Linux support for Native Access and Kontakt Player?

A lot of people simply want a computer /monitor/maschine seperate because the standalone screens are not as easy to use in certain areas. maschine-x is never going to replace the PC + hardware setup for a lot of people. Those people could really do with the linux. Thinking aboput buying the S88 komplete keyboard, stand alone alternative is great, but i'd still want to use the computer and monitor . I want a cheap linux computer attached to it. Not a linux maschine with no keyboard, mouse or monitor. A linux distro supporting NI would be a great option to bridge these gaps.

 

Deploying software for different CPU architectures doesn't require any code changes. It's the same source code but compiled to run on a different machine.

macOS isn't unix. It is based on BSD what is also just a clone of the UNIX core commands like GNU (what Linux uses) but started more than a decade earlier.

But that is nothing to care about. The important differences bethween macOS and anything else what is UNIX-like is that macOS uses Quartz and Coreaudio while the other systems use X11 and pulseaudio/jack. That are the points which may require some different functions in the source code if you don't use any frameworks which provides unified "wrapper-functions" for all platforms.

 

I don't know how you could make it work, I from ArchLinux and trying both Wine and Wine-Staging, I always get the same error, also reported in the Wine website by other users:

https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=38288&iTestingId=106700&sAllBugs

I can't install it, because it stays permanently trying to install "Native Instruments ISO Driver".
Any clues?

 

I checked the installed Windows software on my WINE installation and there is no Native Instruments ISO Driver. Which windows installation do you simulate using WINE (set in winecfg)? Maybe this will be installed if you simulate an older windows version.

 

Thank you GoaSkin.
I have changed from winecfg to w10 and now I have no problem finishing the installation of Native Access. Although now when I start Native Access, there is no text, only images.
I can log in and see my purchased products, but only in images, without any text.

Edit:
No text in Native Access, but still, I was able to download the programs.
Native Access is not able to mount the downloaded iso's, but following the instructions of this forum (I should have looked for more before asking) I have been able to mount them properly and install the programs without problems.
https://www.native-instruments.com/forum/threads/running-via-wine-on-linux-systems.373433/

 

The text may be missing if the Microsoft fonts (Arial etc.) are missing. On Ubuntu, there is a package called "mstcorefonts" or something like that, which installs Arial, Times New Roman, Wingdings etc.

 

It was one of the things I tried, I also tried to copy the .ttf into the wine fonts folder. But Native Access still doesn't show any fonts. Although the rest of the programs, such as Reaktor, show them without problems.
It is true, that the graphics of some buttons in Native Access are not shown either, like the ones to download the applications, although they work anyway.
Anyway, I don't mind, because I've already been able to download everything I needed and surprisingly, everything works better than I expected.
Again, thanks for the help.

 

I finally managed to install Native Access, GuitarRig 5, Kontakt 6, Battery 4, FM8, Absynth 5 with wine (wine staging wine-6.0-rc1) (thanks to
nch problems : ie window 10 emulation mode and mounting ISO properly when installing soundbanks)

Now all (except Guitar Rig) are opening and working in standalone mode. \o/

Then I used LinVST (3.2) to convert all .dll VST to .so VST
Then I tried to import those "so" files into Bitwig ... and only Kontakt and Battery where imported successfully ... :-(

It seems that with older versions of wine some of you are getting things to work... how can I install say ... wine-staging 5.10 ?
What do you use to play with wine VSTs inside your linux DAWs ? (Carla ? LinVST ? Other ?)
Does everything break each time wine is updated ?

It would be so much simpler if NI would provide native linux versions...

 

Once, I opened a ticket about that on the github page of LinVST and the project maintainer found a bug that could be solved by removing one line of code and recompiling linvst:

https://github.com/osxmidi/LinVst/issues/138

It looks like if the change wasn't applied on later versions or not in a working way.

The reason is that every vst plugins is opened by Bitwig when scanning without showing the user interfaces. But some NI plugins show a dialog which needs to be proceeded before they confirm to the host software that they're running. By removing the line of code like shown in the ticket, linvst reports the plugins to be valid even if the dialogs haven't been proceeded.

