Love Ardour on Linux and wanted to make the community aware of this from the OvertoneDSP forum (formerly LinuxDSP).
Postby OverTone DSP; Fri May 27, 2016 11:56 am
Re: Status of Linux support?
As a company we have always wanted to provide the best user experience / support possible on (desktop) linux, and have devoted significant technical / developer resources and time over several years to ensuring this was possible. Unfortunately, the diverse (and sometime volatile) nature of distributions and / or some open source host applications, increasingly means that we are unable to guarantee the standard we wish to provide and that our linux users have come to expect. Increasingly we are finding valuable developer time and resources diverted to investigating / addressing issues which are the result of custom modifications / self-builds of host applications or other plug-ins etc.
This is a disappointment to us, and is to a large extent out of our control. As such, we are evaluating whether it will be the right course of action to develop future products compatible with desktop linux distributions.
Existing linux compatible versions are still included in the downloads, and will continue to function (as will activation keys etc) subject to host application / distribution updates. Realistically this means support should be in place for the life of Ubuntu 14.04 LTS which is end of life in 2019.
Regarding the PTM-5A plug-in, there is a note on the product download page tocontact us if you would like to request development of a linux version. If there is sufficient demand, then it will be easier to justify the resources required to make this possible.
OverTone DSP is on facebook
I’m a little surprised, but expected something like this would happen. I saw, just a few weeks ago that the Penguin disappeared from their web site without any notice.
Linux has over the years been quite incompatible with itself, but I really thought that this situation was much better the last years. Especially when the programs/plugins was linked statically. And now, when U-HE probably is close to deliver their virtual synths for Linux and you see more and more commercial music related Linux stuff everywhere, this somehow feels surprising.
I have many LinuxDSP/OvertoneDSP licenses and will now fade this plugins out. Not because I’m angry but because I really need to think and work in long terms and with predictability in mind when it comes to the studio. A band or an artist can sometimes use several years on a project, often because it’s on hiatus. It’s a pity, the OvertoneDSP products are so good and with a consistent sound across the versions, but to just remove the penguin from the site without notice or information is not a sign of reliability.
Anyway: I hope OvertoneDSP comes back to Linux and that more and more Linux users are willing to pay for their stuff or support one or more open source projects on regular or irregular bases. I’ts my impression that Linux becomes more and more popular in the professional music world so maybe it’s hope?
To update on this, I utilized the contact us Overtone provided prior to posting this message yesterday. A little while ago I received the following via an email message (great news). Perhaps more Linux users contacting them and purchasing licenses for their products if they enjoy them would help.
Hi,
The download for the PTM-5A now includes a linux build, however, please
be aware that owing to the increasingly diverse nature of linux
distributions and sometimes unpredictable builds of open-source host
applications, we are, regrettably only able to offer limited support for
linux versions. Please be sure to check compatibility with your
distribution and host application(s)
I bought the last license (RVB500) January this year and vill not buy more or use anything from Overtone before I know for sure that they will continue to do Linux versions and also informing whats going on in an active way. I understand and sympathize with them, but that doesn’t help me and my studio. I’t quite the opposite.
As a customer, I should have been informed by OvertoneDSP or as an absolute minimum by some clear information at their home page. Not by accident (the lack of the penguin at the homepage and this posting). I’m finishing mixing of a whole CD right now, RVB500 has been in use for every song and AF2-10 for several songs. When this is done, I will not use them in a new project, but I will keep them in another Linux box in case an old project has to be worked with again.
To bad it ends this way, I’ve used LinuxDSP stuff since 2010 and as I’ve said before: It’s great products and well worth the money.
They should commit to publishing a LV2 version or something… the native Ardour gui is pretty nifty these days, who needs the UI bling?
It would be better than the “My skillz rule” pissing contest that recently took place around here.
I seem to remember LV2 support was dropped first, because it’s very different from VST, whereas if you’re already doing Windows VST, then Linux VST isn’t too hard to support as well. So not much hope of LV2 from that developer.
I feel very much like josander at this point: don’t mind spending some money (easpecially at Overtone/LinuxDSP reasonable prices) on good quality software, but nervous about investing much more in a project that seems to be receding over the horizon as far as Linux is concerned, and where I’ve already lost some previously functioning programs because of some license key mixups that I still don’t fully understand.
I might try doing a project with all free plugins just to see if it’s really any harder to do or less stable. There’s a few good products out there now.
That was the sort of thing that kept me from buying the plugins myself.
He’s seemed to have had his foot out the door for a while now, and many of the plugins he built his name on were wiped from the internet, which had me unsure of the long-term reliability of using his products.
I would’ve loved to use the reverb, it sounds incredible. But I learn and master my tools, and would’ve hated it if a go-to plugin became suddenly unavailable.
I see from their Facebook page that they now have a Linux binary for the PTM-5A plugin. They state that they are only able to “offer limited support for linux versions”. So no mention on their actual website about Linux anymore, limited support but full price? I can’t bring myself to purchase it from them with such uncertainty.
Well, you can take into consideration that for NEARLY ALL linux users, these plugins worked flawlessly, and little support was required. Sure there’s risk that you’ll have some issue, but there are demos you can try first too.
