the only thing that comes close to the same level of headache given by trying to produce music on linux, at least in my memory, was connecting MIDI devices on Windows 3.11 on a 386SX.
Sadly, Linux still lacks that ‘plug and play’ experience that is so critical for both professionals and newbies. A few years ago, as a dedicated tinkerer, I had a specific linux box solely for music production, using a different arch-based distro. Did it work? yep. Was it worth? nope, you can obtain much more with 1/10000000 of the effort on Mac or Win. I did it anyway to gain a better understanding of the system, but if I have to professionally produce audio I definitely have to look elsewhere (weeping, but there is no viable alternative).