 

Hey thanks for the explanation GoaSkin !
I opened a ticket too and the developer uploaded a specific version of LinVST targeted to bitwig... and it works !
I also tried yabridge and it worked perfectly...
Now there is only guitar rig that is still crashing...
Thanks to those people, wine developers and people on this thread I am on the road to Linux... for now I’ve made a double boot for testing purposes but I am quite confident that I will love it.

nonetheless I would love to see NI and other big software developers make native versions of there software for Linux. It is still complicated to use linvst or yabridge, I did not succeed to make Carla scan my vst(s) ... and a wine update could break everything... Linux deserves better and « big names » could lead people to embrace Linux world...

 

A big hole in my road :

Yesterday the wine version was updated to staging 6 rc2... and lots of problems appeared... just 4 plugins usable as VSTs and they are now very CPU intensive (tried with LinVST, yabridge and Carla)

In standalone mode they take ages to open and I have no sound despite the correct sound configuration...

Its tiring...

 

Hi GoaSkin,

Is there any chance you could share your some notes (e.g. a post here or a Github markdown document, perhaps) on how you went about configuring your system to play well with Kontakt / other VST's?

I've tried wine, airbridge, etc., in the past, but always found them very difficult to get working correctly, and so I eventually gave up and bought a second OS X machine just to use things like Kontakt. For music production, it's worked out really well, but I absolutely hate my time spend in OS X.. If LinVst has been working well for you, and I am able to spend some time to get it configured properly and working, then that would be time well spent.

Any guidance you can provide though would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

It was once explained here at this forum, also quoted above. See this thread:

https://www.native-instruments.com/forum/threads/running-via-wine-on-linux-systems.373433/

You need to use the 'staging' version of WINE from the official WINE website. Not the version which comes with Ubuntu. In winecfg, you must configure Windows 10 as simulated windows version. I use linvstconvert for the vst plugins but other alternatives may work too.

 

Please don't take part of my comment out of context...
First of all related to Apple. Yes you are right, I was kidding... but you know what? That's the reason why there's NI apps for mac but not for linux.
That's drives me to second (but previous in my comment): dedicated embed linux board.



Native Instruments: The Journey From Computer to Standalone Hardware - Vincenzo Pacella & Tim Adnitt

Some time gone in between my first comment on this topic, my second and this.
I agreed on great idea about dedicated linux distro (liveCD-like) like Dynebolic back in the day which adapted to the computer BUT debug a distro to made it compatible with each computer out there is a hard task with zero revenue for the brand. I imagine you know how the World works and why Linux is open and maintained... by linux users? (Let's take apart Ubunto or Redhat/Fedora) Because it's linux.

What I was trying to point is that NI will focus first on embed system than LiveCd distro and develop for a "linux-like" environment will require dedicated machines... which is in essence a Mac (even it's BSD, yes yes) but as "task" for development POV.
Now with Apple Silicon (and before with iPads) NI, as other brands like Serato, had to choose and each decision makes compromises. ATM NI has set a platform (embed hardware) to start delivering standalone solutions. It run linux? Yes, check the video I've posted to understand the decision tree from its developers. Also Qt based software makes it ARM (and Linux) friendly? Yes. I haven't that info (and knowledge) when I answer first time but I know how business are done and why such decisions are taken and that's why I say "it's very difficult to see a Linux LiveCd distro" or "NI will not support Linux as environment because each distro is an OS itself, so NI could do Ubuntu support in the best scenario and only if there's a market (or brand interest) in such effort". It's a business, take it as is or forget about it... also you can contribute in enhance Mixxx to catch Traktor...

Anyways, we are certainly at interesting moment. Depending on how the World turns and market moves in consequence we will see were the efforts will be deployed. IMHO Desktop/Laptops as we known them are doomed (if you want to called it Post-Pc era feel free) since more and more hardware vendors (computers) are wondering the Apple movement into its own silicon as a "path to follow" which also could mean a chance for Linux... it will not be "the year for Linux on desktops" but "the year with no more desktops but Linux"... why not?

but

if I can share my gut-feeling and you are interested on linux-based solutions I will dig more into something like ElkOS or Darling. These two technologies could have some interesting approaches for brave people not wanting to expend the ridiculous amount of money that a Pro Mac cost nowadays (and I don't expect Apple lowering prices... maybe running macOS or wrapped macOS apps inside an iPad with enough ram at old laptop prices aka 1200euros... Do you remember iPhone X costing more than a macbook air? Maybe there's a reason...)

