Lightweight Linux sequencer/DAW

[Yossarian22]

I was wondering if there was a lightweight Linux sequencer and DAW, similar to Ableton Live.
With the ability to load VSTs and things like that.

I tried turning a Pentium III into a USB MIDI box but XP and Ableton Live demo was having none of that, so I was curious if there was an alternative, especially if it was FOSS.

 

[ameoba]

There's plenty of options, but doing the sort of heavy-weight audio manipulation that Live does (not to mention its fancy, graphics-heavy UI) is going to kill a P3. Think about this, man - the P3 is (at least) an 8 year old system - that's an eternity in computing. Even a 'lightweight' app like FL Studio requires a "2Ghz AMD or Intel Pentium 3 compatible CPU with full SSE1 support.".

Unfortunately, Linux, is poorly supported by audio tools (esp. high-end interfaces and ASIO drivers) - you're generally going to be better off running Windows. Your system specs are going to limit you to only a handful of simple/older VSTs.

With that said, you might want to try some of the more independent/low-end systems like Reaper, or some sort of Tracker - the catch is that you generally end up trading some degree of user-friendliness, polish and/or functionality for low-CPU requirements.

TBH, considering that doing anything 'serious' is going to require an investment in MIDI interfaces, MIDI controllers, audio interfaces & studio monitors, not to mention the cost of all but the cheapest software tools, 'saving' money by working on a dinosaur of a computer is just going to cause unnecessary suffering.