drivers. I've got expensive high quality audio hardware (RME Fireface 800) that doesn't have Linux drivers. Oh sure, I could invest $2000 to get a newer version, but that would just mean a steep learning curve to get drivers, hardware, and DAW working anywhere near as seamlessly as my Windows setup. It's not that I'm a Windows fan, I'm just looking for the most cost- and time-effective solutions. I'd rather spend my time recording and making music than sweating over driver and software issues.
"as good as" (debatable in the first place) isn't enough justification to switch. Everyone has their own workflows, settings etc that they used over many years, which they are not going to give up, just to "switch to Linux". This is about real loss in productivity.