So there are some NI technologies ported to Linux but it's platform (rockchip) dependent and maybe in the future will switch into ARM instead x86 atom (stated at video too) but in any case it will be drove by market and roadmaps. If Linux will have a chance, could it be... but I'm not so sure about "over what machine" we will see it happen. At the moment is embed.

 

"Linux Is The Answer", indeed. This isn't the first time, and when you consider just how many financial and other industries absolutely rely on Linux, it likely won't be the last.

I have used NI for years now, on both Windows and Mac. As I'm sure many of you can relate, Windows has sort of fallen off the wagon in terms of audio processing, stability, and so on.

And while Mac has proven to be much more stable, it's not perfect. After switching to a new iMac a few years ago myself, I found that everything NI and audio in general just sort of worked. Over the past year or so however, even my iMac is starting to slow down, what with all of the new software updates like Big Sur.

Not long ago, I was able to use the power of Linux to extend the lives of many of our household devices. Like you all, I would really love to make use of this power in my audio setup as well!

Last week, a good friend of mine was told his almost new Windows laptop needed another hard drive, motherboard, and more. It had a virus, and he was ready to throw in the towel and simply purchase another one. I encouraged him to give Linux a try instead, and after walking him through the setup process over the phone, his troubles were over. And what's more, he basically thinks I'm the software god, simply because Linux works. He was so glad he didn't have to waist all his money on yet another useless laptop.

I'm really looking forward to the possibility of a high-speed Linux-Audio environment, with all of my NI gear and plugins!

 

Por favor , por favor , TODOS QUEREMOS USAR NATIVE INSTRUMENTS EN LINUX UBUNTU STUDIO , POR FAVOR

 

Hi everyone.
I had this error message when launching Guitar rig 5 pro :

Unhandled exception: unimplemented function msvcr120.dll.....

To solve this :

Launch winecfg
Go to 'Libraries'
In the 'New override for library' field search msvcr120 and press Add
Close winecfg

Launch guitar rig and Tadaaa ! it opens... I didn't test furhter (ie test in a vst host) since my vst wrapper does not work any more, for now (wine 6.3 sadly broke it)

WE STILL NEED A NATIVE LINUX VERSION ! ... please ;-)

 

Hi everyone,

I've just made my annual search for Native Instruments on Native Linux. For years I used Reaper in Wine successfully, but it was a pain to set it up each time I installed a new distro. Then Cockos released Reaper for Linux and it has worked very well through V5 and V6. Carla works very well to add Windows VSTs in Wine and the various native Linux plugins (VST, LV2 etc).

Reaper can load native Linux VSTs and comes with the complete set of Cockos plugins including JS.

Each year I have tried to install Native Access in Wine. It now installs, but does not run. If it worked, I could use Carla to access the plugins.

There are several rumours that Microsoft is going to a subscription service for Windows. I have three Windows systems for the sole purpose of running Reaper, Native Instruments, Waves, Izotope and a few other Windows plugins. If Windows goes subscription, I will disconnect the desktops and laptop from the Internet and use them in stand-alone mode. That means no more upgrades for NI, Waves or Izotope.

If NI bring out a native Linux version, I will just use Reaper in Linux. The NI plugins are the only ones I cannot reasonably duplicate using Cockos stock plugins, native Linux VSTs and the few proprietary Windows plugins that install in Wine.

 

Hi, the strings library that best fits my needs requires Kontakt Player. I'm running on Xubuntu, using Carla. I can get Kontakt Player to work okay as a plug-in (with some graphics issues as the window's contents are slightly cut off to the right hand side). My problem is Native Access. I installed it without noticeable issues, but when I start the program I only get a black screen.

I'm on Wine-staging 6.15. I already tried Windows 7 and 10 as setting in winecfg, and I attempted to install fonts with winetricks.

Anyone familiar with this issue, and knows how to solve it? As I understand, I will definitely have to get that running reliably, so I could register the library when I purchased it?

Thanks very much in advance!

 

Using wine-staging 6.4 I am able to install and run native access without any issue (I currently use Manjaro, but it was working with ubuntu)… according to yabridge developper « There have been a couple of small regressions in Wine after Wine 6.4 ».
Maybe you can try to downgrade your wine version ?