This comment confuses me

I set up Alpine to read my Gmail last summer, and while the nostalgia hit was nice, the browser version was more responsive and useful, cap I went back to that.

While I don’t have personal experience with this, I did find this from the bad website:

Install pipewire-jack and use JACK audio device in Reaper. Also, yes make sure that wireplumber is installed.

Link to post.

Gentoo. Not an Arch fork, and uses OpenRC by default. I use it and love it. Portage is the best package manager out there, imo.

You can still get binaries of the really annoying things to compile, like Firefox. Otherwise, it’s all source-based.

I’d advise installing it in a VM or on a spare computer first to get your hands around what it is.

In your case, you’ll want to specify the following flags in you makefile:

OpenRC, -systemd

You’ll add a bunch of others in there too depending on architecture and personal priorities.

Follow the handbook. https://www.gentoo.org/get-started/

There’s also Calculate Linux, which is basically Gentoo with a graphical front end, but I think it’s Intel only. CLI is more fun anyway.

I work in music and audio post, and everyone I work with would love to be able to use Reaper (or Logic, or Nuendo) instead of Pro Tools, if Pro Tools didn’t have the post industry completely captured in the US.

Reaper is a world-class product, and the team could easily charge 10x as much for the pro licenses, and get it. Stick with Reaper.

There are alternative drum triggers for Linux, I’m sure. Even SPL makes a drum exchanger. There’s got to be one out there.

VMR shouldn’t be a problem to run, I just don’t know what the install process would look like.

I’m pretty sure Airwindows plugs are Linux compatible, probably Audio Obsession too.

In any case, Reaper’s stock plugins are awesome. My only real complaint about them is the EQ cramping in the hi-end, which is typical for stock plugins.